THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC RELEASES FREE
SOUND/STAGE PERFORMANCE AND INTERVIEWS SERIES 

THE ONLINE CONCERT FILM SERIES FEATURES THE ACCLAIMED PERFORMANCES OF|
RACHMANINOFF’S FOUR PIANO CONCERTOS AND RHAPSODY ON A THEME OF PAGANINI
RECORDED LIVE AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL IN LOS ANGELES IN FEBRUARY 2023

 YUJA WANG, GUSTAVO DUDAMEL AND THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC 

AVAILABLE FOR FREE ONLINE STREAMING STARTING SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

LOS ANGELES, September 8, 2023 – The Los Angeles Philharmonic today released a free Sound/Stage series -- a six-episode online cycle of Rachmaninoff 150, performed by Yuja Wang, Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This ambitious project presented Rachmaninoff’s four piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, recorded live at Walt Disney Concert Hall in February 2023.  The series includes five performance episodes and one interview episode featuring Gustavo Dudamel and Yuja Wang in conversation.

The sold-out and critically acclaimed performances occurred as part of this year’s Rachmaninoff 150 celebrations, where Yuja Wang joined Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic over the course of two consecutive weekends to perform all four of the composer’s piano concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

The new season of Sound/Stage and supporting material, including artist-curated playlists, program notes and insights from Dudamel on how each program came together, will be available at laphil.com/soundstage.

Captured in live recordings at the Walt Disney Concert Hall by Deutsche Grammophon, the Piano Concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini were released commercially on two CDs, three LPs, and digitally on September 1, 2023. The third movement (Allegro vivace) of Piano Concerto No. 1 was released as an e-single and e-video on June 23, 2023, and the filmed cycle of five performances premiered on Deutsche Grammophon’s STAGE+ on June 24, 2023. All five piano concerts plus the featured conversation are now available for free on Sound/Stage  at laphil.com/soundstage and will remain online for five years.

Sound/Stage premiered in September 2020 as a free online concert series produced by LA Phil Media, the media and digital initiatives arm of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, in an effort to use digital technologies to make music and performance accessible to a wider audience. The series features a range of performing artists and includes interviews, playlists, and program notes that shed new light on each episode’s theme.

Sound/Stage is available online at laphil.com/soundstage. 

PROGRAMMING INFORMATION:

Ep 1: RACHMANINOFF  Piano Concerto No. 2

Ep 2: RACHMANINOFF  Piano Concerto No. 1

Ep 3: RACHMANINOFF  Piano Concerto No. 4

Ep 4: RACHMANINOFF  Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini 

Ep 5: RACHMANINOFF  Piano Concerto No. 3

Soloist: Yuja Wang (piano)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Philharmonic
Conductor: Gustavo Dudamel

Ep 6: A Conversation Between Yuja Wang and Gustavo Dudamel

About the LA Phil   
Under the leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil offers live performances, media initiatives and learning programs that inspire and strengthen communities in Los Angeles and beyond. The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra is the foundation of the LA Phil’s offerings, which also include a multigenre, multidisciplinary presenting program and such youth development programs as YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). Performances are offered on three historic stages—Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford—as well as through a variety of media platforms. In all its endeavors, the LA Phil seeks to enrich the lives of individuals and communities through musical, artistic and learning experiences that resonate in our world today.  

About Gustavo Dudamel

Gustavo Dudamel is driven by the belief that music has the power to transform lives, to inspire, and to change the world. Through his dynamic presence on the podium and his tireless advocacy for arts education, he has introduced classical music to new audiences around the globe and has helped provide access to the arts for countless people in underserved communities. Dudamel currently serves as Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Music Director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, and in 2026, he becomes the Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic, continuing a legacy that includes Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, and Leonard Bernstein.Dudamel is one of the few classical musicians to become a bona fide pop-culture phenomenon. His film credits include Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Bernstein’s West Side Story, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and The Simpsons, and he led the LA Phil with Billie Eilish in the concert film Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles. He has performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, the Academy Awards, and the Nobel Prize concert, and has worked with international superstarsChristina Aguilera; Ricky Martin; Tyler, The Creator; Coldplay; and others. His extensive discography includes 67 releases and four Grammy Awards.Inspired by his transformative experience as a youth in Venezuela’s immersive musical training program El Sistema, he created the Dudamel Foundation in 2012, which he co-chairs with his wife, actress and director María Valverde, with the goal “to expand access to music and the arts for young people by providing tools and opportunities to shape their creative futures.” In July and August 2022, the Dudamel Foundation brought its Encuentros initiative to the Hollywood Bowl as part of the 100th-anniversary season, in a two-week intensive global leadership and orchestral training program for young musicians from around the world that culminated in a concert at the Hollywood Bowl and a tour with the Orquesta del Encuentro to the legendary Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA.