RE - Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra



DOWNLOAD PHOTO HERE: CAPTION: James Arkatov,?founder of the?Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra?PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of the Arkatov FamilyPRESS CONTACTS: Libby Huebner, 562 799 6055, pr@Laura Stegman, 310 470 6321, pr@LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA FOUNDER JAMES ARKATOV DIES AT AGE 98(July 17, 1920 – May 11, 2019)Los Angeles, CA – May 15, 2019 – James Arkatov, who founded Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) in 1968, immeasurably enriching both the classical music world and the city’s cultural life, has died. The distinguished cellist, businessman and photographer was 98. A former principal cellist with the Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and San Francisco symphonies, Arkatov served as LACO’s first principal cello and performed as a soloist during LACO’s inaugural season.Then as now, LACO offered a different and transformative musical experience. Headquartered in the heart of the country's cultural capital, LACO has since 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). 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. 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. “It will be a strange feeling to look across the audience at Royce Hall and no longer see Jim Arkatov basking in the music,” said LACO Executive Director Scott Harrison. “From his original seats at dining room tables drawing up plans for LACO and on stage in the principal cello chair, to his current subscription seat in row P, Jim has always been an integral part of LACO, never wavering in his belief in the unique value the Orchestra brings to the Los Angeles musical community and the classical music world. He was also the rare founder who gained strength in collaboration and who eagerly welcomed new voices and new faces into leadership roles as the Orchestra imagined its future. He has left our city with a great artistic legacy and a great example of how to build and sustain an arts organization.”Arkatov, born in Russia on July 17, 1920, moved around Europe with his family before they settled in San Francisco when he was 5 years old. He began playing the cello at age 9, emerging as a child prodigy. During this time, he formed a string quartet with his close friend and fellow Russian immigrant, violinist Isaac Stern. This collaboration sparked in Arkatov a life-long love of chamber music.After moving to Los Angeles, Arkatov was the principal cellist with the NBC Orchestra on recording sessions for film scores and popular music, working with such legendary film composers as Bernard Herrmann, Miklós Rózsa and Elmer Bernstein. His playing can also be heard on such pop recordings as Ella Fitzgerald’s Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gershwin Song Books, Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours and Prince’s Parade, which was the soundtrack for his film Under the Cherry Moon.In a recent press interview, Arkatov explained that even though recording work kept the city’s top musicians gainfully employed in 1968, LACO evolved out of a desire and passion to create an ensemble with the virtuosity and flexibility to perform a range of orchestral and chamber music repertoire, since no such group existed in Los Angeles at the time. Asked about the Orchestra’s enduring success, Arkatov said, “I think that’s fairly simple. We are a quality organization, and they have good people running it. The programs they give are outstanding and the public seems to be very happy with the programs they get. So the organization has grown in quality and numbers. It feels very good. I’m very proud of all that they have accomplished in their first 50 years. I wish them a long and adventurous future.”Last year, on April 14, 2018, LACO honored Arkatov and the families of others involved in its early history, including first board president Joseph Troy, philanthropist Richard D. Colburn and first Music Director Sir Neville Marriner, at “The Golden Gala,” the Orchestra’s highly-successful fundraiser celebrating LACO’s 50th anniversary season and its distinguished roots. More than 400 guests attended the historic concert at the Mark Taper Forum, the theatre where LACO began its journey more than five decades ago, followed by a dinner and after-party at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Arkatov and his wife, UCLA emerita piano faculty member and prominent documentarian Salome Arkatov, served as Honorary Gala Chairs along with Carol Colburn Grigor, Lady Molly Marriner and Brigitta B. Troy. In addition to his musical career, Arkatov published two highly acclaimed photographic books, “Masters of Music” and “Artists: The Creative Personality.” His photographs are featured in permanent exhibits at the Colburn School and Cedars-Sinai and UCLA hospitals, and as part of the archived collections at the Smithsonian and UCLA and USC libraries.Arkatov is survived by his wife, Salome, children, Janice (Barry McGrath) and Alan (Mary Leslie), and grandchildren, Daniel, Jacob and Michael. Details for a public celebration in the fall in conjunction with Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra will be announced at a later date. His family requests that those wishing to honor Arkatov’s legacy do so by contributing to Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra to support the virtuosity of LACO’s musicians.# # #05/16/19 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download