Program Includes Works by Dvo?ák and Strauss, as well as Beethoven's Violin Concerto

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, APRIL 11 AND 12, 2008, AT 8 PM

SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 2008, AT 2 PM

Media Sponsor of the April 13 concert is KCET

Conductor Iván Fischer, considered one of the world's most visionary and successful orchestra leaders, returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in three performances on Friday, April 11 and 12, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, April 13, at 2 p.m. On the program are Dvo?ák's Nocturne, Op. 40 in B Major, Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra, and Beethoven's Violin Concerto featuring violinist Christian Tetzlaff.

Dvo?ák's Nocturne, Op. 40 in B Major, originally written as part of a string quartet, was later revised into a quintet and then recycled by the composer into a stand-alone piece. Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra, one of a series of tone poems from the composer, was based on philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s work of the same title. Beethoven's Violin Concerto is one of the glories of the repertoire. While the composer did not provide cadenzas to be played at the premiere of the work, he did compose cadenzas when he transformed the piece into a piano concerto a year later. In these performances, Tetzlaff performs his own arrangements of these cadenzas.

Fischer's reputation as one of the most innovative and exciting conductors of our time derives in large measure from his partnership with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, which he founded in 1983, and has appeared with in leading concert series and festivals throughout the world to rapturous acclaim. The celebrated conductor made his U.S. debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic 25 years ago.

Tetzlaff has performed with conductors Vladimir Ashkenazy, Christoph Eschenbach, Franz Welser-Möst, Esa-Pekka Salonen and James Levine among many others, and with the orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Cleveland and Toronto, as well as the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw, and the Vienna Philharmonic.

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place in BP Hall one hour prior to each concert, and are free to all ticket holders. Alan Chapman, KUSC-FM radio host, composer-lyricist and pianist, hosts.

IVÁN FISCHER has been Music Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra since he founded the celebrated ensemble in 1983. He is principal Guest Conductor of Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra, and in April 2007 the NSO named him Principal Conductor, a two-year agreement effective in the 2008/2009 season. Fischer developed intense rehearsal methods for the Budapest Festival Orchestra musicians, emphasizing chamber music and creative work for each orchestra member. Soon after the orchestra’s founding, Fischer and the BFO were touring internationally, and a series of acclaimed recordings for Philips Classics further showcased their remarkable chemistry. The extraordinary achievements of the BFO have contributed to Fischer’s reputation as one of the world’s most visionary and inspiring orchestra leaders. His innovative youth concerts with the orchestra are enormously popular at home and will be a prominent feature of his tenure in Washington. A frequent guest-conductor of major orchestras, Fischer made his U.S. conducting debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1983. He has led the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Munich Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischer Rundfunks and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. He conducted Mozart’s Così fan tutte at the 2006 Glyndebourne Festival and in concert (semi-staged) at the BBC Proms with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Fischer has a wide-ranging discography, and now records for the Channel Classics label. His new release with the BFO is a recording of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony paired with music written at the same time by Rossini, Weber and the Dutch composer Wilhelm Wilms. Their recording of Richard Strauss’s little-known ballet, Josefs Legende was named CD of the Month in July 2007 by Gramophone and described by the New Yorker as “electrifying.” His recording of Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Budapest Festival Orchestra for Channel Classics won a 2007 “Editor’s Choice” Gramophone Award. Fischer’s international career was launched when he won the Rupert Foundation Conducting Competition in 1976, at the age of 25. Fischer is a founder of the Hungarian Mahler Society, and the Patron of the British Kodály Academy. He received the Golden Medal Award from the President of the Republic of Hungary, and the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum for his services to help international cultural relations. In 2005, he was named chevalier des arts et lettres by the French government and in 2006 he was honored with the Kossuth Prize, Hungary’s most prestigious arts award.

Violinist CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF has performed and recorded a broad spectrum of the repertoire, ranging from Bach to 19th-century masterworks by Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and Brahms; from 20th-century concertos by Bartók, Berg, and Stravinsky to world premieres of contemporary works. Since the performances of the Schoenberg Violin Concerto that brought him to international attention just over a decade ago – with Christoph von Dohnányi and the Cleveland Orchestra and with Sergiu Celibidache and the Munich Philharmonic – Tetzlaff has performed with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Christoph Eschenbach, Franz Welser-Möst, Esa-Pekka Salonen and James Levine; with the orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Cleveland and Toronto, as well as the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw, and the Vienna Philharmonic. Tetzlaff also frequently performs chamber music with artists such as pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, clarinetist Sabine Meyer, and cellist Heinrich Schiff. Tetzlaff was born in Hamburg, in 1966, into a minister’s family, and music occupied a central place in his upbringing. He began intensive study of the violin at the age of 14, just after making his concert debut in the Beethoven Violin Concerto, and worked with Uwe-Martin Haiberg at the conservatory in Lübeck.

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:

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2008, at 8 PM

SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2008, at 8 PM

SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 2008, at 2 PM

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



BEETHOVEN AND STRAUSS



LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

IVÁN FISCHER, conductor

CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF, violin



DVO?ÁK Nocturne, Op. 40 in B Major

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto

STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra

The media sponsor of the April 13 concert is KCET.

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. Alan Chapman, KUSC-FM radio host, composer-lyricist and pianist, hosts.

Tickets ($40 - $142) 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) are released for sale to selected Philharmonic, Colburn Celebrity Recital, and Baroque Variations performances two weeks 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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