Los Angeles Philharmonic 2011/12 Season Begins

The 2011/12 season of the Los Angeles Philharmonic begins today. In this third season of partnership, the LA Phil breaks new ground, with pioneering productions and inventive stagings of significant works under the leadership of Gustavo Dudamel. This season's major projects, with 9 new commissions, 7 world premieres, 3 U.S. premieres and 5 West Coast premieres, include a complete Mahler symphonic cycle performed in two countries, the first installment of a three-year Mozart opera project, the first performance of Shostakovich's lost opera Orango, a new oratorio from Creative Chair John Adams, and a series of artistic partnerships, all contributing to an ambitious season for the LA Phil. In keeping with the innovative vision of the LA Phil as a 21st century orchestra, the championing of new music, the nurturing of young composers and the forging of bonds with the Los Angeles community remain top priorities, alongside the distinctive presentations that have become a foundation of every LA Phil season.

"Gustavo reflects the vibrant spirit of Los Angeles," said Deborah Borda. "Musicians and audiences alike find his unparalleled energy and inexhaustible passion infectious. As a champion of the music of our time, his programming ensures that today's composers have a welcoming place to showcase new works for eager audiences. His love for opera is reflected with a creative modern design approach. Gustavo's plan for the orchestra to perform the complete Mahler cycle for the first time, not just here in Walt Disney Concert Hall but also in Caracas partnered with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, reflects his connection to a composer and two organizations that have featured so prominently in his life."

Gustavo Dudamel comments, "Each time I return to Los Angeles, I feel like I am coming home. In our third season together, working with my extended family on the music of Adams, Mahler and Mozart, music that is so personal to me, makes the next part of our journey together so much more thrilling. Commissioning and creating music from today's composers and to share this with our wonderful audience means that we all become part of the creative process. The music-making in Los Angeles is about building bridges, removing boundaries and making music accessible to all and, of course, most importantly, about enjoying our time together."

John Adams' post as Creative Chair has been extended for two additional years, through the 2013/14 season. Dudamel created this role for John Adams at the start of his directorship with the LA Phil. Adams is an integral part of the LA Phil's creative team, not just with his involvement in the Green Umbrella series and as a leading international voice of contemporary composition, but also as a major collaborator, designing key projects and festivals with Gustavo Dudamel. This special partnership creates new opportunities, demonstrating how a major American symphony orchestra can integrate the music of our own time into all aspects of its life. This season Dudamel conducts the world premiere of Adams' new LA Phil-commissioned oratorio, The Gospel According to the Other Mary.

GUSTAVO DUDAMEL 2011/12 PERFORMANCES

Music Director Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 14 weeks of subscription concerts that include two LA Phil commissions, both of which are world premieres, plus a Green Umbrella series concert with an LA Phil commission and world premiere. The 2011/12 season finds Dudamel at the helm of numerous large-scale projects.

Dudamel and the orchestra embark upon a multi-continent Mahler journey, performing all nine complete symphonies with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela in both Los Angeles and Caracas; present a collaboration of Don Giovanni, the first of three Mozart-Da Ponte operas to be produced over the course of three seasons, each one a partnership with iconic architects and fashion designers; conclude the season with the world premiere of John Adams' new oratorio The Gospel According to the Other Mary; and perform the world premiere of Mexican composer Enrico Chapela's Concerto for Electric Cello featuring Johannes Moser. Additionally, as part of the San Francisco Symphony's centennial celebration, the orchestra travels to San Francisco to open their The American Orchestra series, performing Chapela's Concerto for Electric Cello, Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 and Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Tromba iontana. Dudamel also continues his work with Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), now operating at two locations, the EXPO Center and Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA).

OPENING NIGHT GALA
For the 2011/12 season opening night gala at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic joins Creative Chair for Jazz Herbie Hancock for an all-Gershwin program.

