The St. Petersburg Philharmonic, led by legendary Russian conductor Yuri Temirkanov, gives one performance only, Wednesday, February 20 at 8:00 p.m. at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The acclaimed orchestra will perform early twentieth-century Russian music: Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 (“Classical”), Song of the Nightingale by Igor Stravinsky, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. Upbeat Live, free pre-concert discussions with Christopher Russell, take place in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s Grand Hall one hour before each performance.

Tickets ($12-$78) are available at the Philharmonic’s Music Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons-May, Tower Records, Ritmo Latino, Tu Música, and selected Wherehouse locations), and by credit card phone order at 213/365-3500. Tickets are also available on-line at laphil.com. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount; call 323/850-2050. 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 further information, please call 323/850-2000.

Written on a cruise down the Volga River as the Russian revolution erupted in 1917, Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 transports the style of Haydn’s symphonies into the composer’s own time with wit and grace. Already living in exile in Switzerland, Igor Stravinsky arranged the symphonic poem, The Song of the Nightingale , from an earlier piece based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.

Shostakovich’s powerful and epic Fifth Symphony had its premiere in 1937 in Leningrad and immediately brought him back into favor with the Soviet authorities after their condemnation of his opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the previous year.

The ST. PETERSBURG PHILHARMONIC is Russia’s oldest symphony orchestra. Formed in 1882, it initially played for the Imperial Court and aristocratic circles. In 1917, the ensemble was declared a state orchestra, giving its first public concert that November. In 1991, the orchestra changed its name from the Leningrad Philharmonic to the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. In its early years, the orchestra was conducted by Alexander Glazunov and Serge Koussevitzky, as well as by Bruno Walter and Otto Klemperer abroad. The St. Petersburg Philharmonic premiered Shostakovich’s First Symphony in 1926 and enjoyed a close association with the composer until his death (1975). For 50 years (1938-88), Evgeny Mravinsky was the orchestra’s Music Director. The ensemble continued to give concerts without interruption throughout World War II. After 1945, the orchestra was active in introducing to Russia important composers and conductors including Leopold Stokowski, Charles Munch, Zoltán Kodály and Benjamin Britten. In 1946, it took the first tour of the West by a Soviet orchestra and since then has been acclaimed in more than 30 countries throughout Europe, North and South America and the Far East. The ensemble frequently makes visits to the major European festivals and toured the United States in 1996 and 1998. Yuri Temirkanov has been Music Director and Principal Conductor of the orchestra since 1988.

Now in his third season as Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony, YURI TEMIRKANOV is recognized as among the most talented conductors of his generation. In addition to his Baltimore post, he also serves as Music Director and Chief Conductor of Russia's venerable St. Petersburg Philharmonic, as Principal Guest Conductor of the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of London's Royal Philharmonic. He is a regular guest conductor of the major orchestras of Europe and Asia, and enjoys an equally acclaimed reputation among the leading orchestras of the United States. Born in 1938 in the Caucasus city of Nal'chik, Temirkanov began his musical studies at the age of nine. He studied viola at the Leningrad Conservatory and after graduation, served as Assistant Conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic. In 1968, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra where he remained until his appointment as Music Director of the Kirov Opera and Ballet in 1976. In 1988, Yuri Temirkanov began a long-term exclusive relationship with BMG/RCA recording labels. His many recordings with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic include the works of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Berlioz, Ravel, and Sibelius.

EDITORS - PLEASE NOTE:

Wednesday, February 20, 8 PM

DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION, 135 N. Grand Ave in Los Angeles

ST. PETERSBURG PHILHARMONIC

YURI TEMIRKANOV, conductor

PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 1 (“Classical”)

STRAVINSKY: Song of the Nightingale

SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5

Upbeat Live, a free pre-concert discussion with Christopher Russell, takes place in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s Grand Hall one hour prior to performances.

Single tickets ($12-$78) are available at the Philharmonic’s Music Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons-May, Tower Records, Ritmo Latino, Tu Música, and selected Wherehouse locations), and by credit card phone order at 213/365-3500. Tickets are also available on-line at www.laphil.com. 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 further information, please call 323/850-2000.