Andriessen: Theatre of the World Los Angeles Philharmonic & Reinbert de Leeuw

• Louis Andriessen (1939):
• 1 Theatre of the World: Scene 1 11:11
• 2 Theatre of the World: Scene 2 09:40
• 3 Theatre of the World: Scene 3 11:47
• 4 Theatre of the World: Scene 4 10:32
• 5 Theatre of the World: Scene 5 07:29
• 6 Theatre of the World: Scene 6 12:15
• 7 Theatre of the World: Scene 7 06:30
• 8 Theatre of the World: Scene 8 09:33
• 9 Theatre of the World: Scene 9 14:42
• 10 Theatre of the World: Epilog 06:50
• Total Runtime 01:40:29

Info zu Andriessen: Theatre of the World

Nonesuch releases Louis Andriessen's "grotesque stagework" Theatre of the World—recorded live during the Los Angeles Philharmonic's 2016 world premiere performances with conductor Reinbert de Leeuw and director Pierre Audi—on September 29, 2017. The nine-scene multi-media work, which was commissioned by the Philharmonic with generous support from the Lenore S. and Bernard A. Greenberg Fund, features a libretto by Helmut Krausser. Theatre of the World is a far-ranging exploration of the German Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher (1601–1680). Kircher, the author of thirty books, "made a determined effort to summarize all of contemporary knowledge, and link it to Christian theology," according to John Henken's program note. The Los Angeles Times says: "Brilliant and deep, Andriessen's music compels from start to finish." Theatre of the World, Andriessen's eighth Nonesuch recording is available now.

Leigh Melrose performs the role of Kircher; Lindsay Kesselman is a boy who leads Kircher and his patron, Pope Innocenzo XI (sung by Marcel Beekman), on a journey. Steven van Watermeulen is Janssonius, Kircher's Amsterdam publisher; Mattijs van de Woerd is Carnifex, the hangman; and Cristina Zavalloni is Sor Juana. The Los Angeles Times calls her "ravenously ecstatic … the real vocal soul of the opera."

Louis Andriessen, according to London's Guardian, is "not only the leading Dutch composer of our time, but one of the most important figures in European music in the last half century, whose influence has spread far beyond that of his own works." His music has explored politics, time, velocity, matter, and mortality in five works for large ensemble: De Staat (Nonesuch, 1991), De Tijd (Nonesuch, 1993), De Snelheid, De Materie (Nonesuch, 1996), and Trilogy of the Last Day. In addition to Theatre of the World, his stage works include the La Commedia (Nonesuch, 2014), Writing to Vermeer (Nonesuch, 2006), and Rosa: The Death of a Composer (Nonesuch, 2000), as well as the monodrama Anaïs Nin. Nonesuch also released an album with his De Stijl and M is for Man, Music, Mozart in 1994. Andriessen's recent awards include the Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music, the Caecilia Prize, and the Grawemeyer Award.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, presents an inspiring array of music from all genres—orchestral, chamber, and Baroque music, organ and celebrity recitals, new music, jazz, world music and pop—at two of L.A.'s iconic venues, Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. The LA Phil's season at Walt Disney Concert Hall extends from September through May, and throughout the summer at the Hollywood Bowl. With the preeminent Los Angeles Philharmonic at the foundation of its offerings, the LA Phil aims to enrich and transform lives through music, with a robust mix of artistic, education, and community programs.

Los Angeles Philharmonic
Reinbert de Leeuw, conductor

Reinbert de Leeuw
In the field of Modern and Contemporary music, Reinbert de Leeuw is widely know and a highly respected musician. Born in Amsterdam, Reinbert de Leeuw's musical activities cover a wide field: Conductor, composer and pianist. Since 1974 he has been conductor and music director of the Schönberg Ensemble. He is also author of a book on Charles Ives and a book with musical essays and has collaborated on 8 film documentary series of twentieth-century composers such as Messiaen, Ligeti, Gubaidulina, Vivier, Górecki shown on dutch television and which have won international acclaim.

