Hungarian Virtuosi Orchestra to launch Chamber Music West season

Steve Carr of the Kur Carr Group, Inc., submitted this information.

Under the leadership of artistic director and violin soloist Miklós Szenthelyi, the Hungarian Virtuosi Orchestra opens the 2008-09 Chamber Music West concert season at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10.

The performance follows a 6:30 p.m. lecture, "Speaking of Chamber Music," at Faith Presbyterian Church, 16000 N. Del Webb Blvd., Sun City. Former Arizona Republic classical music critic Dimitri Drobatschewsky will lead the discussion.

The Hungarian Virtuosi Orchestra, a strings-only ensemble, was formed by Szenthelyi in 1988.

Since then, the orchestra has given more than 5,000 performances and done more than 50 tours around the world.

The orchestra will perform Passacaglia in G minor (from Suite No. 7, Handel/Halvorsen); Carnival in Venice (Paganini); Five Pieces for Violin (Kreisler) and Souvenir de Florence (Tchaikovsky).

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the Chamber Music West office in the Bell Plaza Professional Building, 10451 W. Palmeras Drive, Suite 122E, Sun City, or online at www.chambermusicwest.com. Performance-day sales at the venue begin at 6 p.m.

Joining Szenthelyi in the ensemble is Italian cellist Judit Faludi, a highly respected artist whose regular performances have included appearances with the Hungarian State Opera House orchestra, the Academy of Music and Hungarian Radio.

Victor Carr Jr. wrote for ClassicsToday.com that the orchestra "creates an atmosphere of such intense beauty, you wish it would never end" on reviewing the orchestra's recording of Anton Dvorak's Serenade for Strings, Joseph Suk's Serenade in E-flat, Johann Strauss Jr.'s Pizzicato Polka and Johannes Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5.

Szenthelyi was awarded the Liszt Prize in 1986 and the Star of Hungary Commander Order by the president of Hungary in 1994. He plays a 1723 G. Guarnieri master violin 1723 donated to him by the state.

The performance is the first of seven during the 2008-09 season and will be followed by:

• David Carpenter, viola, with Julien Quentin, piano, Dec. 1.

• Alexander String Quartet Jan. 12.

• The Borealis Wind Quintet, Feb. 2.

•  Russian pianist Alexander "Sasha" Ghindin, Feb. 16.

•  The Cypress String Quartet, March 2.

• David Finckel on cello and Wu Han on piano, March 30.

Tickets are $25 and student tickets are free with a valid ID. Season packages include all seven concerts for $140 or six for $120. All seating is reserved.

Chamber Music West is supported by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, with funding from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Peoria, Target and the West Valley Arts Council.

For information or to purchase tickets: 623-972-0478. For additional information about Chamber Music West: www.chambermusicwest.com.