STORY AND LINKS: Second "LA Phil Live" season to debut Oct. 9

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News

The Los Angeles Philharmonic will present a second season of its “LA Phil LIVE” movie-theater telecasts with three programs, including one from Caracas, Venezuela. Tickets go on sale tomorrow ONLINE and at some participating theater outlets.

All three concerts will be telecast at 2 p.m. (Pacific Time). The 2011-2012 series will begin on Sun., Oct. 9, with Music Director Gustavo Dudamel leading an all-Mendelssohn program: Hebrides Overture, Symphony No. 3 (Scottish), and the Violin Concerto, with acclaimed Dutch violinist Janine Jansen as soloist.

The most intriguing offering will be a telecast of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 on Sat., Feb. 18 from Caracas when Dudamel will lead the combined forces of the L.A. Phil and the Simón Bolivár Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, along with eight soloists and enough choristers to make the sprawling work live up to its moniker, Symphony of a Thousand.

(On Feb. 4, the Phil and SBOV will join with Southland choral forces for a performance of this piece at the Shrine Auditorium (LINK) as part of the LAPO’s “Mahler Project,” which will see Dudamel conducting all nine completed Mahler symphonies plus other works using both orchestras.)

The third telecast is simply listed as “Spring 2012” with details TBA. If it is going have Dudamel conducting at Walt Disney Concert Hall on a Sunday afternoon, the options would appear to be the scheduled presentation of Mozart’s Don Giovanni on May 20, a Grieg/Tchaikovsky/Sibelius concert on May 27 (with as yet-unnamed soloist in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto), or John Adams’ new oratorio, The Gospel According to the Other Mary, on June 3. This is one time to take seriously the disclaimer that artists and programs are subject to change.

As was the case last year, the telecasts will feature interviews with Dudamel, soloists and other “backstage” features. Hosts for each program will be announced in the future. The programs are broadcast in high definition with 5.1 digital surround sound; the two I attended last year were quite compelling and certainly offer a cost-effective way to experience the Phil in concert.

Although the Phil termed the inaugural season of this pioneering venture a success, no details on attendance or income were offered (in a Los Angeles Times article, LAPO President Deborah Borda was quoted as saying that the contractual agreement with NCM Fathom — one of the Phil’s partners in the project — prohibited disclosing ticket sales).

The media release indicated 430 theater outlets in the U.S. for the upcoming season, down slightly from last season’s reported number of 450 (a list of theaters by city is on the Fathom Web site HERE).

At this point there are 415 U.S. outlets listed on Fathom’s Web site for the Mendelssohn telecast but theaters tend to be added as the date nears. There are only 256 theaters currently listed for the Mahler telecast, but a spokesperson for NCM Fathom said that it’s too early for some theaters to commit for a February date and many more would undoubtedly climb on board as the date approaches. She also said that NCM Fathom’s suggested ticket prices are the same as the first season, although individual theater outlets can adjust those as they wish.

View the “LA Phil LIVE” Web site HERE.
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(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.