FROM THE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
PHOTO CREDIT: LAUREN RADACK
DEAR FRIENDS, November is a month during which we are focused on giving thanks. Thanksgiving is our American holiday celebrating a bountiful and abundant harvest and sharing it with others. Recently I was privileged to travel to New York to celebrate two distinguished honors being given to our very own generous and sharing philanthropists, Joan and Irwin Jacobs. Of course the San Diego Symphony is only one of the many institutions they support throughout the U.S. and internationally. The gift that they made on January 14, 2002, remains the largest gift ever given to an orchestra, and their annual generosity continues to this day. On October 15th Joan and Irwin were awarded the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy created by Andrew Carnegie. Just four days later, on October 19th, the Americans for the Arts awarded Joan and Irwin Jacobs a National Arts Award for Philanthropy in the Arts. What most impresses me is that the gifts of Joan and Irwin to so many institutions that they care for, made so that the organizations can thrive, are in large part making a difference right here in their own home city, San Diego. They are wise stewards of our institution, offering counsel and advice; and they firmly believe that the orchestra belongs to this community, not to any individual, regardless of the size of their financial contribution. Martha Gilmer, Chief Executive Officer
This idea of giving during one’s lifetime, to the level of our individual ability, is something that honors the work of all recipients, and especially for us, our musicians. At the same time, it sets the example of philanthropy for the next generation, making manifest the ideal of being able to share our blessings with those who can benefit. Joan and Irwin spoke eloquently about their desire to give so generously to so many institutions. Irwin talked about their recent support of our Downtown San Diego Library, expressing early skepticism about why, in a digital age, we would need a library to house physical books. After much thought and exploration, Joan and Irwin came to the conclusion that libraries are a place where people gather, enjoying literature and coming together to share the joy of the written word. The same can be said about concert halls. In this new era of easy accessibility to recorded music, why do we need our concert halls? The answer is the same. As human beings we need and desire the opportunity to come together to experience our art form. Concert halls allow us to experience this act of creation with others in “real time.” The San Diego Symphony is grateful to all individuals, corporations and foundations that support our institution. Over 65% of our operating costs are funded annually through the generosity of others. As you reflect on your musical experiences with the San Diego Symphony, we ask you to consider making an end-of-year gift to support our many programs that reach audiences in San Diego through vibrant concerts in the Jacobs Music Center; in San Diego County performing spaces; at our outdoor venue at the Embarcadero; and in schools, community centers and libraries. Whatever the size of your gift, our thanks is abundant and heartfelt. You will be part of touching lives through live music. Through your giving you honor our city, its citizens and our musicians.
Sincerely,
COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Compañia Flamenca José Porcel – Columbia Artists Management, Inc.
Martha Gilmer Chief Executive Officer
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WINTER SEASON NOVEMBER 2015
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P1
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
JAHJA LING, MUSIC DIRECTOR
MATTHEW GARBUTT
Principal Summer Pops Conductor
SAMEER PATEL
