Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Guest Conducted by Matthias Pintscher, Features Mahler

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) features prolific composer/conductor Matthias Pintscher leading his own work, Transir for Flute & Orchestra, with noted flutist Henrik Heide, on Saturday, March 2, 8 pm, at the Alex Theatre, and Sunday, March 3, 2019, 7 pm, at Royce Hall. The program also features three-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and acclaimed tenor Sean Panikkar in Mahler's transcendent Das Lied von der Erde (Song of the Earth), set to seven ancient Chinese poems and orchestrated by Glen Cortese. Pintscher, Music Director of Paris’ Ensemble Intercontemporain, the world's leading contemporary music ensemble founded by Pierre Boulez, will serve as the 2020 Music Director of the Ojai Music Festival. DeYoung appears frequently with many of the world's leading orchestras; Panikkar, an American of Sri Lankan heritage, recently starred in Philip Glass’s most recent opera, Satyagraha; and Heide, Associate Principal Flutist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, has appeared as soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and New World Symphony, among others. In additional to conducting this program, Pintscher curates the Orchestra’s SESSION event on Thursday, February 28, at Mack Sennett Studios, in which DeYoung makes a rare appearance in so intimate a setting.

Pintscher, who made his LACO debut in 2016, is one of the most prominent composers of our time and has an extraordinarily active conducting career. In addition to his role with Ensemble Intercontemporain, he is Principal Conductor of the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra and Artist-in-Association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Heralded “for making the creative process behind music come to life” (Ottawa Citizen), Pintscher has created significant works for the world’s leading orchestras. He joined the composition faculty at The Juilliard School in 2014.

DeYoung, hailed for a voice that is “sheer magic” (Dallas Morning News), has established herself as one of the most exciting artists of her generation. She appears frequently with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Met Orchestra (in Carnegie Hall), the Met Chamber Ensemble, Vienna Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper Orchestra, Berliner Staatskapelle, Sao Paulo Symphony, and the Concertgebouworkest. She has also appeared in the prestigious festivals of Ravinia, Tanglewood, Aspen, Cincinnati, Saito Kinen, Edinburgh, Salzburg, St Denis, and Lucerne.

Panikkar continues “to position himself as one of the stars of his generation… His voice is unassailable—firm, sturdy and clear, and he employs it with maximum dramatic versatility” (Opera News). Just recently, he made his debuts in the lead role of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha at Los Angeles Opera conducted by Grant Gershon and at the Salzburg Festival in a new production of Henze’s The Bassarids conducted by Kent Nagano. Additionally, he returns to the Festival d’Aix en Provence for a new production of Weill’s Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny directed by Ivo van Hove and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Heide, an avid chamber musician, has “as rich and full a tone as you’re likely to ever hear on the flute” (South Florida Classical Review). He has performed with Cincinnati’s concert:nova, as well as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players and spent three summers as a Tanglewood Music Center fellow, including one as the only flutist in the festival’s resident contemporary music ensemble, the New Fromm Players. He has also participated in numerous festivals, including the Spoleto Festival USA, Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan), Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, National Repertory Orchestra and the Kent/Blossom Music Festival. An advocate for contemporary music, Heide gave the world premiere of Sean Friar’s Two Solitudes for flute, viola and harp, commissioned by Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony. He also played principal flute in the world premiere of Elliott Carter’s Three Explorations with Juilliard’s AXIOM ensemble at Alice Tully Hall. 

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) ranks among the world’s top musical ensembles. Beloved by audiences and praised by critics, the Orchestra is known as a champion of contemporary composers, with eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, as well as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks. 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). 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. LACO's long history of educational outreach encompasses programs integral to its mission of nurturing future musicians and composers as well as inspiring a love of classical music. Jaime Martín, praised as "a visionary conductor, discerning and meticulous" (Platea Magazine), is LACO’s Music Director Designate and takes the podium as Music Director in the 2019-20 season.

Steinway is the official piano of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Concert Preludes, pre-concert talks held one hour before curtain and free for ticket holders, provide insights into the program's music and artists.

Tickets for concerts at Alex Theatre and Royce Hall start at $28 and may be purchased online at laco.org or by calling LACO at 213 622 7001 x1. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and groups of 12 or more. Students with valid student ID may purchase discounted tickets ($8), based on availability.