FEBRUARY 20-29, 2020

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 13, 2019) — LA Phil Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic present four revelatory programs pairing the late orchestral masterworks of Antonín Dvořák with the trailblazing symphonies of Charles Ives, from February 20 through February 29. Surprising, and surprisingly fitting, the comparisons between the two composers highlight Dvořák’s deep engagement with the modes, harmonies, and rhythms of his beloved Czech folk music, and Ives’ bold forays into the marches, hymns, and patriotic songs of his New England youth.

This mini-festival launches with a pairing of Ives’ Symphony No. 1 and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 on February 20 and 21. On February 22 and 23, Dudamel and the LA Phil perform Ives’ Symphony No. 2 and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8. The third program, February 27, features Ives’ The Unanswered Question and Symphony No. 3, “The Camp Meeting,” along with Dvořák’s final symphony, No. 9, “New World,” with its melodies and dramatic harmonies inspired by Native American and African American musical sources.

The mini-festival reaches its high point on February 28 and 29 with the return of The Unanswered Question and Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, this time joined by Ives’ climactic Symphony No. 4, featuring the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

In conjunction with the mini-festival, the LA Phil also offers Myth of the New World, an in-depth, multimedia exploration of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “New World,” by photographer and video artist Deborah O’Grady and psychoanalyst Melinda Haas. In words and images, Myth of the New World delves into the sense of hope and expansiveness expressed in Dvořák’s final symphony, while contemplating the darker depths that have lain beneath these ideals from the earliest European colonization of America until our own time. Presented as part of the Upbeat Live pre-concert lecture in BP Hall at 7pm on Saturday, February 29, the program will be repeated on Sunday, March 1, at 2 pm at the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles.

To continue the exploration, members of the LA Phil perform Ives’ String Quartet No. 1 and Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96, “American,” in a chamber music program on March 3.

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC
IVES & DVOŘÁK WITH DUDAMEL
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL

Ives 1 & Dvořák 7
Thursday, February 20, 2020, 8PM
Friday, February 21, 2020, 8PM
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
IVES  Symphony No. 1
DVOŘÁK  Symphony No. 7
Location: Walt Disney Concert Hall

Ives 2 & Dvořák 8
Saturday, February 22, 2020, 8PM
Sunday, February 23, 2020, 2PM
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
IVES  Symphony No. 2
DVOŘÁK  Symphony No. 8
Location: Walt Disney Concert Hall

Ives 3 & Dvořák 9
Thursday, February 27, 2020, 8PM
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
IVES  The Unanswered Question
IVES  Symphony No. 3, “The Camp Meeting”
DVOŘÁK  Symphony No. 9, “New World”
Location: Walt Disney Concert Hall

Ives 4 & Dvořák 9
Friday, February 28, 2020, 11AM
Saturday, February 29, 2020, 8PM
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, Artistic Director
IVES  The Unanswered Question
IVES  Symphony No. 4
DVOŘÁK  Symphony No. 9, “New World”
Location: Walt Disney Concert Hall

Myth of the New World Lecture
Saturday, February 29, 2020, 7PM
Deborah O’Grady & Melinda Hass
Location: Walt Disney Concert Hall

Myth of the New World Lecture
March 1, 2020, 1PM
Deborah O’Grady & Melinda Hass
Location: C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles
10348 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90064

Intimate Ives & Dvořák
Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 8PM
Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
IVES  String Quartet No. 1
DVOŘÁK  String Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96, “American”
Location: Walt Disney Concert Hall

For more information and full artists biographies, please visit laphil.com

Tickets for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2019/20 season are available for purchase at laphil.com, in person at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, or by phone at 323 850 2000.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Music & Artistic 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 (laphil.com) and the Hollywood Bowl (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, learning, and community programs.