ROMANTIC MASTERS

Steven Errante, conductor

Wilson Center @ CFCC
October 7, 2023
7:30 PM

The Wilmington Symphony opens the 2023-2024 season with Romantic Masters on October 7th. The night will feature the incredibly talented Alon Goldstein on piano, performing Beethoven's magnificent Piano Concerto No. 5, the "Emperor," and Howard Hanson's enchanting Symphony No. 2, the "Romantic." Don't hesitate to secure your tickets and be swept away by the beauty and grandeur of these Romantic Masters.

Concert Program

  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”

  • Howard Hanson: Symphony No. 2, “Romantic”

This concert is sponsored by:

ALON GOLDSTEIN

Alon Goldstein is one of the most original and sensitive pianists of his generation, admired for his musical intelligence, dynamic personality, artistic vision and innovative programming. He has played with the Philadelphia orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the San Francisco, Baltimore, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Toronto and Vancouver symphonies as well as the Israel Philharmonic, London Philharmonic , Los Angeles and Radio France Orchestra. He played under the baton of such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Herbert Blomstedt, Vladimir Jurowski, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, Peter Oundjian, Yoel Levi, Yoav Talmi, Leon Fleisher and others.

This season Mr. Goldstein will be performing in cities across the world including recitals in Philadelphia (Academy of Vocal Arts), Washington DC (Catholic U.), Vienna (Bösendorfer salon), Berlin (Salon Christophori) and Milano (Primavera di Baggio). His concerts include return engagements with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Jerusalem Camerata, Jerusalem Symphony, Bach festival Orchestra and The Symphony of Westchester. He will make his debut with the Holland Symphony and the Wilmington Symphony.  

Mr. Goldstein will also continue his highly acclaimed recording project for the Naxos label of all piano concerti by Mozart, with the Fine Arts Quartet. The upcoming recording of Concerti nos. 19 and 25 will be issued in December 2023. The last season saw the release of two CDs on the Naxos label: Mozart Piano Concerti Nos. 9 and 17 with the Fine Arts Quartet (a follow-up to their two critically acclaimed recordings of Nos. 20 & 21 and Nos. 23 & 24) and Scarlatti 19 Piano Sonatas.

In recent seasons  Mr. Goldstein performed with the Orquesta Filarmônica de Minas Gerais Brahms 2nd concerto, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogota Mozart 25 and the Beijing Symphony "Mew Year's" concert Beethoven’s "Emperor” Concerto. He returned to play with the Kansas City, Ann Arbor, Illinois, Spokane, Bangor, Augusta, and Pensacola Symphony Orchestras, as well as a performance of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto on fortepiano with Mercury Houston. He played Bernstein's "Age of Anxiety" with the Jerusalem symphony as well with the Xalapa Symphony in Mexico to celebrate the composer’s centennial. . He gave recitals and chamber music, including tours with the Goldstein-Peled-Fiterstein Trio, the Tempest Trio, and the Fine Arts Quartet at the Mendelssohn International festival in Hamburg Germany, as well as in Cleveland, Washington DC, New York, Burlington, Key West, Sarasota, Melbourne, Duluth, and other cities.

Other recent highlights include appearances with the Indianapolis Symphony as part of a Prokofiev Festival performing the composer's Piano concerti nos.1&4, as well as a 17-concert Latin American tour with the Israel Chamber Orchestra including concerts at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Teatro de Bellas Arts in Mexico city, Teatro Nacional in San Jose, Teatro Solis in Montevideo etc. He also played with the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia, and at the prestigious Ruhr Piano Festival in Germany performing Mozart, Britten and Poulenc in one evening with Leon Fleisher, his former teacher, conducting. He gave the premiere of Lost Souls with the Kansas City Symphony and Michael Stern written for him by the noted Israeli composer Avner Dorman and debuted with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski.

A passionate advocate for music education, his recent teaching engagements have included the Steans Institute of the Ravinia Festival, International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York, Music@Menlo, The Gilmore Festival, Piano Texas, PYPA in Philadelphia, International Piano Festival in Gijon Spain, and "Tel Hai” masterclasses in Israel.

Mr. Goldstein was recently honored with the "Society of Scholars" award given to him by his alma mater - the Johns Hopkins University. This was given in recognition of his accomplishments and contributions over the years. Mr. Goldstein is the first Peabody alumni to receive this award. He serves as the Artistic Director of the "Lieven Piano Foundation” summer school in Vienna, as well as the Artistic Director of the Mt. Angel Abbey Bach Festival in Oregon, and Co-Director of The Distinguished Artists Concert & Lecture Series in Santa Cruz, CA. He created the Emerald Coast Music Alliance, whose annual festival in Florida is devoted to sharing the beauty of classical music to under-served communities, at no charge. Last year the festival featured 12 musicians performing 63 concerts. 

Mr. Goldstein received his undergraduate degree from the Tel Aviv University where he studied under Prof. Victor Derevianko and Prof. Arie Vardi. He went on to study at the Peabody Conservatory of Music with Leon Fleisher and was his teaching assistant. He received scholarships from the America Israel Cultural Foundation. Following his graduation he became a "Performer Fellow” at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where he initiated chamber music concerts involving staff and students, as well as an annual festival dedicated to the piano duet repertoire. He was an artist in residence at the "Theo Lieven” piano academy in Como Italy. He currently holds the position of "Distinguished Visiting Professor” at the University of Missouri - Kansas City.

2023/2024 PREMIERE SEASON SPONSORS: