Riverside County Philharmonic

"Heroes of the People"

Guest Artist: Roman Rabinovich, Piano

Beethoven "Fidelio Overture"
Prokofiev "Piano Concerto #5"
Sibelius "Symphony #2"

All three composers on tonight's program were heroes to their people. Beethoven's revolutionary spirit and his bold compositions, such as the Overture to Fidelio, made him a hero to the Viennese people, to the ideals of Romanticism and to the world. His funeral was attended by an estimated 20,000 people.

The first time the name Finland was ever mentioned in print was at the world premiere of one of the symphonies of Sibelius. His country was new, and he became a hero and spokesman for it. His 2nd Symphony is one of his most famous works, and it brings to mind images of the grandness and beauty of the Finish landscape.

Considered at times hero of the people (and at others an enemy of the state) by the communist regime, Prokofiev was one of the most imaginative composers of his time, creating a new, unique musical language that captured the passionate voice of old Russia in the new ridiculous Soviet world. We will be joined by internationally renowned pianist Roman Rabinovich, who will perform Prokofiev's rarely heard and fiendishly difficult 5th Piano Concerto - one of the wildest and most virtuosic piano pieces ever written.

Roman Rabinovich has been described by the San Francisco Classical Voice as "a pianist whose mature, self-assured playing belies his chronological age." He was the top prizewinner of the 2008 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, and also won 1st prize at the Animato and the Arjil Piano Competitions in Paris and the 'Vendome Virtuosi' prize.

At the age of 10, Rabinovich made his Israel Philharmonic debut under the baton of Zubin Mehta. He returned to perform with the IPO and Zubin Mehta in 1999 and 2003. He has also performed as a soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Ann Arbor Symphony, Delaware Symphony and recently toured Italy with the Camerata Jerusalem. He has performed solo and chamber recitals at such prestigious venues as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Paris' Salle Cortot, the Mann Auditorium in Tel-Aviv, Carnegie's Weill Hall, New York's Metropolitan Museum, the Millennium Stage of Washington DC's Kennedy Center, Lucerne Festival, and most recently at Chicago Cultural Hall, the Embassy Series in Washington (with Lorenzo Gatto) and and the People's Symphony Concerts in New York (with Daniel Hope).