The Quad City Symphony Orchestra presents Masterworks VI: “Pines of Rome" -- April 2 and 3.
Saturday, April 2, 7:30 p.m.
Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA
Sunday, April 3, 2 p.m.
Augustana College's Centennial Hall, 3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
Lauded by the Philadelphia Enquirer for his "electric presence" and by the American Record Guide for his "rich, deep, mellifluous tone, impeccable intonation," and "excellent sense of timing and tempo," viola master Roberto Díaz is the featured guest in the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's final Masterworks presentations of the 2021-22 season, the gifted musician bringing his talents to Davenport's Adler Theatre and Rock Island's Augustana College in April 2 and 3 performances of Pines of Rome.
A violist of international reputation, Díaz is president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music, and as a soloist, he collaborates with leading conductors of our time on stages throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. He has also worked directly with important 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Krzysztof Penderecki – whose viola concerto he has performed many times with the composer on the podium and whose double concerto he premiered in the United States – as well as Edison Denisov, Jennifer Higdon, Ricardo Lorenz, and Roberto Sierra. Díaz's recording of Jennifer Higdon's Viola Concerto won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2018.
Díaz received an honorary doctorate from Bowdoin College and was awarded an honorary membership by the National Board of the American Viola Society. In 2013, he became a member of the prestigious American Philosophical Society founded by Benjamin Franklin. As a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he was selected by then-music director Christoph Eschenbach to receive the C. Hartman Kuhn Award, given annually to "the member of the Philadelphia Orchestra who has shown ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the standards and the reputation of the Philadelphia Orchestra." Díaz received a bachelor's degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Burton Fine; and a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where his teacher was his predecessor at the Philadelphia Orchestra, Joseph de Pasquale.
The Masterworks VI: Pines of Rome program opens with Johann Strauss Jr.’s charming waltz Voices of Spring, after which Díaz returns to the Quad Cities to perform the Grammy-winning Viola Concerto, an unrelenting showpiece written specifically for the musician. Afterward, patrons are invited to experience the lyricism and power of Samuel Barber’s First Symphony before the Quad City Symphony Orchestra closes its 2021-22 season with Ottorino Respighi’s beloved Pines of Rome, an exhilarating work depicting four events as witnessed by centuries-old trees in full orchestral color.
Masterworks VI: Pines of Rome performances will be held at Davenport's Adler Theatre on April 2 at 7:30 p.m., and, in Rock Island, at Augustana College's Centennial Hall on April 3 at 2 p.m. Admission to the in-person Quad City Symphony Orchestra performances is $10-65, while digital-access admission is also an option at $40 per household, with the recording of the Saturday night performance available to stream on Sunday at 2 p.m. and available for viewing for 30 days following the premiere. For more information and tickets, call (563)322-0931 and visit QCSO.org.
