Opening Concert of Piatigorsky Festival

The concert presents seven distinguished international artists appearing in an evening of diverse cello concertos. “Coming Together” is an underlying theme of this festival. Indeed, the opening concert features a Festival Orchestra led by the principal players of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra partnered with some of the finest students from the USC Thornton School of Music and The Colburn School.

Led by the conductor Hugh Wolff, who began his conducting career as an assistant and protégé of the great Russian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, the Festival Orchestra will accompany six leading international cellists in a wide-ranging evening of concertos, including Antonio Lysy and Peter Stumpf performing Vivaldi’s Double Concerto, Jian Wang performing Haydn’s Concerto in D Major, Narek Hakhnazaryan performing Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Thomas Demenga and Sayaka Selina performing the American premiere of Thomas Demenga’s Double Concerto, and Jean-Guihen Queyras performing Haydn’s Concerto in C Major.