Guitarist and Vocalist John Pizzarelli and Violinist Bruce Dukov Join the
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for a Night of Italian Music with Spectacular Fireworks
Friday, August 26, and Saturday, August 27, at 8:30 PM
Saturday’s Concert is Generously Sponsored by Mirassou
Autry National Center is the Media Sponsor for Friday and Saturday
With musical selections from film classics such as The Untouchables, Cinema Paradiso, The Godfather, and La Dolce Vita, the evening is full of passion, romance and intrigue. Selections from the Morricone oeuvre include the Main Title from The Untouchables arranged by Henry Mancini and music from Cinema Paradiso featuring violinist Bruce Dukov. John Mauceri debuts a new concert suite he arranged from The Godfather’s first two film scores, chronicling the rise to power of the Corleones, America’s favorite mob family.
This performance also features Verdi’s Aida Sinfonia, a rarely played alternative to the more commonly used Prelude, plus a spectacular fireworks finale set to Respighi’s The Pines of Rome.
New York City-born violinist BRUCE DUKOV was trained at the Juilliard School of Music, where he studied with the renowned Dorothy DeLay. There, he received both his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, graduating with Juilliard's highest award for excellence on the violin. He has received a U.S. Government Fulbright Grant for overseas study in England, the prestigious Kosciusko Foundation Wieniawski Prize, and first prize in the 1973 National Young Artist Competition. In 1974 he settled in London, which served as a base for his concertizing in Europe and the Middle East. He performed in famous halls such as the Concertgebouw, and recorded radio recitals for most of the major BBC stations in England, Scotland, and Wales, as well as Ireland, Holland, Germany, Norway, and Turkey. Dukov also taught and gave a series of master classes in the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and for the Dublin Philharmonic Society. Returning to America in 1985, Dukov settled in Los Angeles. As a highly sought after concertmaster in the studios, to date, he has performed in over 920 film and television soundtracks, and hundreds of records with diverse artists from Sinatra and Streisand to Michael Jackson and Sisqo. No stranger to the stage at the Hollywood Bowl, Dukov has appeared several times as a featured soloist with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and has been Concertmaster of the Orchestra since its creation in 1991.
The 2005 Hollywood Bowl season marks JOHN MAUCERI's 15th with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, which was created for him by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1991. On July 31, Mauceri conducted his 300th concert with the Orchestra and in September, he celebrates his 60th birthday. Mauceri's 2004 season at the Bowl started with the premiere of Elmer Bernstein's last completed composition, A Fanfare for John at the Bowl, to inaugurate the new shell on Opening Night and concluded with the Los Angeles premiere of Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings Symphony, on which Mauceri served as editor and artistic advisor. Other highlights included Bowl premieres of Turandot and many works from the world of film and Broadway, playing to a combined audience of 250,000. Mauceri has just completed his fifth season and 20th production (Beethoven's Fidelio) as Music Director of the Pittsburgh Opera. His concert engagements literally took him around the world, with appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Ravinia Festival, a sixth annual visit to Leipzig's Gewandhaus Orchestra and a special series of concerts in Tokyo. He also conducted at the Kennedy Center Honors in tribute to Joan Sutherland; the performance was televised nationally on CBS. John Mauceri continues to write and speak about musical matters. Earlier this year he delivered a presentation called "Exiles in Hollywood" to the Major Orchestra Librarians' Association conference in Los Angeles. This spring, Disney released the digitally re-mastered Bambi, which includes an interview with Mauceri on the music, the historical background of the film, and its original book. He also appears on the DVD restorations of Captain Blood, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, and The Sea Hawk, discussing the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. In addition to his 18 concerts at the Bowl this summer, Mauceri conducts the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Chicago's annual Grant Park Gala, and a series of concerts in Tokyo's Suntory Hall.
Jazz guitarist/vocalist JOHN PIZZARELLI is a technically proficient fret-man with a soft voice, charming stage presence, and knack for uptempo swing. Most often performing in a trio setting sans drums, Pizzarelli has found his niche covering jazz standards and American Popular Song in his own urbane style. The son of journeyman swing guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, John began performing with his father at age 20 and made his recorded debut with his 1983 release, I'm Hip — Please Don't Tell My Father. Growing up, John was exposed to the music of such jazz luminaries as Les Paul and Django Reinhardt, and he has justifiably drawn comparisons to both of these legendary guitarists. Pizzarelli's updated old-school sound caught the ear of many jazz purists early on; notably, in 1993 the John Pizzarelli Trio opened various dates on Frank Sinatra's tour, eventually participating in the legendary vocalist's 80th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall. Interestingly, Pizzarelli's growing popularity garnered him a lead spot in the 1997 Broadway production of Dream, a tribute to composer Johnny Mercer. Taking a break from swing, Pizzarelli released Bossa Nova in 2004. Largely featuring the works of Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, the album showcases the Pizzarelli Trio on such classics of the genre as "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Aguas de Marco (Waters of March)."
One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 37th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2005, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue at the 16th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2005 at 8:30 PM
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2005 at 8:30 PM
HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood
La Dolce Vita: Italian Cool on a Hot Summer Night
HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA
JOHN MAUCERI, conductor
JOHN PIZZARELLI, special guest
BRUCE DUKOV, violin
MORRICONE, arr. Mancini Main Title, The Untouchables
VERDI Aida Sinfonia
MORRICONE Cinema Paradiso (Bruce Dukov, violin)
ROTA, arr. Mauceri The Godfather
ROTA, arr. Mancini La Dolce Vita
Presenting John Pizzarelli (Selections to be announced from the stage)
RESPIGHI The Pines of Rome (with fireworks)
Saturday’s Concert is Generously Sponsored by Mirassou
Autry National Center is Media Sponsor for Friday and Saturday
Tickets ($4 - $110) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records, and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at HollywoodBowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details.
For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.
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Adam Crane, 213.972.3422; photos, 213.972.3034