Assistant Conductor
VIOLIN Jeff Thayer Concertmaster DEBORAH
PATE AND JOHN FORREST CHAIR
Jisun Yang Acting Associate Concertmaster Wesley Precourt Acting Assistant Concertmaster Alexander Palamidis Principal II Jing Yan Acting Associate Principal II Nick Grant Principal Associate Concertmaster Emeritus Randall Brinton Yumi Cho Hernan Constantino Alicia Engley Pat Francis Kathryn Hatmaker Angela Homnick Mei Ching Huang ˆ Ai Nihira* Igor Pandurski Julia Pautz Susan Robboy Shigeko Sasaki Yeh Shen Anna Skálová Edmund Stein John Stubbs Pei-Chun Tsai Joan Zelickman VIOLA Chi-Yuan Chen Principal KAREN AND WARREN KESSLER CHAIR
Nancy Lochner Associate Principal Rebekah Campbell Wanda Law Qing Liang Caterina Longhi Thomas Morgan Adam Neeley* Ethan Pernela Dorothy Zeavin CELLO Yao Zhao Principal Chia-Ling Chien Associate Principal Marcia Bookstein Glen Campbell
Andrew Hayhurst Richard Levine Ronald Robboy Mary Oda Szanto Xian Zhuo
Tricia Skye Douglas Hall
BASS
John MacFerran Wilds Ray Nowak
Jeremy Kurtz-Harris ˆ Principal OPHIE AND ARTHUR BRODY S FOUNDATION CHAIR
Susan Wulff Acting Principal Samuel Hager Acting Associate Principal W. Gregory Berton ˆ P. J. Cinque Jory Herman Margaret Johnston+ Daniel Smith* Michael Wais Sayuri Yamamoto* FLUTE Rose Lombardo Principal Sarah Tuck Erica Peel PICCOLO Erica Peel OBOE Sarah Skuster Principal
TRUMPET Micah Wilkinson Principal
TROMBONE Kyle R. Covington Principal Logan Chopyk Richard Gordon+ Michael Priddy BASS TROMBONE Michael Priddy TUBA Matthew Garbutt Principal HARP Julie Smith Phillips Principal TIMPANI Ryan J. DiLisi Principal Andrew Watkins Assistant Principal PERCUSSION Gregory Cohen Principal
Harrison Linsey Andrea Overturf
Erin Douglas Dowrey Andrew Watkins
ENGLISH HORN Andrea Overturf
PIANO/CELESTE Mary Barranger
DR. WILLIAM AND EVELYN LAMDEN ENGLISH HORN CHAIR
CLARINET Sheryl Renk Principal
ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER Magdalena O’Neill ASSISTANT PERSONNEL MANAGER TBA
Theresa Tunnicliff Frank Renk
PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN Courtney Secoy Cohen
BASS CLARINET Frank Renk
LIBRARIAN Rachel Fields
BASSOON Valentin Martchev Principal Ryan Simmons Leyla Zamora CONTRABASSOON Leyla Zamora HORN Benjamin Jaber Principal Darby Hinshaw Assistant Principal & Utility
* Long Term Substitute Musician + Staff Opera Musician ˆ On leave All musicians are members of the American Federation of Musicians Local 325.
Financial support is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
Danielle Kuhlmann
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WINTER SEASON NOVEMBER 2015
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P5
NOVEMBER 20 & 22 DANCE RHYTHMS: MUSIC OF MEXICO, ARGENTINA, SPAIN JACOBS MASTERWORKS SERIES
FRIDAY November 20, 2015 – 8:00pm SUNDAY November 22, 2015 – 2:00pm conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto timpani Gabriela Jiménez soprano Mónica Abrego
Performance at The Jacobs Music Center’s Copley Symphony Hall
PROGRAM ALBERTO GINASTERA
Four Dances from Estancia, Op. 8a Los trabajadores agrícolas (The Land Workers) Danza del trigo (Wheat Dance) Los peones de hacienda (The Cattlemen) Danza final (Malambo—Final Dance)
GABRIELA ORTIZ
Concierto Voltaje for Timpani and Orchestra Quantum Mechanics Campo Magnético Dual Forces Gabriela Jiménez, percussion
INTERMISSION MANUEL DE FALLA
El sombrero de tres picos (Three-Cornered Hat) Introduction Part I: Afternoon Dance of the Miller's Wife (Fandango) The Grapes Part II: Dance of the Neighbors (Seguidillas) The Miller's Dance The Corregidor's Dance The Final Dance Mónica Abrego, soprano
The approximate running time for this program, including intermission, is one hour and fifty minutes.
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS
DANCE RHYTHMS – NOVEMBER 20 & 22
guitarist Pepe Romero, is testament to his achievements with the orchestra.
