LA Chamber Orchestra Launches 2011-12 Season, Kahane's 15th 9/24-25

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), renowned for its wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissioning initiatives, opens its 43rd season with a grand flourish when Music Director Jeffrey Kahane, celebrating his 15th anniversary with the Orchestra, conducts two highly anticipated West Coast premieres and performs as piano soloist on Saturday, September 24, 2011, 8 pm, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, and Sunday, September 25, 2011, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall. One of the premieres is Osvaldo Golijov's richly orchestrated Sidereus. The other, Ritornello, is an unusual pairing of electric guitar and orchestra by LACO Composer-in-Residence Derek Bermel, hailed as "one of America's finest young composers," with special guest electric guitar virtuoso Wiek Hijmans. Also on the program are Mozart's Overture to The Magic Flute and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, featuring Kahane, who has performed this piece around the world numerous times, including at one of his first concerts as a guest soloist with LACO before he was appointed music director.

"To open the season, I chose a piece that epitomizes my relationship with LACO, one which we have explored together numerous times over the years," says Kahane. "It is one of the most beloved and astonishingly innovative works in the piano literature, and its beauty and power never cease to astound. It also offers a compelling contrast to the new musical frontiers that Derek Bermel and Osvaldo Golijov, both of whom I greatly admire, explore in their compositions."

Mozart's Overture to The Magic Flute, completed just two days before the opera was premiered, runs the emotional gamut from solemn to playful and even gleeful, demonstrating the composer's skillful use of dynamic contrasts and counterpoint.

The first West Coast premiere of the evening is Sidereus by Golijov, described by Kahane as "a composer of profound spirituality whose music is immediate in its appeal." Golijov's chamber orchestra work was commissioned by a consortium of 35 American orchestras to honor classical music champion Henry Fogel, former League of American Orchestras president, and was premiered by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra on October 16, 2010. The title, Sidereus, refers to a book by Galileo written after he observed the moon with a telescope for the first time, making a number of discoveries about its surface, including the possibilities of water and life. Golijov was inspired, he notes, at how "a scientific observation can lead us to entirely new realizations."

"Electrifying" (literally and figuratively) is how Kahane describes Ritornello, the program's other West Coast premiere, which was written by Bermel for Dutch-born Wiek Hijmans, considered a pioneer of electric guitar and classical music. The composer, noted for his wide-ranging musical influences, is an avid fan of King Crimson, and he set out to write this concerto with the prog-rock band's mesmerizing contrapuntal textures in mind. As the piece evolved, the material began to evoke the kind of Baroque music exemplified by composers like Corelli and Vivaldi. Bermel, knowing that his long-time colleague and fellow band member Hijmans is a "formidable improviser," left room for him to explore musical possibilites. Consequently, he says, "There's a thrash-metal (Metallica, Slayer, et al.) solo that likewise evokes the Baroque aesthetic in its mannered, epic style." The Albany Symphony premiered Ritornello on May 21, 2011.

Beethoven's serene Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, which concludes the concert, was the final piece the composer wrote to showcase himself on piano. He premiered the work in 1808 in what would also be his final performance with an orchestra. Today, its transformative lyricism, intimacy and seemingly improvisational nature is considered a seminal work that encouraged the concerto form to evolve.

Concert Preludes, free for all ticket holders, are held one hour before curtain to provide insights into the music and artists. On September 24, 7 pm, and September 25, 6 pm, Music Director Jeffrey Kahane discusses the origins and composition process of Ritornello with composer Derek Bermel and performs Beethoven's 12 Variations for Piano & Cello in F major Op 66 on "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" with LACO principal cello Andrew Shulman.

Tickets ($24 - $105) are on sale now and may be purchased online at laco.org, by calling 213 622 7001 x 1, or at the venue box office on the night of the concert, if tickets remain. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and groups of 12 or more. College students may purchase rush tickets one hour before curtain; also available for students is the $25 "Campus to Concert Hall All Access Pass" - good for all seven of LACO's Orchestral Series concerts at either the Alex Theatre or UCLA and for all three Westside Connections concerts at The Broad Stage, plus other benefits.

