As we enter the New Year, I would like to thank all of you for your continued support, and on behalf of the Philharmonic Society, we wish you a prosperous and music-filled year!
2011 marks the 200th birthday anniversary of beloved composer Franz Liszt. As extensive as his compositions were, it was the piano that gave him his opportunity for greatness. Therefore, the Society is pleased to present the LISZT BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.
The celebration begins with a lecture by musicologist and Liszt biographer Dr. Alan Walker entitled “Liszt and the Keyboard.” Part of the What Makes Music Beautiful? lecture series, Dr. Walker will discuss the piano music of Liszt. (Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 7pm at Irvine Barclay Theatre). Tickets are $36 and include wine tasting.
The celebration concludes with a full performance of Liszt’s most monumental work—Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage)—performed by French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie, who, you might recall, dazzled us with the complete Chopin Etudes last season. The piece will be played over the course of two concerts (Sunday, January 23, 2011, 3pm and 7pm, at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts). Part of the Donna L. Kendall Classical Series, the 3pm concert program will feature Première année: Suisse (First Year: Switzerland) and Troisième année (Third Year) movements 1-4, and the 7pm concert program will feature Troisième année (Third Year) movements 5-7, and Deuxième année: Italie (Second Year: Italy). Tickets for each concert start at $30.
Inspired by my recent trip to the Glyndebourne Festival in England, where attendees had the opportunity to dine between long intervals during performances, we introduce a special dinner offer available for all Louis Lortie concert-goers. Enjoy a “perfectly-timed,” pre-paid three-course dinner between the 3pm and 7pm concerts with one of our partner restaurants. Participating restaurants include AnQi by Crustacean, Charlie Palmer, and Leatherby’s Café Rouge. Packages include dinner, a beverage of choice, tax and gratuity, and free shuttle transportation to and from the restaurants. Menus can be found under our "Current News" section.
If you have already purchased your tickets for this concert and would like to take advantage of the special dinner offer, please visit www.PhilharmonicSociety.org/Dining, or call the Philharmonic Society box office at (949) 553-2422 to order your dinner package. Concert tickets are also available for purchase at our box office.
We hope that you will take advantage of this special dinner offer and we look forward to seeing you at the lecture and performance!
