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  • LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC CONCLUDES INAUGURAL SEASON AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL AS THEY BEGAN IT - WITH ESA-PEKKA SALONEN CONDUCTING STRAVINSKY'S "THE RITE OF SPRING"
  • Jun. 11, 2004
  • Pianist Yefim Bronfman Performs Shostakovich's Concerto for
    Piano, Trumpet and Strings

    FRIDAY, JUNE 11, AT 11 AM; SATURDAY, JUNE 12, AT 8 PM; and SUNDAY, JUNE 13 AT 2 PM

    June 12 generously sponsored by Acura; June 11, 12 and 13 are part of the Building Music Project which is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts; additional media support for June 13 provided by KCET.

    The Los Angeles Philharmonic concludes its inaugural season at Walt Disney Concert Hall with three performances: Friday, June 11, at 11a.m., Saturday, June 12, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 13, at 2 p.m. Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen opens the program with his composition Wing on Wing, a gift to the orchestra celebrating the inaugural season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, featuring sopranos Jamie Chamberlin and Hila Plitmann. The program continues with Shostakovich's Piano Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings featuring guest pianist Yefim Bronfman and the Philharmonic's associate principal trumpet, James Wilt. The performances and season end with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, one of the Philharmonic's signature pieces, which also opened the season at the opening gala on October 23, 2003. The Los Angeles Philharmonic begins its residence at its summer venue, the Hollywood Bowl, in July.

    Both Shostakovich and Stravinsky created works that challenged traditional music of their time. Shostakovich's Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings contains elements of sarcasm and wit quite unexpected in the concert hall. Stravinsky's The Right of Spring includes rhythmic and harmonic clashes unlike anything his native Russia was accustomed to and is regarded as one of the most important masterpieces of the 20th century.

    Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to each concert in BP Hall at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and are free to all ticket holders. The Upbeat Live for June 13 will be presented in the main auditorium of Walt Disney Concert Hall.

    The 1991 winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize for outstanding achievement and excellence in music, pianist YEFIM BRONFMAN was born in Tashkent and studied at Tel Aviv University in Israel and, in this country, at Juilliard, Marlboro, and The Curtis Institute. His debut at age 17 with Zubin Mehta and the Montreal Symphony launched Bronfman's international career. Bronfman has given numerous solo recitals in the leading halls of North America, Europe, and the Far East, including acclaimed debuts at Carnegie Hall in 1989 and at Avery Fisher Hall in 1993. Since his first appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1977, Bronfman has collaborated frequently with the orchestra at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Hollywood Bowl, as well as on the Philharmonic's Grammy Award-winning recording of the three Bartók Piano Concertos, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting.

    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, Schoenberg and Stravinsky Festivals, appearances at the Ojai Festival, numerous 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 of London from 1985 to 1994 and as a principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 1995.

    JAMES WILT joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in March of 2003 as associate principal trumpet. Prior to this, Wilt spent 14 years as the associate principal trumpet of the Houston Symphony, and has held positions with New York Philharmonic, the Denver Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, and Dayton Philharmonic. Although primarily an orchestral musician, Wilt has performed a wide range of solo and chamber music, including three solo appearances with the Houston Symphony and on several occasions as part of the New York Philharmonic's chamber music series. He has also performed with Da Camera and the Greenbriar Consortium and has participated in the Grand Teton and Colorado music festivals. In 1999 and 2002, Wilt traveled to Japan to perform as principal trumpet of the Super World Orchestra at the Tokyo Music Festival as part of an orchestra of musicians selected from around the world.

    Soprano JAMIE CHAMBERLIN is a graduating Master of Music student at UCLA, where she studies voice with Professor Juliana Gondek. Recognized for her abilities as a singer and an actress, Jamie has performed extensively within the Music Department at UCLA, regularly winning both leading and supporting roles in Opera and Musical Theater productions. Most recently she starred as Contessa di Folleville in Opera UCLA's concert production of Rossini's Il viaggio a reims, and as Lady Billows in Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten. Other roles include Concepcion in Ravel's L'heure Espagnole, Arminda in Mozart's La finta giardiniera, as well as Anita in West Side Story and Hesione in the West coast premiere of Triumph of Love. Chamberlin has sung solos with the UCLA Philharmonia and the Pasadena Symphony, and in 2002, she began her professional career as a member of the Los Angeles Opera Chorus.

    HILA PLITMANN has been praised by the New York Times for her "brilliant top register"; the Los Angeles Times calls her "exceptionally gifted" and the Chicago Tribune has described her as "...superb, with an expressive range and communicative power." Born in Jerusalem, she is quickly becoming a cherished soprano voice on the international music scene. Her professional career began in 1998, when she premiered Pulitzer Prize-winner David Del Tredici's The Spider and the Fly with The New York Philharmonic under the baton of Kurt Masur. She has performed as a featured soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Israel Philharmonic, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, the New Israeli Opera and numerous other orchestras and ensembles in the U.S. and abroad. Recent performances include the orchestrated world premiere of Mr. Tambourine Man by Oscar and Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Corigliano, with the Minnesota Orchestra under Robert Spano; her acting debut in the role of Sharon in the Fountain Theater's production of MASTER CLASS by Terrence Mcnally; and her debut recital in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall premiering David Del Tredici's song cycle Lament on the Death of a BullFighter. Her operatic roles include Monica in The Medium, Sister Constance in Dialogue of the Carmelites, Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2004 at 11 AM

    SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2004 at 8 PM

    SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2004 at 2 PM

    Walt Disney Concert Hall

    111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor

    Yefim Bronfman, piano

    James Wilt, trumpet

    Jamie Chamberlin, soprano

    Hila Plitmann, soprano

    SALONEN Wing on Wing

    SHOSTAKOVICH Concerto in C minor for Piano, Trumpet, and Strings

    STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

    June 12 generously sponsored by Acura; June 11, 12 and 13 are part of the Building Music project, which is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts; additional media support for June 13 provided by KCET.

    Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to each concert in BP Hall at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and are free to all ticket holders. The Upbeat Live for June 13 will be presented in the main auditorium of Walt Disney Concert Hall.

    Tickets ($15 - $120) are on sale now at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, online at LAPhil.com, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. When available, choral bench seats ($15), will be released for sale to selected Philharmonic, Colburn Celebrity Recital, and Baroque Variations performances beginning at noon on the Tuesday of the second week prior to the concert. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office two hours prior to the performance. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person; cash only. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For all information, please call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Rachelle Roe, 213.972.7310; Ellie Lloyd, 213.972.3448; for photos: Beth Norber, 213.972.3409