There’s a Vaughan Williams world premiere next week at a venue that does not get much coverage – the Fairfields Hall, Croydon. It’s a very early student work from a period when we know little of his development – a Mass written as part of his doctoral dissertation.

I shall miss the show, as I’m talking Mahler in another part of the country, but I’ll be curious to hear what is described as the first large-scale work by a major English composer. He is never as safe or predictable as the other kind of VW.

                                             photo: Lebrecht Music & Arts
PRESS RELEASE

 

Re-discovered
Vaughan Williams work ‘A Cambridge Mass’ to receive world premiere

 

A recently discovered work by Ralph Vaughan
Williams is to be given its world-premiere at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, on 3rd
March.  Alan Tongue, who unearthed the
unpublished and never performed early work, will conduct The Bach Choir, which
Vaughan Williams himself conducted for seven years, accompanied by soloists,
and members of the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra playing instruments appropriate
to the period.

 

Vaughan Williams, who died in 1958, wrote
this, his first large-scale work of about 45 minutes and now named posthumously
‘A Cambridge Mass’, as a submission for his Doctor of Music degree at Cambridge
University in 1899.

 

The conductor, Alan Tongue, came across the manuscript in the
Cambridge University Library and spent months editing it ready for performance.  He describes it as ‘the largest work of the
composer’s scores to predate his first symphony of 1909’, saying “In any
context this would be a remarkable achievement; the piece significantly extends
our understanding of Vaughan Williams’s artistic development.” 

 

A three movement mass for soloists, double
chorus and orchestra, the score was written to quite a strict brief which
required students to write partly in fugue and canon, however plenty of Vaughan
Williams’s own personality comes through. 
Michael Kennedy, music biographer and writer, who knew Vaughan Williams
well in his later years, has already described the work as “really amazingly
good”

 

‘A Cambridge Mass’ is published by Stainer
& Bell: www.stainer.co.uk/rvw.html
from where you can hear a sample.

 

Tickets are on sale now and booking details can be found at:
http://fairfield123.tripod.com/classical/id21.html
Information about the conductor, Alan Tongue, can be found at: http://www.alantongue.co.uk/ 

–        
Ends –

 

Notes for Editor:

Photos are available on
request.

 

Alan Tongue is available for interview.

One of Alan’s
specialities
is performing English music abroad: his credits include the Hungarian premiere
of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius and
the Argentinean premiere of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast.

E-mail: camusarts@talktalk.net

 

Further information:

The Ralph Vaughan
Williams Society: www.rvwsociety.com

The Vaughan
Williams Charitable Trust: www.vwct.org.uk/

Alan Tongue, conductor: www.alantongue.co.uk/home.php

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle gave a performance tonight in London of Mahler’s Third Symphony that was more perfect than I could ever have imagined, and more puzzling.

Every instrumental effect from the blare of brass at the opening to the ee-awing donkeys in the third, from the reverse glissando on the oboe to the ppp that precedes the contralto soloist, was achieved with a superhuman precision of a kind that Nietzsche (who wrote the words) might have appreciated. Never have offstage instruments resonated so well in the Royal Festival Hall. And the great adagio of a finale soared into a cloudless sky, no hint of a flaw to be contemplated. 
This is an orchestra that plays physically into itself, the chairs half turned inwards, the players attuned to one another with symbiotic intuition. The Berlin Philharmonic may well be the finest orchestra on earth and, if the body language gives off an excess of self-satisfaction, the pride is nothing if not deserved. Rattle has done more than maintain this corporate ethos: he has hugely enhanced it.
The problematic aspect, for me, was the absence from the opening bars onwards of any of Mahler’s underlying ironies and savageries. Beauty was the object of the exercise, at the expense of a multitude of subversive suggestions. This was not a performance that ran deep. Rather, it recalled Herbert von Karajan’s stated preference for the absence of meaning in music. In Mahler, that reverses the composer’s purpose.
Rattle has come a long way since he first conducted Mahler in Birmingham thirty years ago. His recent recording of the second symphony was a measured advance on his early efforts, the build-up of power conserved with calculated restraint to achieve maximum resurrective impact. In the third symphony, on the other hand, he has regressed from youthful exuberance to a well-worked strategy that drains the work of the possibility of controversy.
Nathalie Stutzmann was the contralto soloist, her voice blending into the orchestra somewhere between clarinet and bassoon. The Ladies of the London Symphony Chorus and the BBC Singers never sang louder than lovely and the boys of Eltham College Choir were totally sweet.
The symphony was preceded by two songs, one of Brahms the other of Wolf, conjoining Mahler to his forbears. That, like much else in the concert, seemed a little too pat. It tamed Mahler, depriving him of the ragged colours of a musical revolutionary. 

