Baroque Variations Concert Program Features Vivaldi's Four Seasons
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2007, AT 8:00 PM
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association presents Grammy-winning violinist Joshua Bell as soloist and director leading the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in Vivaldi's beloved Four Seasons on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 8 p.m. This concert is part of the Philharmonic's 2006/2007 Baroque Variations series, and is Bell's final On Location appearance at Walt Disney Concert Hall this season. The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields also performs Tchaikovsky's Meditation from Souvenir d'un lieu cher with Bell as soloist, and Serenade for Strings, led by Bell.
Russell Steinberg, composer and conductor of the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, discusses the concert program at "Upbeat Live," a free event in BP Hall, open to all ticket holders and held one hour before the performance.
Equally adept as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra leader, Joshua Bell has been captivating audiences worldwide with his poetic musicality. His On Location residency with the Los Angeles Philharmonic closes with this one-night-only performance with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. This acclaimed ensemble is the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world, with a record-breaking discography that boasts well over 500 entries. The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields made its debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall debut during the 2003/04 opening season, in the Baroque Variations series premiere.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic's four-concert Baroque Variations series offers presentations of Baroque music on both period and modern instruments performed by some of the world's most admired ensembles and soloists. The 2006/07 series concludes on April 26, 2007 with Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini.
Grammy-winning violinist JOSHUA BELL has been captivating audiences around the globe for more than 20 years. Bell came to national attention at age 14 in his orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. A Carnegie Hall debut, the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a recording contract confirmed his presence in the music world. Now in his 30s, Bell has performed with the world's leading symphony orchestras and conductors, has recorded 28 albums, and has earned the status of classical music superstar. Billboard named him its 2004 Classical Artist of the Year and named his recording, Romance of the Violin, the 2004 Classical Album of the Year. Bell's recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas has just been released. Bell received a Grammy award for his recording of Nicholas Maw's Violin Concerto, and millions have enjoyed his appearances on the Grammy Award telecasts, the PBS specials "Joshua Bell at the Penthouse: Live From Lincoln Center" and "Joshua Bell: West Side Story Suite from Central Park," as well as Evening at Pops and the Indy 500 Victory Celebration. Bell has been the subject of a BBC documentary and appeared as himself in Music of the Heart starring Meryl Streep. Bell serves on the Artist Committee of the Kennedy Center Honors. He plays the 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius.
The ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS was formed in 1958 as a small, conductorless chamber ensemble, based in the elegantly porticoed 18th-century church on the east side of Trafalgar Square. Led by Neville Marriner, one of the leading Baroque violinists of the day, and attracting some of the finest players in London, the orchestra at first concentrated on repertoire from the Baroque era, developing a style of performance that launched the 1960s Baroque revival and paved the way for today's myriad period-instrument ensembles. The Academy was so named after the various concert-giving societies that had flourished in 18th-century London - most notably the Academy of Ancient Music, which met weekly at the Crown & Anchor Tavern on the Strand, and the Royal Academy of Music, for which Handel wrote many of his finest works. It gave its first professional concert at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on November 13,1959. Only two years later it had secured its first recording contract, with the independent L'Oiseau-Lyre label, founded by the eccentric Australian millionairess Louise Hanson Dyer. This was to be the beginning of a literally record-breaking discography that now boasts well over 500 entries, making the Academy the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world. The Academy maintains a busy touring schedule and performs to capacity houses around the world. As demand for the Academy grew, so did the scope of its repertoire and the size of the orchestra, and eventually Sir Neville was forced to give up directing from the leader's chair in favor of conducting from the front. But while this has enabled the Academy to explore new symphonic repertoire never envisaged at its outset, the orchestra has continued to remain true to its origins as a compact chamber orchestra, and divides its time between international tours, education and outreach work, the recording studio and U.K. concerts.
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:
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2007, AT 8:00 PM
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
Baroque Variations
ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
JOSHUA BELL, violin/director
VIVALDI The Four Seasons
TCHAIKOVSKY Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42: No. 1, Méditation
TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade in C major for Strings, Op. 48
Tickets ($33 - $86) 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 10 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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Adam Crane, 213.972.3422, acrane@laphil.org; Lisa Bellamore, 213.972.3689, lbellamore@laphil.org; Photos: 213.972.3034