FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2012, AT 8 PM; SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012, AT 2 PM; SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2012, AT 2 PM

March 2 Media Sponsor: Azteca America

WHAT:

Pablo Heras-Casado, who was recently appointed Principal Conductor of Orchestra of St. Luke’s, returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in three performances, Friday, March 2, at 8 pm, as well as Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, at 2 pm. The program features the West Coast premiere of Brooklyn-based composer James Matheson’s LA Phil-co-commission Violin Concerto, played by LA Phil Principal Concertmaster Martin Chalifour. Additionally, Beethoven’s Egmont Overture will be performed Saturday and Sunday, and Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben will be performed all three dates.

The Friday concert is part of the LA Phil’s Casual Fridays series, which features a shorter program, is presented without intermission and encourages audience members to attend in comfortable attire. These Casual Fridays concerts also feature a free TalkBack discussion with musicians held on stage after the performance and a chance to mingle with members of the orchestra in the Concert Hall Café.

Pablo Heras-Casado is Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) fourth titled conductor. During his four-year appointment, he will help select programs and soloists and will work closely with OSL to develop special projects such as tours, recordings and commissions. Heras-Casado is renowned for the breadth of his programming, ranging from historically informed performances with such as the Freiburger Barockorchester, through symphonic and opera literature, to cutting-edge contemporary scores with Klangforum Wien and Ensemble intercontemporain Paris. He has performed with many of the world’s finest orchestras, such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden and the Cleveland Orchestra. He has developed relationships with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Mostly Mozart Festival. His opera collaborations include Teatro Real Madrid, La Monnaie in Brussels, Opéra National de Paris, Canadian Opera Company and Opéra National de Bordeaux. Future plans include dates at the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013. This year will also see Heras-Casado embark on a significant recording collaboration with Harmonia Mundi.

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. Chalifour is a professor at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. He records for the Yarlung label; his latest album was released in September 2011, and features solo music composed by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Steven Stucky, as well as Mozart and Lutoslawski concertos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic recorded live at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Complete Program:

BEETHOVEN Egmont Overture (except Friday)

MATHESON Violin Concerto (West Coast premiere, LAPA co-commission)

STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben



Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place in Walt Disney Concert Hall’s BP Hall one hour prior to the Thursday and Saturday concerts and on stage one hour and 15 minutes prior to the Friday matinee, and are free to all ticket holders. Veronika Krausas, composer and professor at the USC Thornton School of Music, hosts.

WHO:

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

PABLO HERAS-CASADO, conductor

MARTIN CHALIFOUR, violin

WHEN:

Friday, March 2, 2012, at 8 PM

Saturday, March 3, 2012, at 2 PM

Sunday, March 4, 2012, at 8 PM

WHERE:

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

HOW TO PURCHASE:

Subscriptions and single tickets for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2011/12 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall are currently available. To purchase, please visit LAPhil.com, the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet. To order by phone with credit card, please call the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office at 323.850.2000, or Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000. For more information, please call 323.850.2000.