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle gave a performance tonight in London of Mahler’s Third Symphony that was more perfect than I could ever have imagined, and more puzzling.

Every instrumental effect from the blare of brass at the opening to the ee-awing donkeys in the third, from the reverse glissando on the oboe to the ppp that precedes the contralto soloist, was achieved with a superhuman precision of a kind that Nietzsche (who wrote the words) might have appreciated. Never have offstage instruments resonated so well in the Royal Festival Hall. And the great adagio of a finale soared into a cloudless sky, no hint of a flaw to be contemplated. 
This is an orchestra that plays physically into itself, the chairs half turned inwards, the players attuned to one another with symbiotic intuition. The Berlin Philharmonic may well be the finest orchestra on earth and, if the body language gives off an excess of self-satisfaction, the pride is nothing if not deserved. Rattle has done more than maintain this corporate ethos: he has hugely enhanced it.
The problematic aspect, for me, was the absence from the opening bars onwards of any of Mahler’s underlying ironies and savageries. Beauty was the object of the exercise, at the expense of a multitude of subversive suggestions. This was not a performance that ran deep. Rather, it recalled Herbert von Karajan’s stated preference for the absence of meaning in music. In Mahler, that reverses the composer’s purpose.
Rattle has come a long way since he first conducted Mahler in Birmingham thirty years ago. His recent recording of the second symphony was a measured advance on his early efforts, the build-up of power conserved with calculated restraint to achieve maximum resurrective impact. In the third symphony, on the other hand, he has regressed from youthful exuberance to a well-worked strategy that drains the work of the possibility of controversy.
Nathalie Stutzmann was the contralto soloist, her voice blending into the orchestra somewhere between clarinet and bassoon. The Ladies of the London Symphony Chorus and the BBC Singers never sang louder than lovely and the boys of Eltham College Choir were totally sweet.
The symphony was preceded by two songs, one of Brahms the other of Wolf, conjoining Mahler to his forbears. That, like much else in the concert, seemed a little too pat. It tamed Mahler, depriving him of the ragged colours of a musical revolutionary. 

The London auction house Bromptons has just announced a program of free classical downloads of pedigree soloists, including Casals in the Elgar concerto, Menuhin in the Beethoven and Heifetz in the Tchakovsky.

The underlying aim is to grab a bigger share of the lucrative instrument auction trade, presently dominated by Christies and Sothebys. Fiddle fans, however need not hesitate. If there is such a thing as a free lunch, this is it.
Press release follows:

  


Brompton’s
Auctioneers makes available free downloads of classic recordings from the
greats, including Menuhin, Heifetz and Oistrakh

 

Auction house’s
plans to bring specialist information and recordings to the
public

 

Brompton’s, the
esteemed auction house, and the only one in the country to specialise
exclusively in the sale of fine musical instruments, has made available for free
download a large number of classic recordings by the undisputed greats of the
string world.

 

Reading like a
‘who’s who’ of the definitive string players of the 20th Century, over a day’s
worth of high quality, re-mastered recordings from the likes of David Oistrakh,
Yehudi Menuhin, Fritz Kreisler, Pablo Casals and Jascha Heifetz are all now
available to download and keep from www.bromptons.co/music-library.html

 

Repertoire
highlights include the Elgar Cello Concerto performed by Casals, the Beethoven
Violin Concerto recorded by Menuhin, and the Paganini Violin Concerto No.1
performed by Kreisler. Providing a genuine resource for everyone from
music-lovers and amateur musicians to professional performers, listeners have
the opportunity to compare classic recordings from the masters; two recordings
by Jascha Heifetz of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto are available from opposite
ends of the artist’s performing career, while performances of the Elgar violin
concerto are available by various artists, including Albert Sammons, as
conducted by the composer himself. The website is also branching out beyond the
string world by featuring classic recordings from major artists including Alfred
Cortot with the complete Chopin Ballades.

