March 2012
26 posts
February 2012
26 posts
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Today is Gioachino Rossini's 55th Birthday!!
The Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) who is most famous for his operas Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), Guillaume Tell (William Tell) and La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) would be celebrating his 55th birthday if he we alive today because it is leap day. The so-called “The Italian Mozart” was extremely popular in his time but his music is also very...
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U.S. PREMIERE INSPIRED BY TOSCANINI
This week’s concerts also feature Michael Daugherty’s “Radio City,” which was commissioned by Pacific Symphony and MITO Settembre Musica Festival of Music. It is inspired by Toscanini, who at the height of his career was exiled from Italy for refusing to become part of Mussolini’s Fascist regime. Daugherty explores his arrival to the “Brave New World” of America, his reminiscence on...
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“Toscanini was the teacher of Dr. Walter Ducloux, one of my important conducting...”
– Carl St.Clair
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SISTER WHO??
The Gospel According to Sister Aimee (2012) for organ, brass and percussion was commissioned by Pacific Symphony, Music Director Carl St.Clair and the San Diego State University School of Music and Dance (SDSU) for its 75th anniversary celebration and the SDSU Wind Symphony, Shannon Kitelinger, conductor. The world premiere by Pacific Symphony takes place on Feb. 23, with Paul Jacobs, organ...
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STRING THING
The 2011-12 season—dubbed the “Year of the Violin”—has featured three key Romantic violin concertos: Mendelssohn’s (premiered in 1845), Bruch’s (1868), and concludes with Tchaikovsky’s (1878), played by Gluzman on the 1690 “ex-Leopold Auer” Stradivarius, for which he declares: “Words cannot describe how wonderful this instrument is. When I first picked up this violin and notes emanated from my...
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INVIGORATING VIRTUOSITY AND SERENE BEAUTY
Passion, premieres and the pursuit of perfection entwine as Pacific Symphony welcomes remarkable Israeli virtuoso Vadim Gluzman for Tchaikovsky’s heartrending Violin Concerto. Gluzman, “one of the world’s top violinists” according to The Morning Call, delivers the rich beauty, graceful lyricism and show-stopping cadenzas of the concerto on the 1680 “ex-Leopold Auer” Stradivarius, the same...
“Ultimately, it was a red-blooded, heartfelt rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Violin...”
– New Jersey Star-Ledger
“In his letters, Tchaikovsky talks about how the sun begins to shine again as he...”
– Carl St.Clair
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The Universal Appeal of Adagio for Strings
Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings is one of the most popular 20th-century orchestral works, but its charm is not limited to classical enthusiasts. It can be heard in films, TV shows, video games and dance clubs as well as the soundtrack for public memorials. It is often cited as one of the saddest pieces of music and its appeal seems to be universal.
Initially the second movement of the...
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Radio personality Alan Chapman gives a concert...
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Compose Yourself — A Creative Workshop for...
Have you ever thought about composing your own music, or just want to know more about composition? Our new “Compose Yourself” workshop might be just for you! Prior musical training, while welcomed, is not necessary. Hurry and sign up on our website at www.PacificSymphony.org/ComposeYourself. The first session starts Monday, Feb. 13 from 7-9 p.m.
Join professional composer Jonathan Beard,...
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Star Wars Invades Pacific Symphony
Members of the Rebel Legion and the 501st Legion invaded the lobby of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall for our Symphony in Space Family Concert on February 4, 2012.
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2012-13 Classical Season Announced!
Music Director Carl St.Clair and Pacific Symphony announce 2012-13 Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation Classical Season and special events
Highlights include some of classical music’s top talent: pianists André Watts, Lang Lang and Conrad Tao; cellist Alisa Weilerstein, violinists James Ehnes and Tianwa Yang; organist Paul Jacobs; and guest conductors Alexander Shelley, Garry...
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And The Audience Favorite of Joachim's Four German...
Well, it depends on which night you ask, but Beethoven was the overall winner, though Mendelssohn won on his 203rd birthday Friday night.
During our February 2-4, 2012 performances of Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor with violinist Nicola Benedetti and guest conductor conductor Christoph König, Pacific Symphony Associate Concertmaster Paul Manaster was in the lobby playing excerpts...
“(Nicola) showed herself to be a serious performer rather than a flashy one. Her...”
– OC Register
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Vote For Your Favorite of Joachim's "Four German...
Join us on February 2-4, 2012 for a performance by Nicola Benedetti of Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor with Pacific Symphony, led by conductor Christoph König. Stop by early in the lobby where Associate Concertmaster Paul Manaster will be playing excerpts from Joseph Joachim’s four German violin concertos and then vote for your favorite. Results will be posted on this tumblr...
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Joseph Joachim and “The Four German Violin...
“The Germans have four violin concertos. The greatest, most uncompromising is Beethoven’s. The one by Brahms vies with it in seriousness. The richest, the most seductive, was written by Max Bruch. But the most inward, the heart’s jewel, is Mendelssohn’s.”
-Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim (1831–1907) was one of the most important 19th century violin virtuosos. At...
