Upbeat Live | LA Phil

Upbeat Live

Music EN ↓ 268 episodes

Key thinkers and guest musicians share their expertise and offer historical and cultural context for an inspiring array of orchestral music, giving you a deeper understanding of the music. These talks reflect the programming of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) on stage at Walt Disney Concert Hall. New episodes are added after the first night’s concert. See the full Upbeat Live schedule at: laphil.com/ubl

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Upbeat Live | LA Phil

Episodes

Myth of the New World with Melinda Haas & Deborah O'Grady • SAT / FEB 29, LA Phil 2019/20 01.03.2020 42:47

About This Performance Underneath the sense of hope and expansiveness in the New World is a shadow that has been there from its first colonization to the present moment. Dvořák set out to find and compose “American music.” What he created is a collage, suggestions of the hope of immigrants in the boundless space; the presence of slavery; the treatment of Native Americans; and the pristine beauty o...

Dvořák 9 & Ives 4 with Russell Steinberg • FRI / FEB 28, LA Phil 2019/20 29.02.2020 48:12

About This Performance The culmination of Dudamel’s unique look at Ives and Dvořák shows the individualistic American expanding his harmonic and rhythmic language even further in the stunningly complex Fourth Symphony. Dvořák’s final symphony was composed from Native-American and African-American source materials, from which he drew unforgettable melodies and dramatic harmonies that gelled into hi...

Dvořák 9 & Ives 3 with Russell Steinberg • THU / FEB 27, LA Phil 2019/20 28.02.2020 41:25

About This Performance By juxtaposing Ives’ and Dvořák’s symphonies, Dudamel reveals new ways to hear each composer. Here, Ives’ compact Third draws on memories of songs, hymns, children’s games, and dances to create music of wondrous complexity. Dvořák’s final symphony was composed from Native-American and African-American source materials, from which he drew unforgettable melodies and dramatic h...

Wayne Marshall with Thomas Neenan • SUN / FEB 23, LA Phil 2019/20 23.02.2020 25:38

About this Performance: British-born Wayne Marshall is a triple threat, appearing around the world as an organist, pianist, and conductor. His abilities in jazz as well as classical music make him particularly well suited for the glittering improvisations on Bernstein and Beethoven that will bookend his Disney Hall recital. “…sheer technical bravado… breathtaking speeds…stunning virtuosity…such br...

Dvořák 7 & Ives 1 with Christopher Russell • FRI / FEB 21, LA Phil 2019/20 22.02.2020 39:31

About this Performance: Revealing unpredictable connections between the two composers, Dudamel’s unexpected pairing of symphonies by Ives and Dvořák begins here with each man showing us new ways to view vernacular music in a symphonic context. Artists Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel, conductor Program IVES Symphony No. 1 DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7

Weimar Nightfall: The Seven Deadly Sins with Kristi Brown-Montesano & Gerard McBurney • THU / FEB 13, LA Phil 2019/20 14.02.2020 30:24

Widely acclaimed English actor/writer/director Simon McBurney and his equally accomplished brother, composer/writer/scholar Gerard McBurney, collaborate with Salonen to present darkly satirical musical-theater works from the heyday of German Expressionism. The music is inflected with 1920s jazz and popular song, along with an edge of cynicism. Program: HINDEMITH Murderer, Hope of Women WEILL/BRECH...

Bjarnason & Ólafsson with Thomas Kotcheff • TUE / FEB 4, LA Phil 2019/20 05.02.2020 27:32

About this Performance: Two of the biggest stars of our 2017 Reykjavík Festival, conductor/composer Daníel Bjarnason and pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, have put together a fascinating program that includes a world premiere.

All-Strauss with Thomas Neenan • FRI / JAN 31, LA Phil 2019/20 31.01.2020 40:51

About this Performance: One of the most sought-after conductors of his generation, Swiss musician Philippe Jordan returns with two prime examples of tone poems by Richard Strauss, one about the legendary Spanish knight – featuring one of the world’s leading cellists as the irrepressible dreamer – and, though Strauss denied it, the other work about the composer himself!

