News

2009

November 5, 2009 - On November 1st while conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in the final concert of a series of four, I experienced severe chest pain. When I returned to the dressing room, a medical team from the hall came to see me, determined that I was having a heart attack, and rushed me by ambulance to a medical center about five minutes away. During the course of the next hour, three stents were placed in my heart and balloons were inserted to allow more oxygen to my heart. Everything went smoothly and I was placed in the intensive coronary care unit, and after three days, moved to the medium care unit. I was very fortunate to be at one of the finest medical facilities in Europe. The attention and care I have received most likely has saved my life. To date, everything is progressing normally. Pending one final test, the doctors will determine if I will return to the States for another procedure to repair another damaged area of my heart. I would like to thank those of you who have been kind enough to send messages. I cannot respond to each of you individually, but please know that your messages are all most appreciated. I will try to keep you informed of any further developments when I can. Leonard

September 25, 2009 - The CD The Melody of Rhythm: Triple Concerto and Music for Trio, recorded live in Orchestra Hall in Jan. 2009, featuring the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) under the baton of Music Director Leonard Slatkin, as well as internationally-renowned virtuosi and composers Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain, has reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical Chart.
    The centerpiece and catalyst for the album, featuring the DSO and Slatkin, is The Melody of Rhythm: Concerto, a beautiful and haunting three-movement composition for banjo, double bass and tabla, which melds Indian classical music with rhythmic American roots-derived melodies. A composition created for three such disparate instruments as banjo, double bass and tabla (a pair of drums of North India) occupies a unique position in the classical repertoire. Also featured on this disc are Bahar, Out of the Blue, Bubbles, Cadence, In Conclusion and Then Again.

September 23rd, 2009 – Change Is in the Air: The Detroit Symphony has announced plans for a completely revamped season, starting with its concerts this week. The programs will not be changed, at least the ones advertised, but the manner in which the works are performed will be altered. [more ...]

Recording

August, 2009 – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Leonard Slatkin are featured, along with artists and composers Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer, on a new compact disc recorded live in concert at Orchestra Hall in January 2009. The Melody of Rhythm: Concerto is a beautiful and haunting three-movement work for banjo, double bass, tabla and orchestra, and combines Indian classical rhythms with American roots-derived melodies. The release date is August 25 on E1 Music.

June, 2009 – After three successful seasons of collaboration, Maestro Slatkin concludes his tenure as Music Advisor to the Nashville Symphony Orchestra on June 19 and 20, 2009. The program features Joan Tower’s Made in America, for which he and the orchestra won three Grammy Awards with the Naxos recording, “Made in America” - Best Classical Album, Best Orchestral Performance and Best Classical Contemporary Composition. The concerts also feature violinist Karen Gomyo playing the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, and conclude with Brahms’ Symphony No. 2.

Summer, 2009 – Leonard Slatkin will appear at many of the country’s major music festivals this summer. Late July finds him with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the Meadowbrook Music Festival conducting an all-Tchaikovsky program and one titled “Gershwin Galore.” The following week he participates in the annual Tanglewood on Parade at the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and also conducts a special 70th birthday celebratory concert in honor of Sir James Galway. Mr. Slatkin returns to the Hollywood Bowl on August 4 and 6, leading programs featuring music of Brahms, Tower, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius. Next he conducts the gifted young musicians of the Music Academy of the West Orchestra. His American summer schedule ends resoundingly with a performance of the Verdi Requiem at the Aspen Music Festival. Mr. Slatkin then travels to Copenhagen, Denmark to conduct at the Tivoli Festival in a program featuring works of Dvorak, Rachmaninoff and Brahms.

May, 2009 – Columbia Artists Managment is pleased to announce the exclusive world-wide management of Leonard Slatkin, Conductor - Effective Immediately.

For more information, please contact:
Columbia Artists Management LLC

R. Douglas Sheldon
(212) 841-9512
rdsheldon@cami.com

Denise A. Pineau
(212) 841-9527
dpineau@cami.com


April, 2009 – Leonard Slatkin travels to London to record the soundtrack for the upcoming Mel Gibson film, Edge of Darkness. The score was written by Leonard's long-time friend, John Corigliano, and their collaborations have extended back more than 30 years. Mr. Slatkin recorded the composer's First Symphony, which won a Grammy in 1996. Most recently, a recording of Corigliano's Dylan Thomas Trilogy was released on Naxos Records, with the Nashville Symphony and Chorus. Last season Mr. Slatkin performed Corigliano's Third Symphony with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and in 09/10 he and the DSO will collaborate with Sir James Galway in a performance of the composer’s Pied Piper Fantasy.
    GK Films’ Edge of Darkness, directed by Martin Campbell, with screenplay by Andrew Bovell and William Monahan, is currently in post-production, with scoring sessions taking place at the Abbey Road Studios. Release dates are not yet set.

March, 2009 – Maestro Slatkin will participate in a Tribute Concert in memory of composer Donald Erb (1927 – 2008) at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Kulas Hall on Sunday, March 29 at 7 pm. The program will feature chamber and solo pieces by Mr. Erb, as well as Ritual Observances, a challenging 30-minute work for symphony orchestra, played by the CIM Orchestra and conducted by Mr. Slatkin. Described by Nicolas Slonimsky in the Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians as a “significant American composer,” Donald Erb was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1927. His orchestral music has been played by literally every major orchestra in the United States and by many eminent ensembles in Europe and Australia. He served as a distinguished faculty member at CIM for many years, and was an alumnus as well. Mr. Slatkin has conducted and recorded many works of Donald Erb, and the two enjoyed a fruitful professional relationship and warm friendship.
For more information about this concert, please contact Ms. Susan Schwartz, Director of PR at the Cleveland Institute of Music, at 216/795-3122.

Recording

February, 2009 – Naxos releases Abraham Lincoln Portraits, with Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. The sixteenth President of the United States has inspired many works of literature, art and music, and this disc helps celebrate the bicentennial of his birth. Works include Ives’ Lincoln, the Great Commoner, Harris’ Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, Ernst Bacon’s Ford’s Theater, and Copland’s stirring Lincoln Portrait.
Click here for more information from Naxos.

January, 2009 – During two consecutive subscription weeks, Leonard Slatkin leads the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in two World Premieres. The first, on January 9, 10 and 11, is Margaret Brouwer’s Rhapsody for Orchestra, commissioned by the DSO in honor of the late Elaine Lebenbom. Ms. Brouwer was the winner of the 2008 Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award for Women Composers. Belarus-born composer Alla Borzova’s Songs for Lada has its World Premiere on January 15, 16, 17 and 18 in Orchestra Hall.
Click here for more information from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

January, 2009 – Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony collaborated with three unique artists, acknowledged masters of their respective instruments, to perform the Triple Concerto for Double Bass, Banjo and Tabla. Written and performed collaboratively by Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck and Zakir Hussain, the performances on January 9, 10 and 11 marked the work’s second outing since its World Premiere by the Nashville Symphony, Maestro Slatkin conducting, during the 2006/2007 season.
Click here for more information from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.



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