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  • WDCH
  • SALONEN CONDUCTS PROGRAM OF WORKS BY RUSSIAN MASTERS
  • Apr. 25, 2003
  • PIANIST OLLI MUSTONEN FEATURED

    FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 8 PM; SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 2:30 PM;

    AND WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 8 PM

    Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic on April 25, 27, and 30 in a program featuring celebrated works by Russian masters with internationally acclaimed pianist Olli Mustonen performing Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3. The program at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion also includes Symphony No. 4 by Dmitri Shostakovich, as the Philharmonic continuing its Shostakovich Cycle, a five-year exploration of the Russian composer's music.

    Upbeat Live, a free pre-concert event with Ed Yim, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Director of Artistic Planning, begins in the Pavilion's Grand Hall one hour before each performance.

    Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 is characterized by its demand for technical perfection and remarkable stamina. A noted member of the European avant-garde in the 1920's and 1930's, Prokofiev himself set the standard for the concerto's performance, premiering the piece in Chicago and playing it around the world. (Prokofiev was the soloist in the Los Angeles premiere of the concerto with the Philharmonic in 1930.) Mustonen will showcase his own artistic prowess in interpreting one of the most popular and challenging piano concertos of the last century.

    Also featured in the April program is Shostakovich's Symphony No. 4. Previously censured by government authorities for other works, Shostakovich withdrew his Fourth symphony before its first performance. The work was not performed until more than two decades later. The composer, who began his career as a silent-movie pianist, reveals hints of Mahler's First Symphony in a work noted for its passionate intensity and strength, reflecting the realities of social and political upheaval he experienced under Stalin's regime.

    OLLI MUSTONEN is an acclaimed pianist and composer whose performances have captivated audiences throughout Europe and North America. He recently played the world premiere of Rodin Shchedrin's Piano Concerto No. 5 with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and completed a six-city United States tour with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, led by Vladimir Ashkenazy, which included a performance at New York's Carnegie Hall. Mustonen's life as a composer informs his work as a pianist and has resulted in highly individualized interpretations of repertoire that have won him international praise. He won the Edison and Gramophone Awards for his Preludes by Shostakovich and Alkan recording on the London/Decca label and also completed recordings of works by Bach and Beethoven for RCA Red Seal. His recital work has produced successful collaborations with other leading performers including cellist Steven Isserlis and violinist Joshua Bell. Mustonen frequently performs in major music capitals worldwide, including London, Vienna, Paris, Tokyo, and Berlin. In addition, he has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the London Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, and the Royal Philharmonic.

    ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, the tenth conductor to head the Los Angeles Philharmonic, began his tenure as Music Director in October 1992. Salonen made his American debut conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in November 1984, and he has conducted the orchestra every season since. Among the many highlights of Salonen's activities with the Philharmonic have been world premieres of new works by composers John Adams, Bernard Rands, Rodion Shchedrin, Steven Stucky, and Salonen himself, well-received Ligeti and Stravinsky Festivals, appearances at the Ojai Festival, eight critically acclaimed international tours since 1992, and his extensive discography with the Philharmonic for Sony Classical. Salonen was born in Helsinki, Finland in 1958. He made his conducting debut with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1979, and he has been one of the world's most sought-after conductors since his debut in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra in September 1983. He served as principal guest conductor of the Philharmonia from 1985 to 1994 and as principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 1995.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 8 PM

    SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 2:30 PM

    WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 8 PM


    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, conductor

    OLLI MUSTONEN, piano

    PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 3

    SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 4

    Upbeat Live, a free pre-concert event with Ed Yim, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Director of Artistic Planning, takes place in the Pavilion's Grand Hall one hour before each of these performances.

    Tickets ($14 - $82) 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. Tickets are also available online at www.laphil.com. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full-time students may be available two hours prior to the performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts. For further information, please call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Elizabeth Hinckley, 323.850.2047; Rachelle Roe, 323.850.2032; for photos: Scalla Sheen, 323.850.2015