A Hero's Life

A Hero's Life

ARTISTS: JoAnn Falletta; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Nikki Chooi
COMPOSER: Behzad Ranjbaran
LABEL: Beau Fleuve Records
CAT ID: 783970072641

GRAMMY® CATEGORIES SUBMITTED INTO:
Classical Compendium
Classical Instrumental Solo (Nikki Chooi - Ranjbaran: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra)

Across a centuries-long history, the violin has emerged as an instrument of unparalleled emotional expression and virtuosic brilliance. Pairing Behzad Ranjbaran’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra with Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben seemed a natural celebration of the instrument—and indeed the entire orchestra—bridging a span of one hundred years. Both pieces are portraits of their artistic worlds: the extraordinary culture of ancient Persia, filtered through the composer’s love of the 20th-century Western orchestra, and the fin-de-siècle extravagance of Strauss’ late Romanticism.

I have loved Behzad’s Violin Concerto since I conducted it at the Curtis Institute, and we found a passionate advocate for this work in the Buffalo Philharmonic’s concertmaster, Nikki Chooi. The perfumed atmosphere of the ancient world and the influence of Behzad’s interest in the Persian violin, the kamancheh, make the piece an astonishing blend of Eastern exoticism and extreme virtuosity, and one of the great violin concertos of our time.

Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) is another world entirely. Composed toward the end of his legacy of tone poems, the work presents Strauss himself as the hero, a premise that appalled the critics of the time but in retrospect possesses a tremendous charm. Requiring huge orchestral forces, Strauss’ “life” is filled with drama, strife and ultimately victory, but he enshrines the most important element of that life—the woman he adored—in the glowing voice of the violin.

Pauline, his wife of 55 years, was a lady of capricious and volatile temperament, and the violin is entrusted to express every possible mood and emotion, thus becoming the most astonishing solo of the orchestral repertoire (exquisitely performed by Nikki Chooi).

The Buffalo Philharmonic today possesses a keen interest in new music and is very proud to present the world premiere recording of the Ranjbaran Violin Concerto. Their live performance of Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben expresses—beyond a doubt—their great passion for music of the late Romantic period. The live performance of this work was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Angelo M. Fatta.

JoAnn Falletta, Music Director

JoAnn Falletta

GRAMMY Award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta serves as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and music director laureate of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. She has guest conducted many of the most prominent orchestras in America, Canada and throughout Europe, Asia and South America. As music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Falletta became the first woman to lead a major American ensemble. Credited with bringing the Philharmonic to an unprecedented level of national and international prominence, she is a leading recording artist for Naxos, and won her most recent GRAMMY Award in 2019 as conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra for Kenneth Fuchs’ Spiritualist (8.559824). Her Naxos recording of John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan (8.559331) received two GRAMMY Awards in 2008. From 2011 to 2014 she served as principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra, with whom she made her BBC Proms debut and recorded six highly acclaimed Naxos albums. She was the first woman and the first American to fill this post. Falletta is a member of the esteemed American Academy of Arts and Sciences, has served as a member of the National Council on the Arts, is the recipient of many of the most prestigious conducting awards and was named Performance Today’s Classical Woman of the Year 2019.

For more information, visit www.joannfalletta.com.

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

Founded in 1935, the GRAMMY Award-winning Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) is Buffalo’s leading cultural ambassador, presenting more than 120 classics, pops and youth concerts each year. Since 1940, the orchestra’s permanent home has been Kleinhans Music Hall. In March 2018, the BPO became the first American orchestra to perform at the Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw, Poland. In 2022, they made their 24th appearance at Carnegie Hall celebrating the life and works of Lukas Foss, former BPO music director. Over the decades, the BPO has matured in stature under leading conductors William Steinberg, Josef Krips, Lukas Foss, Michael Tilson Thomas, Julius Rudel, Semyon Bychkov and Maximiano Valdés. During the tenure of JoAnn Falletta, the BPO has rekindled its distinguished history of radio broadcasts and recordings, including the release of around 50 albums of diverse repertoire on the

Naxos and Beau Fleuve Records labels. The Philharmonic’s recording of John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan (Naxos 8.559331), featuring soprano Hila Plitmann, received GRAMMY Awards for Best Classical Vocal Performance and Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and its recording of Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua (Naxos 8.559885-86) received a GRAMMY Award for Best Choral Performance.

For more information, please visit: www.bpo.org

Nikki Chooi

Canadian-American violinist Nikki Chooi has established himself as one of the most charismatic, versatile, and engaging performers of his generation. Praised for his powerful and poetic performances, he has earned international recognition as First Prize-winner of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition and as a laureate of both the Queen Elizabeth and Tchaikovsky Competitions.

A dynamic leader and soloist, Nikki currently serves as Concertmaster of the Grammy® Award-winning Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. He was previously Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, where his playing was featured in The Met: Live in HD broadcasts and on the Grammy®-nominated Decca recording of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. In-demand worldwide, he has appeared as guest concertmaster with the symphonies of Boston, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Houston, Sydney, and the Macao Orchestra.

As a soloist, Nikki has performed with major ensembles including the Vancouver Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Belgium, Chamber Orchestra of Wallonie, Auckland Philharmonia,

Puerto Rico Symphony, and National Taiwan Symphony Festival Orchestra. His recent solo appearances have included critically acclaimed performances at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall in New York. His festival appearances span Marlboro, Ravinia, Rockport, and La Jolla SummerFest in the U.S.; Dresden Musikfestspiele, Moritzburg Festival, and Kammermusik Utrecht in Europe; Musica Viva in Australia; and Chamber Music New Zealand. Deeply committed to collaboration, he performs with his brother, violinist Timothy Chooi, and has performed with renowned artists including Yo-Yo Ma, JoAnn Falletta, and the ensemble Time for Three.

A dedicated educator, Nikki has presented classes at the Curtis Institute of Music, New England Conservatory’s Morningside Program, and the San Francisco Conservatory, in addition to leading teaching residencies across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, he trained at the Victoria Conservatory, Mount Royal Conservatory, Morningside Music Bridge, and the National Arts Centre Young Artist Programme before graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, studying with Joseph Silverstein, Ida Kavafian, and Donald Weilerstein.