CARLOS MIGUEL PRIETO, CONDUCTOR
W
idely celebrated as a rising star in the US, Canada and his native Mexico, CAR LOS MIGUEL P R I ETO’s charismatic conducting, characterized by its dynamism and the expressivity of his interpretations, has led to major engagements and popular acclaim throughout North America and in Europe. In great demand as a guest conductor with many of the top North American orchestras, including Chicago, Cleveland, Seattle, Oregon, Toronto and Vancouver symphony orchestras, his relationships with orchestras in Europe, Latin America and the United Kingdom also continue to expand. Recognized as the leading Mexican conductor of his generation, Mr. Prieto has been the Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico (OSN), the country’s most important orchestra, since 2007. The following year he was appointed Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería (OSM), a hand-picked orchestra which performs a two month long series of summer programs in Mexico City. 2015-16 marks Prieto’s tenth season as Music Director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), where he has led the cultural renewal of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In May 2013 Prieto’s contract was unanimously extended to the 2018-19 season. The string of international soloists who now appear with the LPO, such as violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and
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Following summer 2015 performances with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería and with the YOA Orchestra of the Americas in its 2015 Pan-American Tour, Maestro Prieto’s 2015-16 season includes overseeing the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, including the orchestra’s triumphant return to its restored home, the Orpheum. Season highlights include debuts with the UK’s Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, France’s Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Germany’s Deutsche Radio Philharmonie and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra leading the U.S. premiere of Gabriela Ortiz’s Conciérto Voltaje for Timpani and Orchestra with timpanist Gabriela Jiménez. There will also be return engagements with Spain’s Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Canada’s Vancouver Symphony and the U.S.’s Kansas City Symphony. A staunch proponent of music education, Mr. Prieto has served as Music Director of the YOA Orchestra of the Americas, a worldclass symphony orchestra of 100 musical leaders, ages 18 to 30, representing 25 countries of the Western Hemisphere since 2011. He previously served as principal conductor of the organization from its inception in 2001. In early 2010 Mr. Prieto conducted the YOA alongside Valery Gergiev on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the World Economic Forum at Carnegie Hall. A naturally inquisitive musician of broad and varied interests, Prieto is renowned for championing Latin American music and has conducted over 50 world premieres of works by Mexican and American composers many of which were commissioned by him. Mr. Prieto has an extensive discography that covers labels including Naxos and Sony. Recent recordings include a highly acclaimed CD for Cedille featuring Carlos Chavez’s Piano Concerto with pianist Jorge Federico Osorio and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico; and two recordings with violinist Philippe Quint and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería: for Avantclassic a CD of works by Bruch, Beethoven and Mendelssohn, and for Naxos Korngold’s Violin Concerto, which received two Grammy® nominations. With the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería Prieto
released a 12-DVD set of live recordings of the complete Symphonies of Gustav Mahler as part of 35th Anniversary season. Also an accomplished violinist, Mr. Prieto has performed as soloist with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico and has participated in the music festivals of Aspen, Tanglewood, Interlochen, San Miguel Allende and Cervantino. Continuing a family tradition that reaches back four generations, he also has been a member of the Cuarteto Prieto, with which he has performed in the most important halls of Mexico, United States and throughout Europe. A graduate of Princeton and Harvard universities, Carlos Miguel Prieto studied conducting with Jorge Mester, Enrique Diemecke, Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo. n
G
A BR I E LA J I M É N E Z began her education at the Mexican National Music Conservatory and the Escuela de Perfeccionamiento Vida y Movimiento. In 1985 she was awarded Young Musician first prize by the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra. From 1986 to 1989 Ms. Jimenez was timpanist with the Orquesta Filarmónica del Bajio and taught at the University of Guanajuato; she also directed the Orquesta Filarmonica del Bajio Percussion Quartet. In 1989 she was given a Fulbright-Benito Juarez scholarship to study at Manhattan School of Music with Chris Lamb and Duncan Patton. While at Manhattan she won the solo competition (the first time that a percussionist had ever done so) and also the George Shick prize for musical excellence in the class of 1991. Ms. Jiménez was awarded a scholarship to the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and performed as timpanist and percussion under Bernstein, Ozawa, Previn, Foss, Knussen and Schuller. She has also played in the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra, Manhattan Percussion & Contemporary Ensemble, the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra and the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. In 2004 as a member of the World Peace Orchestra she toured Moscow and Saint Petersburg with Valeri Gergiev. Ms. Jimenez
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
WINTER SEASON NOVEMBER 2015
holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Hartford University and the Universidad Anahuac del Sur (Mexico City). Since 1981 Ms. Jiménez has been timpanist with the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria and the Mexican Soloist Chamber Orchestra. At the National School of Music and the Escuela de Perfeccionamiento Vida y Movimiento she teaches a wide variety of subjects ranging from timpani and percussion to music philosophy, acoustics, organology and percussion laboratory. Founder of Percusionarte she has ventured into jazz with AtrilV, recording works of Kupferman. A winner of FONCA project grants in 1994 and 1996, Ms. Jimenez was distinguished in 1998 with the Mozart Medal, a prize given by the Austrian government and the Domecq Cultural Institute. Ms. Jiménez has performed under the baton of Jorge Mester, Placido Domingo, Scott Yoo, Grzegorz Nowak, Zaeth Ritter, Jose Miramontes, Paul McCreesh, Antoni Ros-Marba, Carlos Spierer, David Gilbert, Kurt Masur, Sergio Cardenas, Valery Gergiev, Oliver Knussen, José Areán, Fernando Lozano, Eduardo Diazmuñóz, Jesús Medina and Carlos Miguel Prieto, just to mention a few, and also had the chance to perform with legendary conductors: Leonard Bernstein, Eduardo Mata, Lukas Foss, Luis Herrera de la Fuente, Jorge Velazco and Zaeth Ritter.
