Munich Symphony Orchestra with Gloriæ Dei Cantores

Friday, November 4, 2011 8:00pm

Mozart Serenade No. 6 in D major, K.239 (Serenata notturna)
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414, Philippe Entremont, Pianist/Conductor
Mozart Requiem with Gloriæ Dei Cantores, Philippe Entremont, Conductor

Cathedral Concerts is proud to welcome Maestro Philppe Entremont back to St. Louis after a 20 year absence with the Munich Synphony Orchestra and Gloriæ Dei Cantores in this ALL Mozart program.

The exceptional career of Philippe Entremont began at the age of eighteen when he came to international attention with his great success at New York’s Carnegie Hall playing Jolivet’s piano concerto and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Since then, he has pursued a top international career as a pianist, and for the last 30 years, on the podium as well. The 2011-2012 season will take Mr. Entremont all over the world, conducting from the piano as well as the podium. One of the most recorded artists of all time, Philippe Entremont has appeared on many labels, including CBS Sony, Teldec and Harmonia Mundi, and he has garnered all of the leading prizes and awards in the industry.

The Munich Symphony Orchestra is one of Munich’s four symphony orchestras and developed in 1990 out of the former Graunke Symphony Orchestra, which was founded by Kurt Graunke in 1945. Under his direction the orchestra quickly achieved a high standard of perfection, not only winning favor with the general public but also being held in high esteem among experts and in the media. Today the Munich Symphony Orchestra is one of the most important vehicles of culture, not only in Munich but in the whole of southern Germany.

For more than half a century, the orchestra has made a considerable contribution to the cultural life of Munich with an extensive repertoire which includes symphonic concert pieces, performances of opera, light opera, musicals and ballets as well as oratories and church music. Regular concerts in Bavaria and numerous tours throughout Germany as well as in Europe, Asia and the Americas have firmly established the reputation of the Munich Symphony Orchestra.

The German film industry in particular is greatly indebted to the orchestra, especially since the Second World War. The orchestra has provided the soundtracks for more than five hundred films, thus writing an important chapter in the history of music in Germany. In addition to this, in the course of the last few years the Munich Symphony Orchestra has become one of the leading ensembles in the field of international film music. The film The Silence of the Lambs, which was awarded five Oscars, is the best illustration of this.

For more than forty years now, the season-ticket concerts performed by the Munich Symphony Orchestra in the Herkules Saal of the Residence and in the Prinzregenten Theatre in Munich have been an established and very important element in the musical life of the city.

Gloriæ Dei Cantores (Singers to the Glory of God) holds a passionate dedication to illuminate truth and beauty through choral artistry, celebrating a rich tradition of sacred choral music from Gregorian chant through the twenty-first century. The choir has received extensive critical acclaim for its artistic elegance, performance authenticity, and compelling spirituality. Sharing its vision of inspiration and hope, Gloriæ Dei Cantores has toured extensively, touching the hearts of audiences in 24 countries in Europe, Asia, and North America.

Director Elizabeth Patterson has led the choir in a number of world premieres, and appeared on the concert stage and in recordings with Keith Lockhart, John Williams, Samuel Adler, Mark O’Conner, Stephen Cleobury, Vladimir Minin, and the late George Guest, Mary Berry, and Margaret Hillis, among others.

Highlights of the choir’s career include three invitational tours of Russia, the opening of the 900^th anniversary of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, live broadcasts with the BBC, the soundtrack of Lorenzo’s Oil, and performances in some of the finest concert halls throughout Europe. Its discography of 45 recordings is distributed in the United States through Harmonia Mundi.

Gloriæ Dei Cantores makes its home on Cape Cod, at the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans, MA.

Welcomed by