“…LÜ’s musical watchfulness is terrier-like in its intensity. He pounces on the dramatic shifts in the score with a seemingly feverish energy. His sense of rhythm is exact and he knows how to signal unerringly each of the many small changes of pace in a thoroughly studied interpretation........”. The Sydney Morning Herald

Martin Grubinger, a prodigy of sound and movement, a phenomenon of sense for sound, rhythm, agility, secureness and presence, a true exceptional talent.—Saale-Zeitung

Frozen in Time features multi-percussionist Martin Grunbinger, a 26-year-old blond talent with his pulse up around 155 when giving a solo recital and a collaborator with pianist Martha Argerich. Each movement imagines the music of a large prehistoric continent: The avalanche of Indoafrica in the first movement slides to the broad plain of West Africa. Then the next theme resembles Gamelan music. The last movement explores sounds of the Americas: rock, tango, AfroCuban Jazz and Minimalism. Custom-made by Israeli composer Avner Dorman, Frozen in Time expands the repertoire of classical and modern percussion music and is “a piece that exceeds expectations to the extreme.”

Mahler’s Symphony No.1, Titan, teems with pastoral romance of a shepherd. Actually the titan that attempted to lift the Earth alone was the 28-year-old Mahler himself: the inner self strove to outplay the outer image. The composer made a comment on his own creation, “So unique in content and form that absolutely nothing can be written about it.” NSO Music Director Designate LÜ Shao-Chia will tap on the shoulder of the mythical giant along a rope ladder made from his sharp, tender and penetrating musical language.

About the Artists

LÜ Shao-Chia.
Taiwanese-born LÜ previously won the first prizes in three major competitions of conducting, Besançon, Trento and Kondrashin Young Conductors Competition in Amsterdam. He was also the former General Music Director of Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonic Koblenz and the Koblenz Theater and later General Music Director of the Staatsoper Hannover.

Martin Grubinger

Born in 1983 in Salzburg, Martin Grubinger is a rising superstar of percussion music. He received the “Bernstein Award” at the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival in 2007 and is nominated to be the artist in residence with the orchestra of the Gewandhaus Leipzig this year.

KODÁLY: Dance of Galanta

AVNER DORMAN: Percussion Concerto Frozen in Time

MAHLER: Symphony No.1 in D major, Titan

＊This program is also part of the 2009/10MyNSO. The 2009/10 MyNSO subscription package is available starting mid July 2009. Subscribers are allowed to choose only one of the two packages. There is no refund or return for single concerts after subscription.