· September 27, 2011
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Herbie Hancock, piano
GERSHWIN Cuban Overture
GERSHWIN An American in Paris
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
Improvisation by Herbie Hancock

DUDAMEL SUBSCRIPTION CONCERTS

Friday, September 30, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
ADAMS Short Ride in a Fast Machine
STRAVINSKY Symphony in C
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

Thursday, October 6, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Janine Jansen, violin
MENDELSSOHN Hebrides Overture
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3, "Scottish"

Thursday, October 13, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011 (Casual Friday)
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011 (Santa Barbara)
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
VIVIER Orion (except Friday)
BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 3
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5

Thursday, October 20, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Johannes Moser, cello
ADAMS Tromba lontana
CHAPELA Concerto for Electric Cello (world premiere, LAPA commission with Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra)
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5

 

Friday, October 28, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Richard Goode, piano
KURTÁG Grabstein für Stephan
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20
STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra

Friday, January 13, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Miah Persson, soprano
THE MAHLER PROJECT
MAHLER Songs of a Wayfarer
MAHLER Symphony No. 4

Thursday, January 19, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
THE MAHLER PROJECT
MAHLER Symphony No. 1
MAHLER Symphony No. 10, Adagio

Friday, January 27, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
THE MAHLER PROJECT
MAHLER Symphony No. 6

Thursday, February 2, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
THE MAHLER PROJECT
MAHLER Symphony No. 9

 

Saturday, February 4, 2012
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Soloists, TBD
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, music director
Los AngeLes Children's Chorus
Other choruses TBD
THE MAHLER PROJECT
MAHLER Symphony No. 8
Location TBD
(non-subscription concert)

Thursday, May 10, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Alina Pogostkina, violin
GRIEG Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
VASKS Distant Light
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5

Friday, May 18, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Paul Curran, director
Frank Gehry, architect
Designer, TBD
Mariusz Kwiecien, Don Giovanni
International cast led by Kwiecien, one of the world's leading Don Giovannis
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, Music Director
MOZART Don Giovanni

Friday, May 25, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
TBD, violin
GRIEG Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5

 

Thursday, May 31, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano
TBD, contralto
Russell Thomas, tenor
Dan Bubeck, countertenor
Brian Cummings, countertenor
Steven Rickards, countertenor
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, music director
ADAMS The Gospel According to the Other Mary (World premiere, LAPA commission)

THE MAHLER PROJECT

"My love affair with Mahler started when I was a boy and was given a recording by my uncle. The first big symphonic piece I conducted at age 16 was Mahler's First Symphony. The works of Mahler have a very special place in my heart and to have my two families, the LA Phil and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, perform the complete cycle both in L.A. and Caracas is, for me, a dream come true." - Gustavo Dudamel.

Since he sprang to fame upon winning the inaugural Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in May 2004, Dudamel has enjoyEd Mahler as a core component of his repertoire. He chose to perform Mahler's Symphony No. 1 for his inaugural performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic on October 8, 2009; included the work in his coast-to-coast performances during his first tour with the orchestra; and took Mahler's Symphony No. 9 on his first European tour with the orchestra. To honor the 100th anniversary of Mahler's death, Dudamel will lead the LA Phil and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela in performances of the complete symphonic cycle. The LA Phil will perform Symphonies 1, 4, 6 and 9, and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela will perform Symphonies 2, 3, 5 and 7. In addition to the symphonic performances in Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Mahler Project will also feature the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela on the Symphonies for Youth Concert Series, and will bring members of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela together with LA Phil musicians to perform on the chamber music series. Throughout the Mahler Project the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela will also engage in community and education events. Members of SBSOV will lead rehearsals and master classes at YOLA, Gustavo's signature education program, provide workshops and educational opportunities for LA Phil partner schools, and perform concerts in local communities and schools. A Mahler Project Symposium will feature Mahler expert Gilbert Kaplan in discussion with key scholars. The Project will culminate in Los Angeles with a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, known as the "Symphony of a Thousand." Gustavo Dudamel will lead The Combined forces of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, who will be joined by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los AngeLes Children's Chorus and community choruses for the spectacular performance with over 1000 musicians and singers. Following the performances in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will embark on a nine-day tour to Caracas performing the symphonic cycle with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela.

Friday, January 13, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Miah Persson, soprano
MAHLER Songs of a Wayfarer
MAHLER Symphony No. 4

Thursday, January 19, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 1
MAHLER Symphony No. 10, Adagio
These concerts will be preceded by a pre-concert presentation led by Gilbert Kaplan, one of the foremost authorities on Gustav Mahler. Kaplan will explore the intimate connection between the composer's life and his music in a wide-ranging lecture with more than 150 projected images of historical photographs and illustrations along with 30 recorded musical excerpts.

Sunday, January 22, 2012
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Miah Persson, soprano
Cristianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, Music Director
MAHLER Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"
This concert will be preceded by a pre-concert presentation led by Gilbert Kaplan, one of the foremost authorities on Gustav Mahler. Kaplan will explore the intimate connection between the composer's life and his music in a wide-ranging lecture with more than 150 projected images of historical photographs and illustrations along with 30 recorded musical excerpts.

