FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ian Martínez
Director of Communications
(773) 834-7965
imartinez@uchicago.edu

Tickets: (773) 702-8068

ALICE COOTE AND EFE BALTACIGIL TO MAKE MANDEL HALL DEBUTS FEB. 15 & 19

Chicago, Feb. 6, 2008 – While still early in their musical careers, mezzo-soprano Alice Coote and cellist Efe Baltacigil have already established themselves as first-rate concert soloists and will each make their University of Chicago Presents debuts this month. Coote, with pianist Julius Drake, will appear on Friday, February 15 at 7:30 p.m. Baltacigil, this year’s Regents Park Discovery Artist will perform with pianist Anna Polonsky on Tuesday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. Both concerts will be held in Mandel Hall.

Already well-known for the power and distinction she brings to her “pants roles,” Coote will perform Schubert’s famous Winterreise (Winter Journey) song cycle, originally written for baritone and piano. One of the first song cycles ever written, the work itself is the second of two sets of poems by German romantic poet Wilhelm Müller that Schubert put to music. Despite its grim story line, regarding a lonely wanderer who sets out on a cold, solitary walk through the wilderness, the work has become one of Schubert’s most highly regarded pieces and a milestone work of the Romantic period. This performance is a change from Coote’s originally announced program consisting of English songs. Pianist Julius Drake will appear in a pre-concert conversation with U of C music historian Berthold Hoeckner and post-doctorate research fellow and instructor Roger Moseley. Sponsored by the University’s Nicholson Center for British Studies, the conversation will begin at 6:30 pm.

This year’s Regents Park Discovery Artist, Efe Baltacigil will open his program with Beethoven’s Twelve Variations on “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, followed by Shostakovich’s heartfelt Cello Sonata. Taking a cue from his Turkish heritage, Baltacigil will then perform living composer Hasan Uçarsu’s Türkü, a free-spirited arrangement based on a Turkish folk tune. The concert concludes with Brahms’ Second Cello Sonata.

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Mezzo-soprano Alice Coote was only five years old when she first heard Jessye Norman sing, but she was instantly smitten. The aspiring vocal artist found her way first to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and then to the studio of German mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender. It was a near-fatal auto accident, however, that convinced Coote singing was her calling. Since then, her opera career has focused on Monteverdi, Handel and Mozart, but she is also a consummate interpreter of Schumann and Mahler. Her work with Brigitte Fassbaender may have given her what many consider an uncanny command of the German repertoire. During the 2006–07 season, she made her role debut as Prince Orlovsky in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus.

Julius Drake is considered one of the most elegant and accomplished pianists to grace the world of vocal performance. He has appeared with the outstanding recitalists of the day on the world’s top stages from Carnegie Hall to the Musikverein, in festivals from the Proms to Perth (which he directed from 2000–04). His programming abilities are also exemplary. He has devised song series for Wigmore Hall, the BBC and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Drake recently acted as music director for a staging of Janácek’s opera Diary of One Who Vanished. He has won both the Edison and Gramophone awards for his many recordings.

For the last ten years, gifts from the Clinton Companies of Hyde Park and the Regents Park Luxury Apartments have allowed local concert-goers and their families to be among the first to enjoy the classical music world’s “next big thing.” This year, the annual Discovery Concert presents Turkish cellist Efe Baltacigil. His career took off when a freak snowstorm hobbled most of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and he found himself playing Beethoven’s First Cello Sonata with pianist Emmanuel Ax. But it is no accident that this Curtis Institute grad has risen meteorically in the music world. Days before his impromptu appearance, he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. The 28-year-old has also earned an Avery Fisher Career Grant, a debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and a seat as associate principal cellist with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Pianist Anna Polonsky is widely in demand as a soloist and chamber musician. Making her solo debut at the age of 7, the former Moscow native emigrated to the United States in 1990 and attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, Polonsky currently serves on the faculty of Vassar College. She is a frequent guest at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and recently took part in the European Broadcasting Union’s project to record and broadcast all of Mozart’s piano sonatas.

TICKETS for the concert featuring mezzo-soprano Alice Coote are $32 for general public or $5 for students with a valid ID. Tickets to the Regents Park Discovery Concert featuring cellist Efe Baltacigil are $10 for general public or $5 for students with a valid ID, although subscribers to any UCP series receive free admission. Tickets can be purchased or requested by calling the Concert Office at (773) 702-8068 or visiting 5720 S. Woodlawn Avenue on the University of Chicago campus.

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Friday / 15 February / 7:30 pm
Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano
Julius Drake, piano
Chicago recital debut
Schubert: Winterreise, D. 911, op. posth. 89

Tuesday / 19 February / 7:30 pm
Efe Baltacigil, cello
Anna Polonsky, piano
Regents Park Discovery Concert
Beethoven: Variations in F major on “Ein Mädchen oder weibchen” from Die Zauberflöte, op. 66
Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in D minor, op. 40
Hasan Uçarsu: Türkü
Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, op. 99

The University of Chicago Presents is one of the city’s landmark classical music presenters on the campus of the University of Chicago in the heart of the city’s South Side. Among the musical legends who made their debuts at Mandel Hall are violinist Isaac Stern, guitarist Andres Segovia, soprano Cecilia Bartoli and The Juilliard String Quartet.

UCP offers five concert series—Classic Concert, the Howard Mayer Brown International Early Music, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Artists-in-Residence Series featuring the Pacifica String Quartet, and the Contempo series.

TICKETS: By phone with credit card at (773) 702-8068; minimum $10 charge
In person with cash, check or credit card, weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
– Office of Professional Concerts, 5720 S. Woodlawn Ave.
– At Mandel Box Office after 6:30 p.m. on concert day
– By email at concert-office@uchicago.edu

LOCATION: Mandel Hall is located at 1131 E. 57th Street.

PARKING: Street or free in lot at 55th Street and Ellis Avenue

DISABILITIES: Persons with disabilities or who otherwise need assistance may call the Office of Professional Concerts at (773) 702-8068 prior to the concert, but no later than 3 p.m. on concert day.

PHOTOS: Photos of the artists may be obtained upon request to the University of Chicago Presents at (773) 834-7965, or by fax at (773) 834-5888. To download pictures directly from the web site, visit chicagopresents.uchicago.edu/news/photos.

ONLINE: chicagopresents.uchicago.edu

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