Concert Program
Caroline Shaw Entr'acte
Felix Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1
Franz Schubert Symphony No. 8 in B minor, “Unfinished”
About the Featured Musicians
Praised as a “rising light in the musical firmament” and a “brilliant young Maestra” Annunziata Tomaro is equally at home in symphonic, operatic and contemporary repertoire.
As founder and music director of The Phoenix Ensemble in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Tomaro worked with distinguished artists such as William Bolcom and Peter Sparling. During her tenure as conductor and music director of the Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy, Ms. Tomaro led new productions of operas by Wolf-Ferrari and Puccini as well as notable concert and choral performances. In collaboration with renowned pianist James Tocco and opera director Robin Guarino, Tomaro conducted celebrated concert and opera performances at the Spoleto Festival in Italy.
Tomaro was music director and principal conductor of the CCM (College-Conservatory of Music) Concert Orchestra and the contemporary ensemble, Café MoMus in Cincinnati. Among her many podium appearances at CCM were acclaimed performances of Mahler and Shostakovich, as well as world and regional premieres of works by Kaija Saariaho, Cynthia Wong and Conrad Susa. During this time, she was appointed associate conductor of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and was invited to cover conduct for Paavo Jarvi with the Cincinnati Symphony. Having served as music director of the Central Kentucky Youth Symphony, Ms. Tomaro is a strong advocate of music education and an inspiring leader of younger musicians. She is highly sought after as a guest conductor of university and youth orchestras. Her award-winning live recording with The Phoenix Ensemble, “The Orchestra is Here to Play!” has become an instant classic with young audiences.
In addition to conducting a wide range of symphonic works and championing new and emerging composers, Tomaro's opera performances include La bohème, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Rape of Lucretia, Werther, Carmen, Il signor Bruschino, The Telephone by Menotti, Stravinsky's Mavra, Wolf-Ferrari's Il segreto di Susanna, Mahagonny Songspiel (Weill/Brecht), Conrad Susa's Dangerous Liaisons, and the world premieres of Enid Sutherland's Daphne and Apollo Remade and City Opera Buenos Aires by Peter Ablinger.
As assistant conductor of the Orquesta Estable of the Teatro Colón and Head of Stage Music of the illustrious theater in Buenos Aires, Tomaro conducted staging rehearsals for many important titles during two artistic seasons. Throughout Argentina, Tomaro regularly guest conducts almost all the major orchestras.
Prize winner of the International “Antonio Pedrotti” Conducting Competition, Tomaro's honors include the Robinson Award, presented by the Conductor's Guild, the esteemed Presser Award which brought her to Lucerne, Switzerland to work with Claudio Abbado, and the "outstanding woman conductor" grant by the League of American Orchestras. Tomaro was chosen as a Fulbright scholar to Berlin, where she had the honor of being a guest in the rehearsals of Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic, as well as Daniel Barenboim at the Staatsoper unter den Linden.
Since beginning her musical studies at The Juilliard School Pre-College Division and culminating in a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music of Cincinnati, Ms. Tomaro has worked with some of the world’s most recognized conducting pedagogues and has become a sought-after teacher.
Praised by The New York Times for his ‘uncommon sensitivity and feeling’, the eloquent pianist Roman Rabinovich is renowned for his multifaceted musical artistry, earning acclaim as a soloist, curator, and collaborator.
Winner of the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in 2008, Rabinovich made his Carnegie Hall Concerto Debut, on a 24-hour notice with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and has collaborated with esteemed orchestras like the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Meininger Hofkapelle, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, KBS Symphony, Prague Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Seattle Symphony, under the batons of conductors including Sir Roger Norrington, Zubin Mehta, JoAnn Falletta, Kristjan Järvi, and Gerard Schwarz. As a recitalist, he has performed at Washington Performing Arts Society, Vancouver Recital Society, Piano Series at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and Liszt Academy in Budapest and participated in festivals including Marlboro, Lucerne and Prague Spring.
Dubbed ‘a true polymath, in the Renaissance sense of the word’ (Seen & Heard International, 2016), Rabinovich's artistic reach extends beyond the piano. He is a composer and visual artist with a diverse repertoire spanning six centuries. He has won critical acclaim for interpretations of the music of Joseph Haydn, encompassing Haydn’s complete keyboard sonatas at the Lammermuir and Bath Festivals in UK, and curated a three-concert Haydn Day at Wigmore Hall. The first two volumes of his complete Haydn Cycle on First Hand Records have been released to critical acclaim.
Having made his Israel Philharmonic debut under Zubin Mehta at the age of 10, Rabinovich was among the first pianists championed by Sir András Schiff in his series 'Building Bridges'.
Alongside his wife, violinist Diana Cohen, Rabinovich co-directs ChamberFest Cleveland and the newly inaugurated ChamberFest West festival in Calgary.