Ning An, pianist

Our Tenth Anniversary Season ends much as it began--with big, bold music that conjures up a mythical world. Maestro Boughton, longtime conductor in Finland, brings the heroic music of the Far North to life in works by Grieg and Sibelius, while pianist Ning An tackles Rachmaninoff's unforgettable Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini--including the bewitching orchestral Variation #18.
 
First Prize winner of both the inaugural 2006 Tivoli International and 2003 William Kapell Piano Competitions, An has also won top prizes from many other prestigious competitions, including the Queen Elisabeth, Santander and Cleveland International Piano Competitions.
 
Ning An plays with great sensitivity and nuance. Writing in The Plain Dealer, Donald Rosenberg observed, "An's playing Sunday had nothing of competition, anxiety or flash. His performances were thoughtful, clear and intensely felt." As Edward Reichel of the Deseret Morning News put it, "Ning's performances are as much examples of music beautifully played as they are pyrotechnic outbursts. And his interpretations never fail to capture the essence of the music."
 
An's Carnegie Hall debut, an all-Chopin program presented by the Chopin Foundation of the United States in Weill Recital Hall, was praised in the New York Concert Review for "the almost sculpted clarity of his playing, and his ability to maintain balance and tension in large-scale dramatic forms."
 
This is one concert artist you'll not want to miss.  When An made his South Bay premiere in 2010, Richard Scheinin¹s Mercury News review urged piano lovers: "Catch him on his next visit."  And so you should, this weekend!

Symphony Silicon Valley is the professional symphony orchestra of San Jose.  Founded in 2002, the nonprofit company has progressed from a daring idea to rapidly become the greater South Bay's premiere orchestra and a notable community success story.  The Symphony's artists, nationally recruited, locally resident, with an average performance tenure in San Jose of over 20 years, are recognized as among the best in the greater Bay Area.  Led by an exciting roster of distinguished guest conductors on the European model, the Symphony is an anchor tenant of San Jose's magnificently restored downtown California Theatre, one of Northern California's most outstanding music halls.  Symphony Silicon Valley is setting an example of an innovative business model in the arts -- market driven and financially conservative, with low overhead and the flexibility to match its programming to its support base.  Besides the Orchestra's core Classics programming, the Symphony's other concerts include: The exciting Broadway In Concert series combining top Broadway acting talent with the orchestra on stage playing the rarely-heard original full orchestrations of productions from Broadway's Golden Era; Target Summer Pops Free Music Festival, five diverse concerts produced outdoors on the lawn and annually bringing some 18,000 people out to enjoy totally free and family-friendly music.