Augustin Hadelich’s abundant 2013-14 season has included debuts with the Philadelphia and Oregon Symphony Orchestras, his subscription debuts with the Boston Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic, returns to the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, São Paulo and San Diego (including a tour of China), and solo and chamber music performances stretching from western Canada to continental Europe, South America to Great Britain.

In April, the ever-inquisitive Augustin broadens the spectrum of performance possibilities with the premieres of two multimedia presentations: Tango Song and Dance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.; and mystery sonatas by David Lang at Zankel Hall, commissioned for the composer’s residency at Carnegie Hall. In addition, Augustin makes a return appearance with the Cincinnati Symphony and makes his debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestras.

Tango Song and Dance
Tango Song and Dance, premiering at the Kennedy Center on April 21, is a fusion of a dynamic musical narrative with imaginative light installations. The program was conceived by Hadelich in conjunction with Patricia Handy and stage director Edward Berkeley.

At the musical heart of the multimedia presentation is André Previn’s virtuosic work for violin and piano from which the title is taken, with the three, 5-minute movements forming the pillars of the program. Woven around that framework are pieces by Falla, Ginastera, Piazzolla, Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos and Ysaÿe. Joining Augustin on stage are pianist Joyce Yang and guitarist Pablo Villegas.

On developing the program, Augustin describes the “various connections and resonances between the pieces, and several possibilities for the narrative that emerged.”

Berkeley elaborates, “The first step was to study the emotional connections between and among the instrumental lines in each work. Where do the instruments argue? Where do they agree? Where do they flirt? Where seduce? Where do they celebrate, where despair? The violin and piano in Previn's Tango – which opens the program – seem to be having an emotional problem connecting with each other. There is a struggle. This is the core of the evening, the starting point that cries for resolution.”

“It is then that guitarist Pablo Villegas appears playing Rodrigo’s Invocation and Dance," continues Augustin, “drawing me into his own mysterious world. I join him in five Falla songs, after which the piano explodes jealously in Ginastera’s Danzas Argentinas. Private thoughts are explored in the solo works until a synthesis is found among the violin, piano and guitar. At the end, in Villa-Lobos's gorgeous Bachianas brasileiras No. 5, we finally all play together. It’s a truly beautiful way to end both the narrative and the musical program."

To reinforce the non-verbal narrative, Berkeley asked lighting designer Kate Ashton to create lighting that would further communicate the story. Ed asked that “spaces become smaller and larger to connect and separate the musicians; color and image change to imply the passage of time and further explore the emotional voice of each instrument.” Augustin explains, “The lighting is atmospheric, reinforcing the character and emotional message of each work. In order that the musical content of the recital remain dominant, we decided not to use motion graphics. We want the audience to reflect upon where the pieces take them, and to make their own connections.”

Further details about Tango Song and Dance can be found here.

mystery sonatas
A passionate advocate of new music, Augustin will play the world-premiere of mystery sonatas by David Lang at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall on April 29. Commissioned by Carnegie, mystery sonatas is the culmination of a series of six multi-genre performances curated by Lang, holder of Carnegie’s 2013-14 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair.

The seven-movement, 30-minute work is an homage to the “Rosary Sonatas” by Baroque virtuoso violinist and composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber. Where Biber’s work takes its inspiration from the Christian Rosary, Lang’s work is about the mystery of music itself. The composer comments, “Augustin is an amazing collaborator and he has been super fun to work with. He is smart, open, enthusiastic and excitable, and he can play anything. My piece mystery sonatas is introspective and intricate. It is very, very hard. And Augustin makes it sound great.”

The premiere performance of mystery sonatas will be directed by David Lang and include lighting design by Eric Southern.

Return to Cincinnati, Debut in Detroit
Augustin returns to repertory staples for his performances with the Cincinnati and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. He’ll perform the Mendelssohn concerto in Cincinnati on April 11 and 12, with Juanjo Mena conducting, and the Beethoven concerto with Andrew Litton in Detroit, on April 25 and 27.

