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  • LEADING BAROQUE CONDUCTOR NICHOLAS McGEGAN RETURNS TO THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL FOR FOUR GRAND TOUR CONCERTS WITH THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC SPOTLIGHTING MASTERWORKS WRITTEN IN OR FOR LONDON, VENICE, ...
  • Aug. 7, 2007
  • Programs Include Works by Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Vivaldi and Rameau;

    Featured Soloists Are Los Angeles Philharmonic Principal Concertmaster Martin Chalifour, British Tenor John Mark Ainsley, and Virtuoso Pianist Shai Wosner

    TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, AUGUST 7 AND 9, AT 8 PM

    TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, AUGUST 14 AND 16, AT 8 PM

    Media Sponsor for the August 16 Concert is KUSC

    Nicholas McGegan, one of the world's leading authorities on Baroque and Classical repertoire, returns to the Hollywood Bowl this summer for a special two-week, four-concert "Grand Tour" with the Los Angeles Philharmonic featuring performances of masterworks written in or for four of Europe's 18th-century cultural capitals: London, Venice, Paris, and Vienna. The opening program on Tuesday, August 7 features works by Handel, Haydn, Arne and Mozart for London, the second on Thursday, August 9 spotlights concertos for various instruments written by Vivaldi in Venice. During the second week, on Tuesday, August 14 includes music by Rameau, Haydn, Mozart, and Davaux for Paris, and the concluding evening on Thursday, August 16 focuses on Vienna with an all-Mozart program.

    John Mark Ainsley, one of Britain's most prolific tenors, joins McGegan, the Philharmonic, and the 50-voice Pacific Chorale, John Alexander, director, for the project's launch, The Grand Tour: London, on Tuesday, August 7 at 8 p.m. The program includes Handel's Coronation Anthem, "Zadok the Priest"; "His Mighty Arm" and "Waft Her, Angels" from Jephtha; Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon; Where'er you Walk" from Semele; and "Sound an Alarm," "See the conqu'ring hero comes," March and "Sing unto God" from Judas Maccabaeus. Also scheduled are Haydn's The Storm ("Hark, the Wild Uproar of the Winds"), Cantata Hob. XXIVa:8; Mozart's Symphony No. 1 in E-flat Major, K. 16 and Concert Aria "Va, dal furor portata," K. 21; and Arne's Suite from Alfred (Overture, "From the Dawn of Early Morn," March, and "When Britain first at Heav'n's command").

    Los Angeles Philharmonic Principal Concertmaster Martin Chalifour is soloist with McGegan on the podium on Thursday, August 9 at 8 p.m. as they present The Grand Tour: Venice, with Mozart's Overture and March from Mitridate, rè di Ponto; and Vivaldi's Concerto in D Major for Four Violins, RV 549 (No. 1 from L'estro armonico); Concerto in D Minor for Two Oboes, RV 535; Violin Concerto in C Major, RV 190; Violin Concerto in D Major, RV 222; Concerto in C Major for Strings, RV 114; and Concerto in B-flat Major for Four Violins, RV 553.

    Works for the City of Lights are on the program of The Grand Tour: Paris on Tuesday, August 14 at 8 p.m., as McGegan conducts Rameau's Overture to Naïs; Haydn's Symphony No. 85, "La reine"; Davaux's rarely heard Symphonie Concertante for two violins and orchestra on French Revolutionary Airs; and Mozart's Symphony No. 31, "Paris."

    An all-Mozart evening on August 16 is the final stop, The Grand Tour: Vienna, featuring pianist Shai Wosner in the Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, and McGegan and the orchestra in the Five Contradances, K. 609, and the Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter." Wosner, born in Israel, was described by The New York Times as an artist who "exudes virtuosity, determination and an infectious glee" and the Financial Times as "an artist to follow keenly."