GABRIELA JIMÉNEZ, PERCUSSION
As a soloist Ms. Jiménez has performed with the Manhattan Philharmonia, Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (Mexico), Orquesta Sinfónica Carlos Chavez, Orquesta de Cámara Morelos, Orquesta Filarmonica de la UNAM, Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes, Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de Mëxico, Orquesta Sinfónica del Bajío, Orquesta Sinfónica de San Luis Potosi and Orquesta Sinfónica Sinaloa de Las Artes. Among Mexican and world premieres are: Concierto Voltaje para Timbales y Orquesta (dedicated to Gabriela Jiménez), Concierto Zocalo Tropical and Concierto Candela (all three works by Gabriela Ortiz) and David Noon's Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra. Her repertoire also includes Afterlight for Mixed Soloists and Orchestra by Carlos Sanchez, Sonata de los Solares by Valentín Ruiz Lopez, Creation by Tomas de Marco, Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra by Salil Shavded and Moonsticks, dedicated to Gabriela Jiménez by composer Mayer Kupferman. She has also performed Armand Russell's Concerto for Percussion and Chamber Orchestra; marimba concertos by Robert Kurka, Paul Creston, Jorge Sarmientos and Ney Rosauro; timpani concertos by William Kraft, Ricardo Risco, Ney Rosauro and Sigfried Matthus; xylophone concertos by Toshiro Mayuzumi and Alan Hovaness; and Philip Glass' Concerto for Two Timpani and Orchestra. Upcoming solo performances include Concierto Lando for Percussion and Orchestra by Douglas Tarnawiecki, The Big Top by Federico García Castells and a work entitled Tres Cuadros para Percusion y Orquesta by Jorge Ritter, dedicated to Gabriela Jiménez. n
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WINTER SEASON NOVEMBER 2015
ABOUT THE COMPOSERS Four Dances from Estancia, Op. 8a A LBE RTO G I NA STE R A Born April 11, 1916, Buenos Aires Died June 25, 1983, Geneva (Approx. 13 minutes)
A
lberto Ginastera achieved success at a very early age. His ballet Panambi, composed when he was twenty, brought him international attention, and in 1941 Lincoln Kirstein asked the young composer to write a score for his American Ballet Caravan, specifying only that it should have its setting in rural Argentina. Ginastera set to work immediately and completed the score for Estancia (“Cattle Ranch”) by the end of that year. Set in the countryside of the Argentinian ranchos, Estancia is full of gauchos and beautiful girls, and Ginastera incorporated the local folk-music idiom and dance rhythms into the score, which alternates evocative slow movements with blazing dances. The story is simple but timeless: a young gaucho meets a girl, but she is uninterested; only when he proves his skills as a horseman is she won over. The American Ballet Caravan disbanded before they could perform Estancia, and the ballet had to wait a decade for its premiere in August 1952 in Buenos Aires. But as soon as he had completed the ballet score, Ginastera drew a suite of four dances from it, and this suite – premiered by the orchestra of the Teatro Colón on May 12, 1943 – has always been one of his most popular works. Los trabajadores agricolas, a dance of the farm laborers, is full of pulsing energy that takes distinctive shape in a wild trumpet tune before driving to an energetic climax. Danza del trigo (“Wheat Dance”) is a wistful interlude: over pizzicato accompaniment, solo flute sings the evocative main theme, and the melodic line passes to the brass, the violins and finally to a solo violin before the quiet close. Los peones de haciendas is another workers’ dance, similar to the opening movement. This is red-blooded music, built on asymmetric phrases and full of the powerful sound of timpani, brass and lower strings. The Danza final has become the most famous part of Estancia. In the form of a malambo, it has been described as “a demonstration of masculinity” by the triumphant young gaucho. Ginastera begins with a shower of sparkling sounds, and soon the dance – built on very short phrases and rushing along above a busy accompaniment – gathers energy and begins to pick up speed. That energy continues without pause as this strident dance drives the suite to its fiery close. INTERESTING SIDELIGHT: In the fall of 1941, Aaron Copland made a goodwill tour of Latin America for the State Department, and in November of that
