Michael Spierman, founder/conductor of The Orchestra of The Bronx, announces the final concert of the 2023-24 season. The 40-member orchestra of musicians drawn from other major orchestras and Broadway shows, along with guest pianist Michael Boriskin, will perform a program of Bartok, Beethoven, and Mozart.
Concerts continue to be free of charge, in accordance with the company's mission to enable people of all income levels to experience the beauty of the orchestral repertoire.
The Program
Romanian Folk Dances was composed by Bela Bartok in 1915 as a suite of six short piano pieces, and later orchestrated by the composer for an ensemble. The work is based on seven Romanian tunes from Transylvania, originally played on fiddle or shepherd's flute.
Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1785 and received its first performance at the Mehlgrube Casino in Vienna the same year with the composer as soloist. The concerto, typically composed in three movements, is scored for solo piano, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 was considered by the composer to be one of his best works. It was composed between 1811 and 1812, while Beethoven was improving his health in the Bohemian spa town of Teplitz. Dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries, the work premiered December 8, 1813 in Vienna.
MICHAEL BORISKIN, guest soloist, performed frequently early in his career with Michael Spierman, including a performance of today's concerto in 1978. Since that time he has appeared in over thirty countries on five continents with leading international orchestras and chamber ensembles and on NPR, CBS Sunday Morning, and other major media platforms.
Named one of Musical America's "Top 30 Music Professionals of 2023", he records extensively for SONY CLASSICAL, Naxos, and many other labels. He is also Artistic and Executive Director of The Copland House and has served as program advisor to Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, the United States State Department, and Lincoln Center.
MICHAEL SPIERMAN founded The Orchestra of The Bronx 50 years ago with the mission of bringing music to people of all walks of life and financial incomes. The Orchestra performs works from all periods, including Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th Century. Native New Yorker Spierman is also artistic director of the Bronx Opera, was on the music faculty at Hunter College for 38 years, chaired the music panel at the New York State Council on the Arts, and has guest conducted with orchestras in the U.S., England, Bulgaria, and South America.
