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March 06, 2012

Joshua Bell Makes N.Y. Debut as Music Director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Great Performers

March 6, 2012

Contact: Eva Chien, 212.875.5049

echien@lincolncenter.org


JOSHUA BELL MAKES NY DEBUT AS MUSIC DIRECTOR

OF THE ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS

APRIL 11 IN AVERY FISHER HALL


Lincoln Center’s Great Performers presents the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under new Music Director Joshua Bell in an all-Beethoven program on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 8pm in Avery Fisher Hall. Featuring the Overture to Coriolan, Symphony No.4 in B-flat major, Op.60, and the Violin Concerto in D major, Op.61, the New York debut of Bell leading the acclaimed chamber orchestra is part of an extensive 15-city US tour. The 44-year-old violinist, the first American and the first person to hold this position since Sir Neville Marriner founded the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in 1958, made his first concerto recording with the ensemble under Marriner at the age of 18.


Often overlooked in favor of the more popular “Eroica” and Fifth Symphonies which surround it chronologically, the Fourth Symphony remains one of Beethoven’s least known and performed works. Beethoven was already at work on his immortal Fifth Symphony when he received a commission from the Count Franz von Oppersdorf to compose a new symphony. His serene Fourth Symphony premiered in Vienna in 1807 in a series of all-Beethoven concerts that also included the Overture to Coriolan, a German play by Beethoven’s friend Heinrich Joachim von Collin.


Tickets start at $45 and are for sale online at LCGreatPerformers.org. They are also available by calling CenterCharge at 212-721-6500 or by visiting the Avery Fisher Hall box office on Broadway and 65th Street. Note: Ticket prices are subject to change.


A familiar face at Lincoln Center, Joshua Bell’s playing has been described as “Pure Bliss!” by the Associated Press and “dazzling” by Gramophone Magazine. Named the 2010 Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America, he most recently appeared at Lincoln Center on August 5 and 6 as part of the Mostly Mozart Festival and in January 2011 at Alice Tully Hall as part of the Great Performers series in a recital with pianist Sam Haywood. In 2010 Bell performed in his fifth Live From Lincoln Center broadcast, “Joshua Bell and Friends at the Penthouse,” returning in summer 2010 as soloist with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra under the baton of Louis Langrée.


An exclusive Sony Classical recording artist, Bell’s newest album “French Impressions,” with pianist Jeremy Denk, released in January 2012 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Chart. The album includes repertoire by Ravel, Saint-Saëns and Franck and is Bell’s first sonata recording for the Sony Classical label. The New York Times calls Bell’s performance “as trim and focused as ever,” while The Guardian hails the album as “a first essential purchase for 2012.”


Among Joshua Bell’s many honors are the coveted Avery Fisher Prize, profiles in The New York Times, Newsweek and A&E’s Biography on PBS, and a Presidential invitation to perform at the White House. He plays the 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius violin and uses a late 18th century bow by Francois Tourte.


The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is renowned as one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world, performing as many as 15 tours each season and giving some 100 concerts around the world each year. Founded by a group of London musicians in 1958, in 1993 the Academy became the first and only orchestra to be awarded the Queens’ Award for Export. Since the first collaboration with Joshua Bell in 1986 for a recording of violin concertos by Bruch and Mendelssohn, the partnership has grown over the past 25 years, resulting in critically-acclaimed recordings and electrifying concerts around the world.


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BNY Mellon is a Proud Sponsor of Great Performers.


Support for Great Performers is provided by Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser, The Shubert Foundation, ArtsVision, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Logicworks, The E. Nakamichi Foundation, Great Performers Circle, Chairman’s Council, and Friends of Lincoln Center.


Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.


Endowment support for Symphonic Masters is provided by the Leon Levy Foundation.


Endowment support is also provided by UBS.


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Movado is an Official Sponsor of Lincoln Center.


United Airlines is the Official Airline of Lincoln Center.


WABC-TV is the Official Broadcast Partner of Lincoln Center.


William Hill Estate Winery is the Official Wine of Lincoln Center.


Great Performers is a presentation of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA), which serves three primary roles: presenter of superb artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. As a presenter of some 5,000 programs and events annually, LCPA’s offerings include American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival, White Light Festival, and Live From Lincoln Center. In addition, LCPA is leading a series of major capital projects, now nearly complete, on behalf of the resident organizations across the campus.


Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, call the Department of Programs and Services for People with Disabilities at (212) 875-5375.


LINCOLN CENTER GREAT PERFORMERS


Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 8 PM

Avery Fisher Hall

Joshua Bell, violin and director

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

All-Beethoven Program

Overture to Coriolan, Op. 62

Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61


Tickets start at $45 and are for sale online at LCGreatPerformers.org. They are also available by calling CenterCharge at 212-721-6500 or by visiting the Avery Fisher Hall box office on Broadway and 65th Street. Note: Ticket prices are subject to change.


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