PROGRAM UPDATE: Louis Lortie Replaces Nelson Freire, Who Was Originally Scheduled to Perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010, AT 8 PM

The legendary Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, under the direction of Riccardo Chailly, brings an all-Beethoven program to Walt Disney Concert Hall, Wednesday, February 17, at 8 p.m. The ensemble, which dates back to 1743, is the world’s oldest city-funded orchestra and boasts the great composer Felix Mendelssohn as one of its former music directors. The orchestra is joined by pianist Louis Lortie, replacing Nelson Freire who had to cancel due to tendonitis. Lortie performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor,” which the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra premiered in 1811. Also on the program is Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. The performance marks the orchestra’s Walt Disney Concert Hall debut and is part of its seven-city U.S. tour. The concert is part of the LA Phil’s 2009/10 Visiting Orchestras series.

Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto was his last and its nickname is rumored to have come from a French army officer at the Vienna premiere allegedly referring to the piece as “an emperor among concertos.” The composer’s Seventh Symphony, written when his hearing was nearly completely gone, is one of his greatest and most admired works. A Viennese newspaper, in an early review of the piece stated, “the symphony brought forth applause which rose to the point of ecstasy.”

The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra performed all of Beethoven’s symphonies during the composer’s lifetime and possesses an extraordinarily vast repertoire. The orchestra first toured the U.S. in 1974, and to date has played 229 concerts in the U.S., with only four appearances in Los Angeles. In addition to Mendelssohn, previous music directors have included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Kurt Masur and Herbert Blomstedt, the latter of whom coincidentally made a welcome return to Walt Disney Concert Hall to conduct the LA Phil earlier in the month.

The much-lauded Riccardo Chailly has held the position as the 19th Music Director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra since September 2005. The Milan native has also conducted the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Munich Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared at the most important opera houses throughout the world. Between 1988 and 2004, he served as Chief Conductor of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

The Sunday Times of London selected Chailly and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra’s 2009 New Year’s Day Barbican Centre performance of Beethoven’s 8th and 9th Symphonies as the greatest classical music performance of the decade and praised the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra as having given one of the best classical concerts of the decade among 15 events in the entire world.

To conclude the Visiting Orchestras series 2009/10 season, the LA Phil welcomes the Saint Louis Symphony with its heralded conductor David Robertson and guest violinist Gil Shaham (April 14, 2010).

An Upbeat Live pre-concert event takes place in Walt Disney Concert Hall’s BP Hall one hour prior to the performance, and is free to all ticket holders. Alan Chapman, KUSC-FM radio host, composer-lyricist and pianist, 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:
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010, AT 8 PM
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

Visiting Orchestras

LEIPZIG GEWANDHAUS ORCHESTRA
RICCARDO CHAILLY, conductor
LOUIS LORTIE, piano

BEETHOVEN            Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
BEETHOVEN            Symphony No. 7

An Upbeat Live pre-concert event takes place in Walt Disney Concert Hall’s BP Hall one hour prior to the performance, and is free to all ticket holders. Alan Chapman, KUSC-FM radio host, composer-lyricist and pianist, hosts.

Tickets ($55 - $215) 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.