April 8th concert will also feature works composed by Still, Debussy and Ravel
One of the most versatile, highly respected and best-reviewed artists of her generation, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott will be Palm Beach Symphony’s featured soloist in Ludwig van Beethoven’s sublime Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 during the Masterworks Series Concert at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. This performance is generously underwritten by The Impresario Society.
“I first met Anne-Marie when I was a judge at the Young Concert Artists Competition, and she was one of the winners. I was very proud to vote for her,” said Palm Beach Symphony Music Director Gerard Schwarz. “She played the most exquisite Haydn sonata I’d ever heard at that time. She’s a beautiful musician, and I’m very excited to work with her here in Palm Beach.”
For more than 25 years, McDermott has played concertos, recitals and chamber music in hundreds of cities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Music critics shower her with praise, one noting, “Anne-Marie McDermott plays with both technical virtuosity and evident joy. The music comes alive under her fingers.” In addition to several highly successful Artistic Directorships of important festivals and series, McDermott continues her tenure as Artistic Director of the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, which hosts world-renowned artists and orchestras.
Anne-Marie McDermott – Credit Sophie Zhai
Gerard Schwarz headshot – Credit IndieHouse Films
The King’s Academy Jazz Ensemble – Credit Infinite Loop Photography
Known especially for her brilliant interpretations of classical and early romantic repertoire, the breadth of her resume reaches from Bach, Haydn and Beethoven to Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Scriabin to works by today’s most influential composers. McDermott continues to perform with many leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, League of American Composers, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the symphonies of Dallas, Seattle, Houston, Colorado, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Atlanta, San Diego, New Jersey, Columbus and Baltimore. She has also toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Moscow Virtuosi.
McDermott was a longtime member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center with whom she still collaborates and performs. She studied at the Manhattan School of Music and won the Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award for Women, the Young Concert Artists auditions and an Avery Fisher Career Grant.
The orchestra will open the evening with William Grant Still’s Threnody: In Memory of Jean Sibelius, which pays tribute to Scandinavia’s most famous composer and premiered in 1965 at the University of Miami by Fabien Sevitzky.McDermott’s Beethoven piece will follow. After a brief intermission, the visionary landscapes of Claude Debussy’s rich and evocative La mer and Maurice Ravel’s rhapsodic masterpiece Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2, M.57b will bring the concert to a dramatic close.
French Impressionist composers Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy are contemporaries who masterfully used the vehicle of an orchestra to create visionary soundscapes. Both were ever resistant to the confines of normal harmonic practice. Part symphony and part tone poem, Debussy’s innovative La mer (The Sea) is a rich and evocative depiction of the ocean. It is one of the most influential and imaginative works in symphonic literature that has remained an audience favorite since its premiere in 1905.
A trained sailor, Debussy paid homage to the Seine River by naming La mer’s three movements “From Dawn to Noon on the Sea,” “Play of the Waves” and “Dialogue of Wind and the Sea.” “When you hear the first movement, you can envision the sea dramatically changing from the early morning to the middle part of the day, followed by a light scherzo movement and ending with a sense of being enveloped by waves,” Maestro Schwarz said. “The way he combines instruments such as a duet between the muted trumpet and English horn and the combination of percussion with harps creates so much color throughout the piece.”
Ravel’s rhapsodic masterpiece Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 is extracted for concert use from his “Choreographic Symphony in Three Parts” conceived for Ballets Russes (Russian Ballet) with the most famous choreographer of the time, Sergei Diaghilev. Daphnis et Chloé, composed and revised from 1909-1912, employed the largest sized orchestra he would ever require. “This work is famous for an extended flute solo and for the motoristic rhythm in five,” Maestro Schwarz added. “It’s become a standard and is a virtuoso piece for the orchestra.”
Upon entering the Kravis Center lobby, guests will be treated to the joyous sound of The King’s Academy Jazz Ensemble led by Wesley Lowe, Smith Family Conservatory Director of Instrumental Arts.
Additional information about this concert and the “Encore” community concert featuring Kevin Kenner on piano (May 19)is available at PalmBeachSymphony
The Symphony will also present informal and informative Lunch and Learns on Thursday, April 3 and May 15 from noon to 1:30 p.m., hosted by Maestro Schwarz in the Symphony’s conference room located in the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties building, 700 S. Dixie Hwy. in West Palm Beach. Guests will enjoy a three-course gourmet lunch catered by SandyJames Fine Food & Productions and a selection of wines curated by Palm Beach Symphony sponsor Private Cask Imports while deepening their connection with the musicians and performances through a glimpse behind the curtain of how the Symphony prepares for concerts, selects repertoire and more. They will learn about the subject matter and composer that will be performed during the upcoming concert, while enriching their concert experience. Tickets are $125 and complimentary valet parking will be provided.
