BWW Previews: PIATIGORSKY INTERNATIONAL CELLO FESTIVAL at Walt Disney Concert Hall

The 2020 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival comes to Los Angeles March 13-22, 2020, under the auspices of USC's Thornton School of Music and the LA Phil. That's when more than 35 of best cellists in the world and the most promising students of the instrument descend on L.A. for an unparalleled, 10-day, 42-event festival in honor of Gregor Piatigorsky, the legendary cellist who called L.A. home during the last years of his career (teaching at USC from 1962 until his death in 1976). The festival offers major concerts, intimate recitals and master classes, and culminates with a mass cello ensemble of 100 cellists on stage at Walt Disney Concert Hall on March 22.

· New Music: The Festival concludes on March 22 with concerts that feature two world premieres: an LA Phil commission for Ralph Kirshbaum by Julia Adolphe and the world premiere of a New Music USA Commission for SAKURA Cello Quintet, Carving an Alphabet, by Donald Crockett. (Press Release with more info.) And on March 16, Dutch cellist Quirine Viersen presents a program for unaccompanied cello featuring Britten's Cello Suite No. 1 and the US premiere of Dutch 'avant-pop' composer JacobTV's Glacier.

· Late addition of Zlatomir Fung: Cellist Istvan Vardai unfortunately had to cancel his appearance at the Festival just a week or two ago. Stepping in is the 20-year-old Zlatomir Fung, the youngest-ever winner in the cello division of the Tchaikovsky Competition last year. Zlatomir, who was only scheduled to perform once during the Festival, has just agreed to replace Vardai in two of his three performances - and that's after he had already stepped in to cover an earlier cancellation. Zlatomir is in huge demand since his win and many people consider him exceptional due to his talent for absorbing new repertoire and his technical facility on the instrument. And just four years ago, he was part of the young group of student Fellows invited to the Festival, and performed for Truls Mork's master class! He will also participate in the Festival's signature mass cello ensemble at Disney Hall.

· "Waltz and Celebration" from Billy the Kid, arranged for cello and piano, by Aaron Copland

· Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor, B. 49, arr. for cello and piano by Gregor Piatigorsky, by Frederic Chopin

· Sonata in A minor, "Arpeggione", D. 821, arr. for cello and piano, by Franz Schubert

· Hungarian Rhapsody for cello and piano, op. 68, by David Popper

Tickets

Tickets to the 2020 festival are on sale now, and can be purchased online from the USC Ticket Office in various packages or for individual events.