Mälkki Conducts Bartók

Why it is worth going

Susanna Mälkki became the LA Phil's Principal Guest Conductor in 2017, the third to hold the post and the first woman, and this is her return to the orchestra.¹ The second half is Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, about 36 minutes, a piece that gives every section of the orchestra its own solo turn; Mälkki has recorded Bartók's orchestral works with the Helsinki Philharmonic.¹ The first half opens with the US premiere of Superorganisms by the Czech composer Miroslav Srnka, an LA Phil commission, and continues with Martinů's Oboe Concerto played by the orchestra's new Principal Oboe, Ryan Roberts.¹ Each performance runs about two to two and a half hours with a 20-minute interval, and a free pre-concert talk in the auditorium starts at 9:45am on Friday and 1pm on Sunday.¹²