 

Despite being
founded only four years ago, Brompton’s has already broken
multiple world records for sales and is the country’s number one auction house
for string instruments, selling more than Sotheby’s and Bonham’s in terms of
volume and value. It is now the first and only auction house to make
recordings available via its website, a move which represents an important step
in its plans to share specialist information and knowledge with its growing
audience. Brompton’s recently made available via its website the ‘Reference
Library,’ an exceptional and comprehensive tool to research instrument sale
prices from over 26,000 auction results, compare and examine instrument
photographs in high detail, and explore the wealth of information found in its
online library of books, biographies and articles. Visitor numbers to the
website have already increased tenfold.

 

James Buchanan of
Brompton’s, comments, “We’re very excited to be entering into this next phase in
the evolution of Brompton’s. As well as being the leading auction house for stringed
instruments, we are democratising information and resources by offering
recordings to music fans and opening up our extensive reference library – all
for free. This transparency allows us to forge a close relationship with our
existing as well as future clients.”

 

– Ends –

 

 

About
Brompton’s:

Brompton’s, located within
The Royal Institution of Great Britain, is the only auction house in the country to
specialise exclusively in the sale of fine musical instruments. It is the
number one auction house for string instruments, selling more than Sotheby’s and
Bonham’s in terms of volume and value, and has broken world records for auction
sales every year since its launch over four years ago.

 For more
information please visit www.bromptons.co

 

 

 

For all enquiries
please contact Samantha Holderness at Albion Media

020 3077 4943 samantha@albion-media.com

www.albion-media.com

 

 

 

 

 

All the music you ever wanted on a memory stick for just £100 ($160)? Not quite, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Chandos, the indy Brits, are offering the equivalent of a large boxed set of CDs in hi-def sound on something you can stick on your key chain. Wagner’s Ring? It’s yours, in English. 
The Vaughan Williams symphonies – all bar two. The pick of Malcolm Arnold? Now there’s a tempter.
Press release below.

P R E S S   R E L E A S E
Chandos offers some of its classic recordings in a new format –
high-quality preloaded memory sticks – for the first time.
Initially, twelve collections will be made available on USB drives from Chandos’ catalogue, 
each stick either based on a themed series, such as ‘film music’ and ‘Contemporaries of 
Mozart’, or a composer, for example Sir Malcolm Arnold and Sir William Walton. The 
Vaughan Williams symphony collection will include a bonus interview with Richard Hickox 
and James Jolly.
Customers have a choice of purchasing the music files in Lossless FLAC or WMA, each 
offering sound of CD quality. Each memory stick comes loaded with the artwork, sleeve 
notes, and, where necessary, full texts and translations. Each stick will in addition offer all 
the tracks as MP3s, free of charge.
Memory sticks offer two clear advantages over compact discs: first, they take up virtually no 
room at all, yet offer a huge amount of music; second, a vast quantity of music will be
available for less money than the equivalent amount on CDs. A further advantage is that the 
music will transfer much faster to your computer than at current download speeds.
Ralph Couzens, the Managing Director of Chandos Records, says: ‘We feel that the memory 
stick offers a new and genuinely advantageous way of purchasing music for the collector. We 
are able to offer our recordings at a very competitive price whilst still maintaining the sound 
quality for which we have become famous. Its space saving appeal is something that many 
serious collectors will very much welcome.’
All titles available from
www.chandos.net
The twelve titles, available from 22 February 2011, are:
CHUSB 0001 Contemporaries of Mozart, Vol. 1
£99.99 Baguer; Clementi; Gossec; Gyrowetz; Kozeluch; Krommer; M. Haydn; 
Pichl; Pleyel; Rosetti; Stamitz; Vanhal. All with the LMP, Matthias 
Bamert
CHUSB 0002 Contemporaries of Mozart, Vol. 2  
£99.99 Boccherini; Cannabich; Herschel; Hoffmeister; Marsh; L. Mozart; 
Myslive?ek; Richter; Salieri; Vogler; Wesley; Wranitzky. All with the 
LMP, Matthias Bamert
CHUSB 0003 Film Music, Vol. 1
£99.99 Addinsell; Arnold, Vols 1 & 2; Alwyn, Vols 1 & 2; Auric; Bax; 
Bennett; Bliss; Rawsthorne; Shostakovich, Vols 1 & 2; Vaughan 
Williams, Vols 1 & 2CHUSB 0004 Film Music, Vol. 2
£99.99  Addison; Alwyn, Vol. 3; Berners & Lambert; Black; Chagrin; 
Goodwin; Gunning; Herrmann; Korngold, Vols 1 & 2; Parker;
Shostakovich, Vol. 3; Spoliansky; Vaughan Williams, Vol. 3
CHUSB 0005 Wagner: The complete ‘Ring’ Cycle
£99.99  Reginald Goodall’s classic Sadler’s Wells recording, sung in English
CHUSB 0006 Elgar: Oratorios
£74.99 The Apostles; The Black Knight; Caractacus; The Dream of 
Gerontius; The Kingdom; The Light of Life. All conducted by Richard 
Hickox
CHUSB 0007 Black Dyke Mills Band
£99.99 Twenty-three classic recordings
CHUSB 0008 Vaughan Williams: Symphonies
£99.99 Symphonies Nos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 8. All with the London Symphony 
Orchestra, Richard Hickox (featuring a bonus interview with Richard 
Hickox and James Jolly) 
CHUSM 0009 Hummel: Piano and Orchestral Works
£99.99  Concertos, chamber music, ballet music
CHUSB 0010 William Walton, Vol. 1
£99.99 Film music, symphonies, ballets, chamber works, vocal, etc.
CHUSB 0011 William Walton, Vol. 2
£99.99 Concertos, operas, chamber & orchestral works, etc.
CHUSB 0014  Arnold: Orchestral Works
£74.99 Overtures, symphonies, string quartets, film music
For further information, please contact:
Paul Westcott
Press Officer
Chandos Records
Email: pwestcott@chandos.net