Additionally, the Symphony is holding a free piano masterclass led by McDermott on Sunday, April 6 from 5-7 p.m. in the Symphony’s conference room located in the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties building, 700 S. Dixie Hwy. in West Palm Beach. Four participants from Lynn Conservatory of Music, Palm Beach Atlantic University and Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts will play works by Ravel, Chopin, J.S. Bach and Beethoven. Auditors are welcome and should arrive by 4:50 p.m., and should RSVP by April 2 to Bryce Seliger, Education & Programming Associate, at bseliger@palmbeachsymphony.
Proud sponsors of Palm Beach Symphony include Cindy and Jerome Canty, Mrs. James N. Bay, Carol and Harold Baxter, C. Kenneth and Laura Baxter Foundation, Inc., JoAnne Berkow, Kathy Lee Bickham and John Bickham, Leslie Rogers Blum, Yvonne S. Boice Trust and Alfred Zucaro, Jeffrey and Tina Bolton, James R. Borynack and Adolfo Zaralegui / FINDLAY Galleries, Jerome J. Claeys, Thomas and Carol Bruce, CIBC Private Wealth, Amy and John Collins, The Colony Hotel, CORPGOV, Suzanne Mott Dansby, The David Minkin Foundation, Michelle DuBois and James Roiter, Jacqueline and Ray K. Farris, Mary and Will Demory, Herbert H. and Barbara C. Dow Foundation, Willard H. Dow and Kelly Winter, Dr. Richard and Diane Farber, Bill and Kem Frick/The Frick Foundation, Inc., Edith Hall Friedheim/Eric Friedheim Foundation, Gerry Gibian and Marjorie Yashar, Paul and Sandra Goldner, Douglas and Jo Gressette, Irwin and Janet Gusman, Walter Harper, Thomas E. Harvey & Cathleen P. Black Foundation, Doris Hastings Foundation, Carol S. and Joseph Andrew Hays, John Herrick, Addison Hines Charitable Trust, George Hines, HSS Florida, IPO Edge, Charles and Ann Johnson/The C and A Johnson Family Foundation, Elaine Kay, Aban and Percy Kavasmaneck, Leonard and Norma Klorfine Foundation, The Kovner Foundation, Gary and Linda Lachman/The Lachman Family Foundation, Patricia Lambrecht/The Lambrecht Family Foundation, Lugano Diamonds, Donald C. McGraw Foundation, The Honorable Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, The McNulty Charitable Foundation, Tish Messinger, David Moscow, Palm Beach Design Masters, Patrick and Milly Park/Park Foundation, Nancy and Ellis J. Parker, III, PNC Private Bank, Lois Pope, Provident Jewelry, Ari Rifkin/The Len-Ari Foundation, Dr. Martha Rodriguez and Dr. Jesus Perez-Mendez, Annette Urso Rickel Foundation, Karen Hunt Rogers, The Honorable Ronald A. Rosenfeld, David Schafer, Seth Sprague Foundation, Robin B. Smith, Kimberly V. Strauss, Dodie and Manley Thaler and the Thaler/Howell Foundation, Don and Mary Thompson, Jerome and Carol Trautschold, Sieglinde Wikstrom/The Wikstrom Foundation, and The Ann Eden Woodward Foundation/James and Judy Woods.
ABOUT PALM BEACH SYMPHONY
Palm Beach Symphony is South Florida’s premier orchestra known for its diverse repertoire and commitment to community. Founded in 1974, this 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization adheres to a mission of engaging, educating, and entertaining the greater community of the Palm Beaches through live performances of inspiring orchestral music. The orchestra is celebrated for delivering spirited performances by first-rate musicians and distinguished guest artists. Recognized by The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County with a 2020 Muse Award for Outstanding Community Engagement, Palm Beach Symphony continues to expand its education and community outreach programs with children’s concerts, student coaching sessions and master classes, instrument donations and free public concerts that have reached more than 75,000 students in recent years. For more information, visit www.palmbeachsymphony.
