“It had been the wish of the my late husband, Maestro Lorin Maazel, to welcome Fabio Luisi to Castleton as a guest conductor,” said CEO and Artistic Director Mrs. Turban Maazel, “and I’m delighted and proud to be able to carry out his wishes, to bring this great Maestro to our community.”
The program opens with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. It is one of Rachmaninov’s most enduringly popular works and established his position as a composer. After an intermission, the orchestra returns with Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D Major. Much of the first movement is based on a melody from Brahms’ earlier Wiegenlied, commonly referred to as “Brahms’ Lullaby.”
Maestro Fabio Luisi currently serves as General Music Director of the Zurich Opera, Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, and Principal Conductor designate of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra (DNSO), beginning in 2017. Luisi’s 2014-15 Met season included Macbeth, The Merry Widow, and Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci. At the Zurich Opera, Luisi conducted new productions of Juliette (Martinu) and I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and revivals of Norma and Ariadne auf Naxos. He conducted Lulu for his debut at the Dutch National Opera. His orchestral engagements included the Philharmonia Zurich, the DNSO, the Cleveland Orchestra, and Juilliard Orchestra. His discography includes the Grammy-winning Met live “Ring” cycle, rare Verdi operas (Jérusalem, Alzira, and Aroldo), I puritani, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and the repertoire of Honegger, Respighi, and Liszt. In 2014 he was awarded the Grifo d’Oro, the highest honor given by his home city of Genoa.
The 2015 season marks the first Festival since the passing of its founder, Maestro Lorin Maazel, in July 2014. More information about the Castleton Festival can be found here.