Reinbert de Leeuw regularly conducts Holland's foremost orchestras and ensembles, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New Sinfonietta Amsterdam, Residentie Orchestra The Hague and ensembles such as the Netherlands Chamber Choir, the ASKO and the Netherlands Wind ensembles and the orchestras of the Dutch Radio. He has toured and performed in festivals world wide. He was guest artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival (1992) and was artistic director of the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music (1994-1998) . In the 1995-96 season he was the centre point of the 'Carte Blanche' series in the Concertgebouw Amster­dam. He is involved in the organization of the series 'Contemporaries' at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

He is a regular guest in most European countries (France, Germany (Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) , England, Belgium) and the United States (Tanglewood Festival, New World Symphony, Lincoln Center Chamber Music Group New York, Aspen and the St. Paul’s Chamber Orchestra in Minneapolis, and lectures at the Juilliard School of Music in New York), Japan and Australia where he has served as artistic advisor for the contemporary music series of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra from 2000 up to 2004. During that period he has conducted several concerts in Sydney and the Brisbane Festival. Reinbert de Leeuw has been co-founder and from 2001-2010 artistic director of the Summer Academy, the international orchestra and ensemble academy of the National Youth Orchestra of The Netherlands.

Reinbert de Leeuw has been involved in various opera productions at the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam . Some of the productions he conducted were productions were Strawinsky (a.o. The Rake’s progress), Andriessen (Rosa, a Horse drama. Writing to Vermeer) Ligeti (Le Grand Macabre), Vivier (Rêves d’un Marco Polo) and Rob Zuiddam’s opera ‘Rage d‘Amours’ , the world premiere of Louis Andriessen’s opera « La Commedia » Rob Zuidams Adam in Exile and Wagemans' »Legende «. His most recent production has been Andriessen’s Theatre of the World, which was performed in both Los Angeles and Amsterdam in 2016.

His recordings as a pianist have won many prizes, including the Dutch Edison, the Premio della critica discografica Italiana, the Grand Prix of the Hungarian Liszt Society and the Diapason D'Or, as well as the Edison Oeuvre Prize in 2008. Some 30 recordings as a conductor have been brought out by Philips, teldec, DGG, Electra Nonesuch, Ovidis Montaigne and cover a wide range of repertoire by Messiaen, Strawinsky, Janacek, Liszt, Gubaidulina, Oestvolskaya, Schönberg, Webern, Vivier, Andriessen and Reich. In July 2006, the Schönberg Ensemble brought out a CD/DVD box documenting 30 years of their concerts and recordings on 25 CD’s and DVD’s, most of which are conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw. (Schönberg Ensemble Edition “A century of music in perspective”).

Reinbert de Leeuw has received the Sikkens Award (1991) and the prestigious '3M' prize (1992) and in 1994 was made Honorary Doctor at the University of Utrecht and is Professor at the University of Leiden. In 2008, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, he was made a Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. He received an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Leuven in 2016 to honor his unabated effort to involve a wider audience in music of the 20th and 21st century.

Among his acclaimed arrangements and compositions are ”Im Wunderschönen Monat Mai”, a cycle based on songs by Schubert and Schumann, performed with actress-singer Barbara Sukowa and more recently his work for Large Orchestra “The Nightly Wanderer” Which had it’s worldpremiere in 2014 in Amsterdam, and which premiered in the U.K. in 2016 during the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall. The USA premiere will be taking place in April 2017 with the New World Symphony, Miami.

Los Angeles Philharmonic
under the vibrant leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, presents an inspiring array of music, through a commitment to foundational works and adventurous explorations. Both at home and abroad, the Philharmonic – recognized as one of the world’s outstanding orchestras – is leading the way in ground-breaking programming, both on stage and in the community, offering a diverse range of programs that reflect the orchestra’s artistry and demonstrate its vision. 2017/18 marks the orchestra’s 99th season.

More than 250 concerts are either performed or presented by the LA Phil at its two iconic venues: the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. These presentations represent a breadth and depth unrivaled by other orchestras or cultural institutions.

During its winter season with approximately 165 performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LA Phil creates festivals, artist residencies, and other thematic programs designed to enhance the symphonic music experience and delve further into certain artists’ or composers’ work. The organization’s commitment to the music of our time is also evident throughout the season programming, as well as in the exhilarating Green Umbrella series and the LA Phil’s extensive commissioning initiatives.

In 2016, the LA Phil presented the world premiere of Louis Andriessen’s Theatre of the World conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw with an ambitious multimedia component from the Quay Brothers. The 2015/16 season concluded with a festival featuring the music of Mozart and Arvo Pärt juxtaposed in multiple programs. The 2016/17 season began with Noon to Midnight, a day of pop-up performances from LA Phil musicians and some of L.A.’s most exciting new music ensembles. The day featured 12 world premieres commissioned by the LA Phil, including four world premieres performed by a John Adams-led LA Phil New Music Group. Other early highlights of the 16/17 season included performances of Haydn’s The Creation, Handel’s Messiah and Adams’ El Niño.

