July 12 Tribute Performance to the late Maestro Maazel

Beethoven’s Ninth And

World Premiere of Maazel’s Posthumous Work

Castleton, VA (June 22, 2015) — The 2015 season marks the first Festival since the passing of its founder, Maestro Lorin Maazel, in July 2014. The Castleton Festival presents a classical tribute to the late founder on Sunday, July 12 at 2pm with a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and the World premiere of “Echoes of a Solitary Voice” — a fragment of Maazel’s composition, completed by composer Wayne Oquin. Rafael Payare, Castleton’s Principal Conductor, will conduct. Tickets range from $20-$65. Call the Box Office at 1-866-974-0767 or visit www.CastletonFestival.orgfor schedule and ticket information.

Shortly before his passing in 2014, Maestro Maazel began to compose a short work commissioned by the Malko Competition, the most prestigious international competition for young conductors. Later, his wife Dietlinde Turban Maazel, also the CEO and Artistic Director of the Castleton Festival, found only a fragment of this work, totaling 16 pages, and approached the American composer Wayne Oquin to finish the work. Now complete and titled ‘Echoes of a Solitary Voice’, it will be performed at Castleton for the first time.

“[When Dietlinde asked me]…I felt honored, humbled, and terrified,” said Dr. Oquin. “It soon became apparent that despite the Maestro’s renown as a conductor, he was greatly under-appreciated as the creator of a substantial body of highly original compositions. Though ‘Echoes of a Solitary Voice’ is my own, every aspect of its origins can be traced to Maazel’s sketches and fragment….The result is a tribute to another facet of a great genius of our time: Lorin Maazel, the composer.”

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is one of the most recognizable and well-loved pieces of classical music of all time, containing the soaring “Ode to Joy.” Sung in tribute to and in celebration of Maazel’s life, audiences will revel in the voices of world-famous soloists soprano Alessandra Marc, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, tenor Stanford Olsen, and baritone Eduardo Chama. The Castleton Festival Orchestra and singers of the Castleton Artists Training Seminar (CATS) will join the esteemed soloists.

“Dreamlike spirit,” “tremendously exciting,” “unaffected simplicity,” “beautiful complexity,” and “pulsating with urban power,” among other enthusiastic reviews in The Washington Post and Symphony Magazine, have earned Wayne Oquin substantial recognition among today’s young American composers. Oquin’s music has premiered on five continents, in seventeen countries, and in thirty two states, performed by The King’s Singers, renowned pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin, Grammy Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs, soprano Susanna Phillips, baritone Sidney Outlaw, The Jaspar Quartet, The United States Air Force Band, The United States Army Field Band, and The West Point Military Academy Band. Dr. Oquin is Chair of Juilliard’s long-standing Ear Training Department, where he is also Professor of Graduate Studies.

The Castleton Festival is distinct among other festivals because of its combined roles as a producing entity, a modern performance venue, and, most importantly, a mentoring program for young artists and theatre professionals through the Castleton Artists Training Seminar (CATS). This unparalleled seven-week program identifies exceptional operatic talents and brings them to the next level of accomplishment through comprehensive training with leading professionals in their field. To date, more than 300 young artists have benefited from the Festival’s CATS program. The 2015 Festival will include the classic opera Roméo et Juliette, Thornton Wilder’s beloved Our Town, symphonic concerts, chamber music, vocal recitals, and the world premiere of Wang’s comic opera Scalia/Ginsburg. Visit www.CastletonFestival.org for a complete schedule and visitor information.

– See more at: http://castletonfestival.org/news/item/july-12-tribute-performance-to-the-late-maestro-maazel-beethovens-ninth-and-world-premiere-of-maazels-posthumous-work#sthash.WjixiHll.dpuf