ARTISTS:

Honolulu Symphony Beethoven Festival: The Violin Concerto 
Honolulu Symphony Orchestra 
Andreas Delfs, conductor 
Robert McDuffie, violin 
                          

CONCERT:

ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY! 
Special Matinee: Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 4 p.m.  
Blaisdell Concert Hall 
   

PROGRAM:

BEETHOVEN: Overture to Fidelio 
BEETHOVEN: Concerto for Violin in D 
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7 in A 
 

TICKETS:

$20, $34, $49, $59, $82 (including service fees) 
Tickets sold at Ticketmaster outlets (1‐877‐750‐4400), Macy’s and www.ticketmaster.com 
Call the Box Office at (808) 792‐2000 (weekdays) or (808) 524-0815 ext. 245 (evenings) for more information. 
www.honolulusymphony.com 
 
Honolulu – The Honolulu Symphony Beethoven Festival continues with Beethoven’s poetic Violin Concerto and the debut of Grammy‐nominated violinist Robert McDuffie on Sunday, March 29, 2009. McDuffie takes center stage in performance of this riveting concerto that will leave audiences inspired. The Festival’s special matinee performance  begins at 4 p.m. to offer families the opportunity to share Beethoven’s music together. The concert also includes the delightful Overture to Fidelio and the wonderful Seventh Symphony. Tickets start from $20 and are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com.

The San Francisco Chronicle has called McDuffie a “musician of probing intelligence, a violinist of authority, and force of great vitality.” The Chicago Sun Times writes that he “plays with magnetic energy and seeming effortlessness.” His debut performing one of the greatest violin concertos in the repertoire in guaranteed to make a stir in Honolulu. 

Beethoven composed the Violin Concerto at the age of 35, when he had become completely deaf. Its debut in 1806 shed new light on the concerto form and proved to be revolutionary for its genre. It is not simply a showpiece for the soloist, but brings to life the full majesty of the orchestra as well. The Concerto reflects Beethoven’s humanity alongside his strength of character, and the finale is known for its true joyfulness. It had such a strong impact that no composer attempted to write a similar concerto until more than 70 years later, when Brahms composed his only violin concerto in 1878. 

The second of the four Festival concerts continues with the sweet strings, bright brass and energizing rhythm of the Seventh Symphony. More than 195 years since its 1813 debut, the Seventh continues to inspire listeners around the world. With its universal appeal and inspirational atmosphere, the Seventh makes concerts incredibly entertaining. It will dispel anyone’s belief that classical music is “boring.”  
 
The Honolulu Symphony Beethoven Festival concerts, conducted by Maestro Andreas Delfs, will showcase the music of Beethoven in two back‐to‐back weekends in March and April 2009. The Festival gives local residents, as well as tourists, the rare opportunity to experience a cycle of masterworks performed live. Visit www.honolulusymphony.com for more information. 
 
About Robert McDuffie 
Grammy‐nominated violinist Robert McDuffie has appeared as soloist with most of the major orchestras of the world and each year, he returns to Rome as the Co‐Founder and Artistic Director of the Rome Chamber Music Festival.  
 
His 2008–2009 season is highlighted by performances of Miklos Rozsa’s Concerto and Leonard Bernstein’s “Serenade” with the Jerusalem Symphony in Israel and on a 16 city U.S. tour. Future engagements include the premiere of “The American Four Seasons,” a new work by Philip Glass written for McDuffie – the North American premiere with the Toronto Symphony, the European premiere with the London Philharmonic, and the festival premiere in Aspen. He will tour Europe, North America, and Asia, pairing it with Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.” In addition, McDuffie will record both works. 
 
McDuffie’s acclaimed recordings include the violin concertos of Mendelssohn, Bruch, Adams, Glass, Barber, Rozsa, Bernstein, William Schuman, and Viennese favorites.  
 
McDuffie is a Distinguished University Professor of Music at Mercer University in his hometown of Macon, Georgia. The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University had its official opening at the beginning of the 2007–2008 academic year.  
 
McDuffie plays a 1735 Guarneri del Gesu violin, known as the “Ladenburg.” For more information, visit http://www.robertmcduffie.com.

HONOLULU SYMPHONY BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL ALSO INCLUDES: 

 
BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH SYMPHONY: Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 8 p.m.  
Andreas Delfs, conductor; John O’Conor, piano; Ignace Jang, violin; and Yehuda Hanani, cello 
Program: Egmont Overture, Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C “Triple,” Symphony No. 5 in C minor 

Greeted as a revelation, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony will set your pulse racing. Its opening motif introduces a masterpiece that surpasses musical perfection. Then savor the eloquent joys of music making as three great artists combine forces in performance of the dazzling Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano.  

 
THE PASTORAL SYMPHONY: Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 4 p.m. 
Andreas Delfs, conductor and John O’Conor, piano 
Program: Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, Symphony No. 6 in F “Pastoral,” Piano Concerto No. 5 in E‐flat “Emperor” 

John O’Conor returns in performance of the delicate yet impassioned Fifth Piano Concerto, “Emperor.” One of music’s most popular masterworks, the “Emperor” Concerto is a spectacular triumph. Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony is a sweepingly romantic masterpiece brimming with splendid moments. One of only a handful of works that Beethoven named, he christened it the “Pastoral Symphony” or “Recollections of Country Life.” The Sixth not only expresses the beauty of the natural world, but shares a tranquil vision of a day away from it all. 
Generously sponsored by Commercial Data Systems.