Since 2003, the LA Phil’s winter home has been the inimitable Walt Disney Concert Hall. Praise for both the design and the acoustics of Walt Disney Concert Hall has been effusive, and the building embodies the energy, imagination, and creative spirit of the city of Los Angeles and its orchestra. As Time magazine noted, “With its curvaceous exterior and acoustically adroit interior, Gehry’s building bestowed on the city an important architectural landmark and proved that L.A. residents actually do go to the symphony,” while The Washington Post stated, “At last this orchestra has a hall worthy of its stature.”

Since its official opening in 1922, the Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the Hollywood Bowl plays host to the finest artists from all genres of music. In February 2017, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the thirteenth year in a row at the 28th Annual Pollstar Awards. For millions of music lovers across Southern California, the Hollywood Bowl is synonymous with summer.

The orchestra’s involvement with Los Angeles extends far beyond symphony concerts in a concert hall, with performances in schools, churches, and neighborhood centers of a vastly diverse community. Among its wide-ranging education initiatives is Youth Orchestra LA (YOLA). Inspired by Venezuela’s revolutionary El Sistema – the LA Phil and its community partners provide free instruments, intensive music training, and leadership training to nearly 800 students from underserved neighborhoods, empowering them through multi-year engagement to be college-ready and on a path to becoming vital citizens, leaders, and agents of change. The LA Phil extends its reach nationwide through the LA Phil’s innovative initiative Take a Stand. In 2016, the LA Phil and Take a Stand partners launched the National Take a Stand Festival – a series of week-long youth orchestra camps with students from programs like YOLA across the country.

The orchestra also undertakes tours, both domestically and internationally, including regular visits with partners in New York, Paris, and Tokyo, among others. The Philharmonic has been an International Associate at London’s Barbican Centre since 2009. The orchestra’s very first tour was in 1921, and the Philharmonic has made annual tours beginning with the 1969/70 season. Most recently, Dudamel and the LA Phil toured the west coast of the United States in Fall 2016, performing in Costa Mesa, San Francisco, Davis, and Seattle.

Always inspired to expand its cultural offerings, the LA Phil each season produces concerts featuring distinguished artists in recital, jazz, world music, songbook, and visiting orchestra performances, in addition to special holiday concerts and series of chamber music, organ recitals, and Baroque music.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic continues to broaden its audience by broadcasting concerts on radio and television. Thirteen concerts from the 2016/17 season will be broadcast in partnership with Classical KUSC and the WFMT Radio Network, with six also being broadcast on American Public Media. The 2015/16 series was nationally broadcast in 206 markets and reached over 4.1 million listeners.

The orchestra has a substantial catalog of concerts available online, including the first full-length classical music video released on iTunes. This year, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen were nominated for a Grammy for Best Classical Compendium for their live recording of Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels. In 2015, the Los Angeles Philharmonic introduced the VAN Beethoven mobile experience and the Orchestra VR app, which utilized Oculus virtual reality headset technology to transport users into a 360˚ 3-D performance of music from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Rhapsody in Blue: Opening Night Concert and Gala was telecast as part of the PBS performing arts series Great Performances and garnered a 2012 Emmy nomination. In 2011, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel won a Grammy for Best Orchestral Performance for their recording of the Brahms Symphony No. 4. In 1974, the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta won an Academy Award for “The Bolero,” a 30-minute short subject featuring Maurice Ravel’s famous orchestral work.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic was founded by William Andrews Clark, Jr., a millionaire and amateur musician, who established the city’s first permanent symphony orchestra in 1919. Walter Henry Rothwell became its first Music Director, serving until 1927; since then, ten renowned conductors have served in that capacity: Georg Schnéevoigt (1927-1929); Artur Rodzinski (1929-1933); Otto Klemperer (1933-1939); Alfred Wallenstein (1943-1956); Eduard van Beinum (1956-1959); Zubin Mehta (1962-1978); Carlo Maria Giulini (1978-1984); André Previn (1985-1989); Esa-Pekka Salonen (1992-2009); and Gustavo Dudamel (2009-present).

Booklet für Andriessen: Theatre of the World