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  • ANTONIO PAPPANO LEADS PHILHARMONIC IN WORKS BY VERDI, BUSONI, AND BEETHOVEN AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
  • Dec. 9, 2003
  • Violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann is Soloist

    FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, AT 8 PM, Philharmonic's First Nights Series Continues

    SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, AT 8 PM and SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, AT 2 PM

    December 19 sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

    Antonio Pappano, Music Director of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, returns to Los Angeles to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in three performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Friday and Saturday, December 19 and 20, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, December 21, at 2 p.m. The Friday performance, part of the Philharmonic's First Nights series, includes only the Beethoven symphony, preceded by a theatrical event that recreates the historic setting of the piece's first performance in Vienna. The Saturday and Sunday programs include Verdi's Overture to I vespri siciliani, Busoni's Violin Concerto performed by guest soloist Frank Peter Zimmerman, and Beethoven's famed Fifth Symphony.

    Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to each concert in BP Hall at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and are free to all ticket holders.

    Conductor ANTONIO PAPPANO is the youngest conductor ever to hold the position of music director with the Royal Opera Covent Garden. He previously held that title with both Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels and the Norwegian Opera. Born in London of Italian parents, his work as a pianist and assistant conductor rapidly led to his engagement in theaters throughout the world, where he has established a reputation for his diverse repertoire. Pappano has conducted at San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Théâtre du Châtelet and the Berlin State Opera. On the concert podium, he has led the London Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He was declared "Artist of the Year 2000" by Gramophone magazine, and records regularly for EMI Classics.

    Violinist FRANK PETER ZIMMERMAN was born in Germany in 1965 and started playing at the age of five. Since 1983, he has been performing with the great orchestras of the world, collaborating with renowned conductors. Highlights of this season include appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the National Symphony, the Philharmonia, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris. He gives many recitals worldwide with musicians such as pianist Enrico Pace, and performs chamber music with Heinrich Schiff and Christian Zacharias. His many concerto recordings for EMI Classics have received critical acclaim and awards. His latest recording, of the Ligeti concerto, is on Teldec Classics.

    Actor, producer, and director JOHN DE LANCIE is well-known for his work in television, film, and theater, and on the concert stage. Some of his film and television credits include The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, The Fisher King, The West Wing, Sports Night, Judging Amy, Star Trek, Legend, LA Law, Picket Fences, Civil Wars, The Practice, and Touched by an Angel. He has been a member of the American Shakespeare Festival, the Seattle Repertory Company, the South Coast Repertory, and the Mark Taper Forum. In the world of music, de Lancie has performed with many orchestras nationwide, including Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for whom he has been the host of Toyota Symphonies for Youth for the last five years, helping to develop new programming for young people. To date, he has conceived and directed ten symphony orchestra "events." These 90-minute programs, written and directed by de Lancie, include fully theatricalized productions of Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream (with the Korngold score), The Bourgeois Gentleman, and The Abduction from the Seraglio. Performances of these "events" have taken place at the Ravinia Festival, Pasadena Civic Auditorium, and the Music Center in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Kent State University and the Juilliard School.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    Friday, December 19, 2003 at 8 PM

    - FIRST NIGHTS -

    Walt Disney Concert Hall

    111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    ANTONIO PAPPANO, conductor

    JOHN de LANCIE, writer/director/narrator


    BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5

    Sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

    Saturday, December 20, 2003 at 8 PM

    Sunday, December 21, 2003 at 2 PM

    Walt Disney Concert Hall

    111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    ANTONIO PAPPANO, conductor

    FRANK PETER ZIMMERMANN, violin

    VERDI Overture to I vespri siciliani

    BUSONI Violin Concerto

    BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5

    Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to each concert in BP Hall at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and are free to all ticket holders.

    Tickets ($15 - $120) are on sale now at the Walt Disney Concert Hall box office, online at LAPhil.com, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. When available, choral bench seats ($15) will be released for sale to selected Philharmonic, Colburn Celebrity Recital, and Baroque Variations performances beginning at noon on the Tuesday of the second week prior to the concert. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available at the Walt Disney Concert Hall box office two hours prior to the performance. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person; cash only. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For all information, please call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Elizabeth Hinckley, 213.972.3034; Rachelle Roe, 213.972.7310