21-Year-Old Eberle Makes Her LA Phil and Walt Disney Concert Debuts

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2009, AT 11 AM

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2009, AT 8 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2009, AT 2 PM

British conductor Harry Bicket returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic and violinist Veronika Eberle in a program featuring Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” Friday, December 18, at 11 a.m., Saturday, December 19, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, December 20, at 2 p.m. The program also includes an additional Vivaldi work as well as music by Rameau. The performance marks the 21-year-old Eberle’s LA Phil and Walt Disney Concert Hall debuts.

The concerts open with Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in G major for Two Violins and Two Cellos, RV 575. The piece was likely written for Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà, for which the composer served as master violin tutor and chief composer. Soloists in the work are LA Phil violinists Kristine Whitson and Johnny Lee, and cellists Jason Lippmann and Barry Gold.

The program continues with Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Suite from Les Boréades. The opera is set in ancient Bactria, where the queen chooses to marry a mysterious foreigner rather than one of the required descendants of Boreas. Her choice is validated, however, when the stranger is revealed to be the son of Apollo. Rameau never got to see his final opera; its first performances were two centuries after his death.

The program closes with Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” the first four violin concertos of his 12-concerto Opus 8 titled The Contest between Harmony and Invention, with Eberle as the violin soloist. For each concerto – Concerto in E major, Op. 8, No. 1, RV 269, “La primavera” (Spring); Concerto in G minor, Op. 8, No. 2, RV 315, “L’estate” (Summer); Concerto in F major, Op. 8, No. 3, RV 293, “L’autunno” (Autumn); and Concerto in F minor, Op. 8, No. 4, RV 297, “L’inverno” (Winter) – Vivaldi wrote a sonnet explaining the piece and providing instruction for how it’s to be performed. The composer’s best-known work is also one of the most popular pieces of Baroque music.

Renowned opera and concert conductor Harry Bicket has been Artistic Director of the English Concert since 2007, with which he appeared at the BBC Proms in August 2009 in Handel's Samson. He made his Walt Disney Concert Hall debut last season in an LA Phil Baroque Variations series concert.

Veronika Eberle began taking violin lessons at the age of 6, gave her concerto debut with the Münchener Symphoniker at age 10, and has performed with some of the world’s finest orchestras. Her introduction by Sir Simon Rattle to a packed Festpielhaus at the 2006 Salzburg Easter Festival, in a performance of the Beethoven concerto with the Berliner Philharmoniker, spurred her international career.

The concerts are preceded by Upbeat Live pre-performance discussions which are free to ticket-holders. Friday’s Upbeat Live discussion takes place on stage one hour and 15 minutes prior to the concert, and the Saturday and Sunday discussions occur in BP Hall one hour prior to the performances. Alan Chapman, KUSC-FM radio host, composer-lyricist and pianist, hosts.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Gustavo Dudamel, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable locations 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 concerts, children's programming and community concerts, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2009, AT 11 AM

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2009, AT 8 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2009, AT 2 PM

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles



LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

HARRY BICKET, conductor

VERONIKA EBERLE, violin

KRISTINE WHITSON, violin

JOHNNY LEE, violin

JASON LIPPMANN, cello

BARRY GOLD, cello



VIVALDI Concerto in G for Two Violins and Two Cellos, RV 575

RAMEAU Suite from Les Boréades

VIVALDI “The Four Seasons”

The concerts are preceded by Upbeat Live pre-performance discussions which are free to ticket-holders. Friday’s Upbeat Live discussion takes place on stage one hour and 15 minutes prior to the concert, and the Saturday and Sunday discussions and occur in BP Hall one hour prior to the performances. Alan Chapman, KUSC-FM radio host, composer-lyricist and pianist, hosts.

Tickets ($42 - $160) 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 Series, 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.

# # #