Rossen's 60th Birthday Celebration
We celebrate Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov’s milestone sixtieth birthday with one of his most valued collaborators and some of his favorite works. Leila Josefowicz returns to the PSO with Stravinsky’s brilliant neoclassical Violin Concerto. Tchaikovsky’s monumental symphony Manfred, a rarely-heard masterpiece, utilizes the forces of an expanded orchestra.
“Josefowicz, who played with stunning brilliance, (…) her high-voltage presence being as striking as dance.” –Mark Swed, LA Times
Due to the length and type of performance, this concert is not suitable for children under the age of 5.
Program
Igor STRAVINSKY / Violin Concerto
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY / Manfred Symphony
Key Notes 
- Well-known for her interpretations of contemporary works for the violin, Leila Josefowicz has premiered many concertos, including those by Colin Matthews, Luca Francesconi, John Adams, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, all written specially for her.
- Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto may be familiar to fans of ballet. George Balanchine created a ballet titled “Stravinsky Violin Concerto” for the New York City Ballet, and it has been performed regularly since its premiere in 1972.
- Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony is based on the dramatic poem of the same name by Lord Byron, and was composed between the fourth and fifth symphonies. Tchaikovsky said of the work: “I think it is my best symphonic composition, although because of its difficulty, impracticality, and complexity it is doomed to failure and neglect.”
Performers
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Leila Josefowicz, violin
Media
Here is an excerpt of Stravinsky's Violin Concerto with Leila Josefowicz on violin at the BBC Proms:
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