It’s a week of classical favorites at the Bowl as acclaimed Hungarian maestro Adam Fischer returns to the podium to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in music by Rossini, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian, and Mahler on Tuesday and Thursday, September 4 and 6, at 8 p.m. Backbeat Live pre-concert discussions begin at 7 p.m. each night in The Patio, and are free to all concert ticket holders.

On Tuesday, September 4, the concert begins with the popular overture to Rossini’s opera Semiramide. Pianist Garrick Ohlsson, recognized for his mastery of the classical and Romantic piano literature, then performs Beethoven’s exuberant Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major. Music by Tchaikovsky, his dramatic Fourth Symphony with its glowering “fate” fanfare and triumphant conclusion, ends the program. Backbeat Live speaker is Steven Baur.

On September 6, a rarely-performed work by a popular composer opens the program. Aram Khachaturian, the Armenian composer known for his ballets Spartacus and Gayaneh (the latter with its manic “Sabre Dance”) and his incidental music to Masquerade, also composed a Violin Concerto for the legendary Russian violinist David Oistrakh. At the Bowl, the Philharmonic’s concertmaster, Martin Chalifour, takes up the solo part of this colorful work. The concert closes with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, once called the “Titan” because of its epic scope. Backbeat Live speaker is Allen Gross.

Tickets ($1-75) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations) or online at www.hollywoodbowl.com. Groups of 10 or more can receive a 20% discount on single ticket prices; call 323/850-2050 for details. For general information or to request a brochure, please call 323/850-2000.

Conductor ADAM FISCHER was born in Budapest and attended the School of Music there, with further conducting and composition studies in Budapest and Vienna, with Hans Swarowsky. Awarded a joint first prize in the 1973 Milan Cantelli Competition, he then held posts at Graz Opera, Karlsruhe, and Freiburg, where he was General Music Director. His association with the Vienna State Opera began that year. Between 1987 and 1992, Fischer was Music Director of Kassel Opera, and in July 1989 he presented and conducted the first Gustav Mahler Festival (of which he is founder and Artistic Director) in Kassel. He conducts many productions for the Zurich Opera, with such international stars as Thomas Hampson, Edita Gruberova, and Cecilia Bartoli. Fischer has conducted many orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, L'orchestre de Paris, the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Royal Philharmonic, the Danish Radio Symphony, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, and the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra. In 1987, Fischer founded the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Festival and Orchestra in Eisenstadt, Austria; he is currently Music Director of the Orchestra.

Pianist GARRICK OHLSSON is known for his interpretations of the music of Chopin and is also noted for his performances of the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. Born in White Plains, New York, Ohlsson won first prizes at the 1966 Busoni Competition in Italy and the 1968 Montreal Piano Competition, and his 1970 gold medal at Warsaw's Chopin Competition brought him international recognition. He has since performed with most of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. His extensive discography includes recordings of Beethoven's Pathetique, Moonlight, and Waldstein sonatas, the complete solo works of Chopin, Tchaikovsky's Concerto No. 1, Rachmaninov's Concerto No. 2 with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the complete Chopin etudes, all on the Arabesque label.

MARTIN CHALIFOUR began his tenure as Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic with the 1995/96 season. He made his first solo appearances with the Orchestra in the Stravinsky Violin concerto, conducted by Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, in April 1996 at the Music Center. Before coming to Los Angeles, Chalifour joined the Cleveland Orchestra in 1990 as Associate Concertmaster and later held the position of Acting Concertmaster for two seasons. He previously served as Associate Concertmaster and Acting Concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Chalifour appears frequently as a soloist and in recital, and he has toured with chamber ensembles throughout North America and Europe. He has been a concerto soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, the Montreal and Quebec Symphony Orchestras, L'orchestre du Capitole in Toulouse, and the Ohio Chamber Orchestra. He regularly performs in a number of summer music festivals including San Diego's Mainly Mozart Festival and Florida's Sarasota Music Festival. Born in Montreal, Canada, Chalifour graduated at the age of 18 with a unanimous First Prize from the Montreal Conservatory, and he is also a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

Tuesday, September 4, 8:00 p.m.

HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

ADAM FISCHER, conductor

GARRICK OHLSSON, piano

Rossini: Overture to Semiramide

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36

Backbeat Live, a pre-concert discussion with Steven Baur, takes place one hour prior to performance in the Patio

Tuesday, September 4, 8:00 p.m.

HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

ADAM FISCHER, conductor

MARTIN CHALIFOUR, violin

Khachaturian: Violin Concerto in D minor

Mahler: Symphony No. 1

Backbeat Live, a pre-concert discussion with Allen Gross, takes place one hour prior to performance in the Patio

September 4 generously sponsored by Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts

September 6 generously sponsored by United

Media support for both concerts provided by K-Mozart 105.1 FM

Tickets ($1-75) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations) or online at www.hollywoodbowl.com. Groups of 10 or more can receive a 20% discount on single ticket prices; call 323/850-2050 for details. For general information or to request a brochure, please call 323/850-2000.