VIRTUOSO PIANIST STEPHEN HOUGH TO PERFORM SAINT-SAËNS'
RARELY HEARD "EGYPTIAN" CONCERTO
____________________________________________________________________________________

Portland, Ore. … Famed pianist Stephen Hough will join internationally renowned conductor Carlos Kalmar, a candidate for the position of Music Director of the Oregon Symphony, in a Classical concert featuring Saint-Saëns' rarely heard "Egyptian" concerto. Also on the program will be Mozart's Symphony No. 32 and Brahms' Piano Quartet in G minor (arranged by Schönberg) from Oct. 20 to 22 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Oregon Symphony Classical Bravo concerts are sponsored by ODS Health Plans. Media support is provided by The Oregonian.

Known as a champion of lesser-known repertoire, Hough will perform Saint-Saëns' "Egyptian" Concerto during the first half of the concert. A piece rarely performed on the concert stage, it was written when Saint-Saëns' visited Egypt: "Word has it that he was so taken by the sounds of folk melodies that he heard," said Symphony President Tony Woodcock, "that he started scribbling down the themes on his shirt cuff so he wouldn't forget them, and that formed the inspiration for this concerto. It's very virtuosic - and a crowd pleaser as well." Hough is currently working on a recording of the complete works for piano and orchestra by Saint-Saëns.

The first half of the program also will feature Mozart's Symphony No. 32. The second half will feature Schönberg's orchestration of Brahms' Piano Quartet in G minor - a work originally scored for three string instruments and piano.

Carlos Kalmar is the newly appointed Music Director of the Grant Park Music Festival, and in 2000 he began his music directorship of Vienna Tonkünstlerorchester. During his international career, Kalmar has also been music director of the Hamburg Symphony, Stuttgart Philharmonic and, since 1996, Anhaltisches Theater in Dessau, Germany.

In addition to pre-concert talks one hour before the concert, Oregon Symphony Classical concerts regularly include additional opportunities for listeners to learn more about the music and the orchestra.

These activities include:
Saturday: The conductor of each series will discuss the program from the podium in "Symphony Interactive." Media support for "Symphony Interactive" is provided by KINKfm102.
Sunday: Audience members will be invited to stay for a 15-20 minute panel discussion with musicians and/or the conductor. Media support for "Sunday Night Post-Concert Discussion" is provided by KBPS.

Performances are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 20 and 21, at 7:30 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m. Tickets range in price from $15 to $70 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets (790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony's Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.

Carlos Kalmar

Carlos Kalmar is the newly appointed Music Director of the Grant Park Music Festival, a post he assumed during the 2000 summer season. Also in 2000 he began his music directorship of Vienna Tonkünstlerorchester. During his career, he has been music director of the Hamburg Symphony, Stuttgart Philharmonic, and since 1996, Anhaltisches Theater in Dessau, Germany. His ever-increasing guest conducting engagements of symphony and opera throughout Europe and North America include appearances with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony, Philharmonische Staatsorchester of Bremen, Bochum Symphony, Dortmund Philharmonic, NDR Radio Orchestra of Hanover, National Orchestra of Spain, ORT Orchestra of Florence, Hamburg State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Zurich Opera House and the National Opera of Brussels.

In addition to his music directorship at Grant Park, Kalmar returns to North America for guest engagements every season, conduction such orchestras as the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, Buffalo Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Jacksonville (Florida) Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Many of the orchestras have invited him for the second and third times.

John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune writes of Kalmar, "In the Germanic works which rounded out the program, Beethoven's Creatures of Prometheus Overture and the Brahms Symphony No. 1, Kalmar impressed as a sensitive, probing and communicative young conductor the orchestra world should be paying serious attention to -- and undoubtedly will before long."

Carlos Kalmar was born in 1958 of Austrian parents in Montevideo, Uruguay. He showed an interest in music at an early age. He began studying violin at age 6 and by age 15, his musical development led him to the Vienna Academy of Music where he studied conducting with Karl Österreicher.

Kalmar resides in Vienna with his wife and two daughters.

Stephen Hough

Stephen Hough has emerged as a unique presence on the international concert scene. From highly acclaimed performances of standard repertoire, in recital and with the world's finest orchestras, to his interest in discovering unusual and neglected works, he combines the imagination and pianistic color of the past with the scholarship of the present, illuminating the very essence of the music he plays.

Hough divides his time between homes in London and New York City. Since winning first prize in the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1983, he has performed with most of the major American orchestras and with numerous European orchestras under conductors including Abbado, Dohnányi, Dutoit, Gergiev, Levine, Rattle, Salonen, Temirkanov, Tilson Thomas and Vänskä. In North America in recent seasons, he appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and the National, Toronto and Saint Louis symphonies.

Hough regularly gives recitals in major halls and series all over the world and has been a frequent guest at many festivals including Aspen, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Blossom, Hollywood Bowl, Mostly Mozart, Edinburgh, Salzburg and the Proms, where he has appeared over a dozen times.

Recent and upcoming performance highlights include engagements with the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras and the Detroit, Montreal and Indianapolis symphonies; an appearance at Carnegie Hall with the Dallas Symphony; tours throughout the US with the BBC Scottish Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra; appearances at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center with the Philharmonia led by Vladimir Ashkenazy; and recitals in Pittsburgh, Vancouver and Toronto. European highlights include performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic orchestra; recitals at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Royal Festival Hall in London; and chamber music projects at the Salzburg Festival, Konzerthaus in Vienna and Wigmore Hall. In addition, he returns to Japan to appear with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and at the Pacific Music Festival.

Hough has made around 30 recordings, many of which have won international prizes such as the Diapason d'Or, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, and Classic CD and Gramophone Awards. In 1996, his Hyperion recording of concertos by Scharwenka and Sauer with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Lawrence Foster was given two awards by Gramophone Magazine: Concerto Record of the Year as well as their overall Record of the Year. His recordings of Mendelssohn's complete works for piano and orchestra, Lowell Lieberman's two piano concertos, Mompou's solo piano music (a Diapason d'Or and Gramophone Award-winner), and his 1998 release "New York Variations" (chosen as Best Classical CD of the Year by Time magazine) have further reinforced his status as an artist of the utmost distinction and individuality. Hough's three latest releases are solo recital discs of Schubert, Liszt and Brahms, and ongoing recording plans include the complete works for piano and orchestra by Saint-Saëns with the CBSO and Sakari Oramo. Also a talented writer, the liner notes he has written for several of his recordings have received high praise from many critics.

As a chamber musician, Hough collaborates on a regular basis with friends such as Steven Isserlis, Joshua Bell, Pamela Frank, Tabea Zimmermann and Michael Collins. He has also performed with the Cleveland, Emerson and Juilliard Quartets and recorded the complete sonatas of Beethoven and Brahms with the latter's former first violinist, Robert Mann.

A selection of Hough's own transcriptions for piano are published by Josef Weinberger Ltd.