HISTORIC AGREEMENT MARKS FIRST TIME IN HISTORY AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS TO BE HEARD IN CHINA ON A REGULAR BASIS
First LA Phil concert to be broadcast on January 30, 2015
LA Phil to tour in Asia, March 19-29, 2015
Los Angeles, CA (January 22, 2015) – Select concerts from the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2013/14 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall will be broadcast in China via WFMT Radio Network’s historic agreement with Shanghai East Radio Company, marking the first time in history that American orchestras will be heard on a regular basis in China.
The Chicago-based WFMT Radio Network, one of the largest producers and distributors of classical, jazz and folk music radio programs in the world, recently signed an agreement with Shanghai East Radio Company to enhance cultural ties between the U.S. and China through classical music. The agreement between the two radio networks includes a new two-hour weekly radio series to be heard every Friday at 7:00 PM on Shanghai Classical 94.7 FM, beginning in January 2015. Programming will include three of WFMT’s orchestral clients: the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony, reaching an estimated 1.5 million regular listeners in the greater Shanghai area.
Six concerts from the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2013/14 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall will be broadcast monthly (January – June) and feature Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen, as well as soloists Yefim Bronfman, Pedro Carneiro, Leila Josefowicz, Yuja Wang and Hélène Grimaud.
The broadcasts precede the commencement of Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s first tour to Asia together. The tour programs will include City Noir, commissioned by the LA Phil from Creative Chair John Adams for the inaugural Gala in October 2009, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 and Mahler’s Symphony No.6. The tour (March 19-29) will visit Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo.
Gustavo Dudamel, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, commented: “Everyone at the LA Phil is thrilled to be featured in the inaugural WFMT Radio Network broadcast series in Shanghai. Through this new radio series the people of China will have the opportunity to get to know the orchestra, and, when we arrive during our Asian tour in March, we are very much looking forward to meeting them in person.”
WFMT Radio Network / Shanghai East Radio Company
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Schedule of Broadcasts
(Dates subject to change)
Air date: January 30, 2015
Recorded: February 22 and 23, 2014
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 1, Winter Daydreams
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, Pathétique
Air date: February 28, 2015
Recorded: March 8 and 9, 2014
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
CORIGLIANO Symphony No. 1
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
Air date: March 27, 2015
Recorded: October 5 and 6, 2013
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
Pedro Carneiro, percussion
LIEBERSON/KNUSSEN Shing Kham
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 4
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1
Air date: April 24, 2015
Recorded: October 26 and 27, 2013
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Leila Josefowicz, violin
IVES The Unanswered Question
SALONEN Violin Concerto
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5
Air date: May 22, 2015
Recorded: December 21 and 22, 2013
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Yuja Wang, piano
BJARNASON Blow bright
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
STRAVINSKY Petrushka
Air date: June 19, 2015
Recorded: May 30 and June 1, 2014
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Hélène Grimaud, piano
MOZART Serenata Notturna
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G
MOZART Symphony No. 36, Linz
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Asian Tour Schedule
Thursday, March 19, 2015, at 8:00 PM
Hong Kong Cultural Centre
MAHLER: Symphony No. 6
Friday, March 20, 2015, at 8:00 PM
Hong Kong Cultural Centre
ADAMS: City Noir
DVORAK: Symphony No. 9
Sunday, March 22, 2015, at 7:30 PM
Shanghai Oriental Arts Center
MAHLER: Symphony No. 6
Monday, March 23, 2015, at 7:30 PM
Shanghai Oriental Arts Center
ADAMS: City Noir
DVORAK: Symphony No. 9
Wednesday, March 25, 2015, at 8:00 PM
Seoul Arts Center
MAHLER: Symphony No. 6
Thursday, March 26, 2015, at 8:00 PM
Seoul Arts Center
ADAMS: City Noir
DVORAK: Symphony No. 9
Saturday, March 28, 2015, at 6:00 PM
Tokyo Suntory Hall
MAHLER: Symphony No. 6
Sunday, March 29, 2015, at 2:00 PM
Tokyo Suntory Hall
ADAMS: City Noir
DVORAK: Symphony No. 9
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, presents an inspiring array of music from all genres – orchestral, chamber and Baroque music, organ and celebrity recitals, new music, jazz, world music and pop – at two of L.A.’s iconic venues, Walt Disney Concert Hall (www.laphil.com) and the Hollywood Bowl (www.hollywoodbowl.com). The LA Phil’s season at Walt Disney Concert Hall extends from September through May, and throughout the summer at the Hollywood Bowl. With the preeminent Los Angeles Philharmonic at the foundation of its offerings, the LA Phil aims to enrich and transform lives through music, with a robust mix of artistic, education and community programs.
About the WFMT Radio Network
Founded in 1973, the WFMT Radio Network currently syndicates three daily radio programs/networks (Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin, the Beethoven Network, and the Jazz Network), more than a dozen weekly series (including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Salzburg Festival, Relevant Tones, and Fiesta) and more than two dozen specials and short series each year. These programs are used by U.S. stations representing nearly 1,000 markets plus major national radio networks in more than 50 other countries.
The WFMT Radio Network has recently expanded its each with two online archives including over 900 hours of the popular daily show Exploring Music (exploringmusic.org) and the Studs Terkel Radio Archive (studsterkel.org), which eventually will contain over 4500 Terkel programs. The Network is an active member of the European Broadcasting Union – one of just five U.S. members. The WFMT Radio Network programs reach more than four million listeners per week in the United States and an additional two million a week internationally.
About Shanghai Classical 94.7
Classical 94.7, operated by Shanghai East Broadcast Co. Ltd., is the sole professional classical music radio station in mainland China. It broadcasts 19 hours of classical music seven days a week on Classical 94.7 FM and www.eastradio.com, reaching approximately 1.5 million listeners in the Shanghai area alone. Classical 94.7 features world classical music, light music, cross-border music and Chinese ethnic music. Classical 94.7 is dedicated to excellence in broadcasting classical music, while keeping up with trends. Its mission is to build the finest classical music platform and a comprehensive classical music window by combining music appreciation, knowledge, and new developments.
# # #
Sophie Jefferies, sjefferies@laphil.org, 213.972.3422
Laura B. Cohen, lcmediapr@gmail.com, 310.867.3897
Photos: 213.972.3034