My CD of the week is a premiere major-label recording of music by Grazyna Bacewicz, a composer unknown outside Poland and not widely cherished within. It’s the product of a passionate affinity by the pianist Krystian Zimerman and four young colleagues and it is every bit as challenging and beautiful as I had hoped.

All that is missing is explanation. The value that big labels used to add to records was deep background on the composer and the music. Deutsche Grammophon appear to have given up on that department. Without elucidation, the music can be tough to crack. 
The entire project risks spoilage for want of the kind of editorial attention that was once standard on big labels and is now almost invisible. My delight at DG’s great discovery turned to despondency at the mind-sapping lack of information.
I attach the full review below, since the scena website has a temporary bug. Do not hesitate to hear this disc. Rush out and grab it.

CD of the Week/Norman Lebrecht

 

Grazyna Bacewicz (DG)

****

Almost everything about this disc is wrong, except the
music. Bacewicz (1909-69), a well-kept Polish secret, wrote music of quiet
subtlety and profound introspection, adhering to no single style and managing
to avoid interference or patronage by the Communist regime.

 

Little is known of her life. She started out as a violinist
and led the radio orchestra in Warsaw for two years before the war. Abroad, she
studied composition with Nadia Boulanger and violin with Carl Flesch. She
stopped playing after a road smash. In addition to writing music, she published
a number of short stories. She married, and had a daughter.

 

None of her work has appeared before on a major label and
its release here is due entirely to the passion of Krystian Zimerman and a
quartet of compatriots who join him in two quintets, separated by the
self-assertive second piano sonata.

 

In such obscure circumstances, one might have expected an
informative essay on Bacewicz, life and work, in the accompanying booklet.
Instead, we get a publicity puff for how Zimerman came to record it and little
more by way of introduction or analysis.

 

Record labels, at their best – remember their best? – exist
to educate, entertain and disseminate. DG fails here even to make clear whether
the recording is live or a studio performance. An executive producer is named.
He ought to be locked in a small room with an empty revolver, or sent on
holiday for a very long while.

 

The redeeming grace is the music, which becomes more
hypnotic on repeated listening. Bacewicz is unafraid of shifting styles. The
first quintet, dated, 1952, is generally tonal and occasionally minimal; it has
an irresistible grave third movement. The second, from 1965, shimmers
along a serial line in a manner reminiscent of the young Ligeti. In between,
the sonata recalls the late Prokofiev. This is music that demands to be heard,
in performances of great fervour that conjoin a master pianist with emerging
artists Kaja Danczowska, Agata Szymczewska, Ryszard Groblewski and Rafal
Kwiatkowski. The musicians have done their job. Shame that DG botched the
chance to support their enterprise.

