Jan. 12-13: Pianist Simone Dinnerstein is Soloist with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra Performing Concertos of J.S. Bach and Philip Glass Conducted by Michael Butterman
Photo by Lisa Marie Mazzucco available in high resolution at: www.jensenartists.com/artists-profiles/simone-dinnerstein
GRAMMY-nominated Pianist Simone Dinnerstein performs as Soloist with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra
In the Piano Concertos of J.S. Bach and Philip Glass
Conducted by Michael Butterman
Friday, January 12, 2024 at 7:30pm
Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 2:30pm
Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 7:30pm
Gardner Theatre in Lancaster Country Day School
725 Hamilton Rd. | Lancaster, PA
Tickets: www.lancastersymphony.org/concert-calendar/bach-and-glass
“an utterly distinctive voice in the forest of Bach interpretation”
– The New York Times
www.simonedinnerstein.com | www.brooklynorchestra.org
Lancaster, PA – Pianist Simone Dinnerstein, described by The New Yorker as an artist of “lean, knowing, and unpretentious elegance,” will be the featured guest soloist with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra in three performances on Friday, January 12 at 7:30pm, Saturday, January 13, at 2:30pm, and Saturday January 13 at 7:30pm. All three concerts will be held at Gardner Theatre in Lancaster Country Day School (725 Hamilton Rd.).
Dinnerstein, who is heralded for her distinctive musical voice and commitment to sharing classical music with everyone and known for her adventurous artistic instincts, will perform two piano concertos as part of this program. Dinnerstein’s selections will reflect not only a notable contrast in historical placement but will nod to two very different composers –– J.S. Bach and Philip Glass –– Bach’s Concerto for Harpsichord No 2 in E major, BWV 1053 and Philip Glass’s seldom performed “Tirol” Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra. Additionally, the program will also include Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night (version 1943). The performance will be conducted by Michael Butterman and a free, 25-minute, pre-concert talk will be held one hour before each performance.
The Washington Post has called Simone Dinnerstein “an artist of strikingly original ideas and irrefutable integrity.” She first came to wider public attention in 2007 through her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, reflecting an aesthetic that was both deeply rooted in the score and profoundly idiosyncratic. Recognized and celebrated for her appreciation of J.S. Bach’s work, she is, wrote The New York Times, “a unique voice in the forest of Bach interpretation.” Much further down the timeline of history from Bach, the music of Philip Glass is of equal intrigue and passion to Dinnerstein –– earning praise from critics and even Glass himself, who has written music for specifically for her. The Philadelphia Inquirer has said of Dinnerstein’s live performance of Bach and Glass: “Bach and Glass are about patterns and formal structure. Within the rigor, though, Simone Dinnerstein found a great deal of joy and liberation.” Of her approach to Glass’s work, EarRelevent writes that Dinnerstein has “a great affinity for the composer’s music.”
On reuniting with conductor Michael Butterman and performing this engaging, two concerto program with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra for her first concerts of 2024, Dinnerstein says:
It is always a joy to collaborate with my dear friend, Michael Butterman. Michael has the most natural and fluid approach to interpretation, both of which lend themselves particularly well to the music of Bach and Glass. And this will be my first time performing with the musicians of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, so I am looking forward to meeting them!
About Simone Dinnerstein: American pianist Simone Dinnerstein has a distinctive musical voice. The Washington Post has called her “an artist of strikingly original ideas and irrefutable integrity.” She first came to wider public attention in 2007 through her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, reflecting an aesthetic that was both deeply rooted in the score and profoundly idiosyncratic. She is, wrote The New York Times, “a unique voice in the forest of Bach interpretation.”
Dinnerstein has played with orchestras ranging from the New York Philharmonic and Montreal Symphony Orchestra to the London Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Rai. She has performed in venues from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center to the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Konzerthaus, Seoul Arts Center and Sydney Opera House. She has made thirteen albums, all of which topped the Billboard charts. During the pandemic she recorded three albums which form a trilogy: A Character of Quiet, An American Mosaic, and Undersong. An American Mosaic was nominated for a Grammy.
In recent years, Dinnerstein has created projects that express her broad musical interests. She gave the world premiere of The Eye Is the First Circle at Montclair State University, the first multi-media production she conceived, created, and directed, which uses as source materials her father Simon Dinnerstein’s painting The Fulbright Triptych and Charles Ives’s Piano Sonata No. 2. She premiered Richard Danielpour’s An American Mosaic, a tribute to those affected by the pandemic, in a performance on multiple pianos throughout Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. Following her recording Mozart in Havana, she brought the Havana Lyceum Orchestra from Cuba to the U.S. for the first time, performing eleven concerts. Philip Glass composed his Piano Concerto No. 3 for her, co-commissioned by twelve orchestras. Working with Renée Fleming and the Emerson String Quartet, she premiered André Previn and Tom Stoppard’s Penelope at the Tanglewood, Ravinia and Aspen music festivals, and performed it at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and presented by LA Opera. Dinnerstein has also created her own ensemble, Baroklyn, which she directs. The Washington Post comments, “it is Dinnerstein’s unreserved identification with every note she plays that makes her performance so spellbinding.” In a world where music is everywhere, she hopes that it can still be transformative.
About the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra: The LSO is a non-profit organization governed by a board of community volunteers and managed by a professional staff. The LSO gratefully acknowledges support from Godfrey, Barley Snyder, Willow Valley, Hershey, Ephrata National Bank, Tiger’s Eye, the Holiday Inn Lancaster, and UPMC, along with donations from hundreds of corporate and private benefactors which underwrite the Symphony’s invaluable contribution to the quality of life in South-Central Pennsylvania. To learn more about the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, please visit www.lancastersymphony.org.
For Calendar Editors:
Description: Simone Dinnerstein, described by The New York Times as “an utterly distinctive voice in the forest of Bach interpretation,” is presented as the featured guest soloist with The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra in a performance led by Michael Butterman. Dinnerstein, who is known for her appreciation of and skill with the music of both Bach and Philip Glass, will perform two concertos as part of the evening’s program: Bach’s Concerto for Harpsichord No 2 in E major, BWV 1053 and Philip Glass’s “Tirol” Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra. Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night (version 1943) will also be included in the performance.
Short Description: Pianist Simone Dinnerstein, described as “an utterly distinctive voice in the forest of Bach interpretation,” (The New York Times) is presented as the featured soloist in concert with The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra led by Michael Butterman, in a concert that will feature Dinnerstein performing Bach’s Concerto for Harpsichord No 2 in E major, BWV 1053 and Philip Glass’s “Tirol” Concerto No. 1. The performance will also include Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night (version 1943).
Concert details:
Who: Pianist Simone Dinnerstein
Presented by the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Michael Butterman
What: Music by J.S. Bach, Schoenberg, and Philip Glass
When: Friday, January 12 at 7:30pm and January 13, 2024 at 2:30pm and 7:30pm.
Where: Gardner Theatre in Lancaster Country Day School, 725 Hamilton Rd., Lancaster, PA 17603
Tickets and information: www.lancastersymphony.org/concert-calendar/bach-and-glass