Augustin embraces the masterworks of centuries past and contemporary fare in equal measure, often presenting them in striking juxtapositions as he has on his new release pairing the Violin Concertos by Jean Sibelius and Thomas Adès, with Hannu Lintu conducting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (AVIE Records). The recording was praised by The New York Times for Hadelich’s “exciting performance of Thomas Adès’s kaleidoscopic, emotional” Concerto, and “invigorating, passionate rendition of the Sibelius,” while BBC’s Radio 3 noted that the “emotional intensity and rhythmic complexity of the deep dark soundscapes common to both works mean that each work somehow illuminates different aspects of the other ... and it all makes perfect sense.”

Augustin’s growing discography for AVIE demonstrates his flair for imaginative programming. In addition to the Adès and Sibelius, he has recorded Flying Solo, an album of solo masterworks by Bartók, Paganini, Zimmermann and Ysaÿe; Echoes of Paris, juxtaposing works for violin and piano by Debussy, Poulenc, Prokofiev and Stravinsky which received an Editor’s Choice from Gramophone magazine; and Histoire du Tango, with guitarist Pablo Villegas, which confirmed “Hadelich’s place among the most admired violinists of his generation” (The Strad). For Naxos, he has recorded Telemann’s complete Fantasies for solo violin, and Haydn’s complete violin concerti with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra. In June 2014, he will record another intriguing combination of concertos, Bartók’s Second and the Mendelssohn, with Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducting the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (AVIE).

Among Augustin’s numerous awards and prizes are the 2012 Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center (having been nominated by the New York Philharmonic and Music Director Alan Gilbert), the Gold Medal at the 2006 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2009, and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in 2010.

Born in Italy to German parents, Augustin Hadelich holds an artist diploma from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Joel Smirnoff. He plays on the 1723 “Ex-Kiesewetter” Stradivari violin, on loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society.

* * * * *

For further information, image or interview requests please contact Melanne Mueller,
MusicCo International, +1 917 907 2785 or +44 (0) 20 8698 6933, melanne@musiccointernational.com

For further information about Augustin Hadelich, please visit www.augustin-hadelich.com 

CONCERT INFORMATION
Friday, April 11, 2014 – 8:00 pm
Saturday, April 12, 2014 – 8:00 pm
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Juanjo Mena conductor

Music Hall
1241 Elm Street?
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
www.cincinnatisymphony.org

Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Also on the program:
Pierne Overture to Ramuntcho
Ginastera Panambí

Monday, April 21, 2014 – 7:30 pm
Tango Song and Dance

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Terrace Theater
2700 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20566
www.kennedy-center.org

Previn Tango 1, 2
Rodrigo Invocación y Danza (homage to Manuel de Falla) 3
Falla Canciones Populares Españolas 1, 3
Ginastera Danzas Argentinas 2
*intermission*
Previn Song 1, 2
Piazzolla Histoire du Tango 1, 3
Ysaÿe Sonata for Solo Violin No. 6 E Major, Op. 27/6 1
Previn Dance 1, 2
Villa-Lobos (arr. by Stefan Malzew) Bachianas brasileiras No. 5 – Aria 1, 2, 3

Augustin Hadelich violin 1
Joyce Yang piano 2
Pablo Villegas guitar 3
Edward Berkeley creative director
Kate Ashton lighting design
Patricia Handy artistic advisor

Friday, April 25, 2014 – 10:45 am and 8:00 pm
Sunday, April 27, 2014 – 3:00 pm
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Litton conductor

Max M. Fisher Music Center
3711 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48201
www.dso.org

Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
Also on the program:
Mozart Overture to The Magic Flute
Prokofiev Symphony No. 6 

Tuesday, April 29, 2014 – 6:00 pm
Carnegie’s Zankel Hall
881 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10019
www.carnegiehall.org

David Lang mystery sonatas for solo violin *
Also on the program:
John Cage Indeterminacy, 27'10.554" for a Percussionist

David Lang director
Eric Southern lighting design

* world-premiere performance, commissioned by Carnegie Hall