Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Continues Its All-Digital 2020-21 Season BACH'S BRANDENBURG 5

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) continues its all-digital 2020-21 season, LACO: Close Quarters, with "Bach's Brandenburg 5" featuring Music Director Jaime Martín on flute, Assistant Concertmaster Tereza Stanislav on violin and Conductor Laureate Jeffrey Kahane on fortepiano.

Available on demand beginning on Friday, December 18, 2020, 6:30 pm (PT), the digital program also features Debussy's Syrinx, a work for solo flute performed by Martín, and compelling visual elements directed by groundbreaking director/designer/artist James Darrah, LACO 2020-21 Creative Director of Digital Content, including a new artwork by Iranian American artist Ardeshir Tabrizi. According the Los Angeles Times, Tabrizi's works, "feel as if they do not inhabit the present so much as they are haunted by a past that has all but vanished and a future that will never be more than a fantasy." Thanks to the generosity of individual donors, the program is available to the public at no cost and can be streamed at LACO.org/laco-at-home, and on LACO's YouTube channel and Facebook live.

Although Brandenburg Concerto No. 5's keyboard part is typically played on harpsichord, Kahane chose the fortepiano as his ideal instrument to perform the work. Predecessor of the modern piano, the fortepiano was developed by Italian harpsichord maker Bortolomeo Christofori in the early 18th century. Although it resembles a harpsichord in appearance, its inner workings could not be more different, given that its strings are struck by hammers.

According to Martín, "As we perform Bach's magnificent Brandenburg 5, it is a joy to again share the stage with Jeffrey Kahane, the brilliant pianist and my predecessor who was the longest serving music director in LACO's history."

"Ardeshir Tabrizi's painting, titled "Muša??uššu," was made especially for this LACO: Close Quarters," says Darrah. "Viewers will have an exclusive, unique look as, inspired by the music, he creates this piece to the performance of the Bach Brandenburg. Made of silk thread, cotton floss and pearlescent acrylic ink on canvas, it is among the most outstanding of his multi-layered works and adds a rich texture to the program."

LACO: Close Quarters "digitally native" programs, created specifically for streaming, are each between 30 and 40 minutes in length and are filmed at The Colburn School's Olive Rehearsal Hall. Additionally, Darrah has established a creative hub for developing artistic media content with L.A.-based artists and filmmakers at a first-of-its-kind LACO digital studio at Wilhardt & Naud, a film studio and multidisciplinary arts campus located in Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles. The artists, inspired by the Orchestra's musical programming, will create works in a variety of mediums that will factor into the broadcasts and endure long after the season concludes. LACO Close Quarters builds upon the highly successful LACO SummerFest series, the Orchestra's first foray into streaming that concluded in September and featured five digital chamber music concerts that have attracted nearly 140,000 views to date.

Subsequent LACO Close Quarters episodes premiere on Fridays, January 1, 15 and 29, February 12 and 26, March 12 and 26, April 9 and 23, May 7 and 21, and June 4, 2021, at 6:30 pm (PT).

"Bach's Brandenburg 5" is sponsored by Ned + Dana Newman. Tereza Stanislav is sponsored by Hilda Herrera Adler. Additional support for Jaime Martín and Jeffrey Kahane comes from Dr. Hervey and Doris Segall.

LACO recognizes the generous support of the Colburn Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Steinway is the official piano of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. The Orchestra also receives public funding via grants from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. James Darrah at LACO is generously underwritten by Ruth Eliel and Bill Cooney. LACO: Close Quarters series sponsors include Evelyn & Stephen Block, Anna Rosicka & Al Evans, Anne & Jeffrey Grausam, Diane Henderson, Gary Larsen, and Anne-Marie & Alex Spataru. To support LACO, its stellar artists and digital programming, please visit LACO.org/donate or call (213) 622-7001, EXT. 4.

The broadcasts will be available on demand at laco.org/laco-at-home, LACO's YouTube channel and Facebook live.

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