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ABOUT THE COMPOSERS
DANCE RHYTHMS – NOVEMBER 20 & 22 year in Buenos Aires he met the 25-yearold Ginastera, who had just completed the score to Estancia. Ginastera played the music through on the piano to Copland, who was very impressed. (The two would remain lifelong friends.) The following year, Copland composed one his most famous works, the ballet Rodeo, also set on a cattle ranch, full of characteristic frontier dances, and based on the boy-meets-girl plot. Rodeo was of course commissioned by Agnes de Mille, who suggested the idea of a cowboy ballet to Copland. Is it possible, though, that Rodeo had its real beginning in November of 1941, when Copland listened to a young Argentinian composer play through the score of his gaucho ballet on the piano? n
Concierto Voltaje for Timpani and Orchestra G A B R I EL A O RTI Z Born December 20, 1964, Mexico City (Approx. 23 minutes)
I
n October 1993 the Concierto Candela for Percussion and Orchestra by Gabriela Ortiz premiered at the XXI International Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato. 20 years later, the composer has written her Concierto Voltaje for Timpani and Orchestra, a work which can be seen as a kind of daughter to the Candela concerto, mainly because the new work takes up some elements of the previous one, though distilled through Ms. Ortiz’s subsequent years of experience in the field of composition for percussion. Concierto Voltaje is a reassessment and a re-reading of various ideas created by the composer in the Concierto Candela, but appearing here in a new light. Regarding the title of the new work, Gabriela Ortiz says that the concept of “voltage” does not necessarily refer to Electroacoustics (the musical field of another well-known composer), but rather reflects more on the energy with which the work moves and develops. Moreover, individual titles of the movements are related to the musical content of each and to the general assembly of the work. In the words of Gabriela Ortiz: “Quantum Mechanics is a kind of perpetual bicycle that begins with a brief solo timpani followed by an orchestral introduction (as in Candela) that opens onto the material,
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almost mechanical constant pulse, which generates all other ideas in the movement. For the contrasting slow and expressive movement of Campo Magnético (Magnetic Field), I needed something extra in terms of sound color to complement the specificity of the bell cymbals, so I added a set of eight tuned bells and bowls placed on timbales patches, producing a wide range of sounds. I also use here rattlesnake rattles on timbales. In this movement, the timpani are sometimes the instrument that pulls the orchestra to its noise level, and in others, the orchestra does the pulling; hence the title Campo Magnético. In the third movement, the title Dual Forces implies something more like a concerto grosso, with distinct episodes for solo timpani and orchestra, in the manner of alternating dialogue. While the first movement of the concerto is more of a steady pulse, the third is more thematic, and the interesting thing is that the timpani and the orchestra offer here two different readings of the same thematic material. I placed the cadenza of the concerto in the third movement; at this moment the cadenza is specifically written out, but I do not rule out freedom of improvisation (in the traditional manner) for the soloist!” Gabriela Ortiz also mentions that orchestration played an important role in the development of the Concierto Voltaje, particularly in the last movement. Moreover, because of the impracticality of using four mallets (two in each hand, as one would for the marimba) for solo timpani, she deferred to the traditional alternative of using only two mallets, but demanding enough agility from the soloist so that complex chords on the timbales could simultaneously be achieved. In working with the timpanist and percussionist Gabriela Jiménez (our soloist for these concerts, to whom the work is dedicated), Gabriela Ortiz further refined some of the instrumental aspects of the work, particularly the logistical placement of the drums, bells, bowls and rattlesnake rattles. Concierto Voltaje was commissioned from Gabriela Ortiz by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Mineria to celebrate the orchestra’s 35th anniversary. n CONCIERTO VOLTAJE PROGRAM NOTE PROVIDED BY COMPOSER
