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  • WDCH
  • GUITARISTS SÉRGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD AND VIOLINIST NADJA SALERNO-SONNENBERG GIVE CELEBRITY RECITAL
  • Jan. 31, 2003
  • DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION, JANUARY 31 AT 8 PM

    On Friday, January 31 at 8 p.m., the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association presents a Celebrity Recital with violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and guitarists Sérgio and Odair Assad. The wide-ranging program includes works by Charlie Chaplin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Alberto Ginastera, Astor Piazzolla, and Béla Bartók. The evening is the second of four celebrity recitals this season.

    This program begins with a walk on the wild side, Eastern European gypsy-style, with an assortment of Gypsy Songs arranged by guitarist Sérgio Assad. Assad arranged this group of Hungarian songs and the traditional Russian song "Dark Eyes" for the album he and his brother recently recorded with the evening's co-headliner, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. The Hungarian songs are set as evocative miniatures, with stylized accompaniments, while the mournful "Dark Eyes" is treated as eloquent gypsy jazz

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    Sérgio Assad also arranged the rest of the works on the recital program for violin and two guitars. Following Assad's Fantasia on Dark Eyes is Bach's Sonata in E Major, BWV 1016. The program also includes Ginastera's three Danzas argentinas, a medley of works by Charlie Chaplin, Four Tangos by Piazzolla, and Bartók's Romanian Folk Dances.

    NADJA SALERNO-SONNENBERG stands out in the field of classical music with her individual, passionate, and powerful sound. A musician, author, and teacher, Salerno-Sonnenberg is recognized as one of the world's preeminent violinists. Since 1981, when she burst onto the music scene as the youngest recipient ever of the Walter W. Naumburg International Violin Competition, she has remained in the media spotlight. Born in Rome, she emigrated to the U.S. at the age of eight to study at The Curtis Institute of Music and later studied with Dorothy DeLay at The Juilliard School. In 1989, she wrote "Nadja: On My Way," an autobiography for children, in which she shares her experiences as a young musician building a career. She is the recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize (1999) and has also been honored with an Avery Fisher Career Grant (1983). In 1988, she was Ovation's Debut Recording Artist of the Year.

    Brazilian-born SÉRGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD are today's preeminent guitar duo. Born two years apart, the brothers have been making music together since they first picked up their instruments. The result is an uncanny rapport that has set new performance standards and an exceptional level of artistry that has led to a revival of contemporary music for guitar duo. Their repertoire also includes original music by Sérgio Assad, transcriptions of the great Baroque keyboard literature, and adaptations of works by such diverse figures as Gershwin, Ginastera, and Milhaud. The Assads have many recordings including collaborations with Gidon Kremer, Yo-Yo Ma, and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. They regularly perform in recital and with orchestras in all of the major European music capitals, as well as throughout North American, Latin America, Australia, Israel, and Asia.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    Friday, January 31, 2002, 8 PM


    Celebrity Recital

    Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave in Los Angeles

    NADJA SALERNO-SONNENBERG, violin

    SÉRGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD, guitars

    Assad: Gypsy Songs

    Assad: Fantasia on Dark Eyes

    Bach: Sonata in E Major, BWV 1016

    Ginastera: Danzas argentinas

    Chaplin: Medley

    Piazzolla: Four Tangos

    Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances

    Tickets ($17-55) are on sale now at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons-May, Tower Records, Ritmo Latino, and selected Wherehouse locations), and by credit card phone order at 323.850.2000.

    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. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for special discounts. For more information, call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Elizabeth Hinckley, 323/850-2047; Melanie Gravdal, 323/850-2021