First Week Lineup Includes Performances by Pianist Vladimir Feltsman in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and Joshua Bell in Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1
TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, JULY 7 and 9, 2009, AT 8 PM
July 7 Media Sponsor: KUSC; The July 9 Concert is Sponsored by Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts
The Los Angeles Philharmonic launches its 2009 Classical Tuesdays and Classical Thursdays season at the Hollywood Bowl in a week featuring the Bowl debut of young Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits and the return of pianist Vladimir Feltsman in an all-Prokofiev concert with fireworks, Tuesday, July 7, at 8 p.m. The week continues with Karabits leading the LA Phil and violinist Joshua Bell performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Thursday, July 9, at 8 p.m.
The Tuesday concert features 2009 Oscar-winning animated film Peter and the Wolf. The film, created to be shown at big screen venues and accompanied by live orchestras, debuted at the Royal Albert Hall, presented and accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra. Producer Hugh Welchman of BreakThru Films, London, states, “When I conceived the project, one of my ambitions was for it to be played annually as a Christmas special by public broadcasters, another was to win an Oscar and another was for it to play the Hollywood Bowl!” With the Oscar win secured, the LA Phil helps Welchman realize two-thirds of his ambitions as they play in accompaniment to the film as it’s shown on the Hollywood Bowl’s large screens. The film was directed by Suzie Templeton and co-produced with Welchman by Alan Dewhurst.
Also on Tuesday’s program are selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet – Minuet, Masques, Romeo and Juliet (Balcony Scene) and Death of Tybalt – as well as his Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16, featuring Feltsman. The program concludes with an additional Romeo and Juliet selection, Montagues and Capulets, accompanied by a spectacular fireworks show.
Internationally renowned violinist Joshua Bell joins the July 9 concert as he plays Bruch’s compelling Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26. The program opens that evening with Karabits leading the LA Phil in Berlioz’s delightful Roman Carnival Overture, and closes with Mendelssohn’s ode to his time spent in Italy, Symphony No. 4, “Italian.”
Beginning in the 2009/10 season, Kirill Karabits becomes Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. His appearance at the 2009 BBC Proms marks his first official appearance with the orchestra in this new role.
Pianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most versatile and constantly interesting musicians of our time. His vast repertoire encompasses music from the Baroque to 20th-century composers.
Violinist Joshua Bell is no stranger to the Hollywood Bowl – his first performance at the legendary venue was in 1986, and he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2005, with many performances between and since then. Earlier this year he completed film scores for Defiance and Angels & Demons.
Very much in demand as a guest conductor, KIRILL KARABITS made his North American debut with Houston Symphony in March 2009, and this season conducts Los Angeles Philharmonic in the two opening concerts of their Hollywood Bowl season as well as appearing at the Grant Park and Aspen Festivals. Future dates in the U.S. include concerts with the Minnesota, Washington, Indianapolis and San Francisco symphonies and a re-invitation to Houston Symphony in the 2010/11 season. In Europe, other highlights of the 2008/09 season have included debuts with Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Turin (with Renaud Capuçon), SWR-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden/Freiburg (with Janine Jansen), plus return visits to Luzerner Sinfonie Orchester and Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine (again with Capuçon). Next season he will debut with Basel Symphony, Iceland Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony and Tokyo Symphony, as well as appearing at the Kissinger Sommer Festival with Bamberger Symphoniker. Following a successful debut with them last season, Karabits will also return to the Philharmonia in May 2010, alongside Gil Shaham. An established opera conductor, Karabits opened Opéra National du Rhin’s 2008/09 season with Un Ballo in Maschera, and conducted a production of Pique Dame in January 2009 with Luxembourg Philharmonic and singers from Latvian National Opera. He will also return to Latvia for productions of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in May 2010 and Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges in 2010/11. Last season saw debuts with Geneva Opera (Jánacek’s The Adventures of Mr Broucek) and Glyndebourne Festival Opera (Eugene Onegin). In summer 2009 he will conduct Idomeneo with Opéra National de Lorraine, and will make his Opéra National de Lyon debut with Shostakovich's Moskva, Cheremushki in December 2009, followed by a concert performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri in May 2010. In autumn 2010 he will make his debut with English National Opera with a production of Don Giovanni. As part of his ongoing doctoral studies in Vienna, Karabits has done a considerable amount of research into hitherto unperformed or forgotten works that make up part of the recently rediscovered archive of Berliner Singakademie. This included his transcription of C.P.E. Bach's Johannes Passion, written in Hamburg in 1784 and previously considered lost. His research has also led to the modern premiere of Telemann's unknown (and probably earliest existing opera) Pastorelle en Musique. In addition to a recording of the Telemann for Capriccio, Karabits’s discography includes recordings of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France for Scérén, and Suites by Ropartz for Timpani. Karabits studied conducting and composition at the Lysenko Music School in Kiev before continuing his studies at the National Tchaikovsky Music Academy in Kiev with Roman Kofman, and at the Bach Academy in Stuttgart under Helmut Rilling. He has also held the positions of Principal Guest Conductor of the Strasbourg Philharmonic and Associate Conductor of both Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Budapest Festival Orchestra.