El sombrero de tres picos (Three-Cornered Hat) M A N U E L D E FA LLA Born November 23, 1876, Cadiz Died November 14, 1947, Alta Grazia, Argentina (Approx. 38 minutes) In 1916 the great Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev approached Spanish composer Manuel de Falla with a proposal. Diaghilev had just heard Falla’s haunting Nights in the Gardens of Spain and suggested using it as the basis for a new ballet by the Ballets Russes, then presenting a season in Madrid. But Falla had a different suggestion: he wanted to write a new work based on Pedro de Alarcón’s novel El corregidor y la molinera – “The Magistrate [or governor or mayor] and the Miller’s Wife.” Diaghilev agreed to let Falla try this idea out as a pantomime, and Falla composed a score for small orchestra, which was produced in Madrid in April 1917. Diaghilev liked the pantomime, but suggested some revision for its use as a ballet, including new scenes and an expanded orchestra. The result was the ballet El sombrero de tres picos (“The Three-Cornered Hat”), first produced in London on July 22, 1919. That premiere brought a spectacular collaboration: Diaghilev oversaw the production, Leonid Massine designed the choreography and danced the part of the miller, while Tamara Karsavina danced the part of his wife; Pablo Picasso painted the decor, and Ernst Ansermet conducted the orchestra. It was a great success then, and it has remained one of Falla’s most popular works. The reasons for that popularity are not hard to discover. El sombrero de tres picos breathes the warm atmosphere of Andalusia, it tells a tale of young lovers, flirtations and intrigue, and after all the escapades (comic and otherwise) everything works out very satisfactorily. The plot revolves around three main characters: the handsome miller, his beautiful young wife, and a Corregidor who schemes to seduce the wife. Falla depicts each of these characters with distinctive music and surrounds them with colorful townspeople who share in the excitement of the intrigues and who eventually celebrate the happy ending. The present performances are unusual because they offer Falla’s score to the complete
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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ABOUT THE COMPOSERS
DANCE RHYTHMS – NOVEMBER 20 & 22
ballet rather than just the customary two orchestral suites he drew from it. Listeners will hear many unfamiliar sequences as well as two brief soprano solos that are not part of those suites. SYNOPSIS: The ballet divides into two parts, but even before the first part Falla offers an Introduction that bursts to life on a salvo of timpani and a stirring trumpet solo that calls matters to order. Twice in the ballet a distant solo soprano will sing briefly, both times with matrimonial warnings. Now, over the sound of clicking castanets, she warns: “Little wife, bolt your door, for even if the devil is asleep he can awaken when least expected.” Part I begins as whirring strings draw us into the Afternoon, which depicts a relaxed moment in a village in the sultry Andalusian countryside of southern Spain. (In the original production, this introduction also gave the audience a chance to admire Picasso’s curtain before it was raised.) We are quickly introduced to the miller and his wife, who are passionately in love but prone to jealousies and flirtations with others. A dandy (solo flute) enters, followed by a grand procession and the arrival of the Corregidor on a droll little solo for bassoon. This magistrate quickly develops an eye for the miller’s wife. The
