The University of Georgia Performing Arts Center will present the Nordwest Deutsche Philharmonic, one of Germany’s leading orchestras, on March 7 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. Principal Conductor Eugene Tzigane will lead the NDP in a program featuring Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Brahms’s Symphony No. 1 and Victor Herbert’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with cellist Amit Peled.
For more than 60 years, the Nordwest Deutsche Philharmonic has been an integral part of concert life in northwestern Germany. The orchestra also serves as a significant cultural ambassador for the region through its performances across Europe and around the world. The NDP has recently enjoyed successful tours of Denmark, Austria, Holland, Italy, France and Spain, in addition to Japan and the U.S. The Philharmonic boasts an extensive discography with more than 100 recordings to its credit.
In 2010, Tzigane, an American, was named principal conductor of the NDP. Born in Tokyo and raised in California, Maestro Tzigane has quickly established himself as a sought-after young artist. He was the grand prizewinner of the International Fitelberg Competition for Conductors in Poland as well as winner of the second prize at both the International Sir Georg Solti Competition in Chicago and the International Lovro von Matačić Competition in Zagreb.
Tzigane holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the Juilliard School, where he studied with James DePreist as the recipient of the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship. He finished his formal studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and was awarded the Franz Berwald Memorial Scholarship.
Israeli cellist Peled has performed as a soloist with orchestras in the world’s major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London and Konzerthaus in Berlin. Following his performance of the Hindemith Cello Concerto at Alice Tully Hall, the New York Times wrote of Peled’s playing: “…glowing tone, a seductive timbre and an emotionally pointed approach to phrasing that made you want to hear him again.”
Peled has been featured on television and radio stations throughout the world, including NPR’s Performance Today, WGBH Boston, WQXR New York, Deutschland Radio Berlin, Radio France, Swedish National Radio and TV, and Israeli National Radio and TV. Peled is a professor at the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University.
Vanessa Tome, a Ph.D. candidate in musicology at UGA, will deliver a pre-concert lecture 45 minutes prior to the NDP performance. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Tickets for the NDP concert are $20 – $44, with special discounts for UGA students. Tickets can be purchased online at pac.uga.edu or by calling the Performing Arts Center box office at 706/542-4400 or toll free at 888/289-8497.
The underwriter for the performance is Caroline D. Strobel.
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Note to editors: An image of the Nordwest Deutsche Philharmonic Orchestra is available for download at http://multimedia.uga.edu/media/images/Nordweste.jpg.
An image of Principal Conductor Eugene Tzigane is available for download at http://multimedia.uga.edu/media/images/Tzigane_Edward.jpg.