    Conductor NICHOLAS McGEGAN is one of the world's leading authorities on Baroque and Classical repertoire, a champion of such Baroque masters as Handel, Rameau, Bach, and Vivaldi. His repertoire also encompasses Mozart and Haydn, the complete symphonies of Beethoven, and extends to Stravinsky, Britten, Tippett, and Glass. His itinerary includes regular appearances on many of the world's most illustrious podiums. In North America these include visits to Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Saint Louis, and Toronto. In Europe no season goes by without visits to London, Glasgow, and Amsterdam. He appears regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, with the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival, and with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra at New York's Mostly Mozart festival. A recent Ravinia and Bowl highlight was "Los Sazones," Vivaldi's Four Seasons adapted for orchestra and salsa band by Jimmy Bosch. His frequent collaborations with choreographer/director Mark Morris have taken him to New York, Chicago, Berkeley, and the Edinburgh Festival, where they premiered a new production of Rameau's Platée in cooperation with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. McGegan, known to nearly everyone who meets him as "Nic," has just celebrated his 20th year as music director of the San Francisco-based Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO). Since 1990, he has also been Artistic Director of Germany's International Handel-Festival in Göttingen - the world's oldest festival celebrating Handel and his music. He is also an Honorary Professor at the School of Music at the Georg-August-University in Göttingen. Among his more than 100 recordings are Handel's Ariodante with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (winner of the Gramophone Award), Handel's Susanna (nominated for a Grammy), and two volumes of violin sonatas by Nicola Matteis, both of which received the Diapason d'Or.

    Tenor JOHN MARK AINSLEY began his musical training in Oxford and continues to study with Diane Forlano. His extensive international concert work includes the Boston Symphony under Ozawa, Vienna Philharmonic under Norrington, Pinnock and Welser-Möst, London Symphony under Sir Colin Davis and André Previn, Berlin Philharmonic under Haitink and Rattle and the New York Philharmonic under Masur. His vast discography covers the baroque and classical repertoire, the German Lied and English song, and the American musical. His recording of On Wenlock Edge (Hyperion) was nominated for a Gramophone award. A highly gifted performer on the opera stage, he was awarded the Munich Festival Prize for his performance as Orfeo in 1999, a role that he has reprised at English National Opera to great acclaim. At the 2003 Salzburg Festival Ainsley created the role of Der Daemon in the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze's L'Upupa, which he has since sung at the Teatro Real, Madrid. He recently sang The Madwoman in Britten's Curlew River in Frankfurt, where he returned for Captain Vere in Billy Budd, and both Zaide and La Finta Giardiniera at the Salzburg Festival as part of their Mozart celebrations. He won the 2007 Royal Philharmonic Society Singer Award.

    Since 1968, PACIFIC CHORALE has been widely recognized for the exceptional quality of its artistic product, providing regional, national, and international audiences with distinctive performances of classical and contemporary choral works. Under the leadership of Artistic Director John Alexander, both the 160-voice Pacific Chorale and the 30-voice John Alexander Singers present a concert series each year at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Pacific Chorale also serves as the resident chorus for Pacific Symphony, performs regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and is the "choir of choice" for visiting orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra. Artistic Director of Pacific Chorale since 1972, JOHN ALEXANDER has consistently received acclaim from critics and audiences for his inspired conducting. He has conducted his singers with orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, the former Soviet Union, and South American and, closer to home, with Pacific Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Musica Angelica, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Equally versatile both on the podium and behind the scenes, Alexander has prepared choruses for many of the world's leading orchestral conductors including Seiji Ozawa, Leonard Slatkin, Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Pierre Boulez, Lukas Foss, Keith Lockhart, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gerard Schwarz, and Max Rudolf.

    MARTIN CHALIFOUR began his tenure as Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1995. The recipient of various grants and awards in his native Canada, he graduated with honors from the Montreal Conservatory at the age of 18 and then moved to Philadelphia to pursue studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. In 1986 Chalifour received a Certificate of Honor at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow; he was a laureate of the Montreal International Competition the following year. Since then he has concertized extensively, playing hundreds of concerto performances from a repertoire of more than 50 works. He has appeared as soloist with conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Andrew Davis, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Outside the U.S., he has appeared as a guest soloist with the Auckland Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Queensland Symphony (Brisbane, Australia), and the Malaysian Philharmonic, among others. Chalifour began his orchestral career in 1984 with the late Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony, playing as Associate Concertmaster for six years. Subsequently he occupied the same position for five years in the Cleveland Orchestra, where he also served as Acting Concertmaster under Christoph von Dohnányi. While in Cleveland, Chalifour taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music and was a founding member of two chamber ensembles, Myriad and the Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio. Chalifour is a frequent guest at several summer music festivals, including the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, the Sarasota Music Festival, and the Ottawa International Music Festival. Maintaining close ties with his native Quebec, he has returned there to teach and appear as soloist with the Quebec Symphony. He has also performed several chamber music concerts with cellist Lynn Harrell at the Amelia Island Festival in Florida and at the Madison Chamber Music Festival in Georgia. Chalifour and two of his Philharmonic colleagues, Joanne Pearce Martin and Peter Stumpf, recently joined forces and formed the Los Angeles Philharmonic Piano Trio to explore the wonderful repertoire written for this combination.

