Soprano Valdine Anderson Replaces Dawn Upshaw in West Coast Premiere of Correspondances by Henri Dutilleux

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 AT 8 PM and SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22 AT 2 PM

The Berliner Philharmoniker, under the baton of Music Director Sir Simon Rattle, gives their debut performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall later this month with two concerts on November 21 and 22, presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In the November 21 program, Rattle leads two masterworks: Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, and Schubert's Symphony No. 9 ("Great C-Major"), a work which the Berliner Philharmoniker has recorded numerous times. On November 22, Rattle's specialties comprise the varied program, which features the West Coast premiere of Henri Dutilleux's Correspondances for voice and orchestra. Canadian soprano Valdine Anderson is soloist; she replaces Dawn Upshaw, who has cancelled her appearances due to illness. Also on the program are Haydn's Symphony No. 88, Sibelius' Symphony No. 7, and Debussy's La mer.

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to each concert in BP Hall at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and are free to all ticket holders. Musicologist Eric Bromberger hosts.

In September 2002, SIR SIMON RATTLE began conducting his first concerts as music director of the Berliner Philharmoniker, the being first British conductor to hold the post. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and went on to work throughout Great Britain, including the Philharmonia, the London Philharmonic, the London Sinfonietta and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In 1979, he made his U.S. debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and, from 1981 to 1994, he was its first Guest Principal Conductor. In 1994, Her Majesty the Queen made Simon Rattle a K.B.E in the Birthday Honors List in recognition of his contribution to the arts. He was awarded the 1996 Shakespeare Prize by the Toepfer Foundation of Hamburg, and in November 1997 he was awarded the Royal Society of Arts Albert Medal.

Canadian soprano VALDINE ANDERSON is renowned throughout the world for the wide range of her operatic and concert repertoire from the baroque to the contemporary. In 1995 Anderson made her European operatic debut in the role of the Maid in the extremely successful world première of Thomas Adès' opera Powder Her Face at the Cheltenham Festival. She also performs regularly with the London Sinfonietta, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Nash Ensemble. She made her BBC Proms debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Mark Elder in 1998 and returned in 1999 for a performance of Nielsen's Symphony No 3, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. Her most recent BBC Proms appearance was in 2002 for a performance of Knussen's Higglety Pigglety Pop! with the London Sinfonietta. At the beginning of the 2002/03 season Valdine Anderson made a highly successful recital debut at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Anderson has appeared with such orchestras L'Orchestre National de France, L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and has collaborated with many composers, including George Benjamin, Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, Gavin Bryars, and Gérard Grisey. In celebration of Pierre Boulez's 75th birthday she toured Europe with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Boulez himself.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

Friday, November 21, 2003 at 8 PM

Walt Disney Concert Hall

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER

SIR SIMON RATTLE, conductor

BARTÓK Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta

SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9, "Great C-major"

Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 2 PM

Walt Disney Concert Hall

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER

SIR SIMON RATTLE, conductor

VALDINE ANDERSON, soprano

HAYDN Symphony No. 88

DUTILLEUX Correspondances (West Coast premiere)

SIBELIUS Symphony No. 7

DEBUSSY La mer

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to each concert in BP Hall at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and are free to all ticket holders. Musicologist Eric Bromberger hosts.

Tickets ($45- $175) are on sale now online at LAPhil.com, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall box office, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For all information, please call 323.850.2000.

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