Lincoln Center Great Perfomers Series Presents the Los Angeles Philharmonic, 3/27-28

By: Feb. 12, 2013
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The acclaimed Los Angeles Philharmonic and its dynamic music director, Gustavo Dudamel, return to New York for the first time since 2010 for two concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, as part of Lincoln Center's Great Performers series, March 27 and 28, 2013. Maestro Dudamel and the Orchestra arrive at Lincoln Center with two adventurous programs of 20th and 21st century music which showcases the ensemble's place as one of the world's most forward-thinking orchestras, including the New York premiere of a co-commissioned work by the eminent American composer John Adams.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's first concert features the New York premiere of The Gospel According to the Other Mary, a large-scale, full-evening work by the Orchestra's Creative Chair John Adams. The oratorio for orchestra, chorus and soloists features a libretto by frequent Adams collaborator Peter Sellars, based on the New Testament stories of Lazarus and Jesus's Passion, as well as contemporary texts by Latin-, Native- and African-American writers. The result is a fresh approach to the Biblical story, similar to the successful modern telling of the nativity oratorio in Adams and Sellars's El Niño, for which this is a companion piece. Peter Sellars will direct these staged performances, along with a cast featuring Kelley O'Connor as Mary Magdalene; Tamara Mumford as Martha; Russell Thomas as Lazarus; countertenors Daniel Bubeck, Brian Cummings and Nathan Medley as narrators; Michael Schumacher, Anani Sanouvi and Troy Ogilvie as dancers; along with Los Angeles Master Chorale and their music director Grant Gershon. Following the performance, Ara Guzelimian, Provost and Dean of The Juilliard School, will moderate a post-concert discussion about the work with John Adams and Peter Sellars on the stage of Avery Fisher Hall.

The concert version of The Gospel According to the Other Mary was premiered last spring in Los Angeles to great acclaim, with the Los Angeles Times immediately hailing it as "a masterpiece." The Orchestra presents the world premiere of the staged version in early March at its home in Los Angeles, followed by an international tour through London, Lucerne and Paris, ending with this performance in New York. The Gospel According to the Other Mary by John Adams is co-commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Barbican, London; Cité de la Musique-Salle Pleyel, Paris; Lucerne Festival; and the NTA ZaterdagMatinee, Radio 4's concert series in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. The March 27 presentation of the Los Angeles Philharmonic is made possible in part by the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.

With this performance, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts continues an ongoing relationship with John Adams, having presented many works including the New York premieres of such pieces as Naïve and Sentimental Music, El Niño, The Dharma at Big Sur, and City Noir. Lincoln Center co-commissioned Adams's theater work I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, as well as the Pulitzer Prize winning piece On the Transmigration of Souls with the New York Philharmonic. In 2003, Lincoln Center presented "John Adams: An American Master," a 10-event festival devoted to the celebrated composer. In 2009, the Mostly Mozart Festival presented the New York premiere of A Flowering Tree, a chamber opera by John Adams with libretto by Peter Sellars, which was co-commissioned by Lincoln Center.

The second and final concert of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's appearance in New York offers a diverse program of 20th century works, filled with selections ranging from impressionistic to avant-garde. The concert kicks off with Zipangu, by the late French-Canadian composer Claude Vivier, a modern exercise in color and harmony performed by an all-string ensemble. The concert continues with Claude Debussy's powerful and popular impressionistic masterpiece La mer, and concludes with the complete score to Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Firebird.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic last visited New York three years ago, with two sold-out concerts in May 2010 at Avery Fisher Hall presented by Great Performers, during Gustavo Dudamel's inaugural season leading the orchestra. These concerts featured the New York premiere of Adams's City Noir, which was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Dudamel's debut concert as Music Director in 2009. The Los Angeles Philharmonic will return to Lincoln Center during the 2013-2014 concert season, with two concerts featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Corigliano, Bjarnason, Rachmaninoff and Brahms, all led by Music Director Gustavo Dudamel.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, now in its 94th season, is recognized as one of the world's outstanding orchestras and is received enthusiastically by audiences and critics alike. Both at home and abroad, the Los Angeles Philharmonic is leading the way in innovative programming and re-defining the musical experience. The Los Angeles Philharmonic demonstrates a breadth and depth of programming unrivaled by other orchestras and cultural institutions, performing or presenting nearly 300 concerts throughout the year at its two iconic venues: Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. The orchestra's involvement with Los Angeles also extends far beyond regular symphony concerts in a concert hall, embracing the schools, churches, and neighborhood centers of a vastly diverse community. Inspired to consider new directions, Music Director Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic aim to find programming that remains faithful to tradition, yet also seeks new ground, new audiences, and new ways to enhance the symphonic music experience. During its 30-week winter subscription season of 110 performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Los Angeles Philharmonic creates festivals, artist residencies, and other thematic programs designed to delve further into certain artists' or composers' work. The Los Angeles Philharmonic continues to broaden its audience by touring worldwide, offering an extensive catalog of recorded music, and broadcasting concerts on radio and television. Through an ongoing partnership with Deutsche Grammophon, the orchestra also has a substantial catalog of concerts available online, including the first full-length classical music video released on iTunes. In 2011, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel won a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance for their recording of Brahms Symphony No. 4.

Dynamic conductor Gustavo Dudamel's passionate music-making invigorates audiences of all ages worldwide. He is concurrently serving as Music Director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the impact of his musical leadership is felt on several continents. Dudamel is in his fourth season as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where his contract has already been extended until 2018-19, the orchestra's 100th season. Under his leadership the Los Angeles Philharmonic has extended its reach to an unprecedented extent via LA Phil LIVE, experimental theater-casts of Los Angeles Philharmonic concerts which have reached audiences throughout North America, Europe and South America, and through Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), influenced by Venezuela's widely successful El Sistema. With YOLA, Gustavo brings music to children in the underserved communities of Los Angeles, and also serves as an inspiration for similar efforts throughout the United States, as well as for programs in Sweden and Scotland. It is not only the breadth of the audience reached, but also the depth of the programming performed under Gustavo Dudamel that is remarkable. Programs at the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2012-2013 represent the best and the boldest: ranging from an LA Phil-commissioned and now staged oratorio by John Adams titled The Gospel According to the Other Mary; to a staged Marriage of Figaro with sets by architect Jean Nouvel, representing part two of a three-consecutive-year project of presenting the Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy. Gustavo Dudamel is one of the most decorated conductors of his generation. He has recently been named Musical America's 2013 Musician of the Year, one of the highest honors in the classical music industry.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA's series include American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly Mozart Festival, White Light Festival, and the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a series of major capital projects, now complete, on behalf of the resident organizations across the campus.



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