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  • CONDUCTOR LEONARD SLATKIN OPENS LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC'S 2007 SEASON AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL WITH FIREWORKS
  • Jul. 10, 2007
  • SOLOISTS GIL SHAHAM AND ANDREAS HAEFLIGER PERFORM MUSIC BY TCHAIKOVSKY AND RAVEL

    TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, JULY 10 and 12, AT 8 PM

    July 10 Concert Sponsored by Fidelity Investments>

    In his third and final summer as Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Leonard Slatkin kicks off the 2007 classical series with an all-Russian program that includes fireworks on Tuesday, July 10, at 8 p.m. The week's Classical Thursday program, July 12, at 8 p.m., includes French and Italian favorites.

    The July 10 concert features soloist Gil Shaham in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Shaham is internationally recognized by audiences and critics alike as one of the most virtuosic and engaging classical artists. The all-Russian program opens with Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture and closes with Mussorgsky's famed Pictures at an Exhibition - with fireworks.

    The July 12 program includes Berlioz' Roman Carnival Overture, Rossini's Overture to La gazza ladra, Respighi's Pines of Rome and Ravel's Piano Concerto in G with soloist Andreas Haefliger. Haefliger has received the highest praise for performances that possess a rare combination of power, elegance and poetry.

    Slatkin, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, is the first to hold the post of Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. He leads three weeks of concerts with the Los Angles Philharmonic; after two weeks in July he returns to close the Bowl's classical season with two concerts in September.

    Internationally recognized American conductor LEONARD SLATKIN is Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. His performances throughout North America, Europe and the Far East have been distinguished by imaginative programming and highly-praised interpretations of both the standard and contemporary symphonic repertoire. Additionally, he is well-known for his arts advocacy work on behalf of music education. Following a successful tenure as Music Director of the Saint Louis Symphony from 1979 until 1996, Slatkin was named Conductor Laureate. He also has served as Festival Director of the Cleveland Orchestra's Blossom Festival (1990-99), Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra (1997-2000), and Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (2000-2004). Slatkin has made regular appearances with virtually every major international orchestra, including the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and many others. His performances of opera have taken him to leading opera companies in the U.S. and around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera and Vienna State Opera. Slatkin's more than 100 recordings have been recognized with five Grammy awards and more than fifty other Grammy nominations. He has recorded with the National Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony and Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra. Slatkin has received many honors and awards, including the 2003 National Medal of Arts (the highest award given to artists by the United States Government), the Chavalier of the Legion of Honor, ASCAP awards with both the National and Saint Louis Symphonies, an honorary doctorate from his alma mater The Juilliard School, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the DC Mayor's Arts Awards, and the prestigious Declaration of Honor in Silver from the Austrian ambassador to the United States for outstanding contributions to cultural relations.

    Violinist GIL SHAHAM is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with celebrated orchestras and conductors, as well as for recital and ensemble appearances on the great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals. In addition to his many orchestral engagements Shaham regularly tours in recital with pianist Akira Eguchi. He also has a number of best-seller CDs, appearing on record charts in the U.S. and abroad. These recordings have earned prestigious awards including multiple Grammys, a Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d'or and Graoaphone Editor's Choice. Shaham's most recent recordings haave been produced for his own lable, Canary Classics - The Fauré Album with Akira Eguchi and the Prokofiev Album with his sister Orli Shaham. Born in Champaign-Urbana, IL and raised in Israel, Shaham began his violin studies at the age of 7 with Samuel Bernstein of the Rubin Academy of Music and granted annual scholarships by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. He has studied at Juilliard and at Columbia University. Shaham was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990. He plays the 1699 "Countess Polignac" Stradivarius.

    Pianist ANDREAS HAEFLIGER has appeared with orchestras around the world, including the Boston Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris and the Chamber Orchestra in Lausanne. He is in the middle of the seven-year "Perspectives of Beethoven," traversing the complete solo piano works of Beethoven with related pieces. Born in Switzerland, Haefliger grew up in a musical household. After completing his studies a the Julliard School, where he was twice awarded the Gina Bachauer Memorial Scholarship, he made his London recital debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1993, and his London Proms debut with the Philharmonia in 1994. A growing discography includes works by Schumann, Schubert, Mozart and Sofia Gubaidulina for Sony; Schubert lieder with Matthias Goerne; and the "Trout" Quintet and Dvorák Piano Quintet with the Takács Quartet for London/Decca. Most recently, two discs of solo pieces of Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Thomas Adès are available on the Avie label.

    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 39th 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 2007, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the third year in a row at the 18th 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, JULY 10, 8 p.m.

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    LEONARD SLATKIN, conductor

    GIL SHAHAM, violin

    GLINKA Russian and Ludmilla Overture

    TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto

    MUSSORGSKY/RAVEL Pictures at an Exhibition (with fireworks)

    Concert generously sponsored by Fidelity Investments

    TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2007, 8 p.m.

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    LEONARD SLATKIN, conductor

    ANDREAS HAEFLIGER, piano

    BERLIOZ Roman Carnival Overture

    RAVEL Piano Concerto in G

    ROSSINI Overture to La gazza ladra

    RESPIGHI The Pines of Rome

    Tickets ($1 - $93) are on sale now at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office (Tuesday - Saturday, 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.), or by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Groups of 10 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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  • Contact:

    Adam Crane, 213.972.3422, acrane@laphil.org; Rachelle Roe, 213.972.7310, rroe@laphil.org; Lisa White, 213.972.3408, lwhite@laphil.org; For photos: 213.972.3034