Pianist Yundi to Make Hollywood Bowl Debut, 8/6

Chinese pianist Yundi makes his long-awaited Hollywood Bowl debut performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor" with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Thursday, August 6, at 8 pm. Conductor James Gaffigan, in his second performance of the week with the LA Phil at the Bowl, leads the program, which also includes Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony.

Hailed for the natural ease of his conducting and the compelling insight of his musicianship, James Gaffigan continues to attract international attention and is considered by many to be the most outstanding young American conductor working today. In January 2010, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to these titled positions, Gaffigan is in high demand to work with the leading orchestras and opera houses throughout North America, Europe and Asia and his U.S. festival engagements include appearances at the Blossom, Aspen, Grand Teton and Grant Park festivals, as well as at the Hollywood Bowl and the Music Academy of the West. Gaffigan's international career was launched when he was named a first prize winner at the 2004 Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition in Frankfurt, Germany. His first recording with the Lucerne Symphony for Harmonia Mundi, an all-Wolfgang Rihm disc, received critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, as did his second recording with Lucerne of Dvorak's Symphony No. 6 and the America Suite, also for Harmonia Mundi. He is in the process of recording the complete Prokofiev symphonies with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and his most recent recording is the first Tchaikovsky and second Prokofiev piano concertos with Kirill Gerstein and the DSO Berlin for the Myrios label.

Yundi was propelled onto the international stage when he won first prize at the 14th Chopin International Piano Competition at the age of 18, becoming the youngest and first Chinese winner in the history of the renowned competition. Since then, he has been regarded as a leading exponent of Chopin's music. In recognition of his contribution to Polish culture, the Government of Poland presented a Gold Medal for Merit to Culture 'Gloria Artis' to Yundi in 2010. He maintains a strong connection with Poland and will sit on the jury of the 17th Chopin Competition this year. On his regular recital tours, Yundi performs at some of the most prestigious venues in the world. He has also collaborated with the most renowned conductors and orchestras in the world. Yundi has an extensive discography on Deutsche Grammophon and EMI Classics. In 2007, he became the first Chinese pianist to record live with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Seiji Ozawa. This

Deutsche Grammophon disc met with rave reviews and was named 'Editor's Choice' by Gramophonemagazine. For EMI Classics, he recorded the complete Chopin Nocturnes, Live in Beijingand Red Piano, an album celebrating piano music written by Chinese composers. Yundi's most recent CD on Deutsche Grammophon pairs Beethoven's 'Emperor' concerto (Berliner Philharmoniker / Daniel Harding) with Schumann's Fantasie in C; this follows a disc of three of Beethoven's piano sonatas. Future recording plans include further discs of Chopin.