LA Phil Principal Concertmaster Martin Chalifour Joins for Lutoslawski’s Chain 2

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2009, AT 8 PM
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2009, AT 8 PM
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2009, AT 2 PM

October 24 Media Sponsor: Los Angeles magazine

Russian conductor Andrey Boreyko returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall, for the first time since 2005, to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in three performances featuring works from Eastern European composers Tchaikovsky, Lutoslawski and Stravinsky, as well as French composer Ravel, Friday and Saturday, October 23 and 24, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, October 25, at 2 p.m. LA Phil Principal Concertmaster Martin Chalifour joins the program for Lutoslawski’s Chain 2.

Three of the four pieces being performed were commissioned specifically for ballet. The first is the program opener: selections from Sleeping Beauty from Tchaikovsky, who was Tsar Alexander III’s favorite composer. An 8-year-old Stravinsky attended one of the first performances of the production and credits it as his first insightful experience with an orchestra in addition to being his first experience with the music of Tchaikovsky. Stravinsky went on to become a brilliant composer whose name on a ballet guaranteed its status as an important musical event. Choreographer Ida Rubinstein commissioned Stravinsky to write Le baiser de le fée or The Fairy’s Kiss, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ice Maiden. Some critics consider the piece to be an intimate homage to Tchaikovsky. The third piece of the program written for ballet is Ravel’s La valse, commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes. The contentious relationship between Diaghilev and Ravel, along with the composer’s insistence that the work emphasize music over choreography resulted in La valse premiering as an orchestral work in 1920. It was later, through Ida Rubinstein’s intervention, that it was produced for ballet.

Lutoslawski’s Chain 2, the only work in the program not written for ballet, was commissioned by Swiss conductor Paul Sacher, who wanted the composer to write a piece specifically for the young German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Noted for his adventurous programming, Andrey Boreyko is one of the most exciting and dynamic conductors to emerge from Eastern Europe in recent years. He is currently Chief Conductor of the Berner Symphonie-Orchester as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart (SWR) and of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi, and General Music Director of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker.

Martin Chalifour, who has served as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Principal Concertmaster since 1995, is also a professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Music. He, along with Philharmonic colleagues, Joanne Pearce Martin and Peter Stumpf (classmates from the Curtis Institute of Music) have joined forces to form the Los Angeles Philharmonic Piano Trio.

The concerts are preceded by Upbeat Live pre-performance discussions which are free to ticket-holders, and occur in BP Hall one hour prior to the performances. Christopher Russell, on the faculty at CSU Fullerton and Azusa Pacific University and Director of Instrumental Music at Orange County High School of the Arts, hosts.

For full artist biographies, please visit: http://www.laphil.com.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Gustavo Dudamel, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable locations 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 concerts, children's programming and community concerts, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2009, AT 8 PM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2009, AT 8 PM

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2009, AT 2 PM
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles



LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

ANDREY BOREYKO, conductor

MARTIN CHALIFOUR, violin



TCHAIKOVSKY Selections from Sleeping Beauty

LUTOSLAWSKI Chain 2

STRAVINSKY Divertimento from Le baiser de la fée

RAVEL La valse



October 24 Media Sponsor: Los Angeles magazine

The concerts are preceded by Upbeat Live pre-performance discussions which are free to ticket-holders, and occur in BP Hall one hour prior to the performances. Christopher Russell, on the faculty at CSU Fullerton and Azusa Pacific University and Director of Instrumental Music at Orange County High School of the Arts, hosts.

Tickets ($42 - $160) 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. 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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