 

My CD of the week is a premiere major-label recording of music by Grazyna Bacewicz, a composer unknown outside Poland and not widely cherished within. It’s the product of a passionate affinity by the pianist Krystian Zimerman and four young colleagues and it is every bit as challenging and beautiful as I had hoped.

All that is missing is explanation. The value that big labels used to add to records was deep background on the composer and the music. Deutsche Grammophon appear to have given up on that department. Without elucidation, the music can be tough to crack. 
The entire project risks spoilage for want of the kind of editorial attention that was once standard on big labels and is now almost invisible. My delight at DG’s great discovery turned to despondency at the mind-sapping lack of information.
I attach the full review below, since the scena website has a temporary bug. Do not hesitate to hear this disc. Rush out and grab it.

CD of the Week/Norman Lebrecht

 

Grazyna Bacewicz (DG)

****

Almost everything about this disc is wrong, except the
music. Bacewicz (1909-69), a well-kept Polish secret, wrote music of quiet
subtlety and profound introspection, adhering to no single style and managing
to avoid interference or patronage by the Communist regime.

 

Little is known of her life. She started out as a violinist
and led the radio orchestra in Warsaw for two years before the war. Abroad, she
studied composition with Nadia Boulanger and violin with Carl Flesch. She
stopped playing after a road smash. In addition to writing music, she published
a number of short stories. She married, and had a daughter.

 

None of her work has appeared before on a major label and
its release here is due entirely to the passion of Krystian Zimerman and a
quartet of compatriots who join him in two quintets, separated by the
self-assertive second piano sonata.

 

In such obscure circumstances, one might have expected an
informative essay on Bacewicz, life and work, in the accompanying booklet.
Instead, we get a publicity puff for how Zimerman came to record it and little
more by way of introduction or analysis.

 

Record labels, at their best – remember their best? – exist
to educate, entertain and disseminate. DG fails here even to make clear whether
the recording is live or a studio performance. An executive producer is named.
He ought to be locked in a small room with an empty revolver, or sent on
holiday for a very long while.

 

The redeeming grace is the music, which becomes more
hypnotic on repeated listening. Bacewicz is unafraid of shifting styles. The
first quintet, dated, 1952, is generally tonal and occasionally minimal; it has
an irresistible grave third movement. The second, from 1965, shimmers
along a serial line in a manner reminiscent of the young Ligeti. In between,
the sonata recalls the late Prokofiev. This is music that demands to be heard,
in performances of great fervour that conjoin a master pianist with emerging
artists Kaja Danczowska, Agata Szymczewska, Ryszard Groblewski and Rafal
Kwiatkowski. The musicians have done their job. Shame that DG botched the
chance to support their enterprise.

 

He was 96 years old. See here for details.
A tenacious fundraiser
Veteran press agent and producer Walter Seltzer is presented the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s Silver Medallion at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in 1986. He’s flanked by actors Burt Lancaster, left, and Kirk Douglas. UPI photo.
Job well done, you might say.
Give that man a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars.
He was 96 years old. See here for details.
A tenacious fundraiser
Veteran press agent and producer Walter Seltzer is presented the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s Silver Medallion at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in 1986. He’s flanked by actors Burt Lancaster, left, and Kirk Douglas. UPI photo.
Job well done, you might say.
Give that man a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars.

Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead has written a stunner of a soundtrack for the forthcoming Anh Hung Tran movie Norwegian Wood, based on the Murakami novel, not the Beatles track. 

Both movie and music will be released next month (March 7/8, UK/US) and from what I’ve heard on a Nonesuch advance copy Greenwood pulls no punches when writing for orchestra.

There are sentimental passages that could have fallen off the John Williams work bench, but there are also challenging streaks of Schoenberg serialism, pentatonics and Messaieanic mysticism. Check the track Naoko ga Shina and you would never question Greenwood’s credentials as a serious composer with something new to say.

The BBC Concert Orchestra are conducted by Robert Ziegler who made some of the arrangements, with instrumental solos from Charles Mutter, Timothy Welch and Benjamin Hughes. The Emperor Quartet get a fill-in role and three tracks are written and performed by the German krautrock group, CAN.
Without having yet seen the movie, this is one of the most intelligent scores to show on screen in recent years. I wonder if the BBC might consider it for the Proms?

The City of Angels will be naming a square next month in honour of my late mate Ernest Fleischmann. He would have been so chuffed.