Equally at home at the keyboard or on the podium, JEFFREY KAHANE has established an international reputation as a truly versatile artist, recognized around the world for his mastery of diverse repertoire ranging from Bach, Mozart and Beethoven to Gershwin, Golijov and John Adams. In 2011-12, Kahane celebrates his 15th season as music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He previously served as music director of the Colorado and Santa Rosa symphonies. He has garnered tremendous critical acclaim for his innovative programming and commitment to education and community involvement and received multiple ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming for his work in both Los Angeles and Denver. In addition to his projects with LACO, he has recently appeared at the Aspen, Mostly Mozart, Blossom, Music@Menlo and Oregon Bach festivals; performed concertos with the Toronto and Houston symphonies; guest conducted the San Francisco, National and Indianapolis symphonies; and play/conducted programs in Europe with the Camerata Salzburg and Hamburg Symphony. Upcoming highlights for Kahane include concerto performances with the Indianapolis, Oregon and Colorado symphonies and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; play/conduct programs with the New York Philharmonic and with the Vancouver, Seattle, New Jersey, Omaha and Santa Rosa symphonies; his debut conducting the Juilliard Orchestra at Lincoln Center; play/conducting a Beyond the Score program with the Philadelphia Orchestra; and a solo/chamber music program at Walt Disney Concert Hall presented by the LA Phil in honor of his 15th anniversary as music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

WIEK HIJMANS has played the electric guitar since the age of eleven. His interest in both classical and popular music instilled in him a lifelong passion for integrating electric guitar into classical music. Hijmans has been featured at the Holland Festival's Night of Guitars and at The Concertgebouw as a "specialist in contemporary music for electric guitar." Hijmans has two acclaimed solo CDs, Electric Solo! and Classic Electric. Active on the international circuit, he has performed solo recitals in Canada, Switzerland, Italy, China, Denmark, Poland, the United States and Holland, and appeared as a soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Orchestre de Caen, Orchestre de Lorraine, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Nederlands Radio Symfonie Orkest and the Nieuw Ensemble. Additionally, he has performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, John Zorn, the Giovanni Sollima Band, David Starobin, Butch Morris, Derek Bermel, Anthony Braxton, Ernst Reijseger, Peter van Bergen, Maarten Altena, Roscoe Mitchell, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Ebony Band, Nick Didkovsky, Peter Kowald, the Mondriaan Kwartet and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Big Band. Hijmans is the Output Festival co-director and as such, initiated the commission for Contes Cruels, a piece for two electric guitars and orchestra by Tristan Murail, winner of the 2007 Best French Composition. The recording, which features the electric guitar quartet CATCH with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project received a Grammy nomination. Hijmans holds a Performing Musician's Diploma from the Sweelinck Conservatory of Amsterdam and a Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with David Starobin. He is the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship and the Andrés Segovia Award.

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (LACO), proclaimed "America's finest chamber orchestra" by Public Radio International has established itself among the world's top musical ensembles. Since 1997, LACO has performed under the baton of acclaimed conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, hailed by critics as "visionary" and "a conductor of uncommon intellect, insight and musical integrity" with "undeniable charisma." Under Kahane's leadership, the Orchestra maintains its status as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and a champion of contemporary composers. During its 43-year history, the Orchestra has made 30 recordings, toured Europe, South America and Japan, performed across North America, earning adulation from audiences and critics alike, and garnered five ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, LACO presents seven Orchestral Series concerts at both Glendale's Alex Theatre and UCLA's Royce Hall, five Baroque Conversations concerts at downtown Los Angeles' Zipper Concert Hall, three Westside Connections chamber music concerts at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, three Family Concerts at the Alex Theatre and an annual Discover concert at Pasadena's Ambassador Auditorium. In addition, LACO presents a Concert Gala, an annual Silent Film screening at Royce Hall and several fundraising salons each year. LACO was founded in 1968.

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