Kennedy Center: Journey to America

[Journey to America Header.] America, the land of the free… the land of plenty… where the streets are paved with gold. Drawn by these mythic images, music's immigrants followed the routes of hundreds of thousands of others, seeking freedom, safety, and opportunity. What they found here was a new energy, exotic rhythms, a vibrant, multi-cultural folk tradition, and audiences hungry for music-in concert halls, in films, and on radio.

Trace their journey, and hear the marvels that they created in this bright new land. Join Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra for a fascinating two-week festival showcasing the works of composers who followed their muse to America. In their music you will hear the story of America-the story of a nation built by seekers of freedom.

Each of these concerts will feature two interpretations of the Star Spangled Banner by composers who were not born in the United States of America.

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Follow the history of great composers who journeyed to America

THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2002, AT 7 P.M.
LEONARD SLATKIN conducting
THE WASHINGTON CHORUS, Robert Shafer, music director

SMITH, Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Dorati
DOHNÁNYI, American Rhapsody
DVORÁK, American Flag
Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Stokowski
BLOCH, America, An Epic Rhapsody

Each of the composers you'll hear on this program was influenced by the spirit of America.

Click on composer's name for a full biography.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2002, AT 1:30 P.M.
LEONARD SLATKIN conducting
CHRISTIE JULIEN, piano
NURIT BAR-JOSEF, violin

Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Toscanini
SLONIMSKY, My Toy Balloon
BARTÓK, Piano Concert No. 3
Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Szell
PROKOFIEV, Violin Concerto No. 2
DELIUS, Florida Suite

Here's a wide range of symphonic music by composers who traveled to the United States, and, in some cases, made their home here.

Click on composer's name for a full biography.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2002, AT 8:30 P.M. -
LEONARD SLATKIN conducting
JUDITH INGOLFSSON, violin
ROBERT OPPELT, double bass
MIA CHUNG, piano
VLADMIR SHVETS, baritone
THE WASHINGTON CHORUS, Robert Shafer, music director

Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Damrosch
DAMROSCH, An Abraham Lincoln Song
BARBER, Violin Concerto
Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Ormandy
KOUSSEVITZKY, Contrabass Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY, Piano Concerto No. 1

The music of the composers presented on this program has left an indelible mark not only on American audiences, but also audiences worldwide.

Click on composer's name for a full biography.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2002, AT 7 P.M.
LEONARD SLATKIN conducting
LOREN KITT, clarinet
VLADMIR SHVETS, baritone
VARDAN MAMIKONIAN, piano
THOMAS STEWART, Narrator
THE WASHINGTON CHORUS, Robert Shafer, music director

Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Stravinsky
SCHOENBERG, A Survivor from Warsaw
RACHMANINOFF, Piano Concerto No. 4
WEILL, Arrangements of American Patriotic Songs
Star-Spangled Banner, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, America
STRAVINSKY, Circus Polka
STRAVINSKY, Ebony Concerto

These giants of music found a home in the United States, where they wrote some of their most powerful works and achieved their greatest fame.

Click on composer's name for a full biography.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2002, AT 8:30 P.M..
LEONARD SLATKIN conducting
FREDERICK ZLOTKIN, cello
GLEN DICTEROW, violin
LISA EMENHEISER, piano

Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Friedrich
TOCH, Pinocchio
KORNGOLD, Cello Concerto
WAXMAN, Tristan and Isolde Phantasy
Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Grafulla
CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO, As You Like It
RÓZSA, Sinfonia concertante

This era holds special memories for Leonard Slatkin, who grew up in Hollywood in a home filled with music, and often visited by these and other émigré composers.

Click on composer's name for a full biography.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2002, AT 8:30 P.M..
LEONARD SLATKIN conducting
MARINA PICCININI, flute
MICHEL CAMILO, piano

Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Skrowaczewki
SHENG, H'un (Lacerations); In memoriam, 1966-76
D'RIVERA, Gran Danzon (world premiere)
Star-Spangled Banner, arr. Sousa
VARÈSE, Density 21.5
CAMILO, Piano Concerto

Each of these composers found opportunity and freedom in America; like so many arrivals on these shores, these "new Americans" have enriched our culture and helped shape our future.

Click on composer's name for a full biography.

FORTAS CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT
AVIV STRING QUARTET
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2002, AT 7:30 P.M..
TERRACE THEATER
TICKETS $25

This quartet from Israel has won international acclaim, including like this one from the Irish Times: "Consistently perfect... a remarkable parade of technique, everything purposeful and fitted into beautiful shaped, goal driven phrasing." They make their own Journey to America—and the Kennedy Center—to perform Bartók's Quartet No. 5, on a program with music by Haydn and Schubert.

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Journey to America: A Musical Immigration
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