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  • PIANIST PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD JOINS SALONEN AND THE PHILHARMONIC FOR BEETHOVEN'S PIANO CONCERTO NO. 5, "EMPEROR"
  • Dec. 12, 2002
  • DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION, DECEMBER 12, 14, & 15

    Concert Begins With Selections From Mendelssohn's

    A Midsummer Night's Dream

    Versatile French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard joins the Philharmonic as soloist in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor," at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, led by Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, on December 12 & 14 at 8 p.m., and December 15 at 2:30 p.m. The concert begins with excerpts from Mendelssohn's music for A Midsummer Night's Dream. Upbeat Live, a free pre-concert event with musicologist and KUSC radio personality Alan Chapman and Aimard, takes place in the Pavilion's Grand Hall one hour before each performance.

    Based upon the beloved Shakespeare comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, Felix Mendelssohn composed the timeless overture when he was only 17 and wrote the incidental music later, in 1842 for a production that took place in Berlin in 1843. It has endured as a showpiece for orchestras and remains a favorite with audiences, since it contains the well-known Wedding March.

    Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, his final piano concerto, premiered in London in 1810 and was later given the name "Emperor" for its power and grandeur. With the work, Beethoven expands upon the form, enlarging it and broadening it from the previous Mozartean ideal.

    ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, the tenth conductor to head the Los Angeles Philharmonic, began his tenure as Music Director in October 1992. Salonen made his American debut conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in November 1984, and he has conducted the orchestra every season since. Among the many highlights of Salonen's activities with the Philharmonic have been world premieres of new works by composers John Adams, Bernard Rands, Rodion Shchedrin, Steven Stucky, and Salonen himself; well-received Ligeti and Stravinsky festivals; appearances at the Ojai Festival; eight critically acclaimed international tours since 1992; and his extensive discography with the orchestra for Sony Classical. Salonen was born in Helsinki, Finland in 1958. He made his conducting debut in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra in September 1983. He served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia from 1985 to 1994 and as a Principal Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 1995.

    Pianist PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD was born in France in 1957 and studied at the Paris Conservatoire. At the age of 12, he met Olivier Messiaen and went on to become one of the composer's most eloquent interpreters. In 1973, he won the Messiaen International Competition, which marked the beginning of his international career. In 1976, Pierre Boulez founded the Ensemble Intercontemporain and invited Aimard to become its solo pianist. Aimard stayed with that ensemble for 18 years, premiering a great number of works and becoming a key figure in the new music world. He collaborated frequently with such composers as Boulez, Stockhausen, Ligeti, George Benjamin, and Marco Stroppa. In addition, Aimard plays a vast traditional repertoire, both as soloist and chamber musician. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the (London) Philharmonia, the Royal Concertgebouw, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, the Orchestre de Paris, and the Orchestre National de France. He has been featured at the Tanglewood, Salzburg, Berlin, Vienna, and Edinburgh festivals.

    EDITORS - PLEASE NOTE:

    Thursday, December 12, 8 PM

    Saturday, December 14, 8 PM

    Sunday, December 15, 2:30 PM


    ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, conductor

    PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD, piano

    Mendelssohn: Excerpts from A Midsummer Night's Dream

    Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor"

    Upbeat Live, a free pre-concert event with musicologist and KUSC radio personality Alan Chapman and Aimard, takes place in the Pavilion's Grand Hall one hour before each performance.

    Tickets ($14 - $82) for both concerts are on sale now at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons-May, Tower Records, Ritmo Latino, and selected Wherehouse locations), and by credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. Tickets are also available on-line at www.laphil.com. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available two hours prior to the performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts. For further information, please call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Elizabeth Hinckley, 323/850-2047; Scalla Sheen, 323/850-2015