December 20, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore…Guest Conductor Paolo Carignani makes his first appearance with the Oregon Symphony conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, in a concert that also features Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concertante” with soloists Assistant Concertmaster Peter Frajola, and Principal Violist Joël Belgique on Feb. 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. This concert is funded by a grant from the E. Nakamichi Foundation and the Jackson Foundation and is sponsored by RV Kuhns, with media support provided by The Oregonian.
Carignani’s guest appearance in Portland is only his second with an American symphony orchestra. He is currently the General Director of the Frankfurt Opera and the Frankfurt Museum Orchestra, and has conducted extensively throughout Europe. Known for his work as an opera conductor, Carignani has appeared with some of the world’s most prestigious operas: the Vienna State Opera; Paris Opera Bastille; Deutsche Opera Berlin; Munich State Opera; Zurich Opera; Oslo Opera; and Rossini Festival in Pesaro. He has also conducted at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Gran Theatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and in Macerata, Martina Franca, Rome, Bologna, Genoa, Palermo and Naples. This season, in addition to his debut in Oregon, Carignani will make his first appearance with the Royal Opera Covent Garden in London, where he will conduct “La Traviata.”
This all-Viennese concert features some of the greatest works composed in that musical city over the past three centuries. The Eighth Symphony gives free rein to Beethoven’s sense of humor, with its lightning-fast tempi and short, sparkling melodies. Schönberg’s “Five Pieces for Orchestra,” composed in 1909 and revised in 1949, is a study in orchestral colors and timbres. For one remarkable movement the composer invented the term “klangfarbenmelodie (tone-color-melody),” alluding to the unique distribution of the melody between diverse instruments.
The Symphony has performed the Sinfonia Concertante a number of times over the years, often with soloists drawn from the orchestra’s ranks. Frajola and Belgique are both looking forward to the opportunity to perform this well-known work. “There’s no greater challenge and no greater sense of accomplishment that working on and performing Mozart,” said Belgique. He and Frajola are planning to perform a cadenza that isn’t written in the original score. Frajola explains, “We heard it off a New York Philharmonic recording from 1943 with John Corigliano, concertmaster of the Philharmonic from 1943-1966 and father of composer John Corigliano, and violist William Lincer. We’re really looking forward to bringing it to life.”
Oregon Symphony Classical concerts regularly include additional opportunities for listeners to learn more about the music and the orchestra. These activities include:
Assistant Principal Violist Charles Noble will lead a discussion one hour before the concert of the works to be performed. Media support for “Pre-Concert Talks” is provided by Classical Millennium.
Conductor James DePreist will speak briefly from the podium in “Saturday Interactive.” Media support for “Saturday Interactive” is provided by KINKfm102.
Audience members are invited to stay for a 15-20 minute panel discussion with Symphony staff and guest artists. Media support for “Sunday Post-Concert Discussion” is provided by KBPS Classical 89.9 FM.
Performances are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Monday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets range in price from $16 to $72 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets (503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony’s Web site at .www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.
Paolo Carignani has been General Music Director of the Frankfurt Opera since September 1999. During his debut season his productions included “The Flying Dutchman,” “Manon Lescaut,” “Le Nozze di Figaro” and “Il Trovatore.” He is also Musical Director of the Frankfurt Museum Orchestra and performs a series of concerts each season at the Alte Oper.
Born in Milan in 1961, Mr. Carignani studied organ, piano and composition with Niccolo Castiglioni and conducting with Alceo Galliera at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan.
Mr. Carignani has appeared at the Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera Bastille, Deutsche Opera Berlin, Munich State Opera, Zurich Opera, Oslo Opera and Rossini Festival in Pesaro. He has also conducted at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Gran Theatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and in Macerata, Martina Franca, Rome, Bologna, Genoa, Palermo and Naples.
His symphonic engagements have included the Deutsche Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, and the Radio Symphony Orchestras of Vienna and Cologne.
