CSO To Explore Norse Folklore In The NORDIC MYTHS FESTIVAL

CSO Music Director Rossen Milanov will lead the Columbus Symphony in an exploration of Norse legend and mythology in the Nordic Myths Festival. The program begins with the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde, Wagner's passionate opera inspired by Celtic myths, followed by Grieg's Piano Concerto, featuring guest pianist Alessio Bax, that immortalizes the beauty of the Nordic landscape. The concert concludes with Sibelius' Lemminkäinen Suite, wherein Finnish myths from The Kalevala come to life accompanied by original video art by Jason Gay.

The Columbus Symphony presents the Nordic Myths Festival: Grieg's Piano Concerto at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.) on Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16, at 8pm. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased in-person at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), online at www.columbussymphony.com, or by phone at (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000. The CAPA Ticket Center will also be open two hours prior to each performance.

Prelude - Patrons are invited to join WOSU's Christopher Purdy in the theatre at 7pm for a 30-minute, pre-concert discussion about the works to be performed.

Postlude - Directly following the concert, a brass quintet of Columbus Symphony musicians will perform on stage.

Mozart to Matisse - Wednesday, March 13, 2pm, Columbus Museum of Art (480 E. Broad St.)

In collaboration with the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA), this event will combine a chamber music performance by CSO musicians and a talk on "Scandinavian Paintings: Myth & Reality." Tickets are $5 for CMA members or $20 for non-members (which also includes admission to the museum) and can be purchased by calling CMA at 614.629.0359.

Friday Coffee Dress - Friday, March 15, 10am, Ohio Theatre

Experience a working rehearsal prior to that evening's opening-night performance. Seating is general admission for this 2.5-hour, open rehearsal, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the fine tuning and preparation behind a Masterworks main stage performance. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in-person at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), online at www.columbussymphony.com, or by phone at (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000. Admission includes coffee and light fare.

Respected and admired by audiences and musicians alike, Rossen Milanov is currently the music director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias (OSPA) in Spain.

In 2017, Milanov received an Arts Prize from The Columbus Foundation for presenting Beethoven's Ninth Symphony as part of CSO's 2017 Picnic with the Pops summer series. Under his leadership, the organization has expanded its reach by connecting original programming with community-wide initiatives, such as focusing on women composers and nature conservancy, presenting original festivals, and supporting and commissioning new music.

Milanov has collaborated with some of the world's preeminent artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Midori, Christian Tetzlaff, and André Watts. During his 11-year tenure with The Philadelphia Orchestra, he conducted more than 200 performances. In 2015, he completed a 15-year tenure as music director of nationally recognized training orchestra Symphony in C in New Jersey. In 2013, he wrapped up a 17-year tenure with the New Symphony Orchestra in his native city of Sofia, Bulgaria. His passion for new music has resulted in numerous world premieres of works by composers such as Derek Bermel, Mason Bates, Caroline Shaw, Phillip Glass, Richard Danielpour, Nicolas Maw, and Gabriel Prokofiev, among others.

Noted for his versatility, Milanov is also a welcomed presence in the worlds of opera and ballet. He has collaborated with Komische Oper Berlin for Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtzensk), Opera Oviedo for the Spanish premiere of Tchaikovsky's Mazzepa and Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle (awarded best Spanish production for 2015), and Opera Columbus for Verdi's La Traviata.

An experienced ballet conductor, he has been seen at New York City Ballet and collaborated with some of the best-known choreographers of our time, such Mats Ek, Benjamin Millepied, and most recently, Alexei Ratmansky in the critically acclaimed revival of Swan Lake in Zurich with the Zurich Ballet, and in Paris with La Scala Ballet.