NEWS RELEASE
Mitsuko Uchida performs and conducts
Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 27
with The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall
on April 15, 17, and 18
CLEVELAND, April 2, 2010 – Mitsuko Uchida will appear with members of The Cleveland Orchestra as soloist and conductor in concerts featuring Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 27 at Severance Hall on Thursday, April 15, at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, April 17, at 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday, April 18, at 3:00 p.m.
The program begins with Wolfgang Amadè Mozart’s Divertimento in D major for Strings (“Salzburg Symphony No. 1”), K. 136, which will be led by Concertmaster William Preucil, followed by Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, with Mitsuko Uchida as soloist and conductor. After intermission, the program concludes with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595, also performed and conducted by Ms. Uchida.
* * *
These concerts are sponsored by Parker Hannifin Corporation.
Mitsuko Uchida’s appearance with The Cleveland Orchestra is made possible by a contribution to the Orchestra’s Guest Artist Fund from Dr. and Mrs. Sam I. Sato.
* * *
The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2009-10 season at Severance Hall is sponsored by UBS. Headquartered in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland, UBS is a global firm providing services to private, corporate and institutional clients. Its strategy is to focus on international wealth management and the Swiss banking business alongside its global expertise in investment banking and asset management. In Switzerland, UBS is the market leader in retail and commercial banking.
UBS is a significant supporter of orchestral music globally. In addition to its season sponsorship of The Cleveland Orchestra, the firm currently sponsors several other outstanding symphony orchestras, such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra. These partnerships reflect UBS’s dedication to supporting the communities where it operates, as well as a philosophy of working collaboratively with its clients to deliver the customized solutions that help them pursue their goals.
Biographical information on Mitsuko Uchida follows.
* * *
Ticket Prices: (Add $5 for Saturday): Orchestra: $66, $44; Dress Circle: $87, $51; Balcony: $66, $51, $31.
Ticket Services
The Severance Hall Ticket Office is located in the Smith Lobby. The entrance and 15-minute Ticket Service parking are along East Boulevard.
Severance Hall Ticket Office Hours
M-F 9-6
Sat. 10-6
Closed Sundays and major holidays, except for those days with performances, when the Ticket Office opens three hours prior to the performance start time.
To charge tickets by telephone on American Express, Discover Card, MasterCard, and Visa, call Cleveland Orchestra Ticket Services at (216) 231-1111 (Cleveland) or 800-686-1141 during the regular ticket office hours listed above. Subscriptions and single tickets are also available online.
Free Concert Previews
Concert Previews will be given in Reinberger Chamber Hall prior to the April 15 and 17 concerts, beginning at 7:00 p.m., and prior to the April 18 concert, at 2:00 p.m. The Previews, titled “Mozart and the Concerto,” will be given by Michael Strasser, professor of musicology at Baldwin-Wallace College. Concert Previews are designed to enrich the concert-going experience by providing historical background and critical insight into the music performed at each concert. This series is funded by a generous endowment gift from Dorothy Humel Hovorka.
Parking
For evening subscription concerts at Severance Hall, parking can be purchased for $10 per vehicle, when space permits, in the Campus Center Garage (the underground garage located directly behind Severance Hall). Pre-paid parking for the Campus Center Garage can be purchased in advance through the Ticket Office at the cost of $14 per concert (this includes City of Cleveland parking tax and handling fee). The pre-paid parking ensures patrons a parking space, but availability of these pre-paid parking passes is limited.
For further information, or to order pre-paid parking, patrons should call the Cleveland Orchestra Ticket Office during regular office hours at (216) 231-1111 or 800-686-1141. Pre-paid parking passes are also available online.
Calendar Listings
Thursday, April 15, at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 17, at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 18, at 3:00 p.m.
