August 4, 2003


Candler Series holds first season in Schwartz Center

By Sally Corbett


The Flora Glenn Candler Concert Series, one of the region’s longest-running concert series, will begin its first full season in the new Donna and Marvin Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Sept. 12.

Leading jazz, Indian and contemporary ensembles will grace the Emerson Concert Hall stage, adding new depth to the series, while the tradition of presenting a diverse range of classical artists continues with guest performers for piano, opera, orchestra and voice.

An early sign of the Candler season’s popularity is that, more than four weeks before single tickets were scheduled to go on sale (Aug. 25), subscription sales had already exceeded last year’s total. The new season also brings a new pricing schedule for students; no Emory student ticket is more than $10, and most are free.

The season opens on Friday, Sept. 12, with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO), a special opportunity to hear what several critics have called the finest acoustics for symphony in the Atlanta region. Robert Spano will conduct, as the ASO featuring Christopher Martin on trumpet performs Jennifer Higdon’s “CityScape,” the Haydn “Trumpet Concerto” and Béla Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra.”

“CityScape,” a composition about Atlanta, was commissioned by the ASO and has only been performed once before in the city.

Legendary virtuoso sitarist, composer, teacher and writer Ravi Shankar is known worldwide for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West. His training began at age 10, and today he continues his journey “full circle” in concerts with his daughter and protégé Anoushka Shankar. Anoushka is the only sitarist trained completely by her father. “Full Circle,” the duo’s Candler Series performance, will be held Thursday, Oct. 9.

The Schwartz Center First Anniversary Celebration features a semistaged opera on Monday, Feb. 9. This 25-year-old French period-music ensemble led by William Christie will perform a version of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Les Arts Florissants, directed by Vincent Boussard.

On Saturday, Feb. 21, the Bang On a Can All-Stars, six adventurous and talented artists, will perform their brand of contemporary music which is part classical, part rock and part jazz. This New York-based ensemble blends together clarinets, saxophones, electric guitar, cello, bass, keyboards and percussion.

The major vocal artist in the series, mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, performs Friday, March 26. A rare performer with equal vocal and acting gifts, Mentzer is a familiar face at the world’s prestigious opera houses and festivals including the Met, La Scala, Ravinia and Aspen. She specializes in the repertoire of Mozart, Berlioz, Massenet and Richard Strauss, along with the bel canto repertoire of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti.

The series’ jazz feature is the Wayne Shorter Quartet, which will perform Saturday, April 3. Saxophonist Shorter’s career spans nearly 40 years, and he has crossed paths with jazz history’s indisputable giants. After training with Horace Silver and Art Blakey, Shorter joined forces with Miles Davis in the 1960s. In the ’70s he formed the jazz-rock fusion group Weather Report and won three Grammy awards. His quartet features Danilo Pérez, piano; John Patitucci, bass; and Brian Blade, drums.

Returning to Atlanta after dazzling local audiences and critics last spring is pianist Murray Perahia, performing Thursday, April 29. Over more than 30 years of concert performance, Perahia has become one of the most sought-after pianists of our time. His legendary recording of several of Bach’s English Suites won the 1999 Grammy for Best Instrumental Soloist. Perahia also won the 2003 Grammy for Best Solo Performance without orchestra for his Chopin Etudes album.

All 2003–04 Candler events begin at 8 p.m. in the Schwartz Center’s Emerson Concert Hall. To subscribe or to order single tickets beginning Aug. 25, call the Arts@Emory box office at 404-727-5050.

Pricing for single tickets will be $45 for general public; $36 for faculty/staff, alumni, non-Emory students and current Center for Lifelong Learning students; $10 Emory and Oxford undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Season subscriptions (on sale now) include seven concerts for $220; six concerts, $202; five concerts, $180; and four concerts, $153.