Monday, January 23, 2012 and Friday, January 27, 2012
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela members visit YOLA

Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Cristianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano
Women of the Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gerson, music director
Los AngeLes Children's Chorus
Anne Tomlinson, artistic director
MAHLER Symphony No. 3

Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela Brass Ensemble Community Concert
Luckman Performing Arts Center at Cal State LA
Program TBD

Thursday, January 26, 2012
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 5

Friday, January 27, 2012
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela Brass Ensemble Workshop for LA Phil Partner Schools

Friday, January 27, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 6

Saturday, January 21, 2012 and Saturday, January 28, 2012
TOYOTA SYMPHONIES FOR YOUTH CONCERT
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela
TBD, conductor
Mahler's World

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 7

Sunday, January 29, 2012
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY
Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Members of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela
Program TBD

Monday, January 30, 2012
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela YOLA Family Concert
Conductor TBD
Program TBD

To culminate the SBSO mini-residency at YOLA, Members of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra will perform side-by-side with members of the YOLA orchestra from both EXPO and HOLA for an invited audience of friends and family. A young conductor from SBSOV will conduct.

Thursday, February 2, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 9

Saturday, February 4, 2012
Location TBD
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Soloists, TBD
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, music director
Los AngeLes Children's Chorus
Other Choruses TBD
MAHLER, Symphony No. 8, "Symphony of a Thousand"

The Mahler Project culminates in a performance of Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand." The Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela join forces at (location TBD) with Gustavo Dudamel conducting Mahler's grandest symphony. The two orchestras will be joined by eight soloists, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los AngeLes Children's Chorus, as well as community choruses from throughout Los Angeles to perform the enormous masterpiece. The Los Angeles Philharmonic and Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela perform The Mahler Project in Caracas, February 11 - 19, 2012.

MOZART/DA PONTE TRILOGY

Three of the greatest operas ever written were collaborations between librettist Lorenzo da Ponte and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte. Over the next three years, the LA Phil will present the trilogy (one opera each season), conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and staged by director Paul Curran. Set designs will be created by three of the most influential architects of our time (Frank Gehry for this season's Don Giovanni); the architects will work with leading fashion designers to create a unique and distinctive visual setting for each of these timeless masterpieces. Each complete opera performance will be a Walt Disney Concert Hall first.

Friday, May 18, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Paul Curran, director
Frank Gehry, architect
Designer, TBD
Mariusz Kwiecien, Don Giovanni
International cast led by Kwiecien, one of the world's leading Don Giovannis
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, music director
MOZART Don Giovanni

May 2013
Le nozze di Figaro

May 2014
Così fan tutte

 

ORANGO

"From the first moment that I looked at those hastily scribbled notes from 80 years ago, I saw - loud as life before me - the young Shostakovich as I love him most: bursting with virile energy and anger, filled with political satire and inhuman mockery, and on every page displaying the unbridled invention of a young man with all before him." Gerard McBurney on Orango.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic gives the world premiere of the prologue to Dmitri Shostakovich's unfinished and long-lost opera, Orango, in December of 2011. The satirical work about the activities of a half-man, half-ape being was partially written by the composer in 1932, on receipt of a commission from the Bolshoi Theater to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the October Revolution.

The prologue came to the LA Phil through a convoluted path involving the sleuthing skills of Russian musicologist Olga Digonskaya, who'd been working for Shostakovich's widow Irina when she discovered the manuscript for Orango in her husband's archives at the Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture in Moscow in 2004. Prior to this, it had been believed that the manuscript did not exist.

At the request of Irina Shostakovich, composer Gerard McBurney developed the orchestration for Orango in 2009.

"Four years ago or so, when I first heard about the sketch of the opening of Orango from Mme. Irina Shostakovich, I was immediately excited," says McBurney. "The early 1930s were one of the most fertile and inventive periods in this brilliant composer's long career and any new piece from that time would be a thrilling discovery, but for Dr. Olga Digonskaya to have stumbled across an operatic fragment on such a scale seemed to me like someone discovering buried treasure! When Mme Shostakovich and Dr. Digonskaya then asked me to consider orchestrating this piece, I was daunted at the responsibility but eagerly agreed.

"The Prologue to Orango is a strip-cartoon in music, shrill, raucous, laugh-out-loud funny, viciously aggressive and - as always with this particular composer - shot through with darkness and with paradox."

