Friday, December 12, 2008, AT 8 PM (Casual Fridays)
Saturday, December 13, 2008, AT 8 PM
Sunday, December 14, 2008, AT 2 PM

Media Sponsor for December 12: Time Warner Cable

Marin Alsop, the first woman to head a major American orchestra, joins violinist Nikolaj Znaider and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for three performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Friday and Saturday, December 12 and 13, at 8 p.m., as well as Sunday, December 14, at 2 p.m. The all-Brahms programs feature the composer's Tragic Overture and his Violin Concerto. The Saturday and Sunday concerts also include his Symphony No. 1.

Johannes Brahms is a natural mainstay for any orchestra's musical diet. The three works for these performances highlight the German composer's penchant for combining serious yet playful overtones in his music. The somber Tragic Overture follows a sonata format and was composed as a companion piece to the more comical Academic Festival Overture (not played in this program). Alone it represents the tragedy half of the comedy/tragedy theater mask. Znaider illustrates his mastery in Brahms' Violin Concerto, piece was composed for Joseph Joachim, an international star of his time, much like Znaider is today. The Saturday and Sunday performances end with the beloved Symphony No. 1. The symphony, which took Brahms nearly 20 years to complete, features a pair of lyrical interludes between the stormy first movement and turbulent conclusion.

For additional information about the programming, Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to each concert in BP Hall, and are free to all ticket holders. Eric Bromberger, violinist, Fulbright nominee and recipient of a National Endowment of the Humanities Fellowship at Yale University, hosts.

The Friday performance is part of the LA Phil's Casual Fridays series which encourages audience and orchestra members to attend attired in comfortable clothes. These shorter programs - without intermission - 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 Caf'e.

In September 2007, MARIN ALSOP made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the first woman to head a major American orchestra. This mirrored her ongoing success in the United Kingdom where she was Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony from 2002 to 2008, and is now Conductor Emeritus. Alsop also continues her association as Conductor Laureate of the Colorado Symphony following 12 years as Music Director, and since 1992 has been Music Director of California's acclaimed Cabrillo Festival, which has won the coveted ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music every single year since her appointment. The first artist to win both Gramophone's "Artist of the Year" award and the Royal Philharmonic Society's Conductor's Award in the same season, Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellowship (the first conductor to receive this prestigious American honor) and won the Classical Brit Award for Best Female Artist that year. She has also received the Royal Philharmonic Society's BBC Radio 3 Listeners Award and a European Women of Achievement Award, and in fall of 2008 was inducted as a fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Alsop is a regular guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She is also one of the few conductors to appear every season with both the London Symphony and the London Philharmonic, and has conducted many other distinguished orchestras worldwide, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Zurich Tonhalle, Orchestre de Paris, Bavarian Radio Symphony and La Scala Milan. One of Alsop's first projects as Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony is a Dvor'ak cycle for Naxos. This joins an extensive Naxos discography, which includes, notably, a Brahms symphony cycle with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and an ongoing series of Bournemouth Symphony CDs of music by Bartok, Bernstein, Orff, and several living American composers. Alsop can also be heard regularly as a commentator on NPR's Weekend Edition segment "Marin on Music," and on BBC's Radio 3. In 2006, Alsop was the only classical musician invited to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, alongside presidents, prime ministers and CEOs of the world's most powerful companies. She has been profiled in Time and Newsweek, appeared on NBC's Today show, and was featured as ABC News's "Person of the Week." Marin Alsop is a native of New York City; she attended Yale University and received her master's degree from the Juilliard School.

Celebrated as one of the foremost violinists of today, NIKOLAJ ZNAIDER is regularly invited to work with the world's leading orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra, and enjoys artistic collaborations with acclaimed conductors including Barenboim, Chung, Sir Colin Davis, Dohn'anyi, Dutoit, Gergiev, Jansons, Maazel, Masur, Mehta, Rostropovich, Temirkanov and Thielemann. An exclusive RCA Red Seal/BMG Sony Masterworks recording artist, Znaider's recording of the Beethoven and Mendelssohn Violin Concerti with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta has been greeted with critical acclaim. The most recent addition to his discography is the complete works for violin and piano of Johannes Brahms with Yefim Bronfman; his recording of the Brahms and Korngold Violin Concerti with the Vienna Philharmonic and Valery Gergiev is due for release later this season. His award winning recordings of Prokofiev and Glazunov Violin Concerti with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Mariss Jansons and Bravo, his album of Romantic virtuosic violin music have also been critically acclaimed, selected as Gramophone magazine's Editor's Choice. Znaider is Founder and Artistic Director of the Nordic Music Academy, an annual summer school whose vision is to create conscious and focused musical development based on quality and commitment. Znaider plays the "Kreisler" Guarnerius "del Ges`u" 1741 on-extended loan to him by The Royal Danish Theater through the generosity of the Velux Foundations and the Knud Hojgaard Foundation.

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, December 12, 2008, at 8 PM (Casual Fridays)

Saturday, December 13, 2008, at 8 PM

Sunday, December 14, 2008, at 2 PM

Walt Disney Concert Hall

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles



LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

MARIN ALSOP, conductor

NIKOLAJ ZNAIDER, violin



BRAHMS Tragic Overture

BRHAMS Violin Concerto

BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 (except the Casual Fridays performance)

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to each concert in BP Hall, and are free to all ticket holders. Eric Bromberger, violinist, Fulbright nominee and recipient of a National Endowment of the Humanities Fellowship at Yale University, hosts.

The Casual Fridays performance is followed by 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 Caf'e.

Tickets ($17 - $147) are on sale now at the Walt Disney Concert Hall box office, online at LAPhil.com, or via credit card by phone at 323.850.2000. When available, choral bench seats ($17), 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 information, please call 323.850.2000.

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