California Native Highlights "The Transcriber's Art" in Program of Works
Arranged for Organ

SUNDAY, APRIL 3, at 7:30 PM

Media support provided by 105.1 K-MOZART

Thomas Murray, a Professor of Music at Yale University, teaches Los Angeles audiences about organ transcriptions during his Walt Disney Concert Hall recital on Sunday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. Murray's appearance is the fifth of six performances presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association in its Organ Recital series, which debuted early this season. His recital features Cook's Fanfare (Psalm 81, vs. 1 - 3), Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso in D minor (transcribed by J. S. Bach), Schumann's Six Canonic Studies, Op. 56, Mendelssohn's Overture to Ruy Blas (transcribed by Edwin H. Lemare), Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 (transcribed by Lemare) and Elgar's Severn Suite, Op. 87 (transcribed by the recitalist himself, Thomas Murray).

The poetry which inspired Cook's Fanfare is from Psalm 81: "Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed on our solemn feast day." Fittingly, the trumpets in the Llamarada (literally translated "blaze") division of the Walt Disney Concert Hall organ, ending with the Trompeta de Los Angeles, declaim the fanfares and flourishes in Cook's energetic piece.

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 Thomas Neenan hosts with Murray.

A visual centerpiece in the auditorium, the Walt Disney Concert Hall organ was designed by architect Frank Gehry and built by Manuel J. Rosales of Rosales Organ Builders. The 6,134 pipes range in size from a pencil to a telephone pole, and are voiced with a wide dynamic range from super pianissimo to a breathtaking fortissimo.

The specially curved wood façade pipes were made and installed by Glatter-Götz Orgelbau, Germany of solid,

vertical-grain Douglas fir that comprise the Violone and Basson basses. Behind the façade are three levels of pipes, including metal pipes made of tin and lead alloys and wood pipes made of Norwegian pine.

The Organ Recital Series concludes on May 8 with Olivier Latry, the organist at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

THOMAS MURRAY, concert organist and recording artist, is University Organist and Professor of Music at Yale University, where he teaches and performs on the renowned Skinner organ in Woolsey Hall. Widely known for his interpretations of Romantic repertoire and orchestral transcriptions, his recordings (on JAV, Gothic, Arkay, Priory and other labels) are highly acclaimed. A notable release on the JAV label is a 2-CD set performed on the Newberry Memorial Organ in Woolsey Hall at Yale University. High Fidelity has credited him with " . . . consummate skill and artistry in treating the organ as a great orchestra" and American Record Guide said of his newly-released Elgar CD: "Murray's performance and his handling of the immense resources of the Woolsey Hall organ are beyond superlatives . . . the shape of every phrase, the use of every color . . . could not be more perfect." A California native, Professor Murray's major teacher in organ was Clarence Mader. As a young performer he was a first-place winner of the American Guild of Organists national competition. He has appeared in recitals and lectures at six national conventions of the A.G.O., which named him International Artist of the Year for 1986. As the recipient of this award he followed such luminaries as Marie-Claire Alain, Jean Guillou and Dame Gillian Weir. In 2003 he was named an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Organists in England. His career is increasingly international in scope. His first performance in Japan came in 1990 with a recital at Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Among his appearances in Europe have been recitals at the International Congress of Organists in Cambridge England and the Lahti Organ Festival in Finland, where he also performed with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared in South America in two recitals for the Festival Permanente de Organo de Buenos Aires, and in Australia, where he presented four solo recitals including a performance on the famous organ at Sydney Town Hall.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
SUNDAY, APRIL 3, 2005 AT 7:30 PM

Thomas Murray, organ

COOK Fanfare (Psalm 81, vs. 1 - 3)

VIVALDI Concerto Grosso in D Minor (transcribed by J. S. Bach)

SCHUMANN from Six Canonic Studies, Op. 56, No. 1 - 3

MENDELSSOHN Overture to Ruy Blas (transcribed by Edwin H. Lemare)

GRIEG Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 (transcribed by Edwin H. Lemare)

SCHUMANN from Six Canonic Studies, Op. 56, Nos. 4 -6)

ELGAR Severn Suite, Op. 87 (transcribed by Thomas Murray)



Media support provided by 105.1 K-MOZART

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to the concert in BP Hall at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and is free to all ticket holders. Musicologist Tom Neenan hosts with Murray.

Tickets ($15-$41) 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. 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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