Dance of the Miller’s Wife, which shows her in all her beauty and sexual energy, takes the form of a fandango, a dance of accelerating tempo. The Corregidor is now very interested, and The Grapes is the music that accompanies the miller’s wife as she tempts him with a bunch of grapes, always leading him on and always staying just out of reach of his kisses. The Corregidor stumbles and falls, the miller returns and drives off him off, and the miller and his wife resume her dance. Part II is set that same evening, which is also St. John’s Night. The Neighbors’ Dance is a seguidilla, a dance of Andalusian origin, and those neighbors gather at the miller’s house on this warm summer evening to drink and dance. The miller enters, and now comes one of the most famous moments in the ballet. The Miller’s Dance is a farucca, an ancient dance of gypsy origin. This one is full of rhythmic energy, and the miller dances it to demonstrate his strength and masculinity to his wife. It opens with solos for French and English horns, but then the music turns rough on the sound of gritty ponticello strings. Full of hard-edged strength, this dance grows more forceful as it proceeds, finishing with a great flourish of energy. Meanwhile, the Corregidor has plotted to remove the miller so as to clear
his path to the wife: his aides show up, arrest the miller and take him away. Left alone in the quiet night, the miller’s wife hears a distant song as the soprano offers another warning: “Through the night the cuckoo sings, warning husbands to fix the bolts firmly, for the devil is awake!” The Corregidor enters, but his plans go badly awry: The Corregidor’s Dance depicts his falling into a stream, collapsing with fear, and spreading his clothes out to dry. Meanwhile, the miller has escaped, and now he returns, finds the Corregidor’s clothes, and suspects the worst. He puts on those clothes and departs. The Corregidor’s aides show up, find the magistrate in borrowed clothes of his own, and arrest him, thinking him the miller. The miller and his wife sort out their jealousies and are reconciled, and the townspeople gather to celebrate. This Final Dance is a jota, a lively dance from northern Spain, often accompanied by guitar and castanets. Here it is danced to celebrate the humiliation of the Corregidor, who is tossed in a blanket. Falla draws themes from the Dance of the Miller’s Wife in the first scene and drives the ballet to its close in a blaze of energy. n PROGRAM NOTES BY ERIC BROMBERGER
PERFORMANCE HISTORY
by Dr. Melvin G. Goldzband, SDSO Archivist The Four Dances from Ginastera's ballet Estancia were first performed by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Zoltan Rozsnyai during the 1968-69 season, and were repeated under Charles Ketcham during the summer season of 1975. Their most recent performance here was under the leadership of guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero during the 2002-03 season. Music from de Falla's great Spanish ballet, El sombrero de tres picos, has been played with relative frequency by this orchestra, but never before this program has the entire ballet score been presented. (Perhaps in this audience there may be fortunate listeners, aside from myself, who attended its performance by the brilliant Spanish National Ballet at the Civic Theatre here during that hall's 1965-66 opening season.) Most often, though, the Second Suite of three dances from the ballet, prepared by the composer, was the choice of 15 conductors leading this orchestra in that music, beginning with Earl Bernard Murray, in the 1960-61 season. Most recently, Jahja Ling led that music in the 2014-15 season, and it was repeated during the just-completed Summer Pops 2015 season, when Matthew Garbutt led it. Concierto Voltaje, by Gabriela Ortiz, is being given its United States premiere at these concerts, and these performances mark the first time that any music by this composer has been played by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. n
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SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
PATRON INFORMATION TICKET OFFICE HOURS Jacobs Music Center Ticket Office (750 B Street) Monday through Friday, 10 am to 6 pm Concert Tuesdays through Fridays: 10 am through intermission Concert Weekends: 12 noon through intermission
be allowed into the concert hall. They must be held by an adult and may not occupy a seat, unless they have a ticket.
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UNUSED TICKETS Please turn in unused subscription tickets for resale to the Ticket Office or by mailing them to 1245 7th Ave., San Diego, CA 92101 (Attn: Ticket Office). Tickets must be turned in anytime up to 24 hours in advance of your concert. A receipt will be mailed acknowledging your tax-deductible contribution.
