Friday, February 9, 2001
PAAVO JÄRVI CONDUCTS U.S. PREMIERE OF EDUARD TUBIN’S SYMPHONY NO. 11
Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the first U.S. performances of the Symphony No. 11 by his countryman, Eduard Tubin (1905-1982), at concerts in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Friday and Saturday, February 9 and 10 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, February 11 at 2:30 p.m. The program also spotlights two works that joined the ranks of the concert repertoire following performances under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn in the 1840s: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the renowned Austrian violinist Thomas Zehetmair as soloist, and Schumann’s exuberant Symphony No. 1, Spring.
Upbeat Live, a free pre-concert discussion with Christopher Hailey, takes place one hour prior to each performance in the Grand Hall.
“In harmonic and expressive range, Tubin’s nearest kin are Bartók and Prokofiev. But Tubin speaks with his own voice...that of a twentieth-century European uprooted by war, persecution and flight from his homeland.... He celebrates the endurance of the human spirit amid the hardships of war.” (New York Times) Eduard Tubin was born in Estonia in 1905, fled to Sweden in 1944, and lived in Stockholm until his death in 1982. His compositions include 10 complete symphonies and two operas, plus concertos, smaller orchestral works, chamber music, and a Requiem for soldiers fallen in battle. The Los Angeles Philharmonic performed Tubin’s Two Men from Saarema for choir and orchestra in November 1996.
At his death, Tubin left a single, finished movement of what was to have been his Symphony No. 11. The orchestration was completed by Estonian composer Kaijo Raid at the request of conductor Neeme Järvi. Paavo Järvi has recorded Tubin’s unfinished 11th Symphony with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra on the recently released CD, Searching for Roots, which also includes music by his fellow Estonians: Arvo Pärt and Erkki-Sven Tüür.
Beethoven wrote his Violin Concerto in D, Op. 61 for Franz Clement, leader of the orchestra at the Theater an der Wien, who premiered the lengthy and intense work in Vienna on December 23, 1806. Clement’s performance, reportedly unrehearsed and incorporating a sonata of his own -- played on one string with the violin turned upside down -- between the first and second movements, was poorly received by audience and critics alike. It was not until 1844, when then-13-year-old prodigy Joseph Joachim performed the work in London under the baton of Mendelssohn, that the Concerto was recognized as one of the masterworks of the violin repertoire. Thomas Zehetmair has recently recorded the Concerto with the Orchestra of the 18th Century under Frans Brüggen.
Schumann composed his Symphony No. 1 in B-flat in just four days in January 1841 and orchestrated the work in February. Mendelssohn conducted the premiere on March 31 at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. In spite of the fact that Schumann, and subsequent editors, had to make numerous revisions in the score to make it playable, the exuberant work has never ceased to captivate its listeners. Writing about her husband’s symphonic ode to Spring in her diary, Clara Schumann said, “I would like to say something about the symphony, but I would never finish talking about the buds, the scent of violets, the fresh, green leaves, the birds in the air -- all of which one hears living and stirring through the youthful strength of this music.”
Single tickets ($10-70) are available at the Philharmonic’s Music Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons-May, Tower Records, Ritmo Latino, Tu Música, and selected Wherehouse locations), and by credit card phone order at 213/365-3500. Tickets are also available on-line at www.laphil.org. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount; call 323/850-2050. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available 2 hours prior to the performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person. For further information, please call 323/850-2000.
PAAVO JÄRVI is one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation, leading major orchestras throughout North America, Europe and the Far East. Recently appointed music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a post he will take up in September 2001, Järvi has previously held the posts of Principal Guest Conductor with both the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and the Ciy of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. His 2000-2001 season includes guest appearances with the St. Louis, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Houston, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Sydney, Tokyo, Estonian National and Vienna Symphony Orchestras; the Israel, BBC, St. Petersburg, Czech and Munich Philharmonic Orchestras; the Hessischer Rundfunk, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Verbier Festival. Järvi, the son of renowned conductor Neeme Järvi, studied conducting and percussion at the Tallinn School of Music. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1980, he continued his training at The Curtis Institute of Music as well as at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute with Leonard Bernstein. He has conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic at both the Music Center and the Hollywood Bowl.
The internationally renowned violinist THOMAS ZEHETMAIR is a regular guest artist with many leading orchestras, including those of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia; Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw; the Berlin, Munich and Vienna Philharmonics; Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra; and the Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt and Hamburg Radio Orchestras. Born in Salzburg in 1961, Zehetmair studied violin with his father at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and subsequently with Franz Samohyl, Max Rostal and Nathan Milstein. He made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 1977, at age 16. The following year he won first prize in the International Mozart Competition. As soloist, Zehetmair has performed and recorded all the standard repertoire for violin while also championing works by contemporary composers. A devoted chamber music performer, he tours annually with the Zehetmair Quartet, which he founded in 1997. Recently, Zehetmair launched a second career as a conductor. He has appeared as guest conductor with orchestras throughout Europe and America, and in 1999 he conducted the Orchestra of the 18th Century on a South American tour.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
Friday, February 9, 8 PM
Saturday, February 10, 8 PM
Sunday, February 11, 2:30 PM
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Paavo Järvi, conductor
Thomas Zehetmair, violinist
TUBIN: Symphony No. 11 (U.S. premiere)
BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 1 (“Spring”)
Upbeat Live, free pre-concert discussion by Christopher Hailey, takes place one hour prior to performances.
Single tickets ($10 - $70) are available at the Philharmonic’s Music Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons-May, Tower Records, Ritmo Latino, Tu Música, and selected Wherehouse locations), and by credit card phone order at 213/365-3500. Tickets are also available on-line at www.laphil.org. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount; call 323/850-2050. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available 2 hours prior to the performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person. For further information, please call 323/850-2000.
Contact: Elizabeth Hinckley, 213/972-3034; Rachelle Roe, 213/972-7310
