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  • CONDUCTOR AND PIANIST CHRISTIAN ZACHARIAS LEADS LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC – FROM PODIUM AND PIANO – IN SECOND WEEK OF "MORE THAN MOZART" FESTIVAL
  • Apr. 18, 2002
  • Thursday, April 18 at 8 PM; Friday, April 19 at 1 PM;

    Saturday, April 20 at 8 PM and Sunday, April 21 at 2:30 PM

    at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

    From April 18 through April 21, pianist and conductor Christian Zacharias returns to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to continue the “More Than Mozart” Festival with the second week of Viennese classics. This Mozart-inspired program features music by Mozart, Kraus and Haydn – powerful composers in the mid- to late-1700s whose lives were, in one way or another, intertwined. It also features two of Mozart’s piano concertos, displaying Zacharias’ talent in conducting the orchestra from the piano.

    Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to each concert in the Grand Hall and are free to all ticket holders. This Upbeat Live involves a panel discussion on the subject of “genius” and its many forms. The panelists include: Lucinda Carver, Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra; Dean Keith Simonton, psychiatrist and professor at UC Davis; Matt Golombek, JPL; and Hideo Mabuchi, professor and physicist at Cal Tech. Paul Holdengräber, director of the LACMA Institute of Art and Cultures, moderates the April 18 and 20 Upbeat Live events, while Rich Capparela of KMZT radio moderates on April 19 and 21.

    The concerts open with the rarely performed Symphony in C minor (1783) by Joseph Martin Kraus. Haydn, one of the three composer’s featured on the program, once said that Kraus is “… one of the greatest geniuses I have met.” Adding another connection to the composers of this “More than Mozart” program, Kraus was born the same year as Mozart and his short life (he died one year earlier than Mozart), fraught with difficulties, is eerily similar.

    The Mozart works featured in the program are two of the composer’s piano concertos – No. 14, K. 449 and No. 16, K. 451. The piano concerto genre especially suited Mozart’s genius for creating musical dialogue between opposing “characters.” Of the 17 piano concertos produced in his last years in Vienna, 15 were written in the winter seasons from 1782-86. All the concertos follow a consistent format, each with three movements.

    Haydn’s Symphony No. 80 in D minor closes the program. It was composed in late 1783 or early 1784 and Mozart himself conducted the premiere of the work in Vienna in March 1785. During the early 1780s, Haydn struck up a friendship with Mozart, although the young composer was 24 years his junior. The warmth of this relationship is evident from their letters, but it is also heard in their music, which shows a host of influences from one composer to another.

    Conductor CHRISTIAN ZACHARIAS is considered one of the great German pianists of today and one of the most remarkable musical explorers of our time. Known for his consistent and uncompromising individuality, Zacharias achieved international attention as prizewinner in the Geneva Competition in 1969 and the Van Cliburn Competition in 1973. In 1975, he won first prize in the Ravel Competition in Paris and began an international career that encompasses recitals in all the major capitals of Europe, award-winning recordings, and concerts with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. In addition to performing at sold-out concerts in Europe, his recent North American engagements include concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, and Cincinnati Symphony. During the 1999/2000 season, Zacharias celebrated his 50th birthday performing numerous Mozart cycles in major music capitals around the world.

    EDITORS - PLEASE NOTE:

    Thursday, April 18, 8 PM

    Friday, April 19, 1 PM

    Saturday, April 20, 8 PM

    Sunday, April 21, 2:30 PM


    MOZART FESTIVAL

    Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

    Los Angeles Philharmonic

    CHRISTIAN ZACHARIAS, conductor and piano

    Kraus: Symphony in C minor

    Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 16, K. 451

    Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 14, K. 449

    Haydn: Symphony No. 80

    Upbeat Live free pre-concert events with Lucinda Carver, Dean Keith Simonton, Matt Golombeck, Hideo Mabuchi, and moderators Paul Holdengräber and Rich Capparella, take place one-hour prior to the concerts in the Grand Hall.

    Single tickets ($12-$78) are available at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 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. 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.

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  • Contact:

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