Program Features Kurtag's Stele, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 and Strauss' Alpine Symphony

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4 AT 8 PM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5 AT 11 AM
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6 AT 8 PM
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 AT 2 PM

Thursday's concert generously sponsored by Bessemer Trust; Saturday's concert is generously sponsored by Acura, Official Automotive Sponsor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic All Acura Vehicles Park Free for the Evening

Music Director Designate Gustavo Dudamel continues his Los Angeles Philharmonic 2008/09 residency with four concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall, December 4 - 7, 2008. Each program features renowned pianist Rudolf Buchbinder performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. Dudamel opens each concert program with Kurt'ag's Stele, and closes each program with Strauss' Alpine Symphony.

Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag has forged an international reputation for deeply expressive music, often the musical equivalent of diary entries and personal messages. Stele, a 15-minute funeral ode, was written for the Berlin Philharmonic in 1994 and performed by the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. The New York Times review states, "Mr. Kurt'ag has not composed much orchestra music, but here the fineness of the textures and the originality of the colors advertise the poise of a master."

Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder is firmly established as one of the most important pianists on the international scene. He has over 100 recordings to his credit, covering an enormous range of repertoire, including the complete Mozart piano concertos. He makes his debut appearance at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and his first appearance with Gustavo Dudamel, for these performances of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23.

Strauss' massive Alpine Symphony depicts a full day of hiking in the Alps, from ascent to descent, dawn to dusk (including a glorious thunderstorm). The Alpine Symphony is performed in one continuous movement, and is one of Strauss' largest non-operatic compositions.

Gustavo Dudamel, one of the most exciting conductors today, takes over the helm as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the fall of 2009. He is currently Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra as well as Music Director of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela.

Upbeat Live pre-performance discussions are free to ticket-holders, and occur one hour prior in BP Hall. Alan Chapman, KUSC-FM radio host, composer-lyricist and pianist, hosts Upbeat Live Dec. 4 - 7, 2008.

GUSTAVO DUDAMEL's remarkable artistry, along with his unique ability to communicate and become one with an orchestra are only a few of the characteristics that establish him as one of today's leading figures in the music world. His exceptional gift, together with contagious energy on as well as off stage, takes musicians and listeners on a memorable journey. Currently the Music Director of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, he becomes the Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009-10, and enters his tenth year as Music Director of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. Gustavo Dudamel's 2008-09 season opened in October with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra tour of Europe, including performances in Cologne, Essen, Luxembourg, Munich, Vienna, Barcelona, Valencia, San Sebastian and Valladolid. In November 2008, he tours the US with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, bringing it to New York's Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washingon DC, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center and to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. This is followed by two weeks of subscription concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. December brings Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra on a debut Asian tour to Japan, China, and Korea. Additional appearances this season are with Staatskapelle Berlin, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and a return engagement with the Berliner Philharmoniker, among others. In the 2007-08 season, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela embarked on a European tour with performances at the Edinburgh Festival and the BBC Proms in the UK, and five German venues, including Schleswig Holstein Festival, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Dresden Semperoper, Bonn Beethovenfest, and Frankfurt Alte Oper, followed by a US tour to rave reclaim in October, with performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and in New York's Carnegie Hall. He made his debut with the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and returned for performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony. Gustavo Dudamel has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2005. His debut recording, Beethoven 5&7 with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra was released worldwide in September 2006, and he has received the 2007 Echo Award (Germany) for "New Artist of the Year." His second recording with the Orchestra, Mahler 5, was released in May 2007, and was chosen as the only classical album on iTunes' "Next Big Thing." His third album with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, FIESTA, was released in May 2008 and it is in essence, as the title suggests, a "fiesta" of Latin-American works, such as Revueltas' Sensemay'a, Carre~no's Margarite~na, and Est'evez's Melodia en el Llano, as well as Bernstein's Mambo, among others. News of Gustavo Dudamel's talent spread worldwide after his triumph at the inaugural Bamberger Symphoniker Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in May 2004. Born in 1981 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, he studied violin at the Jacinto Lara Conservatory with Jos'e Luis Jim'enez and later, with Jos'e Francisco del Castillo, at the Latin American Academy of Violin. In 1996, he began his conducting studies with Rodolfo Saglimbeni and during the same year was named Music Director of the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra. In 1999, along with assuming the Music Director position of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, he began conducting studies with Jos'e Antonio Abreu, the Orchestra's founder. In May 2007, Dudamel was awarded the Premio de la Latinidad by the Uni'on Latina, an honor, given for outstanding contributions to Latin cultural life, which is presented by the 37 Latin American and African member states of the Uni'on Latina organization. In 2008, the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra was granted Spain's prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, given annually by the Fundaci'on Principe de Asturias. Most recently, Dudamel was awarded the 2007 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for Young Artists.

Pianist RUDOLF BUCHBINDER has been called "the Viennese oracle on the core literature of Haydn, Beethoven and Brahms" by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Buchbinder is a regular guest of such renowned orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, London Philharmonic, National Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has collaborated with the world's most distinguished conductors including Abbado, Dohnanyi, Fruhbeck de Burgos, Giulini, Harnoncourt, Maazel, Macal, Masur, Mehta, Sarasate and Sawallisch, and is a regular guest at the Salzburger Festspiele and other major festivals around the world. Buchbinder has a vast repertoire, including the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas, the complete Beethoven concertos, the complete Mozart piano concertos, all of Haydn's works for piano, both Brahms concertos, and all of the rarely-performed Diabelli Variations collection written by 50 Austrian composers. The 18-disc set of Haydn's works earned him the Grand Prix du Disque. His cycle of Mozart's piano concertos with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, recorded live at the Vienna Konzerthaus, was chosen by Joachim Kaiser as CD of the Year. Buchbinder's latest CDs are live recordings - the Brahms piano concertos with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and all five Beethoven piano concertos with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra as soloist and conductor. In 2006, in celebration of his 60th birthday, he performed twelve Mozart piano concertos with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Vienna Festwochen, the live DVD recording of which has recently been released by EuroArts. Buchbinder is the founding artistic director of the Grafenegg Music Festival, a major international music festival near Vienna which launched in August 2007. During the 2007 festival, he performed Beethoven's Concerto No. 5 with the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Valery Gergiev. Other recent highlights include the Jubilee Concert for the 50th Anniversary of the Grosser Musikvereinssaal in Vienna (where Mr. Buchbinder made his debut at age 11 in 1958); a performance with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala at Teatro alla Scala; Beethoven Sonata cycles in Warsaw, Berkeley, and at the Vienna Musikverein; performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin; and performances of all five of Beethoven's Piano Concertos over three days with the Dresden Philharmonic.

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:

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4 AT 8 PM

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5 AT 11 AM

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6 AT 8 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 AT 2 PM



LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

GUSTAVO DUDAMEL, conductor

RUDOLF BUCHBINDER, piano



KURTAG Stele

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488

STRAUSS Alpine Sympony



Thursday's concert generously sponsored by Bessemer Trust


Saturday's concert is generously sponsored by Acura, Official Automotive Sponsor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic All Acura Vehicles Park Free for the Evening

Upbeat Live pre-performance discussions are free to ticket-holders, and occur one hour prior in BP Hall. Alan Chapman, KUSC-FM radio host, composer-lyricist and pianist, hosts Upbeat Live Dec. 4 - 7, 2008.

Tickets ($42 - $147) are on sale now at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, online at LAPhil.com, or via credit card by phone at 323.850.2000. When available, choral bench seats ($17) 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 12 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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