VIRTUOSO PIANIST JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET PERFORMS LISZT'S PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 ON AUGUST 15 PROGRAM, WHICH ALSO FEATURES WORKS BY WAGNER AND RACHMANINOFF

AUGUST 17 CONCERT INCLUDES MUSIC BY BEETHOVEN AND MAHLER, PLUS MOZART'S VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 4 WITH SOLOIST ALEXANDER TREGER

TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, AUGUST 15 AND 17, 2006, AT 8 P.M.

Tuesday's concert is sponsored by Fidelity Investments;

Media sponsor for both concerts is K-Mozart 105.1

Dutch conductor Edo de Waart - who last led the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl more than a decade ago - conducts the orchestra in two programs on Tuesday and Thursday, August 15 and 17, 2006, at 8 p.m. Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet performs Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 on the August 15 program with Wagner's Prelude to Act I of Die Meistersinger and Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2. On August 17, Philharmonic Concertmaster Alexander Treger takes the stage for Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4; de Waart also leads Beethoven's Coriolan Overture and Mahler's Symphony No. 1.

The highly esteemed de Waart is conductor laureate of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and chief conductor and artistic director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Thibaudet, described by critics as a masterful, charismatic, poetic, breathtaking virtuoso, is regarded as one of the best pianists in the world, performing with today's foremost orchestras and conductors and on the most venerated stages. Treger, a noted violinist, accomplished conductor, and gifted educator, has been music director of the American Youth Symphony since 1998.

EDO DE WAART, born in Holland, graduated from the Music Lyceum in Amsterdam and took up the position of Associate Principal Oboe of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Two years later, at the age of 23, he won the Dimitri Mitropoulos Conducting Competition in New York, which resulted in his appointment for the 1964/65 season as assistant conductor to Leonard Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic. On his return to Holland he was appointed assistant conductor to Bernard Haitink at the Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 1967 the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra appointed him permanent guest conductor and six years later Chief Conductor and Artistic Director. Since then, de Waart has also been artistic director of the Netherlands Radio and Television Music Center, leader of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, chief conductor and artistic director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and music director of the San Francisco Symphony and of the Minnesota Orchestra. Recently he has guest conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, the China Philharmonic (at the Beijing Festival), the Singapore Symphony, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, and the NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg. Future engagements include returns to the Bamberg Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Swedish Radio Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. As an opera conductor, de Waart has enjoyed success in a large and varied repertoire in many of the great houses of the world. De Waart's extensive catalog encompasses releases for Philips, Virgin, EMI, Telarc, and RCA, featuring the Royal Concertgebouw, the Sydney Symphony, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic. In December 2004, he was made a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion, and in 2005 he was appointed an Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia, in reflection of his invaluable contribution to Australian cultural life.

Pianist JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET's upcoming engagements take him around the world. His North American performances include recitals in Washington, D.C., Chicago, West Palm Beach, Portland (OR), and Vancouver (BC), and concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Dallas, and Nashville, among others. Highlights of his concerts abroad include recitals in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain, performances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (in Frankfurt), the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (in Birmingham and Cologne), the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Spanish National Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, a five-city tour of the Netherlands with the Rossetti String Quartet, and a tour with the Orchestre National de Lyon to Turkey, Slovenia, Croatia, and Austria. An exclusive recording artist for Decca with over 30 releases, Thibaudet was the soloist on the 2005 Oscar-nominated soundtrack of Pride and Prejudice. Offstage, Thibaudet appeared in Bruce Beresford's 2001 film Bride of the Wind and played on its soundtrack, as well as that of the 1997 film Portrait of a Lady. On television, he was featured in the 2000 PBS/Smithsonian special, Piano Grand!, to celebrate the instrument's 300th anniversary. Born in Lyon, France, of French and German heritage, Thibaudet began his piano studies at age five and made his first public appearance at age seven. At age 12, he entered the Paris Conservatory where he studied with Aldo Ciccolini and Lucette Descaves, a friend and collaborator of Ravel. At age 15 he won the Premier Prix du Conservatoire, and three years later the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York. In 2001, the Republic of France awarded Thibaudet the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2002, he was awarded the Premio Pegasus from the Spoleto Festival in Italy for his artistic achievements and his longstanding involvement with the festival.

Violinist ALEXANDER TREGER, the successor to Mehli Mehta as music director of the American Youth Symphony, is only the second conductor to lead the ensemble since it was founded by Mehta. An inspiring teacher, he has given numerous master classes around the world and held the position of Professor of Violin at UCLA for two decades from 1977 to 1997. Treger has served as Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1985, although he continually devotes more of his time to conducting. He guest conducted the Turku Philharmonic in Finland in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and stepped in at the last minute to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic, replacing the indisposed Franz Welser-Möst. He served as the interim conductor of the UCLA Symphony in 1992 and was appointed the Music Director/Conductor of the Crossroads Chamber Orchestra in 1993, where he has developed a youth orchestra of the highest caliber. Treger, born in Russia, arrived in the United States in 1973 and joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1974. He was appointed Concertmaster in 1985 and has won high praise for his numerous solo performances with the orchestra. He has also appeared as soloist with a number of major U.S. orchestras, including the San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, and Houston Symphonies. An avid chamber performer, he has collaborated in concerts with such well-known artists as Radu Lupu, Yefim Bronfman, André Previn, Bernard Greenhouse, and Emanuel Ax.

One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 38th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2006, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the second year in a row at the 17th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

TUESDAY, AUGUST 15 at 8 p.m.

HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

EDO DE WAART, conductor

JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET, piano

WAGNER Prelude to Act I of Die Meistersinger

LISZT Piano Concerto No. 2

RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2

THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, at 8 p.m.

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

EDO DE WAART, conductor

ALEXANDER TREGER, violin

BEETHOVEN Coriolan Overture

MOZART Violin Concerto No. 4

MAHLER Symphony No. 1

Tuesday's Concert is Sponsored by Fidelity Investments;

Media Sponsor for both concerts is K-Mozart 105.1

Tickets ($1 - $93) are on sale now online at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, or at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations). 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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