LA Phil's ASPECTS OF ADES Festival Begins 3/14

Long-time LA Phil collaborator Thomas Adès defines a vision of the future with the multi-week festival, Aspects of Adès, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, beginning Monday, March 14, and concluding Saturday, April 9. The celebrated composer, conductor and pianist takes a hands-on approach reflected in the five programs - three LA Phil, one Colburn Celebrity series recital and one Green Umbrella series concert - as he shares his forward-thinking musical vision with audiences.

The festival's programming illustrates Adès' perspective of the musical world and provides a look into the varied facets of his versatile career and remarkable talent. Presented within Aspects of Adès are the LA Phil-commissioned world premieres of new works from Francisco Coll and Gerald Barry, in addition to the West Coast premieres of a new string quartet from Adès performed by the Emerson String Quartet, as well as Adès' newest work for orchestra (a LAPA co-commission).

Aspects of Adès kicks off Monday, March 14, with a Colburn Celebrity series recital featuring one of the most famous flutists in the world, Sir James Galway, and the multiple Grammy-winning Emerson Quartet, with an evening of chamber music, presenting works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Claude Debussy, Arthur Foote and the West Coast premiere of Adès' The Four Quarters.

The festival resumes, Friday, April 1 to Sunday, April 3, with an LA Phil program of music that includes Adès' In Seven Days. The piano concerto mixes hi-tech imagery by video artist Tal Rosner and plays out across huge screens with seemingly abstract images taken from video footage of the two concert halls that jointly commissioned the piece - Walt Disney Concert Hall and London's Royal Festival Hall. Also on the program are two works from Igor Stravinsky - Concerto for Two Solo Pianos and Les Noces. Joining Adès and Rosner on the program are pianists Nicolas Hodges, Katia and Marielle Labèque, and Gregory DeTurck, as well as the So Percussion ensemble, and the Pokrovsky Ensemble.

In the April 5 Green Umbrella concert, Adès takes on a dual role as he leads the LA Phil New Music Group and plays the piano in the program featuring his own composition, Concert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face. The concert also includes György Ligeti's Síppal, dobbal, nádihegedüvel, a song cycle on whimsical, often nonsensical poetry by Sándor Weöres, scored for mezzo-soprano, performed by Katalin Károlyi, and featuring the So Percussion quartet. Completing the concert are Adès' arrangement of Conlon Nancarrow's Studies No. 6 and 7 (for two solo pianos with video), featuring Adès' at the piano along with Nicolas Hodges and Gregory DeTurck, as well as video by Tal Rosner; Francisco Coll's LA Phil-commissioned world premiere of Piedras; and Adès' Concerto Conciso for piano and chamber ensemble, Op. 18 with soloist DeTurck.

Aspects of Adès continues April 7 and 8, with Adès leading the LA Phil in the LA Phil-commissioned world premiere of Gerald Barry's The Importance of Being Earnest. The cast includes tenor Gordon Gietz as John Worthing, baritone Joshua Bloom as Algernon Moncrieff, soprano Hila Plitmann as Cecily Cardew, mezzo-soprano Katalin Károlyi as Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax, contralto Hilary Summers as Miss Prism, bass Stephen Richardson as Lady Bracknell, bass Adam Lau as Lane/Merriman and speaker Matthew Anchel as Dr. Chasuble.

The festival concludes Saturday, April 9, with Adès leading the LA Phil in the West Coast premiere of his LA Phil-commissioned Polaris with video from Rosner, and Olivier Messiaen's Éclairs sur l'Au-Delà.

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place in Walt Disney Concert Hall's BP Hall one hour prior to the LA Phil and Green Umbrella concerts, and are free to all ticket holders. Veronika Krausas, composer and Professor at Thornton School of Music at USC, hosts the April 1 - 3 and April 7 - 8 events.

Complete festival programming is as follows:

Monday, March 14, 2011, at 8 PM

Colburn Celebrity series
JAMES GALWAY, flute
EMERSON STRING QUARTET
MOZART Flute Quartet in D major, K. 285
DEBUSSY Syrinx for solo flute
ADÈS The Four Quarters (West Coast premiere)
FOOTE Night Music for flute and string quartet
DEBUSSY String Quartet

Friday, April 1, 2011, at 8 PM
Saturday, April 2, 2011, at 8 PM
Sunday, April 3, 2011, at 2 PM

LOS ANGLES PHILHARMONIC
THOMAS ADÈS, conductor
NICOLAS HODGES, piano
KATIA LABÈQUE, piano
MARIELLE LABÈQUE, piano
GREGORY DeTURCK, piano
SO PERCUSSION, percussion ensemble
POKROVSKY ENSEMBLE, chorus
TAL ROSNER, video artist
STRAVINSKY Concerto for Two Solo Pianos
STRAVINSKY Les noces
ADÈS In Seven Days (with video)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at 8 PM

Green Umbrella series

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC NEW MUSIC GROUP
THOMAS ADÈS, conductor/piano
NICOLAS HODGES, piano
GREGORY DeTURCK, piano
KATALIN KÁROLYI, mezzo-soprano
SO PERCUSSION, percussion quartet
TAL ROSNER, video artist

ADÈS Concert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face
LIGETI Síppal, dobbal, nádihegedüvel ("with Pipes, Drums, Fiddles")
NANCARROW (arr. Adès) Studies No. 6 and 7 (for two solo pianos with video)
Francisco COLL Piedras (world premiere, LAPA commission)
ADÈS Concerto Conciso for piano and chamber ensemble, Op. 18

Thursday, April 7, 2011, 8 PM
Friday, April 8, 2011, 8 PM

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

THOMAS ADÈS, conductor
GORDON GIETZ, tenor (John Worthing)
Joshua Bloom, baritone (Algernon Moncrieff)
Hila Plitmann, soprano (Cecily Cardew)
KATALIN KÁROLYI, mezzo-soprano (Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax)
HILARY SUMMERS, contralto (Miss Prism)
Stephen RichARDSON, bass (Lady Bracknell)
ADAM LAU, bass (Lane/Merriman)
MATTHEW ANCHEL, speaker (Dr. Chasuble)

BARRY The Importance of Being Earnest (World premiere, LAPA co-commission)

Saturday, April 9, 2011, at 8 PM

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC
THOMAS ADÈS, conductor
TAL ROSNER, video artist

ADÈS Polaris (West Coast premiere, LAPA commission)
MESSIAEN Éclairs sur l'Au-Delà

 

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.

ASPECTS OF ADÈS

The Colburn Celebrity Recital series is endowed by a generous grant from the Colburn Foundation.

March 14 Media Sponsor: 89.3 KPCC

Aspects of Adès is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The participation of the Pokrovsky Ensemble, April 1 - 3, is supported by a grant from the Trust from Mutual Understanding.

April 5 Media Sponsor: Los Angeles Times

The April 7 & 8 concerts are generously supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Imagine Ireland, an initiative of Culture Ireland.

Tickets ($35 - $167) 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. 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.

To post a comment, you must register and login.