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  • Bramwell Tovey Leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in an All-American Program As Well As an Evening of Mahler and Dvorák at the Hollywood Bowl
  • Aug. 14, 2009
  • Canadian Violinist James Ehnes and American Baritone Thomas Hampson Perform in the Week’s Classical Tuesdays and Thursdays Series Concerts, Respectively

    TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, AUGUST 18 and 20, 2009, AT 8 PM

    August 18 Media Sponsor: KUSC

    Bramwell Tovey returns to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the Hollywood Bowl’s Classical Tuesday and Thursday series with concerts featuring an all-American program, Tuesday, August 18, at 8 p.m., and a program of Mahler and Dvorák, Thursday, August 20, at 8 p.m. The Tuesday concert, which celebrates Samuel Barber’s centenary, features soloist James Ehnes performing Barber’s Violin Concerto, for which he and Tovey won a Grammy award in 2007. Thursday’s program features American baritone Thomas Hampson singing Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer.

    Tuesday’s program opens with one of two of Bernstein’s most popular works – his rousing Overture to Candide. Following are two pieces by Barber – his Violin Concerto, played by Ehnes, and Vanessa: Intermezzo. The program closes with another popular Bernstein piece and the composer’s first film score, the Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront.

    Thursday’s program opens with two works by Gustav Mahler - Blumine, which was originally the second movement of the composer’s first symphony, followed by Songs of a Wayfarer featuring Hampson. The evening closes with Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” written while he was living in the U.S.

    Known for his wit and charisma in addition to his mastery on the podium, Bramwell Tovey is in his second season as Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and his sixth season as founding host and conductor of the New York Philharmonic’s Summertime Classics series at Avery Fisher Hall in summer 2009. He returns to the Hollywood Bowl for a final week of concerts, Sept. 8 and 10.

    Grammy, Gramophone and JUNO award-winning violinist James Ehnes first gained national recognition in 1987 as winner of the Grand Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Competition. The following year he won the First Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Festival, the youngest musician ever to do so. His CD featuring the violin concertos of Korngold, Walton and Barber with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey conducting (CBC) was widely considered a highlight of 2006 and won the 2008 Grammy and JUNO Awards.

    American baritone Thomas Hampson enjoys a singular career as a recitalist, opera singer and recording artist, and maintains an active interest in teaching, music research and technology. He has performed in all of the world’s most important concert halls and opera houses with many of today's most renowned singers, pianists, conductors and orchestras. He has won worldwide recognition for his thoughtfully researched and creatively constructed programs that explore the rich repertoire of song in a wide range of idiomatic styles, languages and periods. He is one of the most important interpreters of German romantic song, especially the works of Schumann, Mahler and Wolf, and with his ongoing “Song of America” project he is the "ambassador" of American song. Through the Hampson Foundation, founded in 2003, he employs the art of song to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding.

    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 is home to the best and brightest in all genres of music. 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 42nd season. In January 2009, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the fifth year in a row at the 20th 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.



    TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2009, AT 8 PM

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    BRAMWELL TOVEY, conductor

    JAMES EHNES, violin



    BERNSTEIN Overture to Candide

    BARBER Violin Concerto

    BARBER Vanessa: Intermezzo

    BERNSTEIN On the Waterfront



    THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2009, AT 8 PM

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    BRAMWELL TOVEY, conductor

    THOMAS HAMPSON, baritone



    MAHLER Blumine

    MAHLER Songs of a Wayfarer

    DVORÁK Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”



    August 18 Media Sponsor: KUSC

    Tickets ($1 - $96) 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 800.745.3000, 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 or group sales. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Sophie Jefferies, sjefferies@laphil.org, 213.972.3422; Lisa White, lwhite@laphil.org, 213.972.3408; For photos: 213.972.3034