Ernest, more than any man, put Los Angeles on the map as an orchestral city. If the Dude can strut the city now, it’s thanks to the foundations that Ernest laid four decades ago. He broke the mould of US European orchestras hiring elderly Eurpoeans, importing Simon Rattle and Esa-Pekka Salonen while they were still learning to shave. And if he did not always get it right (he appointed Andre Previn music director), he quickly corrected his mistakes (Previn was fired in absentia). By the time Ernest retired, the Big Five looked old hat.  
And then he got Mrs Disney to back his vision of Walt Disney Hall. How cool is that?

The LA Phil is giving a free concert in his memory, before putting his name on the walk of fame. Wish I could be there. And wouldn’t it be nice if they also named something for Betty Freeman, who power-drove Ernest’s new music programs?
Press release follows.
photo: Lebrecht Music & Arts

THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION AND CITY OF LOS ANGELES PAY TRIBUTE TO ERNEST FLEISCHMANN

WITH A SPECIAL FREE CONCERT AND NAMING OF ERNEST FLEISCHMANN SQUARE

 

Concert Features Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen,

Composer Pierre Boulez and

Associate Conductor Lionel Bringuier

 

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011, AT 8 PM

 

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association hosts a special free concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall, in honor of Ernest Fleischmann, former LA Phil Executive Vice President and Managing Director,Tuesday, March 29, at 8 p.m. “A Tribute to Ernest” presents the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, LA Phil Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen, Composer Pierre Boulez, LA Phil Associate Conductor Lionel Bringuier, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, as well as tenor Daniel Chaney, tenor Grant Gershon, baritone Abdiel Gonzalez and bass Reid Bruton. Earlier that same day, at 1 p.m., the City of Los Angeles, names the intersection of 1st and Grand Avenue, between the venues of the Music Center, Ernest Fleischmann Square. Fleischmann, whose history with the LA Phil dates back to 1969, passed away June 13, 2010, at the age of 85.

 

The tribute concert begins with Boulez’ Sur Incises, performed by a guest ensemble of three harps, three pianos and three percussion, and led by the composer. Next on the program is the U.S. premiere of Salonen’s Dona Nobis Pacem with the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC), conducted by LACC Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson. The program continues with Donatoni’s Arpèges, conducted by Bringuier, and closes with Stravinsky’s Renard, led by Salonen and featuring singers Chaney, Gershon, Gonzalez and Bruton.

 

“We honor our dear friend and colleague Ernest Fleischmann with an unusual program but clearly one that he might well have selected himself. At the very least we certainly hope he approves from wherever he is listening. It celebrates the visionary spirit and elegant taste of a giant upon whose shoulders we all stand. A day does not go by that I do not think of him and miss his remarkable presence,” says LA Phil President and CEO Deborah Borda.

 

During his 29-year tenure with the LA Phil, Fleischmann helped catapult the organization into the upper echelon of American orchestras. He also played a pivotal role in the process of commissioning and building the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall.

 

The City of Los Angeles named Ernest Fleischmann its First Living Cultural Treasure when he stepped down from his position with the LA Phil in 1998. After his official resignation from the LA Phil, Fleischmann remained an Honorary Life Director.

 

For full artist biographies, please visit:  http://www.laphil.com.

 

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:

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011, AT 8 PM

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

 

A Tribute to Ernest

 

LOS ANGELES NEW MUSIC GROUP

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, conductor

PIERRE BOULEZ, conductor

LIONEL BRINGUIER, conductor

DANIEL CHANEY, tenor 1

GRANT GERSHON, tenor 2

ABDIEL GONZALEZ, baritone

REID BRUTON, bass

LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS

ANNE TOMLINSON, conductor

 

BOULEZ                   Sur Incises

PIERRE BOULEZ, conductor

SALONEN                Dona Nobis Pacem (U.S. premiere)

ANNE TOMLINSON, conductor

DONATONI              Arpèges

LIONEL BRINGUIER, conductor

STRAVINSKY           Renard

 ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, conductor

           

 

Complimentary tickets for this concert are available to LA Phil subscribers beginning February 22, by calling 323.850.2000. Complimentary tickets with a nominal processing fee are available to non-subscribers beginning February 26, by calling 323.850.2000.

 

Complimentary tickets for members of the press can be reserved by e-mailing lwhite@laphil.org.

 

# # #

The City of Angels will be naming a square next month in honour of my late mate Ernest Fleischmann. He would have been so chuffed.

