One of the oldest orchestras in the United States is the esteemed New Haven Symphony. This organization, which will be celebrating its 116th birthday, begins its new season tomorrow night September 17, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. at Woolsey Hall in New Haven.
The program consists of three major works from the symphonic repertoire including Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor (Unfinished), Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 and William Walton’s Violin Concerto featuring soloistt Kurt Nikkanen. Besides the unusual act of presenting three powerhouse pieces, the Walton Concerto will be recorded live for release next spring on the Nimbus label as part of the NHSO/Beinecke Walton Project. Maestro William Boughton will be conducting Beethoven’s first from a new edition of the Beethoven Symphonies by Jonathan del Mar.
Hartford-born violinist Kurt Nikkanen has been a fixture of the international concert stage for over two decades. He began his violin studies at the age of three and made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of twelve with Camille Saint-Saëns Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso with the New York Symphony; two years later he performed Nicolo Paganini's Concerto No.1 with the New York Philharmonic for a Young People's Concert under the baton of Zubin Mehta. In 1986 he gained his Bachelors Degree from the Juilliard School where he was a scholarship student of Dorothy DeLay. He has played with the leading orchestras of the world including the BBC Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic the San Francisco Symphony, etc.
The icing on the cake for this event will be the Blue Danube Waltz by the popular Johann Strauss.
