World-acclaimed Israeli Pianist Roman Rabinovich returns to perform Prokofiev’s explosive Piano Concerto No. 3, described by the composer as “devilishly difficult.” Dvořák’s emotional profound Seventh Symphony concludes the concert as a personal reflection on grief and joy.
Masterworks IV is sponsored by
Sonder Financial Strategies, Rocky Mountain Title Guaranty, and Jeanne & Ron Baldwin
ROMAN RABINOVICH, Piano
Praised by The New York Times for his “uncommon sensitivity and feeling”, the eloquent young pianist Roman Rabinovich was top prizewinner of the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Israel in 2008. He made his Israel Philharmonic debut under Zubin Mehta at the age of 10, and has since appeared as a soloist throughout Europe and the United States, most recently with orchestras including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Sir Roger Norrington, the Meiningen Hofkapelle, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra and Szczecin Philharmonic in Europe, and the Seattle Symphony, the Sarasota Orchestra, Des Moines Symphony, the Sinfonia Boca Raton in the U.S.
He has given recitals in Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Centre in New York, the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, the Cité de la Musique in Paris, and the Terrace Theater of Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and has participated in festivals including Marlboro, Lucerne, Davos, Prague Spring, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. An avid chamber musician, he is also a regular guest at ChamberFest Cleveland. Through the 2020-21 global pandemic, Rabinovich and his wife, violinist Diana Cohen, gave a very successful series of free weekly concerts from their front yard in Calgary.
Mr. Rabinovich has earned critical praise for his explorations of the piano music of Haydn. At the 2018 Bath Festival, he presented a 10-recital, 42-sonata series, earning praise in The Sunday Times. Prior to that, in 2016 as artist in Residence at the Lammermuir Festival in Scotland, he performed 25 Haydn sonatas in 5 days, and he has also performed a complete sonata cycle in Tel Aviv. His recording projects include the complete sonatas for First Hand Records, the with the second volume released in July 2021.
DVOŘÁK’S SYMPHONY NO. 7
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 was the first of his nine symphonies to capture and hold public approval (although his first four symphonies were not published in his lifetime). Even though Dvořák’s From the New World Symphony (Symphony No. 9) remains the most loved of his nine, the Seventh is arguably his finest artistic achievement. “It remains unsurpassed among Dvořák’s works for profundity of conception and consummate craftsmanship,” states musicologist Beth Fleming. “The development in inspiration and mastery that it shows is one of those miracles of creative progress that can only be explained in terms of genius rather than logic.”
The new work could hardly have been more different from Dvořák’s wonderfully optimistic Sixth Symphony. The early 1880s were very turbulent for Dvořák; in fact, he called this period a time “of doubt and obstinacy, silent sorrow and resignation.” His mother had died in 1882, and he was quite stressed over the steady mental decline of Bedřich Smetana, the founding father of modern Czech music, who eventually died in 1884. Furthermore, Dvořák was anxious over the recent success of his own career,
where he felt pressured to turn from a provincial composer into a more prominently noted artist. As a result, Dvořák sub-titled the Seventh Symphony “From Sad Years,” and today it is often referred to as “The Tragic.”
MASTERWORKS SERIES PRESENTED BY AARP MONTANA
The Helena Symphony continues its partnership with AARP to bring exceptional symphonic music to thousands across western Montana. As the Masterworks Series presented by AARP Montana, this continued collaboration supports audiences within the concert hall, bringing the highest quality symphonic performances and guest artists to Helena. The Helena Symphony is grateful for the generosity of the entire AARP Montana team!
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See below for Season concert listing.
Maestro Scott, guest artists, and Director of Patron Services Scott Kall are available for interviews by contacting the Symphony at 406.442.1860 or [email protected]