LA Chamber Orchestra's All-Digital “Bach's Brandenburg 5” with Jeffrey Kahane

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) continues its all-digital 2020-21 season, LACO: Close Quarters, with “Bach's Brandenburg 5” featuring Music Director Jaime Martín on flute, Assistant Concertmaster Tereza Stanislav on violin and Conductor Laureate Jeffrey Kahane on fortepiano. Available on demand beginning on Friday, December 18, 2020, 6:30 pm (PT), the digital program also features Debussy’s Syrinx, a work for solo flute performed by Martín, and compelling visual elements directed by groundbreaking director/designer/artist James Darrah, LACO 2020-21 Creative Director of Digital Content, including a new artwork by Iranian American artist Ardeshir Tabrizi. According the Los Angeles Times, Tabrizi’s works, “feel as if they do not inhabit the present so much as they are haunted by a past that has all but vanished and a future that will never be more than a fantasy.” Thanks to the generosity of individual donors, the program is available to the public at no cost and can be streamed at LACO.org/laco-at-home, and on LACO’s YouTube channel and Facebook live.

Although Brandenburg Concerto No. 5’s keyboard part is typically played on harpsichord, Kahane chose the fortepiano as his ideal instrument to perform the work. Predecessor of the modern piano, the fortepiano was developed by Italian harpsichord maker Bortolomeo Christofori in the early 18th century. Although it resembles a harpsichord in appearance, its inner workings could not be more different, given that its strings are struck by hammers.

According to Martín, “As we perform Bach’s magnificent Brandenburg 5, it is a joy to again share the stage with Jeffrey Kahane, the brilliant pianist and my predecessor who was the longest serving music director in LACO's history.”

“Ardeshir Tabrizi’s painting, titled "Muš?uššu," was made especially for this LACO: Close Quarters,” says Darrah. “Viewers will have an exclusive, unique look as, inspired by the music, he creates this piece to the performance of the Bach Brandenburg. Made of silk thread, cotton floss and pearlescent acrylic ink on canvas, it is among the most outstanding of his multi-layered works and adds a rich texture to the program.”

LACO: Close Quarters “digitally native” programs, created specifically for streaming, are each between 30 and 40 minutes in length and are filmed at The Colburn School’s Olive Rehearsal Hall. Additionally, Darrah has established a creative hub for developing artistic media content with L.A.-based artists and filmmakers at a first-of-its-kind LACO digital studio at Wilhardt & Naud, a film studio and multidisciplinary arts campus located in Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles. The artists, inspired by the Orchestra’s musical programming, will create works in a variety of mediums that will factor into the broadcasts and endure long after the season concludes. LACO Close Quarters builds upon the highly successful LACO SummerFest series, the Orchestra’s first foray into streaming that concluded in September and featured five digital chamber music concerts that have attracted nearly 140,000 views to date.

Subsequent LACO Close Quarters episodes premiere on Fridays, January 1, 15 and 29, February 12 and 26, March 12 and 26, April 9 and 23, May 7 and 21, and June 4, 2021, at 6:30 pm (PT).

“Bach’s Brandenburg 5” is sponsored by Ned Dana Newman. Tereza Stanislav is sponsored by Hilda Herrera Adler. Additional support for Jaime Martín and Jeffrey Kahane comes from Dr. Hervey and Doris Segall.

LACO recognizes the generous support of the Colburn Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Steinway is the official piano of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. The Orchestra also receives public funding via grants from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. James Darrah at LACO is generously underwritten by Ruth Eliel and Bill Cooney. LACO: Close Quarters series sponsors include Evelyn & Stephen Block, Anna Rosicka & Al Evans, Anne & Jeffrey Grausam, Diane Henderson, Gary Larsen, and Anne-Marie & Alex Spataru. To support LACO, its stellar artists and digital programming, please visit LACO.org/donate or call (213) 622-7001, EXT. 4.

The broadcasts will be available on demand at laco.org/laco-at-home, LACO’s YouTube channel and Facebook live.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), led by Music Director Jaime Martín, ranks among the world’s top musical ensembles. Beloved by audiences and praised by critics, LACO is a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and, with eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, a champion of contemporary composers. Headquartered in the heart of the country's cultural capital, LACO has been proclaimed “America’s finest chamber orchestra” (Public Radio International), “LA’s most unintimidating chamber music experience” (Los Angeles magazine), “resplendent” (Los Angeles Times), and “one of the world's great chamber orchestras"(KUSC Classical FM). Martín, who builds upon LACO's rich legacy, made his first appearance as LACO's Music Director Designate in early 2019 in a concert described by the Los Angeles Times, as "a thrilling performance, and the orchestra played like it was having the time of its life," adding, "he will make fans very quickly." Overseas, he has been praised as "a visionary conductor, discerning and meticulous" (Platea Magazine), and London's The Telegraph said, "his infectious enjoyment of the music communicated to the orchestra and audience alike.” Performing throughout greater Los Angeles, the Orchestra presents orchestral, Baroque and chamber concerts as well as salon evenings in private spaces and unique experiences that explore classical music's cutting-edge sounds. The Orchestra has made 32 recordings, including, most recently, a 2019 BIS Records release of works for violin and chamber orchestra that features Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and the world premiere recording of Pierre Jalbert’s Violin Concerto (a LACO co-commission). LACO, with offices located in downtown Los Angeles, has toured Europe, South America and Japan, and performed across North America.