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The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Presents the World Premiere of Kevin Puts's Piano Concerto
April 16, 2008
LACO MUSIC DIRECTOR JEFFREY KAHANE
CONDUCTS FROM THE PIANO
LACO CONCERTMASTER MARGARET BATJER LEADS HANDEL
SATURDAY, MAY 17 AT 8 PM (THE ALEX THEATRE)
SUNDAY, MAY 18 AT 7 PM (ROYCE HALL – UCLA)
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra presents the world premiere of its Sound Investment commission by composer Kevin Puts in its final concerts of the 2007-08 season on Saturday, May 17 at 8 pm at the Alex Theatre in Glendale and Sunday, May 18 at 7 pm at Royce Hall at UCLA. The evening begins with LACO concertmaster Margaret Batjer leading the Orchestra in Handel’s Concerto Grosso in F major, Op. 6, No. 9. Music director and pianist Jeffrey Kahane then takes the stage to perform the world premiere of Kevin Puts’s Night. Kahane conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major, “Pastoral,” Op. 68 to conclude the concert.
The featured work of the evening is the world premiere of Kevin Puts’s piano concerto, entitled Night. Hailed by the press as “one of the best young composers in America,” Puts has had works commissioned and performed by leading orchestras, ensembles and soloists throughout North America, Europe and the Far East. In 2006, Yo-Yo Ma premiered his cello concerto at the Aspen Music Festival. Puts’s composition for LACO is distinguished as the first piano concerto ever written for Jeffrey Kahane to lead from the keyboard. “Kevin is an amazingly inventive, gifted, and communicative young composer,” comments Kahane. “I feel deeply honored to be giving the first performance of his extraordinary new concerto, a piece of tremendous emotional power and sensuous beauty which could only have been written by a composer who is himself a superb pianist. It is a joy to play. I am convinced that the audiences will be as thrilled and moved by it as I am, and I am equally convinced that the piece is destined to become a modern classic that within a short time will enter the standard repertoire of pianists and orchestras all over the world.” The work displays the hallmarks of Puts’s finely-honed musical style, which can be described as neo-Romantic with Minimalist influences.
The title, Night, emerged when Puts reflected on how the progression of the first two movements conjured the image of a turbulent day moving into a tranquil night. “I am certain the storminess that emerges from the seemingly innocuous Baroque arpeggios which control the work’s opening is the result of some prevailing frustration, some festering anxiety that rages in all of us these days…The concept of ‘night’ used here is a metaphor for a utopian landscape,” comments Puts.
The 2007-08 season marks the seventh year of Sound Investment, a program that allows patrons to take an active role in commissioning a new work. This successful initiative gives investing members the rare opportunity to create a legacy in music and to watch a new work develop from the composer’s first ideas to the finished product. Sound Investment members are invited to three salons throughout the season that feature in-depth discussion with the composer about his creative process and previews of the final work.
To close the evening, Kahane takes the podium to conduct Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major, “Pastoral,” Op. 68. As popular as it is important, the Sixth Symphony is one of the first major examples of a programmatic symphony and the only symphony in which Beethoven actually gave names to the movements. Each of the work’s five movements brings to mind a simple, rustic joy in the countryside.
Tickets ($17 to $79) are on sale now and may be purchased online at laco.org, by calling the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at 213 622 7001 × 215 or at the venue box office on the night of the concert. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older, students and groups of 12 or more.
These concerts are generously sponsored by James and Ann Mulally. The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra recognizes Guggenheim Partners and Lufthansa German Airlines as official sponsors, and Pierre’s Fine Pianos and Fazioli as the organization’s official piano supplier and piano.
Renowned as a pianist and conductor, Jeffrey Kahane is recognized by audiences around the world for his mastery of diverse repertoire from Bach to Gershwin. He has established a reputation as a truly versatile artist equally sought after as soloist, conductor and chamber musician. This season is Kahane’s 11th as music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and he continues his successful tenure as music director of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Under his leadership, both ensembles received 2007 ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. He also continues as artistic director of the Green Music Festival in Sonoma County. Jeffrey Kahane’s belief in the educational and inspirational power of music led him to found the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Family Concert series. His interest in musical enrichment is also evidenced in his personal commitment to LACO’s Meet the Music program, which serves approximately 2,700 Los Angeles elementary students annually. In May 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by Sonoma State University for his services to Arts and Education.
Margaret Batjer has served as concertmaster of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra since 1998. She made her first solo appearance at the age of 15 with the Chicago Symphony in Gian Carlo Menotti’s Violin Concerto. Since then, she has been re-engaged by the Chicago Symphony, as well as a succession of other major orchestras. Batjer has also appeared as a soloist throughout Europe with orchestras including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. Equally respected as a chamber musician, Batjer has performed regularly at the Marlboro Music Festival, the Minnesota Orchestra Sommerfest, the La Jolla Summerfest, the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, and the Naples and Cremona festivals in Italy. She has recorded the Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor for Philips with Salvatore Accardo and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and more recently for Deutsche Grammophon with Hilary Hahn and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Batjer has won numerous prizes, including the G.B. Dealey Award in Dallas. She joined the faculty of the Thornton School of Music at USC in 2005.
Kevin Puts has had works commissioned and performed by leading orchestras, including an orchestral piece for the New York Philharmonic, Two Mountain Scenes, and a clarinet concerto for Bil Jackson and the Colorado Symphony. Other recent premieres include Symphony No. 4 at the Cabrillo Festival and Violin Concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony. His cello concerto, Vision, was commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival and performed by Yo-Yo Ma in honor of David Zinman’s 70th birthday. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Puts received his Bachelor’s Degree from the Eastman School of Music, his Master’s Degree from Yale University and a Doctor of Musical Arts at the Eastman School of Music. In the fall of 2006, he joined the composition faculty of the Peabody Institute.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
SATURDAY, MAY 17 – 8:00 PM
The Alex Theatre Glendale, CA
SUNDAY, MAY 18 – 7:00 PM
Royce Hall, UCLA Westwood, Los Angeles
CONDUCTOR & PIANO JEFFREY KAHANE
LEADER & VIOLIN MARGARET BATJER
PROGRAM:
Handel Concerto Grosso in F major, Op. 6, No. 9
Kevin Puts Night (World Premiere piano concerto) Commissioned by Sound Investment
Beethoven Symphony No. 6 in F major, “Pastoral,” Op. 68
TICKET PRICES: $17, $29, $48, $69, $79 (Subject to availability, discounts offered for students, seniors and groups of 12 or more.)
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets available online at www.laco.org by phone at 213 622 7001 × 215 or by fax at 213 955 2071. Tickets on sale at the theatre box office the night of the concert, if available.
Press Contact: Misty Espinoza
Rogers & Cowan
310 854 8145
mespinoza@rogersandcowan.com
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