Fire & Ice: Shostakovich & Sibelius
Ana Sokolović masterfully weaves together intricate rhythms, lush harmonies, and striking contrasts in her Concerto for Orchestra, followed by Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto, with its haunting and expressive melodies embodying the fiery resilience of the human spirit, and Sibelius’s First Symphony, evoking scenes of snowy Finnish landscapes and the quiet strength of winter.
Travel Advisory (November 16)
We are anticipating an increase in traffic in the area due to the Taylor Swift concert at Rogers Centre, which could impact your arrival time for your concert. We encourage you to consider taking transit or adding additional travel time to ensure you don’t miss a moment of this concert. Please review the City of Toronto advisory and road closure information.
Program
Program NotesAna Sokolović
Concerto for Orchestra
Shostakovich
Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 99
Intermission
Sibelius
Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39
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Performers
Gustavo Gimeno
Julian Rachlin
Julian Rachlin is Music Director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. He also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and as Principal Artistic Partner of the Royal Northern Sinfonia. With a career spanning more than 30 years, Rachlin has taken his multi-faceted interests across the globe as a conductor, soloist, chamber musician, teacher, and artistic director. His critically acclaimed recordings have been released by Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, and Warner Classics.
Rachlin is a much sought-after symphonic guest conductor worldwide. Highlights of recent seasons include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Israel Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Helsinki Philharmonic, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
As a violinist, he has shared the stage with the world's most prestigious orchestras and conductors. Recent highlights include appearances with the Oslo Philharmonic and Klaus Mäkelä, Philharmonia Orchestra with Santtu-Matias Rouvali, National Symphony Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda, Munich Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta, St. Petersburg Philharmonic with Yuri Temirkanov, Boston Symphony, Filarmonica della Scala, RAI National Symphony with Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and Pittsburgh Symphony with Manfred Honeck.
Rachlin’s music festivals reflect his passion for bringing audiences together in a celebration of music and art. He frequently collaborates with longtime musical partners Martha Argerich, Evgeny Kissin, Janine Jansen, and Mischa Maisky. His work and dedication to Julian Rachlin & Friends, a festival in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which ran for over a decade, received worldwide recognition. Rachlin has been artistic director of the Herbstgold Festival at the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria, since 2021.
Rachlin plays a 1704 “ex-Liebig” Stradivarius and a 1785 Lorenzo Storioni viola, courtesy of Dkfm Angelika Prokopp Privatstiftung.