Severance Hall
THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA
MITSUKO UCHIDA, conductor and piano
MOZART Divertimento, K. 136
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20, K. 466
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 27, K. 595
Ticket Prices: $31-$92 – Call (216) 231-1111 or 800-686-1141, or order online at clevelandorchestra.com
Season Sponsor: UBS
Concert Sponsor: Parker Hannifin Corporation
Guest Artist Fund: Dr. and Mrs. Sam I. Sato
Concert Previews, in Reinberger Chamber Hall beginning one hour before concert time: “Mozart and the Concerto”
Preview Speaker: Michael Strasser, professor of musicology at Baldwin-Wallace College
* * *
Contacts: Jennifer Schlosser, (216) 231-7518; Email: jschlosser@clevelandorchestra.com
Ana Papakhian, Office: (216) 231-7476; Cell phone: (216) 370-2595; Email: anap@clevelandorchestra.com
Mitsuko Uchida
Mitsuko Uchida’s interpretations of a wide range of repertoire have gained her a formidable reputation as a pianist who brings intellectual acuity and musical insight to her performances. She is particularly noted for her interpretations of Mozart and Schubert, both in the concert hall and on CD, and also has illuminated the music of Berg, Schoenberg, Webern, and Boulez.
Ms. Uchida made her Cleveland Orchestra debut in February 1990, and has since performed with the Orchestra at Severance Hall, at the Blossom Festival, and on tour to Europe and Japan. She made her Cleveland Orchestra conducting debut in March 1998. From 2002 to 2007, she served as artist-in-residence with the Orchestra, and performed a cycle of Mozart’s piano concertos, conducting from the keyboard. Ms. Uchida’s most recent appearances with the Orchestra were in October 2009 performances of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, at Severance Hall and on tour in Luxembourg and Vienna, Franz Welser-Möst conducting. During the Orchestra’s upcoming Tokyo Residency in November 2010, she will perform Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 27, conducting from the keyboard, and again perform as soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst.
During recent seasons, Mitsuko Uchida has been giving performances of Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas, and Opus numbers 101 and 106 (“Hammerklavier”), including a critically acclaimed performance at Royal Festival Hall in London.
Mitsuko Uchida performs throughout the world with many different musical partners. In March 2009, she toured Europe with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen, as soloist in the Schoenberg Piano Concerto. In addition to appearing as a regular guest artist at both the Salzburg Mozartwoche and the Salzburg Festival, she gave concerts in 2009 with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Hagen Quartet and performed in recital with soprano Magdalena Kožená. This season, Ms. Uchida continues her focus on Beethoven; she performed all five of his piano concertos with Simon Rattle during a month’s residency with the Berlin Philharmonic in February 2010. In addition to giving solo recitals in Paris, New York, and Tokyo, she toured with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and appeared in all-Mozart concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In June, she will appear at the Vienna Festival with Pierre Boulez and the Ensemble Intercontemporain, performing Berg’s Chamber Concerto with violinist Christian Tetzlaff. Also this season, she embarks on a recording project of solo piano works by Schumann.
Mitsuko Uchida records exclusively for Decca, and her recordings include the complete Mozart piano sonatas and piano concertos; the complete Schubert piano sonatas; Debussy’s Etudes; the five Beethoven piano concertos with Kurt Sanderling; a CD of Mozart Sonatas for Piano and Violin with Mark Steinberg, Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin with Ian Bostridge for EMI; the final five Beethoven piano sonatas; and the 2008 recording of Berg’s Chamber Concerto with the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez, and Christian Tetzlaff. Ms. Uchida’s 2001 recording of the Schoenberg Piano Concerto with Pierre Boulez and The Cleveland Orchestra won four awards, including one from Gramophone for “best concerto recording.” In April 2008, BBC Music Magazine presented its Instrumentalist of the Year and Disc of the Year awards to Ms. Uchida, for her recording of Beethoven’s Sonatas Opus 101 and 106. Ms. Uchida’s recording with The Cleveland Orchestra, as solo pianist and conductor of the Mozart Piano Concertos Nos. 23 and 24, recorded live in concert at Severance Hall in December 2008, was released in October 2009.
Mitsuko Uchida has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to aiding the development of young musicians and is a trustee of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. She is also co-director, with Richard Goode, of the Marlboro Music Festival. In June 2009, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
