Bay Area composer-pianist Gregory Taboloff makes his San Francisco debut orchestral appearance as soloist with the Taboloff Philharmonic performing his Piano Concerto No. 1 “The Mystic” alongside Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 on Sunday, September 8, 3:00 p.m. at Herbst Theatre. Conductor David Ramadanoff will lead an orchestra of professional musicians from across the Bay Area in a program that also features the Overture to Mozart’s "The Magic Flute".
Evoking the spirit of the works of great Russian romantics, Taboloff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 “The Mystic” draws inspiration from Walt Whitman’s poem "The Mystic Trumpeter". The East Bay Times praised it as “a powerful, moving work” when it was premiered at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. Both conductor Ramadanoff and pianist Taboloff return together to give the first performance of this work in San Francisco.
Hailed by The New York Times for his “irrepressible energy, poetry and genuine introspection,” Gregory Taboloff has performed throughout the world, including appearances in the former USSR, Belgium and the Philippines. Since his 1987 orchestral debut with the Oakland Symphony, Taboloff has gone on to perform with numerous Bay Area orchestras including the California Symphony, Diablo Symphony and the Contra Costa Symphony, while representing the United States at such prestigious international competitions as Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Competition and the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. As a composer, Taboloff studied with John Adams and Elinor Armor at the San Francisco Conservatory and has since written and performed numerous fantasies for solo piano as well as an overture for full orchestra entitled “Dante and Beatrice” inspired by Dante’s literary masterpiece “La Vita Nuova.”
“It is with excitement and gratitude that I make my solo debut with orchestra at Herbst Theater performing one of the most significant compositions of my career, in the city where I learned to hone and develop my craft as a composer,” said Gregory Taboloff. “As a pianist, it is easy to get lost within a vast library of masterworks by so many other great composers but over the last decade, the draw toward creating my own music and expressing the music from within has become even greater. Rachmaninoff has long been an inspiration of mine, both as a performer and composer, because his music appeals to my soul. “The Mystic” is very much a reflection of the warmth and depth of this compositional style, music that is even more important today as a balm for the soul.”
Tickets range in price from $45 to $75, and can be purchased through City Box Office online at http://www.cityboxoffice.com or by calling (415) 392-4400. Discounts are available for group purchases of ten tickets or more.