Miguel Harth-Bedoya Leads Los Angeles Philharmonic in Program of Works by Barber and Copland

The world renowned Martha Graham Dance Company joins forces with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by Associate Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, in a tour de force program at the Hollywood Bowl on Thursday, September 9, at 8 p.m. The Martha Graham Dance Company performs a scene from Cave of the Heart, a dramatic dance set to music from Barber's Medea, and closes the concert with a performance of Copland's Appalachian Spring, a moving ballet which distills the youthful optimism of a rural America. The concert opens with a youthful showpiece by Barber, his Overture to The School for Scandal from 1932, and Los Angeles Philharmonic Principal Concertmaster Martin Chalifour performs Barber's Violin Concerto.

Samuel Barber's Dance of Vengeance is derived from his Medea , music originally composed for Martha Graham's ballet Cave of the Heart. Barber's Violin Concerto debuted in 1941, and signaled a stylistic change for Barber, who incorporated angular lines and diatonic dissonance in the last movement, demonstrating a broadened scope of the composer's artistic choices.
The program closes with Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, a sweeping work that captures the essence of an ideal America, one of open fields and endless possibilities. When Copland began his Pulitzer Prize-winning ballet score in 1942, he couldn't have foreseen that it would become one of the most inspiring and symbolic works of the century; in fact, he wasn't even sure what the title would be. Dancer Martha Graham had been commissioned to choreograph the ballet and danced the leading role. Copland readily admitted that the pastoral beauty of Appalachia wasn't on his mind when he wrote the score: "I gave voice to that region without knowing I was giving voice to it," he said. Graham chose the title after Copland had written much of the score, though he said that her dance style must have evoked Appalachia. The music and dance were perfect complements; together they reflect youthful aspiration in the American heartland.

Founded in 1926 by dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, the MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY is the oldest and most celebrated contemporary dance company in America. Since its inception, the Martha Graham Dance Company has received international acclaim from audiences in over 50 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Company has performed at the Metropolitan Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the Paris Opera House, Covent Garden, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at the base of the Great Pyramids of Egypt, and in the Ancient Herod Atticus Theatre on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The Martha Graham Dance Company is the repository of 181 works choreographed by Martha Graham. Among these are such well known ballets as Heretic(1929), Lamentation (1930), Primitive Mysteries (1931), Frontier (1935), Deep Song (1937), El Penitente (1940), Appalachian Spring (1944), Cave of the Heart (1946), Errand into the Maze (1947), Night Journey (1947), Diversion of Angels (1948), Clytemnestra (1958), Embattled Garden (1958), Phaedra (1962), Frescoes (1978), Acts of Light (1981), The Rite of Spring (1984), Temptation of the Moon (1986), Night Chant (1988), and Maple Leaf Rag (1990). Martha Graham called the dance she made contemporary dance, because it existed in relation to a contemporary world. This tradition is continued by today's Company members. Though Martha Graham herself is the best known alumna of her company, having danced from the Company's inception until the late 1960's, the Company has provided a training ground for some of modern dance's most illustrious performers and choreographers. Former members of the Company include Merce Cunningham, Erick Hawkins, Pearl Lang, Elisa Monte, Paul Taylor and Glen Tetley. The standard of artistic excellence, established by Martha Graham, continues through the work of Terese Capucilli and Christine Dakin, longtime associates of Martha Graham and principal dancers in the Company, who serve as Co-Artistic Directors of the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Los Angeles Philharmonic Associate Conductor MIGUEL HARTH-BEDOYA is Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony, a title he also holds with the Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand. As one of the most exciting young conductors in America, he has an active guest-conducting schedule, which includes appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the Quebec Symphony, and the Mexico National Symphony. Festival appearances include Grant Park, Tanglewood, Rencontres Musicales d'Evian in France, the Domaine Forget International Festival in Quebec, and the Musicarchitettura International Festival in Italy. Born in 1968 in Lima, Peru, Miguel Harth-Bedoya holds degrees in conducting from The Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School. Harth-Bedoya last conducted at the Bowl in 2003.

MARTIN CHALIFOUR began his tenure as Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic with the 1995/96 season. Before coming to Los Angeles, Chalifour joined The Cleveland Orchestra in 1990 as Associate Concertmaster and later held the position of Acting Concertmaster for two seasons. Chalifour appears frequently as a soloist and in recital, and he has toured with chamber ensembles throughout North America and Europe. He regularly performs in a number of summer music festivals including San Diego's Mainly Mozart Festival and Florida's Sarasota Music Festival. Born in Montreal, Canada, Chalifour graduated at the age of 18 with a unanimous First Prize from the Montreal Conservatory, and is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music. Chalifour last appeared as soloist at the Bowl in 2003.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, AT 8 PM

Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Avenue, Hollywood

Appalachian Spring


LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

MIGUEL HARTH-BEDOYA, conductor

MARTIN CHALIFOUR, violin

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY

BARBER Overture to The School for Scandal

BARBER Dance of Vengeance (from Cave of the Heart)

BARBER Violin Concerto

COPLAND Appalachian Spring

Tickets ($1 - $89) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at HollywoodBowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details.
For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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