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Italian Piano Sensation Alessio Bax Makes Debut with Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

RENOWNED AUSTRIAN CONDUCTOR HANS GRAF



MAKES LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA DEBUT



CONDUCTING HIGHLY ANTICIPATED LOS ANGELES DEBUT OF

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ITALIAN PIANO SENSATION ALESSIO BAX



 

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Bax Performs Mozart’s Piano
Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491;



Graf also Conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major,
“Pastoral,” 



and
Dutilleux’ Mystère de l'instant



 



Saturday,
November 16, 8 pm, Alex Theatre, Glendale;



Sunday,
November 17, 7 pm, UCLA’s Royce Hall



 



 



Distinguished international conductor and acclaimed Mozart
interpreter Hans Graf, recently named Music Director Laureate of the Houston
Symphony after serving as its music director for 12 years, makes his Los Angeles
Chamber Orchestra debut conducting the highly anticipated Los Angeles debut of
Italian piano sensation Alessio Bax, whose artistry “quivers with an almost
hypnotic intensity” (Gramophone), in
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 on Saturday, November 16, 8
pm, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale and Sunday, November 17, 7 pm, at UCLA’s
Royce Hall.  Also featured is Beethoven’s vivid Symphony No. 6 in F major,
“Pastoral,” considered among Beethoven’s most exquisitely beautiful and popular
works.  The program begins with Henri Dutilleux’ Mystère
de l'instant
for strings, cimbalom
(a hammered dulcimer) and percussion, which premiered in 1989. 



 



Graf, hailed for “his cool and elegant performances” (The New
York Times
) and “solid musicianship” (The Washington Post), is known for his wide-ranging repertoire and creative
programming.  He served as Music Director
of the Calgary Philharmonic for eight seasons prior to his appointment in
Houston and held the same post with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine
for six years.  The distinguished
Austrian conductor also led the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra from 1984 to 1994.



 



Bax, praised for creating “a ravishing listening experience”
with his lyrical playing, insightful interpretations and dazzling facility,
received the 2009 Avery Fischer Career Grant as well as the 2013 Andrew Wolf
Chamber Music Award, of which LACO Music Director Jeffrey Kahane is a previous
recipient, and has appeared as soloist with the London and Royal Philharmonic
orchestras, Dallas and Houston symphonies, NHK Symphony in Japan, St.
Petersburg Philharmonic and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, among
others. 



 



Concert
Preludes, pre-concert talks
held one hour before curtain and free for ticket holders, provide insights into
the music and artists.  LACO General
Manager Andrea Laguni interviews conductor Hans Graf.



 



Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is considered one of the world’s premier
chamber orchestras as well as a leader in presenting wide-ranging repertoire
and adventurous commissions.  Its 2013-14
season, the Orchestra's 45th, features a compelling mix of beloved masterpieces
and genre-defying premieres from firmly established as well as notable
up-and-coming composers programmed by Jeffrey Kahane, one of the world’s foremost
conductors and pianists, who marks his 17th season as LACO’s music
director. 



 



Tickets, starting at $25, are on
sale now and may be purchased online at laco.org,
by calling LACO
at 213 622
7001.  Discounted tickets
are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and groups of
12 or more.  College students may
purchase student rush tickets ($10), based on availability, at the box office
the day of the concert.  Also available for
college students is the $25 “Campus to Concert Hall All Access Pass” – good for
all seven of LACO’s Orchestral series concerts, Discover Beethoven’s Eroica and three Westside Connections concerts.



 



ALESSIO
BAX
, first prize winner at the Leeds and Hamamatsu
international piano competitions and 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient,
has appeared as soloist with over 100 orchestras worldwide, including London
and Royal Philharmonic orchestras, Houston Symphony and the NHK Symphony in
Japan.  Recent highlights include
performances with St. Petersburg Philharmonic (Yuri Temirkanov), Dallas
Symphony (Jaap van Zweden), concerts at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center,
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and on tour with Joshua Bell.  His discography includes Mozart’s Piano Concertos
K. 491 and K. 595 (2013) and Alessio Bax
Plays Brahms (Gramophone “Critic’s Choice”).



Austrian conductor HANS GRAF concluded his decade-long tenure with the Houston
Symphony in May 2013. Prior to his appointment in Houston, he was the music
director of the Calgary Philharmonic for eight seasons and held the same post
with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine for six years. He also led the
Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra from 1984 to 1994. Graf is a frequent guest with
all of the major North American orchestras, and his interna­tional appearances include the Vienna and London
philharmonics, among others. He has participated in such prestigious European
festivals as the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and appeared at the Salzburg
Festival for 12 consecutive seasons.



 



LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
(LACO), proclaimed
“America's finest chamber orchestra” by Public Radio International, has
established itself among the world's top musical ensembles.  Since 1997, LACO has performed under the
baton of acclaimed conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, hailed by critics as
“visionary” and “a conductor of uncommon intellect, insight and musical
integrity” with “undeniable charisma.” 
Under Kahane’s leadership, the Orchestra maintains its status as a
preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and a champion of contemporary
composers.  During its 45-year history,
the Orchestra has made 31 recordings, toured Europe, South America and Japan,
performed across North America and garnered eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. 
Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, LACO presents its Orchestral
Series at Glendale’s Alex Theatre and UCLA’s Royce Hall; Baroque Conversations
at downtown Los Angeles’ Zipper Concert Hall; Westside Connections chamber
music series, designed to illustrate the relationship between music and other
artistic disciplines, at the Moss Theater in Santa Monica; and an annual
Discover concert, which features an in-depth examination that sheds new light
on a single piece of music, at Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium.  LACO also presents a Concert Gala, an annual
Silent Film screening and several fundraising salons each year.  Additionally, LACO outreach programs Meet the Music,
Community Partners, Campus to Concert Hall and the LACO/USC Thornton Strings
Mentorship Program reach thousands of young people annually, nurturing future
musicians and composers as well as inspiring a love of classical music.



 



EDITORS
PLEASE NOTE:



 



EVENT:



Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra



“Beethoven: Pastoral”



Hans Graf, conductor



Alessio Bax, piano



 



PROGRAM:



DUTILLEUX:  Mystère de l’instant



MOZART:  Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor



BEETHOVEN:  Symphony No. 6 in F major, “Pastoral”



 



WHEN/WHERE



Saturday,
November 16, 8 pm



Alex
Theatre, Glendale



216
North Brand Boulevard, Glendale CA 91203



 



November 17, 7 pm



Royce Hall, UCLA



340 Royce Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095



 



TICKETS/INFORMATION:



Tickets start at
$25. 



to order tickets, please
call 213 622 7001, or visit www.laco.org



 



(Discounts for groups of 12 or more, seniors 65+ and
college students, if available; also available for college students is the $25
“Campus to Concert Hall All Access Pass” – good for all seven of LACO’s
Orchestral Series concert, Discover Beethoven’s Eroica and for all three
Westside Connections concerts)



 



TICKETS/INFORMATION:



213 622 7001 × 1



or visit www.laco.org.



 



CONCERT PRELUDES:



7 pm (Alex Theatre)



6 pm (Royce Hall)



One hour before curtain,
pre-concert talks provide insights into the music and artists. Free for ticket
holders. LACO General Manager Andrea Laguni interviews conductor Hans Graf.

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