    Winner of a 2005 Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 2005 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, pianist SHAI WOSNER is active as a soloist and chamber musician, his uniquely intellectual and poetic approach catching the attention of audiences and critics alike. Since his Carnegie Hall debut in 2000 with the Chicago Civic Orchestra and Daniel Barenboim conducting, Wosner has performed with many major orchestras in the United States, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Chicago, Columbus, Houston, and San Francisco; the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others. Highlights of Wosner's current performing activities include his Vienna Philharmonic debut in Salzburg as part of the celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth. Born in Israel in 1976, Shai Wosner studied for 12 years with Emanuel Krasovsky in Tel Aviv. In addition, he studied composition, theory, and improvisation with André Hajdu. His studies continued at the Juilliard School with Emanuel Ax.

    One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 39th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2007, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the third year in a row at the 18th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

    Tuesday, August 7 at 8 PM

    The Grand Tour: London

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    NICHOLAS McGEGAN, conductor

    JOHN MARK AINSLEY, tenor

    PACIFIC CHORALE, JOHN ALEXANDER, artistic director

    HANDEL

    Coronation Anthem, "Zadok the Priest"

    HANDEL

    "His Mighty Arm" and "Waft Her, Angels" from Jephtha

    HANDEL

    Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon

    HANDEL

    "Where'er you Walk" from Semele

    HANDEL

    "Sound an Alarm," "See the conqu'ring hero comes," March and "Sing unto God" from Judas Maccabaeus

    HAYDN

    The Storm Hob. XXIVa:8

    MOZART     

    Symphony No. 1 in E-flat Major, K. 16

    MOZART

    Concert Aria "Va, dal furor portata," K. 21

    ARNE

    Suite from Alfred (Overture, "From the Dawn of Early Morn," March, "When Britain first at Heav'n's command")

    Thursday, August 9 at 8 PM

    The Grand Tour: Venice

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    NICHOLAS McGEGAN, conductor

    MARTIN CHALIFOUR, violin

    MOZART     

    Overture to Mitridate, rè di Ponto

    VIVALDI

    Concerto in D Major for Four Violins, RV 549 (No. 1 from L'estro armonico)

    VIVALDI

    Concerto in D Minor for Two Oboes, RV 535

    VIVALDI

    Violin Concerto in C Major, RV 190

    MOZART

    March from Mitridate, rè di Ponto

    VIVALDI

    Violin Concerto in D Major, RV 222

    VIVALDI

    Concerto for Strings in C Major, RV 114

    VIVALDI

    Concerto in B-flat Major for Four Violins, RV 553

    Tuesday, August 14 at 8 PM

    The Grand Tour: Paris

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    NICHOLAS McGEGAN, conductor

    RAMEAU

    Overture to Naïs

    HAYDN

    Symphony No. 85, "La reine"

    DAVAUX     

    Symphonie Concertante for two violins and orchestra on French Revolutionary Airs

    MOZART

    Symphony No. 31, "Paris"

    Thursday, August 16 at 8 PM

    The Grand Tour: Mozart in Vienna

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    NICHOLAS McGEGAN, conductor

    SHAI WOSNER, piano


    MOZART     

    Five Contradances, K. 609

    MOZART

    Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466

    MOZART

    Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter"

    Media Sponsor for the August 16 Concert is KUSC

    Tickets ($1 - $93) are on sale now at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office (Tuesday - Saturday, 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.), or by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Adam Crane, acrane@laphil.org, 213.972.3034; Rachelle Roe, rroe@laphil.org, 213.972.7310; Laura Stegman, Laura_Stegman@hotmail.com; 310.470.6321; For photos: 213.972.3034