Program Features Acclaimed Violinist Vadim Repin

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 AND 23, 2008, AT 8 PM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2008, AT 2 PM

The February 23 Concert is Generously Sponsored by Merrill Lynch KCET is the Media Sponsor for the February 24 concert

Los Angeles Opera Music Director James Conlon leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a program featuring virtuoso violinist Vadim Repin at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, February 24, at 2 p.m. The concerts include Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and two pieces by Mussorgsky, arranged by Rimsky-Korsakov: Scherzo in B-flat major and Festive March.

Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 was completed in 1948, but due to the Stalin-instigated hostility toward artistic expression that pervaded the political climate, was neither published nor performed until 1955, two years after the Russian leader’s death. The first movement of the work is a dark and brooding Nocturne and it is followed by a virtuosic and entertaining, yet biting Scherzo. The third movement, a Passacaglia, incorporates a Baroque form of variations over a repeating bass line – a favorite of the composer. Shostakovich self-referentially brings back the theme of the Passacaglia in the Burlesque finale, in an almost-manic ending. In Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 the composer’s self-doubt and insecurities are reflected in the dark, slow introduction to the first movement’s Allegro and in its gloomy close. The third movement shifts to a waltz with some delicate orchestration, but by the final movement, the theme of the first movement’s Allegro takes over again. Mussorgsky was known for his wild, original, but untutored talent, and his Scherzo in B-flat major and the Festive March from the ill-fated Mlada project were among several works completed, edited and arranged by his good friend Rimsky-Korsakov.

Conlon has held the post of Los Angeles Opera Music Director since September of 2006. He has appeared with virtually every major U.S. and European orchestra as well as many of the world’s major opera companies. Siberian-born Repin was revered throughout Russia as a child prodigy. He specializes in Russian and French music, particularly the great Russian violin concertos, in addition to 20th-century music and contemporary music.

The Friday performance is part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Casual Fridays series. Casual Fridays series concerts, which encourage audience and orchestra members to attend attired in comfortable clothes, are shorter programs without intermission and feature free post-concert activities for all ticket-holders to enjoy. These activities include a TalkBack discussion with musicians held on stage after the performance and a chance to mingle with members of the orchestra in the Concert Hall Café.

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place in BP Hall one hour prior to each concert, and are free to all ticket holders. Christopher Russell, on the faculty at California State University, Fullerton and Azusa Pacific University, and Director of Instrumental Music at Orange County High School of the Arts, hosts.

One of today's preeminent conductors, JAMES CONLON has cultivated a vast symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire, through more than 30 years of conducting. Conlon embarked on his inaugural season as Music Director of Los Angeles Opera in 2006. He is also currently Music Director of the Ravinia Festival, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and has been Music Director of the Cincinnati Music Festival, America's oldest choral festival, since 1979. Conlon has served as Principal Conductor of the Paris National Opera from 1995 to 2004; General Music Director of the City of Cologne, Germany from 1989 to 2002, where he was simultaneously Music Director of the Gürzenich Orchestra and the Cologne Opera; Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic from 1983 to 1991; and for over three decades, has had an association with The Metropolitan Opera. Conlon made his professional debut in 1971 conducting Boris Godunov at the Spoleto Festival, and his New York debut the following year while still a student, leading a Juilliard production of La Bohème at the recommendation of Maria Callas. Conlon made his New York Philharmonic debut in 1974 at the invitation of Pierre Boulez. For the 2007/08 season he guest-conducts many of North America's major orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. This season in Europe Conlon leads the Orchestre National de France, L’Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the National Philharmonic of Russia, Munich Philharmonic and the Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, among other orchestras. In an effort to raise public consciousness to the significance of works of composers whose lives and compositions were suppressed by the Nazi regime, such as Alexander von Zemlinsky, Viktor Ullmann, Franz Schreker, Kurt Weill, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Karl-Amadeus Hartmann, Erwin Schulhoff and Ernst Krenek, Conlon programs this music with as many American and European orchestras as possible. In 1999, Conlon received the Zemlinsky Prize for his efforts in bringing the composer's music to international attention. In 2002, he received France’s highest distinction from the President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac – the Legion d’Honneur.

Matching fiery passion with impeccable technique, VADIM REPIN is rapidly becoming synonymous with the violin. Born in Siberia in 1971, Repin began playing the violin at the age of 5; six months later he had his first stage performance. At age 11 he gave his recital debuts in Moscow and St. Petersburg and won the gold medal in all age categories in the Wienawski Competition. At 14, he made his debuts in Tokyo, Munich, Berlin and Helsinki. He made his Carnegie Hall debut a year later, and at 17, he won the coveted Queen Elisabeth Concours in Brussels. Repin has appeared with, among others, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, La Scala Milan, the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonic orchestras, the Orchestre de Paris, the Royal Concertgebouw, the San Francisco Symphony, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. His chamber music partners have included Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Evgeny Kissin, Mischa Maisky and Mikhail Pletnev; a recording of the Tchaikovsky and Myaskovsky concerti with the Marinskij Orchestra and Gergiev has recently been added to his prizewinning discography.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable places anywhere to experience music — Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to a 30-week winter subscription season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LA Phil presents a 12-week summer festival at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and home of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the Association’s involvement with Los Angeles extends to educational programs, community concerts and children's programming, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2008, at 8 PM (Casual Fridays)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2008, at 8 PM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2008, at 2 PM

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles



LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

JAMES CONLON, conductor

VADIM REPIN, violin



MUSSORGSKY (arr. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV) Scherzo in B-flat major

MUSSORGSKY (arr. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV) Festive March

SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 (except Friday)



The February 23 concert is generously sponsored by Merrill Lynch; KCET is the media sponsor for the February 24 concert.

Casual Fridays series programs offer post-concert events that are free to all ticket-holders. Available options are an onstage TalkBack discussion with musicians and a post-concert reception with the musicians in the Concert Hall Café.

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place in BP Hall one hour prior to each concert, and are free to all ticket holders. Christopher Russell, on the faculty at California State University, Fullerton, and Azusa Pacific University, and Director of Instrumental Music at Orange County High School of the Arts, hosts.

Tickets ($40 - $142) are on sale now online at LAPhil.com, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. When available, choral bench seats ($15) are released for sale to selected Philharmonic, Colburn Celebrity Recital and Baroque Variations performances two weeks 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 10 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For information, please call 323.850.2000.

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