Once news of the manuscript surfaced, the LA Phil began negotiations to acquire the premiere performance. McBurney, a friend of then-Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, helped facilitate the negotiations by putting the LA Phil in contact with Digonskaya and Irina Shostakovich.

The semi-staged 40-minute piece will be conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, now LA Phil Conductor Laureate, and directed by Peter Sellars.

December 2 - 4, 2011
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Peter Sellars, director
Soloists, TBD
Los Angeles Master Chorale
SHOSTAKOVICH Orango (world premiere)
Orchestration by Gerard McBurney

CREATIVE CHAIR John Adams - CONTRACT EXTENDED TO 2013/14

Creative Chair John Adams' contract has been extended through the 2013/14 season. In the position, created for Adams in the 2009/10 season by Gustavo Dudamel, he composes works for the orchestra, functions as an essential member of the artistic planning team, and serves as a catalyst for wide-ranging ideas.

"My experiences with the Los Angeles Philharmonic are never anything short of astonishing - the audiences are among the most sophisticated and curious anywhere, and the orchestra itself is one of the most supple and flexible of any in the world. The chance to continue participating in the artistic evolution of this extraordinary musical institution is something that I hold very special," says Adams.

 

WEEK OF John Adams

Creative Chair John Adams leads the LA Phil in a week of subscription concerts in April 2012. The programming includes Adams' Violin Concerto, performed by Leila Josefowicz, and the West Coast premiere of Philip Glass' LA Phil-commissioned Symphony No. 9.

April 5 - 7, 2012
John Adams, conductor
Leila Josefowicz, violin
PÄRT Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten (not performed for Casual Friday concert on April 6)
ADAMS Violin Concerto
GLASS Symphony No. 9 (West Coast premiere, LAPA co-commission)

April 10, 2012
LA Phil New Music Group
John Adams, conductor
Gloria Cheng, piano
Oscar Bettison, percussionist
Program to include:
STOCKHAUSEN Tierkkneis
CAGE Concerto for Prepared Piano
BETTISON new work (world Premiere, LA Phil commission)

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE OTHER MARY

John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary is a 90-minute oratorio for orchestra, chorus and soloists. Based on the New Testament stories of Lazarus and Jesus' Passion, plus contemporary Latin American poetry, the work takes a fresh approach to the combination of materials that Adams pioneered so successfully in El Niño. The libretto, created by Peter Sellars, draws from the works of the Mexican poet Rosario Castellanos, Dorothy Day, Louise Erdich, and June Jordan. Three countertenors serve as narrator for the story. The concert version will be done in 2012 and the staged version in 2013, directed by Peter Sellars. His vision for the staging uses the traditional Mexican funeral rites as a basis. The project will be taken on an international tour in later seasons.

Thursday, May 31, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano
TBD, contralto
Russell Thomas, tenor
Dan Bubeck, countertenor
Brian Cummings, countertenor
Steven Rickards, countertenor
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, music director
ADAMS, The Gospel According to the Other Mary (world premiere, LAPA commission)

Sir Simon Rattle RETURNS

Sir Simon Rattle, artistic director of the Berliner Philharmoniker, returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the first time since 2000. Rattle's relationship with the LA Phil dates back to 1979, when he first conducted the orchestra. He went on to become the LA Phil Principal Guest Conductor from 1981 to 1994. Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená joins Rattle in a program of Ligeti, Wagner, Mahler and Bruckner.

May 3 - 6, 2012
Simon Rattle, conductor
Magdalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano
LIGETI Atmosphères
WAGNER Prelude to Act 1 of Lohengrin
MAHLER Rückert Lieder
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9

COMMISSIONS AND PREMIERES

As part of a long-standing commitment to the music of our time, the Los Angeles Philharmonic is proud to announce nine commissioned works for the season along with seven world premieres, four U.S. premieres and four West Coast premieres.

WORLD PREMIERES

CHAPELA, Concerto for Electric Cello (world premiere, LAPA commission with Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra)
(October 20, 2011)

DUBUGNON, Double Piano Concerto (world premiere, LAPA commission with Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Leipzig Gewandhaus)
(November 11, 2011)

HILLBORG, new work for orchestra, chorus, and soloists (world premiere, LAPA commission with Chicago Symphony)
(November 25, 2011)

SHOSTAKOVICH, Orango (world premiere, orchestration by Gerard McBurney)
(December 2, 2011)

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.