Acclaimed Pianist Lang Lang is Soloist

THURSDAY, APRIL 8, AT 8 PM;
FRIDAY, APRIL 9, AT 11 AM;
AND SATURDAY, APRIL 10, AT 8 PM

Marin Alsop conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a program featuring virtuoso pianist Lang Lang on Thursday, April 8, at 8 p.m.; Friday, April 9, at 11 a.m.; and Saturday, April 10, at 8 p.m. The program at Walt Disney Concert Hall features Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini, Barber's Symphony No. 1, and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.

Known for her interpretations of music by Barber and her advocacy of American music, conductor Marin Alsop has chosen a program of repertoire from opposite sides of the globe. Barber is paired with two Russian masterworks: Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, one of Lang Lang's signature pieces.

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. Pianist Paul Romero hosts.

Appointed Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in Britain in the Fall of 2002, MARIN ALSOP will conduct up to 12 weeks per season there, including national and international tours and recordings. Music Director of the Colorado Symphony since 1993, where her innovative programming has won several national awards, Alsop will stay on there as Music Director Laureate for 2 more years. Her reputation in North America has been secured also through her guest appearances with orchestras such as those of Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Atlanta, Houston, Cincinnati and Indianapolis, a two-year position as "Creative Conductor Chair" with the St Louis Symphony, and her very successful Music Director of the Cabrillo Festival of contemporary music. Her debut concert with the New York Philharmonic in 1999 in their Copland Festival at the Lincoln Center was described by the New York Times as "supple, vibrant, ...an impassioned performance," and she will return to the orchestra in 2003. In 2000 she conducted her first production of La traviata, and in 2004 she makes her debut with English National Opera. Her guest conducting in Europe has produced re-invitations from orchestras such as the London Symphony, whose Walton
anniversary concert she conducted in the Barbican Centre, the London Philharmonic; the BBC Symphony; and the Orchestre de Paris.

Celebrated in all of the music capitals of the world, LANG LANG has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to connect with audiences on a deeply personal level and has established himself one of the most exciting pianists of our time. Since his last-minute substitution for an indisposed André Watts at the Ravinia Festival's Gala of the Century in August 1999, Lang Lang has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras. He made his sold-out Carnegie Hall debut in April 2001 with the Baltimore Symphony and Yuri Temirkanov. In December of that year, he participated in the final subscription concerts of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy of Music, under Wolfgang Sawallisch's baton. In July 2002, Lang Lang was featured in a week-long residency at the Ravinia Festival, where he played five sold-out concerts including a solo recital, two concerto performances with the Chicago Symphony, a recital of Schubert duos with Christoph Eschenbach, and a program of Chinese traditional music with his father, Guo-ren Lang. Other recent engagements have included the London Philharmonic with Eschenbach; the NHK Symphony and NDR Symphony Orchestra with Charles Dutoit; and a subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic. No stranger to audiences in Asia, Lang Lang traveled to Beijing in June 2001 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Sawallisch in a tour celebrating the orchestra's 100th anniversary, during which he performed to an audience of 8,000 at the Great Hall of the People, and CCTV, China's premier television station, featured him in a 40-minute documentary. Earlier this season, Lang Lang joined the New York Philharmonic and Lorin Maazel for performances in New York, followed by a tour of Asia, and he plays concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Möst, under whom he will also perform at the Vienna Festival later in the season.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

THURSDAY, APRIL 8, AT 8 PM

FRIDAY, APRIL 9, AT 11 AM

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, AT 8 PM

Walt Disney Concert Hall

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

MARIN ALSOP, conductor

LANG LANG, piano

TCHAIKOVSKY  Francesca da Rimini

BARBER  Symphony No, 1

RACHMANINOFF  Piano Concerto No. 2

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. Pianist Paul Romero hosts.

Tickets ($15 - $120) are on sale now at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, online at LAPhil.com, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. When available, choral bench seats ($15), will be released for sale to selected Philharmonic, Colburn Celebrity Recital, and Baroque Variations performances beginning at noon on the Tuesday of the second week prior to the concert. 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 all information, please call 323.850.2000.

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