Ernest, more than any man, put Los Angeles on the map as an orchestral city. If the Dude can strut the city now, it’s thanks to the foundations that Ernest laid four decades ago. He broke the mould of US European orchestras hiring elderly Eurpoeans, importing Simon Rattle and Esa-Pekka Salonen while they were still learning to shave. And if he did not always get it right (he appointed Andre Previn music director), he quickly corrected his mistakes (Previn was fired in absentia). By the time Ernest retired, the Big Five looked old hat.  
And then he got Mrs Disney to back his vision of Walt Disney Hall. How cool is that?

The LA Phil is giving a free concert in his memory, before putting his name on the walk of fame. Wish I could be there. And wouldn’t it be nice if they also named something for Betty Freeman, who power-drove Ernest’s new music programs?
Press release follows.
photo: Lebrecht Music & Arts

THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION AND CITY OF LOS ANGELES PAY TRIBUTE TO ERNEST FLEISCHMANN

WITH A SPECIAL FREE CONCERT AND NAMING OF ERNEST FLEISCHMANN SQUARE

 

Concert Features Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen,

Composer Pierre Boulez and

Associate Conductor Lionel Bringuier

 

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011, AT 8 PM

 

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association hosts a special free concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall, in honor of Ernest Fleischmann, former LA Phil Executive Vice President and Managing Director,Tuesday, March 29, at 8 p.m. “A Tribute to Ernest” presents the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, LA Phil Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen, Composer Pierre Boulez, LA Phil Associate Conductor Lionel Bringuier, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, as well as tenor Daniel Chaney, tenor Grant Gershon, baritone Abdiel Gonzalez and bass Reid Bruton. Earlier that same day, at 1 p.m., the City of Los Angeles, names the intersection of 1st and Grand Avenue, between the venues of the Music Center, Ernest Fleischmann Square. Fleischmann, whose history with the LA Phil dates back to 1969, passed away June 13, 2010, at the age of 85.

 

The tribute concert begins with Boulez’ Sur Incises, performed by a guest ensemble of three harps, three pianos and three percussion, and led by the composer. Next on the program is the U.S. premiere of Salonen’s Dona Nobis Pacem with the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC), conducted by LACC Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson. The program continues with Donatoni’s Arpèges, conducted by Bringuier, and closes with Stravinsky’s Renard, led by Salonen and featuring singers Chaney, Gershon, Gonzalez and Bruton.

 

“We honor our dear friend and colleague Ernest Fleischmann with an unusual program but clearly one that he might well have selected himself. At the very least we certainly hope he approves from wherever he is listening. It celebrates the visionary spirit and elegant taste of a giant upon whose shoulders we all stand. A day does not go by that I do not think of him and miss his remarkable presence,” says LA Phil President and CEO Deborah Borda.

 

During his 29-year tenure with the LA Phil, Fleischmann helped catapult the organization into the upper echelon of American orchestras. He also played a pivotal role in the process of commissioning and building the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall.

 

The City of Los Angeles named Ernest Fleischmann its First Living Cultural Treasure when he stepped down from his position with the LA Phil in 1998. After his official resignation from the LA Phil, Fleischmann remained an Honorary Life Director.

 

For full artist biographies, please visit:  http://www.laphil.com.

 

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:

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011, AT 8 PM

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

 

A Tribute to Ernest

 

LOS ANGELES NEW MUSIC GROUP

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, conductor

PIERRE BOULEZ, conductor

LIONEL BRINGUIER, conductor

DANIEL CHANEY, tenor 1

GRANT GERSHON, tenor 2

ABDIEL GONZALEZ, baritone

REID BRUTON, bass

LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS

ANNE TOMLINSON, conductor

 

BOULEZ                   Sur Incises

PIERRE BOULEZ, conductor

SALONEN                Dona Nobis Pacem (U.S. premiere)

ANNE TOMLINSON, conductor

DONATONI              Arpèges

LIONEL BRINGUIER, conductor

STRAVINSKY           Renard

 ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, conductor

           

 

Complimentary tickets for this concert are available to LA Phil subscribers beginning February 22, by calling 323.850.2000. Complimentary tickets with a nominal processing fee are available to non-subscribers beginning February 26, by calling 323.850.2000.

 

Complimentary tickets for members of the press can be reserved by e-mailing lwhite@laphil.org.

 

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