Moscow State Symphony Orchestra Pavel Kogan, conductor Jennifer Koh, violinist November 9, 2010

Adult $55 | University Park Student $22 | 18 and Younger $37

For almost seven decades, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra has been recognized as one of the foremost interpreters of the classic Russian composers. But since Pavel Kogan became music director and chief conductor in 1989, the orchestra has continually broadened its repertoire to include contemporary compositions from Russia and beyond. At age 18 Kogan won first prize at the Sibelius Violin Competition. His career as a violinist and a conductor has taken him to engagements on five continents. Chicago native Jennifer Koh, a graduate of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, joins the orchestra as soloist for Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. “Jennifer Koh is a risk-taking, high-octane player of the kind who grabs the listener by the ears and refuses to let go,” writes a critic for The Strad. “Unlike so many players of this temperament, however, she supports her mesmerizing flights of fancy with a beguilingly silvery tone, fabulous technique, and dead-center intonation.” The orchestra’s program also includes Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien and Maurice Ravel’s arrangement of Modeste Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

Official Website: http://www.cpa.psu.edu/events/moscow.html