FORT WAYNE PHILHARMONIC TO MAKE ITS FIRST-EVER COMMERCIAL RECORDING
FORT WAYNE PHILHARMONIC TO MAKE ITS FIRST-EVER COMMERCIAL RECORDING
Project Being Led by GRAMMY Award®-Winning Producer Tim Handley
FORT WAYNE (March 2, 2018) — The Fort Wayne Philharmonic will make its first-ever commercial audio recording at a March 18, 2018 performance and recording session that will be free and open to the public. Music Director Andrew Constantine will lead the Philharmonic as it performs and records three works by the noted Austrian American composer Walter Bricht (1904-1970), faculty member at the Indiana University School of Music.
The recording session will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 18, 2018 in the Auer Performance Hall at Rhinehart Music Center, IPFW. Admission is free to the public, and no tickets are required.
The recording will be produced by GRAMMY Award®-winning producer Tim Handley, who won the 2018 GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for “Viola Concerto” by composer Jennifer Higdon, with artists Roberto Diaz, Giancarlo Guerrero, and the Nashville Symphony.
Handley is distinguished as one of the busiest and most successful producers in the classical music industry, having received 10 nominations and eight GRAMMY Awards®. Artists with whom he has collaborated include Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin and the Orchestre National de Lyon, Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jun Märkl and the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Edo de Waart and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others.
One noted expert was quoted as saying, “Simply stated, Tim Handley is the finest classical music producer active today. His recording and editing work is extraordinary, his musicianship impeccable.”
The recording is intended for release on a commercial label and will be announced at a later date.
Born in Vienna in 1904, Walter Bricht was a child prodigy who began composing at the age of 12. In 1938, Bricht was forced to leave Austria because the Nazi regime had discovered that he had Jewish-born grandparents. He was offered "honorary Aryan status" by Adolf Hitler, providing he would swear allegiance to the Nazi party, but instead chose to emigrate to the United States. All of his important papers and letters of recommendation were confiscated at the border, and he arrived in the U.S. not speaking a word of English.
Once in the United States, Bricht worked and taught in New York City and at Mason College of Music, in Charleston, West Virginia, before joining the faculty at Indiana University School of Music, where, beginning in 1963, he taught and composed until his death in 1970. More information about Bricht can be found at www.walterbricht.com.
The Philharmonic will record three significant works composed by Bricht in the 1930s: Symphony in A minor, Opus 33 (1934); Symphonic Suite in A minor, Opus 25 (1931); and Verwehte Blatter (Eight Small Pieces for Orchestra), Opus 18b (1932).
Said the Philharmonic’s music director Andrew Constantine, “I’ve been fascinated reading about Walter Bricht and his unique story as an émigré from Nazi Germany. This recording will allow us to celebrate a composer important to the state of Indiana, whose music is meaningful yet virtually unknown to today’s audiences. We look forward to creating a permanent document of Bricht’s work while providing a vehicle for international audiences to enjoy our fine orchestra.”
Said the Philharmonic’s managing director James W. Palermo, “This recording project is yet another milestone for the Philharmonic. A cadre of local music lovers and supporters came together to make this project a reality, and we are grateful to each and every one of them for their support. The Walter Bricht recording will show the versatility and virtuosity of the Philharmonic and engender more pride in our community.”
Fort Wayne Philharmonic
Entering its 2018-19 75th Anniversary Season, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s mission is to inspire and foster a lifelong love of symphonic music through performance and education. Music Director Andrew Constantine leads the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. All programming is made possible by the support of community individuals, businesses, corporations and foundations. The Philharmonic is a member of the League of American Orchestras and a funded member of Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, the Indiana Arts Commission, and National Endowment for the Arts. For additional information, call 260.481.0777 or log on to the website at fwphil.org.