Featured Events

Beginning on Friday, March 9, 2012, masters of the cello, including twenty outstanding artists from ten countries, converge on Los Angeles to share their artistry and teaching experience through orchestral concerts, chamber music performances, master classes, and interactive events. Here are but a few of the highlights of the festival’s performances.

1. Opening Concert of Piatigorsky Festival

Friday, March 9, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

Bovard Auditorium/USC

The concert presents seven distinguished international artists appearing in an evening of diverse cello concertos. “Coming Together” is an underlying theme of this festival. Indeed, the opening concert features a Festival Orchestra led by the principal players of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra partnered with some of the finest students from the USC Thornton School of Music and The Colburn School.

Led by the conductor Hugh Wolff, who began his conducting career as an assistant and protégé of the great Russian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, the Festival Orchestra will accompany six leading international cellists in a wide-ranging evening of concertos, including Antonio Lysy and Peter Stumpf performing Vivaldi’s Double Concerto, Jian Wang performing Haydn’s Concerto in D Major, Narek Hakhnazaryan performing Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Thomas Demenga and Sayaka Selina performing the American premiere of Thomas Demenga’s Double Concerto, and Jean-Guihen Queyras performing Haydn’s Concerto in C Major.

2. The Six Bach Cello Suites

Sunday, March 11, 2012, 7:00 p.m.

Herbert Zipper Concert Hall/Colburn

A unique opportunity to hear the six solo suites of Bach performed by six different cellists, all of whom over many years have lived with, taught, performed and recorded these core masterpieces.

Suite I performed by Ronald Leonard
Suite II performed by Frans Helmerson
Suite III performed by Jian Wang
Suite IV performed by Thomas Demenga
Suite V performed by Miklós Perényi
Suite VI performed by Jean-Guihen Queyras

3. Remembering Piatigorsky

Friday, March 16, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

Herbert Zipper Concert Hall/Colburn

Six of Piatigorsky’s outstanding former students, Laurence Lesser, Mischa Maisky, Jeffrey Solow, Nathaniel Rosen, Raphael Wallfisch and Terry King, together with his grandson Evan Drachman, celebrate the career of their great teacher through film and discussion.

4. Los Angeles Philharmonic Concerts

A large contingent of the world’s greatest cellists will converge in Los Angeles to celebrate the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival. As part of this celebration, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will present several special events, including a subscription series of orchestral concerts in which each performance will feature a different concerto with a different cello soloist.

Thursday, March 15, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Walt Disney Concert Hall
Kirshbaum plays Dvorák
Ralph Kirshbaum performs Dvorák’s Cello Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Neeme Järvi. The program also includes Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.
For more information, click here.

Saturday, March 17, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Walt Disney Concert Hall
Maisky plays Shostakovich
Mischa Maisky performs performs Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky’s Lensky’s Aria with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Neeme Järvi. The program also includes Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.
For more information, click here.

Sunday, March 18, 2012, 2:00 p.m.

Walt Disney Concert Hall
Weilerstein plays Tchaikovsky
Alisa Weilerstein performs Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations and Respighi’s Adagio con Variazioni with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Neeme Järvi. The program also includes Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.
For more information, click here.

5. Workshop for Young Cellists

Sunday, March 18, 2012, 9:30 a.m.

Thayer Hall/Colburn

On Sunday, March 18, internationally recognized artist Antonio Lysy leads a free workshop for young, emerging cellists between the ages of 12 and 18. Lysy will work with students to prepare for a morning concert at Colburn’s Thayer Hall. This will be a wonderful opportunity to meet other young cellists participating in the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival.

The workshop is open to cellists in two age groups: ages 12-15 and 16-18. To participate, post an audition video to YouTube by January 19, 2012 and send the link via email to: celloworkshop2012@gmail.com. A select number of participants will be chosen to perform as part of the mass cello ensemble during the festival’s closing concert later that evening at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The event is free. Seating is first-come, first-served. To learn more about the audition requirements and to download sheet music, please click here.

6. Closing Concert

Sunday, March 18, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

Walt Disney Concert Hall

On March 18, the Closing Concert of the festival will reach a pinnacle by bringing together on the stage of Walt Disney Concert Hall over 100 cellists from Los Angeles music schools, outstanding orchestras based in Los Angeles, master class students from around the world, and many of the celebrated visiting artists. The Mass Cello Ensemble, conducted by Courtney Lewis, will perform works by Bach and Rouse.

In addition, the evening includes world-renowned cellists with celebrated pianists for a final evening of exemplary performances. Ronald Leonard, with pianist Kevin Fitz-Gerald, performs Moór’s Prelude and Tortelier’s Sonata Breve. Mischa Maisky, with pianist Rina Dokshitsky, performs Rachmaninov’s Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 and Élégie in E-Minor, Op. 3, No. 1. Steven Isserlis, with pianist Connie Shih, performs Fauré’s Cello Sonata No. 2 and Ades’ Lieux Retrouvés. Laurence Lesser, Nathaniel Rosen, Jeffery Solow, and Raphael Wallfisch perform Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne as arranged by Gregor Piatigorsky.
For more information, click here.