A regular guest soloist with leading symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad, VLADIMIR FELTSMAN appears in the most prestigious concert series and music festivals all over the world. In June of 2009, Feltsman returns to Singapore to perform a recital and to Avery Fisher Hall where he performs with the New York Philharmonic. This summer, he plays a recital in the Caramoor Music Festival in upstate New York and makes his annual visit to the Aspen Music Festival in August. In 2009/10, Feltsman returns to Carnegie’s Stern Hall in recital, his fourth recital there since 2004, and also to Chicago’s Orchestra Hall and Washington, DC’s Strathmore Performing Arts Center. During the 2009/10 season, Feltsman returns to his native Moscow to conduct the Moscow Virtuosi Orchestra, and to St. Petersburg with Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra. His 2009/10 season includes recitals for the Detroit Chamber Music Society, the University of Illinois Urbana, Tilles Center at Long Island University and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. He also performs with the Kansas City Symphony, and in September of 2009, he performs on his own fortepiano with the American Classical Orchestra at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Highlights of Feltsman’s 2008/09 season included performances of Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev in New York’s Lincoln Center, Chicago, and Paris, concerts with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony and the Orchestre de Paris under Michael Tilson Thomas, and recitals in New York and Chicago. He also played with and conducted the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. During the summer of 2008, Feltsman appeared at the Aspen, Ravinia, and La Jolla music festivals. A recent project, Masterpieces of the Russian Underground, unfolded a panorama of Russian contemporary music through an unprecedented survey of piano and chamber works by 14 different composers from Shostakovich to the present day and was presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in January 2003 with great success. Feltsman served as Artistic Director for this project as well as performing in most of the pieces presented during the three concert cycle. Born in Moscow, in 1952, Feltsman debuted with the Moscow Philharmonic at age 11. In 1969, he entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory of Music to study piano under the guidance of Professor Jacob Flier, and also studied conducting at both the Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Conservatories. In 1971, Feltsman won the Grand Prix at the Marguerite Long International Piano Competition in Paris; extensive touring throughout the former Soviet Union, Europe and Japan followed this. In 1979, after applying for an exit visa from the Soviet Union to escape the restrictions on artistic freedom, he was banned from performing in public and his recordings were suppressed. After eight years of virtual artistic exile, he was granted permission to leave the Soviet Union. Upon his arrival in the U.S., in 1987, Feltsman was greeted at the White House, where he performed his first recital in North America. That same year, his debut at Carnegie Hall established him as a major pianist on the American and international scene. A dedicated educator of young musicians, Feltsman holds the Distinguished Chair of Professor of Piano at the State University of New York, New Paltz, and is a member of the piano faculty at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the International Festival-Institute PianoSummer at SUNY New Paltz, a three-week-long, intensive training program for advanced piano students that attracts major young talents from all over the world. Feltsman’s extensive discography has been released on the Melodiya, Sony Classical, Music Masters, and Camerata, Tokyo labels. His discography includes eight albums of clavier works of J.S. Bach, recordings of Beethoven’s last five piano sonatas, solo piano works of Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Messiaen and Silvestrov, as well as concerti by Bach, Brahms, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev. Feltsman is an American citizen and lives in upstate New York.
For more than two decades, JOSHUA BELL’s charismatic artistry has brought a fresh voice to venerable masterpieces as well as new works heard on recordings, in concert halls and movie theatres. Performance highlights of Bell’s 2009/10 season include the Toronto Symphony, a tour of South America, the Hollywood Bowl, Verbier, Tuscan Sun, Mostly Mozart, Salzburg, Tanglewood, Menuhin, Gstaad and Enescu festivals, and a return to the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall. Western hemisphere engagements include Toronto Symphony, Chicago Symphony and The National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. Bell performs at the Huberman Festival with the Czestochowa Philharmonic and returns to Moscow to perform with the Russian National Orchestra. 2010 will see Bell on a European and U.S. recital tour which includes Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall; a performance for the World Economic Forum, and dates in Paris, Budapest, Madrid, Athens, Zurich and Istanbul. Bell will perform with the New York Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic and tour Asia with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Bell came to national attention at age 14 in his orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. A Carnegie Hall debut, the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and a recording contract further confirmed his presence. Bell has recorded more than 30 CDs since his first recording at age 18, resulting in a richly varied catalogue of recordings. He received a Mercury Prize and Grammy Award for the Maw Violin Concerto. He received the Gramophone Award for his recording of the Barber and Walton Violin Concertos and Bloch’s Baal Shem. In addition, he received the Echo Klassik Award for his Sibelius/Goldmark concerto recording. He has collaborated with numerous artists and on film scores including the Oscar-winning soundtrack for The Red Violin. Recordings within the past year include Vivaldi: The Four Seasons and the film soundtracks to Defiance and Angels & Demons. Bell received his first violin at age four and by age 12 was serious about the instrument, Thanks to the inspiration of renowned violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold. Bell plays the 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius. For additional information, please visit his Web site, at www.joshuabell.com
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 is home to the best and brightest in all genres of music. 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 42nd season. In January 2009, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the fifth year in a row at the 20th 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, JULY 7, 2009, AT 8 P.M.
LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC
KIRILL KARABITS, conductor
VLADIMIR FELTSMAN, piano
PROKOFIEV Romeo and Juliet
Minuet
Masques
Balcony Scene
Death of Tybalt
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16
PROKOFIEV Peter & the Wolf – film with live accompaniment
PROKOFIEV Romeo and Juliet
Montagues and Capulets with fireworks
July 7 Media Sponsor: KUSC
THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2009, AT 8 P.M.
LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC
KIRILL KARABITS, conductor
JOSHUA BELL, violin
BERLIOZ Roman Carnival Overture
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
The July 9 concert is sponsored by Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts.
Tickets ($1 - $96) 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 800.745.3000, 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 or group sales. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.
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Sophie Jefferies, sjefferies@laphil.org, 213.972.3422; Lisa White, lwhite@laphil.org, 213.972.3408; For photos: 213.972.3034