Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Los Angeles Philharmonic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Los Angeles Philharmonic | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | LA Phil; LAP |
| Origin |  Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Symphony Orchestra |
| Years active | 1919–present |
| Label(s) | Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, London, Sony |
| Associated acts |
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra |
| Website | www.LAPhil.com |
| Members | |
| Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen Assistant Conductors Joana Carneiro Lionel Bringuier Consulting Composer for New Music Steven Stucky President Deborah Borda |
|
| Former members | |
| Founder William Andrews Clark, Jr. Walter Henry Rothwell |
|
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Concert Organ Glatter-Gotz / Rosales /Gehry Pipe Organ Violin Benny 1729 Stradivari Perkins 1728 Stradivari Earl of Plymouth 1711 Stradivari Violoncello General Kyd 1684 Stradivari |
|
The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LAP) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Contents |
Founded in 1919 by William Andrews Clark, Jr. with Walter Henry Rothwell as its conductor, it played its first concert in the same year, eleven days after its first rehearsal. The Orchestra's first home was at Fifth and Olive, in a venue that had previously been known as Clune's Auditorium, but was renamed Philharmonic Auditorium. From 1964 to 2003, the orchestra played its concerts in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Los Angeles Music Center. In 2003, it moved to the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall next door. In the summer, the orchestra plays outdoor concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. Since its founding, the LA Philharmonic has played at least one concert a year in its sister city, Santa Barbara, California, presented by the Community Arts Music Association (CAMA).
Subsequent music directors through the 1950's included Georg Schnéevoigt, Artur Rodziński, Otto Klemperer, Alfred Wallenstein, and Eduard van Beinum. In 1960, Georg Solti signed a three-year contract to be music director, having guest conducted the orchestra in winter concerts downtown, at the Hollywood Bowl, and in other Southern California locations including CAMA concerts in Santa Barbara[1]. The orchestra had hoped that Solti would lead the orchestra when it moved into its new home at the still-to-be-completed Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and he even began to appoint musicians to the orchestra. However, Solti abruptly resigned the position in 1961 without officially taking the post after learning that the Philharmonic board of directors failed to consult him before naming then 26 year-old Zubin Mehta to be assistant conductor of the orchestra.[2] Mehta was subsequently named as music director in Solti's place.
When Mehta left for the New York Philharmonic in 1978, Executive VP Ernest Fleischmann convinced Carlo Maria Giulini to take over as Music Director. Giulini's time with the orchestra was regarded very well, but when his wife became ill, he resigned the position and returned to Italy to care for her. Fleischmann then turned to André Previn with the hopes that his conducting credentials combined with his time spent at Hollywood Studios would add a local flair and enhance the connection between conductor, orchestra, and city. While Previn's tenure with the orchestra was musically satisfactory, other conductors including Kurt Sanderling, Simon Rattle, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, did a better job at the box office. Previn clashed frequently with Fleischmann, most notably when Fleischmann had failed to consult him before deciding to name Salonen as Principal Guest Conductor of the orchestra, complete with a tour of Japan -- a move that mirrored the prior Solti/Mehta controversy with the orchestra. Because of Previn's objections, Salonen's title and Japanese tour were withdrawn, but shortly thereafter in April 1989, Previn resigned as Music Director.[3] Four months later, Salonen was named Music Director Designate of the Philharmonic, officially taking the post of Music Director in October 1992. Salonen had made his U.S. conducting debut with the orchestra in 1984, and has conducted the Philharmonic every season since then.
The three principal guest conductors associated with the orchestra are included Michael Tilson Thomas, Simon Rattle and Leonard Slatkin who concludes his guest position at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007 [4]. Other conductors with whom the orchestra has had close ties include Sir John Barbirolli, Erich Leinsdorf, Bruno Walter, Leopold Stokowski, Kurt Sanderling, Pierre Boulez, Leonard Bernstein, and Christoph von Dohnányi. Many composers have conducted the Philharmonic in concerts and/or world premieres of their works, including Igor Stravinsky, William Kraft, John Harbison, Witold Lutosławski, Boulez, John Williams, John Adams (composer), Thomas Adès, and Salonen himself.
In April 2007, it was announced that Esa-Pekka Salonen will step down as the LAP's music director at the end of the 2008-2009 season. With the 2009-2010 season, Gustavo Dudamel will be his successor.[5][6][7]
The LA Philharmonic performed the music in the pilot film to Battlestar Galactica, composed by Stu Phillips and Glen A. Larson. The LA Philharmonic also performed the first North American concert for the popular Final Fantasy franchise game music, Dear Friends: Music From Final Fantasy by Nobuo Uematsu.
The orchestra occasionally made 78-rpm recordings and LPs in the early years with Alfred Wallenstein and Leopold Stokowski for Capitol Records, and began recording regularly in the 1960s, for English Decca, during the tenure of Zubin Mehta as music director. A healthy discography continued to grow with Carlo Maria Giulini on Deutsche Grammaphon and André Previn on both Philips and Telarc Records. Michael Tilson Thomas, Leonard Bernstein, and Sir Simon Rattle also made several recordings with the orchestra in the 1980s, adding to their rising international profile. In recent years, Esa-Pekka Salonen has led recording sessions for Sony and Deutsche Grammophon. A recording of the "Concerto for Orchestra" by Bela Bartok with Gustavo Dudamel conducting was released by Deutsche Grammophon in 2007.
Gustavo Dudamel will officially gain the title of Music Director-Designate in the Fall of 2008, and will take over as Music Director in Fall 2009 when Salonen is expected to step down.
|
|
|
- ^ Santa Barbara Community Arts Music Association (CAMA) concert archives 1950-60
- ^ "Buffie & the Baton", Time, 14 April 1961. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
- ^ Martin Bernheimer. "The Tyrant of Philharmonic", Los Angeles Times, 8 October 1989.
- ^ "Conductor Leonard Slatkin Opens Los Angeles Philharmonic's 2007 Season at Hollywood Bowl with Fireworks", Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, 10 Jul 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-10.
- ^ Mark Swed. "Maestro will pass baton to up-and-comer in '09", Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
- ^ Matthew Westphal. "Gustavo Dudamel to Replace Esa-Pekka Salonen at LA Philharmonic in 2009", Playbill Arts, 8 Apr 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
- ^ Diane Haithman. "L.A. Philharmonic warms to Gustavo Dudamel", Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
- Los Angeles Philharmonic Official website
- Los Angeles Philharmonic Association Official website
- Walt Disney Concert Hall Official website
- Hollywood Bowl Official website
- Discography
|
|
|---|
|
Walter Henry Rothwell (1919) • Georg Schnéevoigt (1927) • Artur Rodziński (1929) • Otto Klemperer (1933) • Alfred Wallenstein (1943) • Eduard van Beinum (1956) • Zubin Mehta (1962) • Carlo Maria Giulini (1978) • André Previn (1985) • Esa-Pekka Salonen (1992) |