Yaniv Attar, Conductor

HECTOR DEL CURTO, BANDONEAN

The French Connection

MARCH 17 & 18, 2024
PEACE CONCERT HALL

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Program:

Lili Boulanger: D’un matin de printemps
Astor Piazzolla: Concerto for bandoneón
Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

D’un matin de Printemps (Of a spring morning) was the last piece Lili Boulanger ever wrote. On the list of composers like Schubert and Mozart who died too young, Lili succumbed to tuberculosis in 1918 at just 24 years old. While the composer was physically frail, this piece demonstrates her inner strength and transcends pain with its vitality and joy. Fly, Lili, fly.
Tango revolutionary Astor Piazzolla was just nine years old when his family gave him a beautifully wrapped gift box that he hoped would contain a toy. He was thoroughly disappointed when he opened it and found a bandoneón inside. Lucky for us, he took to it after all and wrote Concerto for Bandoneón in 1979. Many say it is his very best work. An expert in tango and the work of Piazzolla, GRAMMY-winner Hector Del Curto has traveled the world as a soloist.

The most recognizable tune from Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures is by far “The Great Gate of Kiev.” If you’re like us, you wonder: what is this gate? Are there pictures? And the answer is no. The gate is a figment of dear Modest’s fertile imagination, which doesn’t make it any less majestic and arresting, of course. Maybe more. And especially when you consider he wrote this, one of the most performed orchestral works of all time in just three weeks. Come hear why the greats like Mussorgsky are great for a reason.

A native of Israel, Yaniv Attar is the 1st prize winner of the Duna Szimfonikus Conducting Competition Budapest, multiple recipient of the Sir Georg Solti Foundation Award, and the 2009 Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Award. Attar is the Music Director of the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, and Artistic Partner with Northwest Sinfonietta. Highlights of past seasons included collaborations with artists such as Alesio Bax, James Ehnes, Tine Thing Helseth, Sharon Isbin, Alex Klein, Jennifer Koh, Johannes Moser, Jon Kimura Parker and Gil Shaham.

In 2015, Attar was one of 10 conductors from around the world who were invited to INTERACTION, and conducted an orchestra composed of all of Germany’s top orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Konzerthaus Orchestra, German Symphony Orchestra, and the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin. Prior to his current music directorships, Attar completed his two years residency as the Assistant Conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, where he conducted nearly 100 performances, and worked extensively with Maestro Justin Brown.

Drawn to orchestral conducting from early age, Attar has studied with Israel Edelson in Jerusalem, Virginia Allen at the Juilliard School in New York and Neil Thomson at the Royal College of Music in London, where he was also the Associate Conductor and co-founder of the Tempus Chamber Orchestra. In 2008, Attar earned his Doctor of Music degree from McGill University where he studied under the tutelage of Alexis Hauser. Attar also studied with Kurt Masur, Leonard Slatkin, Janos Fürst, Jorma Panula, Gustav Meier, Johannes Schlaefli, Peter Gülke, Gabor Hollerung, Neil Varon, Carl St. Clair, David Effron, Donald Thulean and Michael Jurowski. Attar has worked with the Cincinnati Symphony, Duna Szimfonikus Budapest, Dohnanyi Orchestra Budapest, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Haifa Symphony, Hamburg Symphony, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali Milan, Jerusalem Symphony, Lithuanian State Symphony, London Solists Chamber Orchestra, Memphis Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Manhattan School of Music Orchestra, Mihail Jora Philharmonic Romania, National Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Northwest Sinfonietta, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic , Russe Philharmonic Bulgaria, Salzburg Chamber Soloists, and Virginia Symphony.

Attar is also an accomplished classical guitarist. He has studied under Irit Even-Tov, Charles Ramirez and Sharon Isbin, for whom he served as teaching assistant at the Aspen Music Festival from 2003 to 2005. Attar was the first guitarist to win the Aviv Competition Prize in Israel and the Concerto Competition at the Juilliard School. Attar plays a 2022 Martin Blackwell guitar. His studies have been generously supported by the America and Canada Israel Cultural Foundations, The Williamson Foundation for Music, Ronen Foundation, The Olga Forrai Foundation New York, the Morris and Beverly Baker Foundation, AVI Fellowships Switzerland, the Rislov Foundation, and the ISEF Foundation.

Yaniv lives in Bellingham, Washington with his wife, Meredith, and children, Jonah and Lyla.

View Yaniv Attar’s Website

Praised by the New York Times as a “splendid player,” Grammy-winning bandoneonist, Hector Del Curto is one of the most sought-after tango musicians, composers, recording artists and educators in the world today. He has performed with many renowned artists across musical genres and has appeared with the world’s leading orchestras such as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. Del Curto’s recent engagements include a recorded performance of Piazzolla’s bandoneón concerto Aconcagua with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Thomas Wilkins, a performance of Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires with Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and a concert including his composition Paris to Cannes with the Portland Symphony Orchestra. His 2021-2022 season highlights include a performance with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and a world premiere performance of his newly commissioned work for the Apollo Chamber Players.

Born in Argentina, Mr. Del Curto is a fourth-generation bandoneonist. At age 17, he won the title “Best Bandoneon Player Under 25” in Argentina and joined the orchestra of the “Last Giant of Tango,” Osvaldo Pugliese.

In 1998, Mr. Del Curto became music director of Forever Tango, a Broadway hit that continues to tour the world. Soon after, he founded the Eternal Tango Orchestra, a ten-piece ensemble that debuted at New York’s Lincoln Center, and the Héctor Del Curto Tango Quintet. Both are featured on his self-produced albums, Eternal Piazzolla, and Eternal Tango, which was profiled by BBC News and Public Radio International.

Mr. Del Curto has appeared on recordings with such artists as Osvaldo Pugliese, Astor Piazzolla, Paquito D’Rivera, Tito Puente, and Plácido Domingo. As part of the Pablo Ziegler Trio, he received a 2018 Grammy award for Jazz Tango.

Dedicated to the education, outreach, and the preservation of tango, Mr. Del Curto founded the Stowe Tango Music Festival, the premier tango music festival in the United States and produced its awarding-winning album: Live at the 2016 Stowe Tango Music Festival.

View Hector Del Curto’s Website

HEAR FROM THE CONDUCTOR: FREE PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION AN HOUR BEFORE THE SHOW

Want to get to know the conductor and learn about the music before you experience it? Join Yaniv Attar and Greenville Symphony Executive Director Jessica Satava for a pre-concert chat about the program.

Don't miss a thing