LA Philharmonic Rings in Chinese New Year at Walt Disney Concert Hall This Weekend

Conductor Xian Zhang leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in its first-ever program celebrating the Chinese New Year, this weekend, February 19, 20 and 21, at 8 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Making their LA Phil debuts, cellist Jian Wang, violinist Ning Feng and pianist Haochen Zhang join the orchestra as it performs works by Chinese composers Li Huanzhi and Tan Dun, as well as masterpieces from Saint-Saëns, Chopin and Tchaikovsky.

The program includes the West Coast premiere of Tan Dun's new triple concerto - the fourth installment of his Martial Arts Cycle, a set of concertos based on his famous film scores. It unites the themes and musical characters from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Hero; and The Banquet.

Each evening features traditional Chinese New Year festivities, including customary red envelope gifts for all patrons and a dragon dance to conclude the concert. During the intermission of the Thursday and Saturday concerts, dragon dancers accompanied by drummers and cymbal players will perform in the lobby.

Both the Friday and Saturday evening concerts also include special post-concert receptions. Friday evening's concert is followed by a complimentary Yajing Beer tasting, while Saturdayevening's reception features a complimentary baijiu spirit tasting and Chinese calligraphy artists.

Xian Zhang has served as Music Director of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi since September 2009. The orchestra made its televised BBC Proms debut in September 2013 with a program of Verdi arias (with Joseph Calleja) and Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony. This season, Zhang and the orchestra will play an important part in EXPO 2015 in Milan. In Europe, Zhang appears regularly, as a guest conductor, with the London Symphony and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras. Zhang continues to work frequently in North America and her engagements this season include New Jersey Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Ottawa's National Arts Centre Orchestra. In her native China, she appears this season with Shanghai Symphony, China Philharmonic and Guangzhou Symphony orchestras.

During the 2014/15 season, Jian Wang will make his debut with the Munich Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He will also perform at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and return to the Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony, Seoul and Osaka Philharmonic Orchestras. Last season, Jian Wang's concerto performances included the New York Philharmonic, Toronto and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras. He also played with the NDR Hamburg and Montreal Symphony Orchestras and had recital and chamber concerts in Copenhagen and Hong Kong. Amongst his many high profile concerts in China, he has played for the President and opened the season for the China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony and Macau Symphony Orchestras. He has also played with the China National Orchestra, Hangzhou Symphony and performed the complete Bach Cello Suites at the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing. He has an extensive discography with DGG, Reverie (arrangements for cello and guitar) and the Bach Cello Suites being his most recent releases.

Ning Feng performs regularly in his native country with both major international and local orchestras, in recital and with the Dragon Quartet which he founded in 2012. Highlights of Ning's 2014/15 season include debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Liszt and Berlin Konzerthaus Chamber orchestras, returns to the Auckland Philharmonia, Orchestra Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias, Macao Symphony and recitals and chamber performances in Seoul, Hong Kong and Brussels. He will also be a soloist on two major tours, performing the Glazunov Concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Petrenko in Dublin and across China. Later in the season, he will perform the Beethoven Concerto with the Hong Kong Philharmonic/Van Zweden across some of the major centers of Europe, including London, Zurich, Berlin and Vienna. Ning Feng records for Channel Classics in the Netherlands and his debut concerto album, featuring Bruch Scottish Fantasy and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, was released in February 2014.

Since his gold medal win at the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, 24-year-old Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang has captivated audiences in the United States, Europe, and Asia with a unique combination of deep musical sensitivity, fearless imagination, and spectacular virtuosity. Highlights of the 14/15 season include return invitations to Pacific Symphony, La Roque d'Antheron Festival in France, recitals in Paris, Tokyo and Beijing among others, as well as debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Warsaw Philharmonic with Jerzy Semkow and Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbücken with Myung-Whun Chung. In spring 2015, Haochen will be the soloist for a tour with the NDR Hamburg and Thomas Hengelbrock in Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai. Mr. Zhang is also an avid chamber musician, collaborating with such colleagues as the Shanghai String Quartet and is frequently invited by chamber music festivals in the US.

Program:

HUANZHI Spring Festival Overture

SAINT-SAËNS Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

CHOPIN Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise

TCHAIKOVSKY Rococo Variations

TAN DUN The Triple Resurrection (West Coast premiere)

Single tickets for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's 2014/15 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall are currently available. To purchase, please visit LAPhil.com, the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet. To order by phone with credit card, please call the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office at 323.850.2000, or Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000. For more information, please call 323.850.2000.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, presents an inspiring array of music from all genres - orchestral, chamber and Baroque music, organ and celebrity recitals, new music, jazz, world music and pop - at two of L.A.'s iconic venues, Walt Disney Concert Hall (LAPhil.com) and the Hollywood Bowl (HollywoodBowl.com). The LA Phil's season at Walt Disney Concert Hall extends from September through May, and throughout the summer at the Hollywood Bowl. With the preeminent Los Angeles Philharmonic at the foundation of its offerings, the LA Phil aims to enrich and transform lives through music, with a robust mix of artistic, education and community programs.

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