On July 28, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will present the West Coast premiere of Wynton Marsalis’ first violin concerto, performed by Nicola Benedetti and conducted by Cristian Măcelaru. The performance, which will take place at 8 p.m. at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, will also include two works by Copland-An Outdoor Overture and “Symphony No. 3.”
Pulling from the extensive history of the violin concerto, Marsalis’ work was written specifically for Benedetti and incorporates, according to a press release, “a slow movement inspired by an African-American spiritual, and explores Benedetti and Marsalis’ own musical heritage in Scottish folk and American jazz music respectively.”
Co-commissioned by Ravinia, the LA Phil, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra, the concerto made its world premiere in London last November.
Măcelaru, the winner of the 2014 Solti Conducting Award, is the conductor-in-residence at the Philadelphia Orchestra, and has received acclaim for his three-year stint as a conductor on subscription of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted for the symphony orchestras of St. Louis, San Diego, Milwaukee, Colorado, Detroit and Vancouver, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra.
A two-time winner of Classical BRIT’s Best Female Artist of the Year, Benedetti became the first solo violinist since the ’90s to reach the Top 20 of the official U.K. Albums chart with her 2014 album Homecoming: A Scottish Fantasy. In 2013, she became an appointed member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE).
For more information on performances and to purchase tickets, visit hollywoodbowl.com or call (323) 850-2000.