In 2001 he made his very successful North American debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and he was immediately invited to return for the 2002-03 season. He made his debut with the San Francisco Opera for “Tosca” in the fall of 2001. Last season he conducted “Don Giovanni,” Henze’s “Das Verratene Meer,” “Salome,” “Tosca” and “Die Meistersinger” at the Frankfurt Opera. He also led a concert performance of Verdi’s “Les Vepres Siciliennes” with the Radio Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His repertoire with the Frankfurt Museum Orchestra includes Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, Zemlinsky’s Symphony No. 1, Debussy’s “La Mer” and “Trois Images” and Ravel’s “Scheherazade.”
This season at the Frankfurt Opera he conducts “Nabucco,” Schubert’s “Fierrabras,” Meyerbeer’s “Les Hugenots,” “La Traviata,” “Tristan und Isolde” and “Manon.” Mr. Carignani also debuts with the Royal Opera Covent Garden with “La Traviata” and with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Carignani’s recordings include “Nabucco,” Donizetti’s “Parisina d’Este,” and Ricci’s “Crispano e la Comare.”
Mr. Carignani received the Prince of Wales critics’ prize for conducting “Le Nozze di Figaro” at the 1991 Festival dei Due Mondi at Spoleto, Italy. In 1996 he conducted the concert for the 50th anniversary of the Italian Republic in Rome.
Peter Frajola, Associate Concertmaster, joined the Oregon Symphony as the Assistant Concertmaster in 1984. He attended the University of Oregon for two years on the Ruth Close Scholarship and was a Murdock Scholar at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music degree. He went on to become the Assistant Concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra and the Co-Concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony before coming to Portland. He has also played in the Eugene, Marin, and San Francisco Opera orchestras.
Mr. Frajola’s solo performances have been with the Salem Youth Orchestra, Salem Junior Symphony, Music in May Orchestra, University of Oregon Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, San Francisco Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, Central Oregon Symphony (Bend), Willamette Community Orchestra, the Little Orchestra of Portland, and frequently with the Oregon Symphony.
Peter’s first teachers were his parents, also members of the Oregon Symphony, Lajos Balogh, Lawrence Maves of the University of Oregon, David Abel of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and he has played for Dorothy DeLay and Henryk Szerying.
Joël Belgique joined the Oregon Symphony as principal violist in 1997. Before coming to Portland, Belgique played with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra for several seasons. He has participated in several music festivals as principal violist throughout his career, including Interlochen’s National Music Camp in Michigan, Round Top Music Festival in Texas, National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado and the Spoleto “Festival dei due Mondi” in Italy. He has also performed with the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, California, the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the Festival of the Lakes in Alexandria, Minnesota. His performances in Minnesota have been broadcast on radio for Minnesota Public Radio, and at the Grand Teton Music festival he was invited to perform a chamber music recital with violinist Elmar Olivera.
Raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, by French parents, Belgique studied viola with Mikhail Boguslavsky before attending the Interlochen Arts Academy. His viola studies went on to include undergraduate work at the Eastman School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music with renowned viola pedagogue Heidi Castleman. He later continued with distinguished violists Clyn Barrus and David Dalton at Brigham Young University where he received his Masters Degree in Performance and Pedagogy. Belgique has appeared as soloist with several orchestras including the National Repertory Orchestra, the Utah Symphony with conductor Joseph Silverstein, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, and the Oregon Symphony.
In Portland, Belgique is active in chamber music performance including several concerts in the Chamber Music on Tap series at the Bridgeport Brewpub, and as a guest with the Ethos Quartet and Third Angle. He is a member of the new music group Fear no Music. Belgique is on the faculty of Portland State University and also maintains a private studio.
In June of 2002, Belgique participated in the International Viola Congress in Seattle by leading the Oregon Symphony's viola section in an ensemble piece, co-leading a read-through of the “Brandenburg Concerto No. 6” with principal violist of the Seattle Symphony Susan Gulkis, and performing with his Oregon Symphony stand partner, Charles Noble.