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  • BRAMWELL TOVEY CONCLUDES HIS INAUGURAL SEASON AS PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR OF THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL IN TWO SEPTEMBER CONCERTS
  • Sep. 12, 2008
  • September 2 Program Features Celebrated Violinist Sarah Chang in a Scandinavian Program of Works by Grieg, Nielsen and Sibelius

    September 4 Evening Marks the Hollywood Bowl Debut of Young French Pianist Lise de la Salle and Works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff

    TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 AND 4, 2008, AT 8 PM

    The September 2 Concert is generously sponsored by The Korea Times; Media Sponsor for September 2 and 4: Time Warner Cable

    Principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl Bramwell Tovey concludes his debut season in that role by leading the orchestra in two concerts, Tuesday, September 2, and Thursday, September 4, both at 8 p.m. Tovey and the LA PHIL are joined by celebrated violinist Sarah Chang on September 2 for an all-Scandinavian program, and on September 4, by young French pianist Lise de la Salle, in her Hollywood Bowl debut, in an all-Russian program.

    Chang performs Sibelius' rhapsodic Violin Concerto in an evening that also features Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s famed Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, the overture to Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s opera Maskarade and Sibelius' Finlandia, one of the Finnish composer's best-known works. The young violinist is recognized the world over as a captivating and gifted performer. One of the most remarkable prodigies of any generation, this Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame inductee has matured into a young artist noted for her musical insight, technical virtuosity, and emotional range.

    In her Bowl debut, Lise de la Salle performs Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in an evening that also includes Tchaikovsky’s Festival Coronation March and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. Born in 1988, de la Salle has performed in the largest concert halls in Europe, America and Japan. Among the conductors she has worked with are Lawrence Foster, Jun Märkl, Moshe Atzmon, Arie Van Beck, Alexander Dmitriev, Jahja Ling, Semyon Bychkov, James Gaffigan and Keith Lockhart. Her first recording with works by Ravel and Rachmaninoff received wide critical acclaim. Her second recording of works by Bach and Liszt was selected Gramophone's Recording of the Month in August 2005.

    A musician of striking versatility, BRAMWELL TOVEY is acknowledged around the world for his artistic depth and warm, charismatic personality on the podium. Tovey’s career as a conductor is uniquely enhanced by his work as a composer and pianist, lending him a remarkable musical perspective. His tenures as Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony, Luxembourg Philharmonic and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras have been characterized by his expertise in the opera, choral, and British repertoire. Tovey recently garnered both a 2007 Grammy Award and Juno Award for his recording with violinist James Ehnes and the Vancouver Symphony. Tovey is the first artist to win a Juno in both conducting and composing. Recently named Principal Guest Conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, he works frequently with the Toronto Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Royal Philharmonic and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras, among many others. He has presided as host and conductor of the New York Philharmonic’s Summertime Classics series at Avery Fisher Hall since its founding in 2004. A champion of contemporary music, Tovey developed the highly regarded New Music Festival in Winnipeg, during his tenure as Music Director. As a composer, he was honored with the Best Canadian Classical Composition Juno Award in 2003 for his Requiem for a Charred Skull. His latest work Urban Runway, a co-commission for the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics’ respectively, premiered in July 2008. He has also been commissioned to compose a full-length opera for the Calgary Opera entitled The Inventor, which will premiere in January 2011. Tovey has been awarded honorary degrees, including a Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Music in London, honorary Doctorates of Law from the universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba, and Kwantlen University College, as well as a Royal Conservatory of Music Fellowship in Toronto. In 1999, he received the M. Joan Chalmers National Award for Artistic Direction, a Canadian prize awarded to artists for outstanding contributions in the performing arts.

    Violinist SARAH CHANG has appeared in the music capitals of Asia, Europe and the Americas and collaborated with most major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, principal London orchestras, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. Among the esteemed conductors with whom she has worked are Daniel Barenboim, Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, André Previn, Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas and David Zinman. Notable recital engagements have included her Carnegie Hall debut and performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Symphony Hall in Boston, the Barbican Centre in London, the Philharmonie in Berlin, as well as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. As a chamber musician, Chang has collaborated with such artists as Pinchas Zukerman, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yefim Bronfman, Martha Argerich, Leif Ove Andsnes, Stephen Kovacevich, Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, Lars Vogt and the late Isaac Stern. Chang records exclusively for EMI Classics. Her widely lauded recordings include Fire and Ice, an album of popular shorter works for violin and orchestra, with Plácido Domingo conducting the Berlin Philharmonic; a disc of chamber music for strings (Dvo?ák's Sextet and Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence) with current and former members of the Berlin Philharmonic; a recording of the Dvo?ák Violin Concerto with the London Symphony and Sir Colin Davis along with the Dvo?ák Piano Quintet (with Leif Ove Andsnes, Alex Kerr, Georg Faust, and Wolfram Christ); and a disc of French sonatas by Ravel, Saint-Saëns, and Franck in collaboration with pianist Lars Vogt. Her most recent release is a live recording of Shostakovich and Prokofiev violin concertos with the Berlin Philharmonic and Simon Rattle. Born in Philadelphia to Korean parents, Chang began her violin studies at age 4 and promptly enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music, where she studied with the late Dorothy DeLay. Within a year she had already performed with several orchestras in the Philadelphia area. Her early auditions, at age 8, for Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti led to immediate engagements with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 2005, Yale University dedicated a chair in Sprague Hall in Chang's name. For the June 2004 Olympic games, she was given the honor of running with the Olympic Torch in New York, and that same month, became the youngest person ever to receive the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame award. Also in 2004, Chang was awarded the Internazionale Accademia Musicale Chigiana Prize in Sienna, Italy. 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. In 2006, she was named by Newsweek as one of the Twenty Top Women on Leadership.

    LISE DE LA SALLE gave her first concert at the age of 9 at Radio France. Just 20 years of age, she came to international attention three years ago with a Bach/Liszt recording on Naive which received enthusiastic critical acclaim including a Gramophone magazine 'Record of the Month,' an award she also received in April for her recording of three first concertos, including Prokofievs, which she will play at the Bowl, and those of Liszt and Shostakovich. The Paris-based pianist, one of today's most exciting new faces on the pianistic scene, will be heard in Berlin, London, Paris and Vienna, on tour with orchestra in the Far East, and in major venues in the U.S. New York appearances have included Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and she will be heard in her San Francisco recital debut this season and with the Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänska, who was so taken with her artistry that he engaged her for three consecutive seasons.

    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 40th 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 2008, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the fourth year in a row at the 19th 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:

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood



    TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008, AT 8 PM



    SARAH CHANG PLAYS SIBELIUS



    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    BRAMWELL TOVEY, conductor

    SARAH CHANG, violin



    NIELSEN Maskarade Overture

    SIBELIUS Violin Concerto

    GRIEG Peer Gynt Suite No. 1

    SIBELIUS Finlandia



    THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2008, AT 8 PM



    PROKOFIEV AND RACHMANINOFF



    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    BRAMWELL TOVEY, conductor

    LISE DE LA SALLE, piano



    TCHAIKOVSKY Festival Coronation March

    PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 1

    RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2



    The September 2 Concert is generously sponsored by The Korea Times.

    Media Sponsor for September 2 and 4: Time Warner Cable

    Tickets ($1 - $95) are on sale now at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office (Tuesday–Sunday, noon–6 p.m.), by phone 323.850.2000 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.

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  • Contact:

    Lisa White, 213.972.3408, lwhite@laphil.org; Laura Stegman, 310.470.6321, laura_stegman@hotmail.com; Photos: 213.972.3034