Christian Zacharias, whose relationship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as a both a conductor and soloist dates back to 1993, returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall to lead the orchestra in three performances, tonight, and Saturday, November 29 and 30, at 8 pm, and Sunday, December 1, at 2 pm.
The program features LA Phil Principal ConcertMaster Martin Chalifour playing Bach's Violin Concerto in E and Schubert's Konzertstück in D, D. 345. The program also features Schumann's Symphony No. 2 and Stravinsky's neo-classical Danses concertantes, the first work he wrote after he moved to the U.S. in 1940. The piece was commissioned by film composer Werner Janssen for his own Los Angeles orchestra and premiered, with Stravinsky conducting, in 1942.
Christian Zacharias first made his name as a pianist, and he continues to appear in concerto and recital performances worldwide. He performs with the world's leading conductors and conducts the most renowned orchestras; many of his recordings have been awarded international prizes. His tendency to embark on long musical journeys with kindred spirits is reflected in his work as conductor. Since 2000, Zacharias has been Principal Conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and with them has made a number of critically-acclaimed recordings. In August 2012, Volume IX (Piano Concertos K. 414 and 537), the last disc of his Mozart series, was released. Another recent recording with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne features Schumann's Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4. Zacharias has been Principal Guest Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since the 2002/03 season, and in 2009 became an "Artistic Partner" of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He enjoys long-term relationships with many orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic,
New York Philharmonic, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra with which he appears regularly as guest. Most recently, he has embarked on an operatic career with productions of Mozart's opera seria La Clemenza di Tito, as well as his opera buffa Le nozze di Figaro and Offenbach's La Belle Hélène.
Martin Chalifour began his tenure as Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1995. The recipient of various grants and awards in his native Canada, he graduated with honors from the Montreal Conservatory at the age of 18 and then moved to Philadelphia to pursue studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. Apart from his LA Phil duties he maintains an active solo career, playing a diverse repertoire of more than 50 concertos. Outside the U.S., Chalifour has played solos with the Auckland Philharmonia, the Montreal Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Taiwan, and the Malaysian Philharmonic, among others. He is a frequent guest at several summer music festivals, including the Sarasota Festival, the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the Mainly Mozart Festival. Maintaining close ties with his native country, he has returned there often to teach and perform as soloist with various Canadian orchestras, most recently with the Vancouver Symphony and Bramwell Tovey. Chalifour has recorded solo and chamber music for the Telarc, Northstar and Yarlung labels. His latest album on Yarlung features solo music composed by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Steven Stucky, as well as Mozart and Lutos?awski concertos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic recorded live at
Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Complete Program:
STRAVINSKY Danses concertantes
BACH Violin Concerto No. 2 in E
SCHUBERT Konzertstück in D, for violin and orchestra, D. 345
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2
Upbeat Live pre-concert events takes place in Walt Disney Concert Hall's BP Hall one hour before the concerts, and are free to all ticket holders. Alan Chapman, KUSC producer and host of "Modern Times" and "A Musical Offering," hosts.
Subscriptions and single tickets for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's 2013/14 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall are currently available. To purchase, visit LAPhil.com, the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet. To order by phone with credit card, call the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office at 323.850.2000, or Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000. For more information, call 323.850.2000.