TICKET EXCHANGE POLICY • Aficionado subscribers may exchange into most Winter series concerts for free! All exchanges are based on ticket availability. • Traditional subscribers receive the best available seats and may exchange to another performance within their series for free. Build Your Own subscribers and Non-subscribers can do the same, with a $5 exchange fee per ticket. • Exchanged tickets must be returned to the Ticket Office 24 hours prior to the concert by one of the following ways: In person, by mail (1245 Seventh Ave., San Diego, CA 92101, Attn: Ticket Office) or by fax (619.231.3848). LOST TICKETS San Diego Symphony concert tickets can be reprinted at the Ticket Office with proper ID. GROUP SALES Discount tickets for groups are available for both subscription and non-subscription concerts (excluding outside events). For further information, please call 619.615.3941. YOUNGER AUDIENCES POLICY Jacobs Masterworks, Classical Specials, and Chamber Music: No children under five years of age will be allowed into the concert hall. Children five and older must have a ticket and be able to sit in an unaccompanied seat. City Lights, Jazz @ The Jacobs, International Passport, Fox Theatre Film Series: No children under the age of two years will be allowed into the concert hall. Children two and older must have a ticket and be able to sit in a seat. Family Festival Concerts: Children three years and older must have a ticket and be able to sit in a seat. Babies and children two years old and younger who are accompanied by a parent will
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GIFT CERTIFICATES Gift certificates may be purchased in any amount at the Jacobs Music Center Ticket Office in person, online, by phone, or by mail. They never expire!
Large-Print Programs: Large-print program notes are available for patrons at all Jacobs Masterworks concerts. Copies may be obtained from an usher. PUBLIC RESTROOMS AND TELEPHONES Restrooms are located on the north and south ends of the upper lobby, and the north end of the lower lobby. An ADA compliant restroom is located on each floor. Please ask an usher for assistance at any time. Patrons may contact the nearest usher to facilitate any emergency telephone calls. COUGH DROPS Complimentary cough suppressants are available to symphony patrons. Please ask our house staff for assistance.
QUIET ZONE Please turn all cellular and paging devices to the vibrate or off position upon entry into Symphony Hall. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated by fellow concertgoers and performers.
LOST & FOUND Report all lost and/or found items to your nearest usher. If you have discovered that you misplaced something after your departure from Jacobs Music Center, call the Facilities Department at 619.615.3909.
RECORDING DEVICES No unauthorized cameras or recording devices of any other kind are allowed inside the concert hall. Cell phone photography is not permitted.
PRE-CONCERT TALKS Patrons holding tickets to our Jacobs Masterworks Series concerts are invited to come early for “What’s The Score?” preperformance conversations beginning 45 minutes prior to all Jacobs Masterworks programs (Fridays and Saturdays, 7:15 pm; Sundays, 1:15 pm).
SMOKING POLICY Smoking is not permitted in Jacobs Music Center, its lobbies or the adjoining Symphony Towers lobby. Ashtrays can be found outside the building on both 7th Avenue and B Street. ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND REFRESHMENTS Alcoholic beverages are available for sale in Jacobs Music Center lobbies before the concert and during intermission. Please have valid identification available and please drink responsibly. Refreshment bars offering snacks and beverages are located on both upper and lower lobbies for most events. Food and beverages are not allowed in performance chamber for concerts. LATE SEATING Latecomers will be seated at an appropriate interval in the concert as determined by the house manager. We ask that you remain in your ticketed seat until the concert has concluded. Should special circumstances exist or arise, please contact the nearest usher for assistance. SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS Seating: ADA seating for both transfer and non-transfer wheelchairs, as well as restrooms, are available at each performance. Please notify the Ticket Office in advance at 619.235.0804, so that an usher may assist you. Assistive Listening Devices: A limited number of hearing enhancement devices are available at no cost. Please ask an usher for assistance.
HALL TOURS Free tours of the Jacobs Music Center are given each month of the winter season. Check the “Jacobs Music Center” section of the website, or call 619.615.3955 for more details. No reservations are necessary.
JACOBS MUSIC CENTER TICKET OFFICE 750 B Street (NE Corner of 7th and B, Downtown San Diego) San Diego, CA 92101 Phone: 619.235.0804 Fax: 619.231.3848 SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ADMINISTRATION OFFICE 1245 7th Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 Phone: 619.235.0800 Fax: 619.235.0005
Our Website: SanDiegoSymphony.com
Contact us to receive mailed or e-mailed updates about Orchestra events. All artists, programs and dates are subject to change.
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
WINTER SEASON NOVEMBER 2015