Beethoven with Emanuel Ax with Alan Chapman • FRI / JAN 24, LA Phil 2019/20 25.01.2020 37:53

About this Performance: Beloved pianist Emanuel Ax will apply his consummate artistry to Beethoven’s mighty and heroic C-minor concerto, his only one in a minor key. Celebrated contralto Nathalie Stutzmann, who has transitioned into an acclaimed conductor, will lead this all-Beethoven program, unleashing the unrelenting power of the most recognizable symphony in the world.

John Adams & Julia Wolfe with Sarah Cahill • SAT / JAN 18, LA Phil 2019/20 19.01.2020 26:20

About this Performance: The Los Angeles Philharmonic and New York’s electric Bang on a Can All-Stars join forces for Julia Wolfe’s new Flower Power, in which she addresses the radical societal upheaval of the 1960s, presented with suitably psychedelic visuals. Adams also leads the Grammy®-nominated symphonic work he composed for the LA Phil in 1998, when Esa-Pekka led the premiere.

Bach, Handel & Telemann with Christian Campos and Emmanuelle Haïm • THU / JAN 16, LA Phil 2019/20 17.01.2020 36:52

Conductor Emmanuelle Haïm sits down with Christian Campos to discuss the night's Baroque-focused program.

Mehta's Mahler with Asadour Santourian • FRI / JAN 3, LA Phil 2019/20 04.01.2020 35:38

About this Performance: Mehta reveals his deep affinity for Mahler in one of the composer’s most overwhelmingly transcendent works. The climax of the ecstatic finale is deeply stirring and unforgettable. Program: MAHLER Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection" Artists Los Angeles Philharmonic Zubin Mehta, conductor Kristin Lewis, soprano Mihoko Fujimura, mezzo-soprano Los Angeles Master Chorale Grant Ge...

Tchaikovsky & Copland with MTT with Thomas Neenan • SUN / DEC 15, LA Phil 2019/20 15.12.2019 41:36

About this Performance: Trifonov has the reputation of taking a beloved classic like Tchaikovsky’s popular Piano Concerto and imbuing it with fresh new life. L.A. favorite Michael Tilson Thomas also leads Copland’s Third Symphony, built on the composer’s stirring Fanfare for the Common Man . Program: RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Dubinushka TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 COPLAND Symphony No. 3 Artists:...

A Tribute to Oliver Knussen with Thomas Kotcheff • TUE / DEC 10, LA Phil 2019/20 11.12.2019 25:08

About this Performance: To honor the memory of our talented and beloved colleague Oliver Knussen, Mälkki and Josefowicz have programmed three of his remarkable creations and surrounded them with chamber-sized music by his friends, colleagues, and his students. Come celebrate a musical life. Program: Colin MATTHEWS Hidden Variables KNUSSEN Reflection Helen GRIME A Cold Spring Huw WATKINS Piano Qu...

Beethoven's Eroica with Brian Lauritzen • FRI / DEC 6, LA Phil 2019/20 06.12.2019 34:31

About this Performance: The late Oliver Knussen, acclaimed as composer and conductor, had a long connection with the LA Phil. His Violin Concerto is, by turns, intensely dramatic, lyrical, somber, skittish, and – as you would expect from a skilled conductor – it’s masterfully orchestrated. Thrilling to this day, Beethoven’s “Eroica” is one of the most revolutionary works in Western music, expandin...

Dudamel Conducts Rachmaninoff & Stravinsky with Veronika Krausas • SAT / NOV 30, LA Phil 2019/20 30.11.2019 41:23

About this Performance: The fast-rising Korean star pianist plays Rachmaninoff’s ultra-Romantic concerto, and Dudamel leads Stravinsky’s game-changing ballet score with its complex yet primitive-sounding rhythms. Program: RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2 STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring Artists: Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel, conductor Seong-Jin Cho, piano

Dudamel & Yuja Wang with Russell Steinberg • THU / NOV 8, LA Phil 2019/20 08.11.2019 41:36

About this Performance: The incomparable Yuja Wang plays John Adams’ newest piano concerto, and Gustavo presides over Stravinsky’s pulse-pounding vision of pre-historic Russian rituals. Artists: Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel, conductor Yuja Wang, piano Program: GINASTERA: Variaciones Concertantes John ADAMS: Must the Devil have all the Good Tunes? (LA Phil commission) STRAVINSKY: Th...

