Sarah Chang Performs Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1

THURSDAY, FRIDAY, & SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 8, AND 9 AT 8 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, AT 2 PM

Jirí Belohlávek, who recently became Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, makes his Walt Disney Concert Hall debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, December 7, 8, and 9 at 8 p.m. and on Sunday, December 10 at 2 p.m. Guest soloist Sarah Chang returns for Bruch's Violin Concerto

No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26, one of the most popular Romantic violin concertos in the concert repertoire. Also on the program are Dvorák's Symphony No. 6, and Janácek's Taras Bulba.

Violinist Sarah Chang is recognized as one of classical music's most captivating and gifted artists. A child prodigy, she chose Bruch's Violin Concerto as her audition to The Juilliard School of Music at the age of seven. Since then she has appeared in the music capitals of Asia, Europe, and the Americas and has collaborated with most major orchestras and with the world's most esteemed conductors.

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place in BP Hall one hour prior to each concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and are free to all ticket holders. Christopher Russell, conductor and music educator, is host and interviews Joanne Pearce Martin, Los Angeles Philharmonic Keyboardist.

JIRÍ BELOHLÁVEK has been Chief Conductor of the Prague Symphony (1977-89) and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic (1990-1992), with whom he has recorded extensively for Chandos Records. He founded the Prague Philharmonia in 1994, and has recorded and toured extensively with this ensemble, including a televised appearance at the BBC Proms in July 2004. He was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in September 1995, immediately following his debut with the orchestra conducting The Epic of Gilgamesh by Martinu. He took up the position of Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in July 2006. Recent highlights have included performances of Tristan und Isolde at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Kát'a Kabanová at the Metropolitan Opera and Juliette at the Bastille Opera, as well as engagements with the Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Orchestre National de France, and return visits to the San Francisco and Vienna Symphony Orchestras, the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the London Philharmonic.

Violinist SARAH CHANG was born in December, 1980 in Philadelphia to Korean parents. She began violin studies at age four and within a year she had performed with several orchestras in the Philadelphia area. Her auditions at age eight for Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti led to immediate engagements with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. After completing the Juilliard School's pre-college program, Chang enrolled at Juilliard as a college student, where she studied with the late Dorothy DeLay. In June 2004, Chang was given the honor of running with the Olympic Torch in New York, and became the youngest person ever to receive the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame award. She is a past recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Gramophone's Young Artist of the Year award, Germany's "Echo" Schallplattenpreis, "Newcomer of the Year" honors at the International Classical Music Awards in London, and Korea's "Nan Pa" award. As a chamber musician, Chang has collaborated with such artists as Wolfgang Sawallisch, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yefim Bronfman, Martha Argerich, Stephen Kovacevich, Yo-Yo Ma, and the late Isaac Stern. Chang has reached a wide audience through her many television appearances, concert broadcasts, and best-selling recordings. Her numerous and varied recordings on the EMI Classics label include concertos of Tchaikovsky, Paganini, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Strauss, and Goldmark.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable places anywhere to experience music - Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to a 30-week winter subscription season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LA Phil presents a 12-week summer festival at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and home of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the Association's involvement with Los Angeles extends to educational programs, community concerts and children's programming, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 8 PM

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 8 PM

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 8 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2 PM

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

JIRÍ BELOHLÁVEK, conductor

SARAH CHANG, violin

DVORÁK Symphony No. 6

BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1

JANÁCEK Taras Bulba

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place in BP Hall one hour prior to each concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and are free to all ticket holders. Christopher Russell, conductor and music educator, is host and features Joanne Pearce Martin, L.A. Philharmonic Keyboardist.

Tickets ($15-135) 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. 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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