Los Angeles, CA (October 2, 2014) – In honor of the 10th birthday of the spectacular Walt Disney Concert Hall organ, the LA Phil presents celebratory programming throughout the 2014/15 season. The organ’s striking visual design was a collaboration between Frank Gehry and organ builder Manuel Rosales. The organ, affectionately called “Hurricane Mama,” was so named by musical visionary Terry Riley after a night of improvising.
Inaugurated in 2004 at the opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s second season in Walt Disney Concert Hall, the organ is voiced with a wide dynamic range ‑ from pianississimo to a breathtaking fortissimo that can obliterate the sounds of a full orchestra. The specially curved wood façade pipes are actual playing pipes that were made by Glatter-Götz Orgelbau in Germany and consist of the Violone and Bassoon basses. Behind the façade are three levels of pipes, including metal pipes made of tin and lead alloys and wood pipes made of Norwegian pine.
See below for more little-known facts and a full calendar of 10th birthday programming featuring the Walt Disney Concert Hall organ throughout the 2014/15 season:
Sunday, October 12, 2014, at 7:30 PM
http://www.laphil.com/tickets/organ-recital-brass-and-organ/2014-10-12
Christopher Houlihan, organ
Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic brass section
Thomas Hooten, trumpet
Christopher Still, trumpet
James Wilt, trumpet
Stéphane Beaulac, trumpet
Andrew Bain, horn
Gregory Roosa, horn
Ethan Bearman, horn
Brian Drake, horn
James Miller, trombone
Herbert Ausman, trombone
John Lofton, trombone
Norman Pearson, tuba
Joseph Pereira, timpani
GABRIELI Canzon per Sonar in Echo Duodecimi Toni
GABRIELI Canzon per Sonar Noni Toni
SOWERBY Toccata
VIERNE Marche Triomphale
VIERNE Romance and Finale from Symphony No. 4, Op. 32
DUKAS Fanfare
BARBER Mutations from Bach
BACH Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582
Bruce MILLER Pluto: The Last Planet
This is the first time in the organ recital series that the organ will be paired with members of the LA Phil brass section for an all-brass-and-organ program.
Sunday, November 23, 2014, at 7:30 PM
http://www.laphil.com/tickets/happy-birthday-quothurricane-mamaquot-pulling-out-all-stops/2014-11-23
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, “HURRICANE MAMA”: PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS
Michael Barone, host
Ken Cowan, organ
Frederick Swann, organ
Cherry Rhodes, organ
Chelsea Chen, organ
Christoph Bull, organ
Carol Williams, organ
Aaron David Miller, organ
Cameron Carpenter, organ
REGER/BACH Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903
Searle WRIGHT Lyric Rhapsody
Robert HEBBLE Heraldings
D’ANTALFFY-ZSIROSS Sportive Fauns
Clarence MADER Afternoon of a Toad
RAVEL Bolero arranged by Hans Uwe Hielscher
Carol WILLIAMS Freedom
Carol WILLIAMS Walk on the Wild Side dedicated to Jimmy Smith
Carol WILLIAMS Venus Toccata
SCRIABIN (trans Carpenter) Sonata No. 4
During this concert, every single one of the 6,145 pipes, ranging in size from a pencil to a telephone pole, will be heard.
Sunday, January 11, 2015, at 7:30 PM
http://www.laphil.com/tickets/anthony-newman-recital/2015-01-11
Anthony Newman, organ
Trumpet tunes by STANLEY, PURCELL, CHARPENTIER, MOURET, and BACH
Anthony NEWMAN Fantasia on Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex
Anthony NEWMAN Fantasia and Fanfare on Stravinsky’s Canticum Sacrum
NEWMAN Adagio, Toccata and Fugue in D
BACH Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, BWV 564
MOZART Three Sonatas, K. 263, K. 67, K. 278
BACH Fugue in G “à la gigue,” BWV 577
The organist’s bench is raised and lowered with an electric motor.
Sunday, April 19, 2015, at 7:30 PM
http://www.laphil.com/tickets/organ-recital-olivier-latry/2015-04-19
Olivier Latry, organ
DUPRÉ Cortège et Litanie
FRANCK Prière
GUILMANT Final from Sonata No. 1
COCHEREAU Berceuse à la mémoire de Louis Vierne
COCHEREAU Boléro
VIERNE Symphony No. 2
Planning, construction, and installation of the Walt Disney Concert organ took a combined 35,000 worker-hours.
ADDITIONAL ORGAN PROGRAMMING
Saturday, October 18, 2014 (10 AM arts workshop; 11 AM performance)
Saturday, October 25, 2014 (10 AM arts workshop; 11 AM performance)
http://www.laphil.com/tickets/toyota-symphonies-for-youththe-organ-stops-keys-pedals-and-pipes/2014-10-18
Toyota Symphonies for Youth
The Organ: Stops, Keys, Pedals and Pipes
The organ was a gift to the County of Los Angeles from the Toyota Motor Corporation.
Friday, October 24, 2014 at 8 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2014, at 8 PM
Sunday, October 26, 2014 at 2 PM
http://www.laphil.com/tickets/happy-birthday-quothurricane-mamaquot-salonen-saariaho-amp-sibelius/2014-10-24
Happy Birthday, Hurricane Mama
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Olivier Latry, organ
JANÁČEK Sinfonietta
Kaija SAARIAHO Maan varjot (Earth Shadow) (U.S. premiere)
SIBELIUS Lemminkäinen Suite
Closed circuit television gives the organist at the main console a view of the conductor.
Friday, October 31, 2014, at 8 PM
http://www.laphil.com/tickets/halloween-film-live-organ-nosferatu/2014-10-31
Halloween Film & Organ
Clark Wilson, organ
Nosferatu
Don’t be scared to support the Walt Disney Concert Hall organ as the keyboard is made from simulated ivory. Other materials used to build the instrument include Douglas fir (pipes), Norwegian pine (pipes), porcelain (stop knobs), ebony (keyboard), and lead and tin alloys (pipes).
Thursday, November 20, 2014, at 8 PM
Friday, November 21, 2014, at 8 PM
Saturday, November 22, 2014, at 2 PM
Sunday, November 23, 2014, at 2 PM
http://www.laphil.com/tickets/happy-birthday-quothurricane-mamaquot-dudamel-conducts-saint-saens/2014-11-20
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Cameron Carpenter, organ
Heidi Stober, soprano
BARBER Toccata Festiva for organ and orchestra
SCRIABIN (trans Carpenter) Sonata No. 4 (for solo organ)
HARTKE Symphony No. 4, “Organ” (world premiere, LA Phil commission)
SAINT-SAËNS Symphony No. 3, “Organ”
The Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 was performed at the organ’s inaugural concerts on October 2 and 3, 2004.
For more information and full artist biographies, please visit LAPhil.com
Subscriptions and single tickets for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2014/15 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.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, presents an inspiring array of music from all genres – orchestral, chamber and Baroque music, organ and celebrity recitals, new music, jazz, world music and pop – at two of L.A.’s iconic venues, Walt Disney Concert Hall (LAPhil.com) and the Hollywood Bowl (HollywoodBowl.com). The LA Phil’s season at Walt Disney Concert Hall extends from September through May, and throughout the summer at the Hollywood Bowl. With the preeminent Los Angeles Philharmonic at the foundation of its offerings, the LA Phil aims to enrich and transform lives through music, with a robust mix of artistic, education and community programs.
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Sophie Jefferies, sjefferies@laphil.org, 213.972.3422
Laura Cohen, laurabcohen@me.com, 310.867.3897
Photos: 213.972.3034