John Adams & Jay Campbell with Thomas Kotcheff, Sky Macklay, Eric Wubbels, and Jay Campbell • TUE / NOV 5, LA Phil 2019/20 06.11.2019 26:50

Los Angeles-based composer and pianist Thomas Kotcheff is joined by composer Sky Macklay, pianist and composer Eric Wubbels, and cellist Jay Campbell to discuss the first Green Umbrella program of the season, including new works by Macklay, Wubbels, Gabriella Smith, Marc Sabat, and Tristan Perich. About This Performance: Adams and astonishing star-on-the-rise Jay Campbell present a scintillating...

Jane Parker-Smith with Thomas Neenan & Manuel Rosales • SUN / NOV 3, LA Phil 2019/20 04.11.2019 36:51

Caltech professor and organist Thomas Neenan is joined by organ builder Manuel Rosales to discuss Jane Parker-Smith's recital program, which includes Bach, Franck, Liszt, and more. About this Performance: Having been referred to as the “Martha Argerich of the organ” (The Sunday Times), British organist Jane Parker-Smith has gained an international reputation for her prodigious technique and inna...

Dudamel Conducts Bruckner with Christopher Russell • FRI / NOV 1, LA Phil 2019/20 01.11.2019 33:25

About This Performance: Experience Dudamel conducting Bruckner’s awe-inspiring Fourth Symphony, to which Bruckner himself applied the nickname “Romantic,” evoking images of knights riding forth at dawn, impassioned lovers, and an exuberant hunting party, all tied together by a heroic, brass-blazing finale. Program: BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4, “Romantic” Artists: Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo...

Halloween Organ & Film with Alan Chapman and Clark Wilson • THU, OCT 31, LA Phil 2019/20 31.10.2019 36:46

On Halloween night, KUSC's Alan Chapman is joined by organist Clark Wilson to discuss the history behind silent film music and Wilson's own experience with accompanying silent films.

Beethoven’s Ninth with Dudamel with Christian Campos • SUN / OCT 27, LA Phil 2019/20 28.10.2019 44:51

About This Performance: We extend our Centennial festivities throughout the weekend, with each Music Director leading a specialty of his. As he did at the outset of his music directorship, Dudamel leads the musical monument that accompanies the world’s greatest celebrations: Beethoven’s epic Ninth. Program: Gabriela ORTIZ: Yanga (world premiere, LA Phil commission with generous support from R. M...

Salonen & Sibelius with Russell Steinberg • SAT / OCT 26, LA Phil 2019/20 27.10.2019 40:43

About This Performance: We extend our Centennial celebration throughout the weekend, with each Music Director leading a specialty. Salonen not only brings music by Sibelius but also the premiere of his complete Gemini. Joining him for Luonnotar is stunning South African soprano Golda Schultz. Program: SIBELIUS: Luonnotar Esa-Pekka SALONEN: Gemini (world premiere, LA Phil commission with generous...

Mehta's Mahler with Brian Lauritzen • FRI / OCT 25, LA Phil 2019/20 26.10.2019 32:03

About This Performance: We extend our Centennial celebration throughout the weekend, with each Music Director leading a specialty of his. Mehta’s affinity for Mahler will shine through this performance of the composer’s overwhelming “Resurrection.” Program: MAHLER: Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection” Artists: Los Angeles Philharmonic Zubin Mehta, conductor Kristin Lewis, soprano Mihoko Fujimura, me...

Salonen Conducts Tchaikovsky & Bartók with Veronika Krausas • FRI / OCT 18, LA Phil 2019/20 19.10.2019 38:58

About This Performance: Salonen conducts his own latest orchestral work to launch this program, followed by rising star violinist Daniel Lozakovich, hand-picked by Salonen to play the Tchaikovsky. Salonen and the LA Phil also perform one of their signature works, Bartók’s late masterpiece, which shows off every section of the orchestra to full advantage. Program: Esa-Pekka SALONEN: Castor (worl...