NEPA Philharmonic offers choice of three shows this week
Thanks to unprecedented competition for entertainment dollars and severe cuts to arts funding, this past decade has been a painful one for arts organizations. The bright side of the financial struggle is unbelievable deals for ticket buyers as orchestras, theaters and dance companies bend over backward to make their programs attractive to wider audiences and the next generation.
Fans of musical genius Ludwig van Beethoven have a choice of three different opportunities to experience two different programs by the 18th century composer this weekend.
The Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic welcomes internationally-acclaimed pianist Jon Nakamatsu back to the local stage this weekend for a Chamber Music Concert performance at The Mellow Theater in Scranton on Thursday and a Masterworks Concert with the full orchestra at the F.M. Kirby Center on Saturday. Hosted by Maestro Lawrence Loh, Thursday’s concert will begin with the flirtatious Trio for Piano, Clarinet and Cello, Opus 11, boasting playful melodies typical of the composer that sneak up and squeeze your heart from behind, then dance away to swirl quietly for a moment before demanding your attention and engagement. The program will also feature a performance of Sonata in A Major for Cello and Piano, Opus 69. Tickets are $26.50 or $16.50 for students. The show is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Jon Nakamatsu has been studying piano since age six and has released nine albums. A graduate of Stanford University, he has played in Warsaw, Paris, London, Beijing, Tokoyo and Vancouver, at the White House, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington. He has performed as soloist for orchestras in Dallas, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, among others. New York Times music critic Allan Kozinn has praised his “gentle, introspective, interpretive spirit” describing his performance at an April 2011 recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as “elegant,” “dazzling, “supple, and “poetic.” Visit www.jonnakamatsu.com for more information.
Saturday’s full orchestra program Nakamatsu Performs Beethoven will feature the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 4 as well as Creatures of Prometheus Overture and the “virtuosic” Symphony No. 2 under the direction of Loh. The music director will lecture about the program at a pre-concert reception gallery level at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $28 to $60 or are only $15 for students. Admission to an open rehearsal at 6:30 p.m. at the Kirby Center on Friday is free of charge. Call 341-1568 for tickets or visit www.nepaphil.org for additional details.
— alicia grega
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