Concerts are Part of Los Angeles Philharmonic Association’s Colburn Celebrity Recital Series

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2008, AT 8 PM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2008, AT 8 PM

Series Endowed by a Generous Grant from the Colburn Foundation

Celebrated pianist András Schiff wraps up the first season of a two-year, eight-concert Beethoven Sonata Cycle, surveying all 32 of the composer's piano sonatas, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Wednesday, April 2, and Wednesday, April 9, at 8 p.m. The April 2 concert features Piano Sonatas No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49, No. 1; No. 20 in G major, Op. 49, No. 2; No. 9 in E major, Op. 14, No. 1; No. 10 in G major, Op. 14, No. 2; and No. 11 in B-flat major, Op. 22. On the program for the April 9 evening are Piano Sonatas No. 12 in A-flat major, Op. 26; No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27, No. 1, “quasi una fantasia”; No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, “Moonlight”; and No. 15 in D major, Op. 28, “Pastoral.” Spanning the length of Beethoven's compositional career, these works offer a view of his personal musical development and the piano sonata as a genre undergoing an extraordinary evolution. The recitals are part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association’s Colburn Celebrity recital series.

Schiff’s Beethoven Sonata Cycle at Walt Disney Concert Hall began in October 2007 with two sold-out performances. He continues and concludes the cycle in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2008/09 season.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's Colburn Celebrity recitals offer virtuoso performances by world-renowned artists. Remaining performances for the 2007/08 season include violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter (April 8, 2008), and violinist Midori (April 13, 2008).

ANDRÁS SCHIFF was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1953, and is today a British citizen. Recitals and special projects take him to all of the international music capitals and include cycles of the major keyboard works of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin and Bartók. In 2004, he began series of performances that explore the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas in chronological order, a project recorded live for ECM New Series and released in September 2005. In 1999, Schiff created his own chamber orchestra, the Cappella Andrea Barca, for a seven-year series of the complete Mozart piano concertos, taking place at the Mozartwoche of the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum in Salzburg. The group, which consists of international soloists, chamber musicians and close friends, toured North America during the 2005/06 and 2006/07 seasons in a series of concerts at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth. The six concerts included 12 of the Mozart piano concerti, chamber music, and symphonies. Schiff is a regular visitor as conductor and soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Since childhood, Schiff has enjoyed playing chamber music and was Artistic Director of the "Musiktage Mondsee," an annual chamber music festival near Salzburg, from1989 until 1998. He is presently joint artistic director of the "Ittinger Pfingstkonzerte," a chamber music festival he founded in Switzerland with Heinz Holliger, in 1995. In 1998, Schiff started a similar series entitled "Hommage to Palladio" at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. In September 2004, he became artist-in-residence of "Kunstfest Weimar," a new festival in Germany. Schiff has established a prolific discography, including recordings for Teldec (1994 - 1997), London/Decca (1981 - 1994) and, since 1997, ECM New Series. He has received several international recording awards, including two Grammys for "Best Classical Instrumental Soloist (Without Orchestra)" for the Bach English Suites, and "Best Vocal Recording" for Schubert's Schwanengesang with tenor Peter Schreier. Among other honors, Schiff was awarded the Bartók Prize in 1991 and the Claudio Arrau Memorial medal from the Robert Schumann Society in Düsseldorf in 1994. In March 1996, Schiff received the highest Hungarian distinction, the Kossuth Prize, and in May 1997, he received the Leonie Sonnings Music Prize in Copenhagen. He was awarded the Palladio d'Oro by the city of Vicenza, and the Musikfest Preis Bremen for "outstanding international artistic work" in 2003.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable places anywhere to experience music — Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to a 30-week winter subscription season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LA Phil presents a 12-week summer festival at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and home of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the Association’s involvement with Los Angeles extends to educational programs, community concerts and children's programming, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2008, at 8 PM

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2008, at 8 PM

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles



Colburn Celebrity Recitals

ANDRÁS SCHIFF, piano



WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2008, at 8 PM

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49, No. 1

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49, No. 2

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14, No. 1

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14, No. 2

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 11 in B-flat major, Op. 22



WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2008, at 8 PM

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat major, Op. 26

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27, No. 1, “quasi una fantasia”

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 “Moonlight”

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28, “Pastoral”



The series is endowed by a generous grant from the Colburn Foundation.

Tickets ($35 - $88) are on sale now online at LAPhil.com, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, 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 10 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For information, please call 323.850.2000.

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