In Saturday’s (1/31) Buffalo News, Mary Kunz Goldman previews the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2015-16 season. She reports that Music Director JoAnn Falletta, Executive Director Dan Hart, and board member Cindy Abbot Letro went to Finland “exploring ways to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Kleinhans Music Hall, designed by Finnish architects Elio and Eero Saarinen, and the 150th birthday anniversary of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.… And next fall, after an opening gala featuring pianist Lang Lang, the season will dawn with a two-concert Northern Lights Festival.” Repertoire for 2015-16 will include “two Sibelius symphonies, Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony. The season culminates with a June 2016 performance of Richard Strauss’ massive ‘Alpine’ Symphony.” Scheduled pianists include Andre Watts, Beatrice Rana, Conrad Tao, and Juho Pohjonen. “The dynamic young ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro will be playing [the] Ukelele Concerto by Byron Yasui. Bulgarian-American violinist Bella Hristova … will be playing Max Bruch’s ‘Scottish Fantasy.’ And the BPO’s own principal violist, Valerie Heywood, takes a rare turn in the spotlight in Mozart’s sublime Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola.” Pops artists will include trumpeter Chris Botti, vocalist Dee Daniels, comedian Jason Alexander, “lounge band” Pink Martini, and “song-and-dance man Eric Jordan Young, a Buffalo native.”
Posted February 3, 2015
