11 minute read
Winter/Spring 2022 Season Performances
Feel the joy of classical masterpieces
The 2022 Winter/Spring Season
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Join us for Dvořák and Rachmaninoff at the Civic Theatre. Or Vivaldi and Piazzolla at The Village Church in Rancho Santa Fe. Or Mozart at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla.
San Diego Symphony Orchestra Rafael Payare
Andrew Hayhurst
Edo de Waart Conducts Copland and Dvořák
Edo de Waart
Simone Lamsma
Sat Jan 15 8:00 PM San Diego Civic Theatre Sun Jan 16 2:00 PM San Diego Civic Theatre
Edo de Waart, conductor Simone Lamsma, violin
Copland: Suite from Appalachian Spring (full orchestra version) Korngold: Violin Concerto in D Major Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G Major
Principal Guest Conductor Edo de Waart leads the Orchestra in a richly varied program beginning with Copland’s legendary portrait of rural America, Appalachian Spring. The exquisitely talented Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma plays Korngold’s Hollywoodinspired Violin Concerto and, to finish, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 sends us out filled with optimism and a love of the countryside and the natural world.
Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique
George Li
Fri Jan 28 8:00 PM San Diego Civic Theatre Sat Jan 29 2:00 PM San Diego Civic Theatre
Rafael Payare, conductor George Li, piano
Still: DarkerAmerica
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
Music Director Rafael Payare and the Orchestra bring us two evergreen popular favorites: Hector Berlioz’s astonishingly daring Symphonie fantastique, an early romantic epic of unrequited love and passion; and before it, the great Russian composer Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, in which they are joined by the American pianist George Li. The program opens with American music—William Grant Still’s 1924 tone poem of grief, hope and prayer, intended, as the composer wrote, to be “representative of the American Negro and suggest the triumph of a people over their sorrows...”
Christopher Dragon Thurs Feb 3 7:30 PM The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, La Jolla Fri Feb 4 7:30 PM The Village Church Rancho Santa Fe Sat Feb 5 2:00 PM Southwestern College Chula Vista Sun Feb 6 2:00 PM The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, La Jolla
Christopher Dragon, conductor Elena Urioste, violin
Osvaldo Golijov: Last Round Vivaldi: Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) Piazzolla: Las cuatro estaciones porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)
This program will be presented without intermission.
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is adored for its extremely catchy tunes and for its vivid depiction of early eighteenthcentury Italian life through the year. Several hundred years later, the great Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla wrote his own version as an ode to Buenos Aires infused with melodic yearning and tango rhythms. Conductor Christopher Dragon leads the Orchestra and is joined by the young American violinist Elena Urioste for an evening of music in which different worlds reach out to one another.
Payare Leads Tchaikovsky Mozart and Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ Violin Concerto
Rafael Payare Jeff Thayer
Pacho Flores Rafael Payare
Sat Feb 26 8:00 PM San Diego Civic Theatre
Rafael Payare, conductor Pacho Flores, trumpet
Andrew Norman: Drip Blip Sparkle Spin Glint Glide Glow Float Flop Chop Pop Shatter Splash Neruda: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major Paquito D’Rivera: Concerto venezolano for Trumpet and Orchestra – U.S. premiere; SDSO co-commission Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor
From the terror of its opening brass fanfare through to the wild delirium of its ending, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony takes us on a journey of unstoppable drama, filled with aching melodies, thundering climaxes and the psychological torments of a hero struggling with implacable fate. Trumpeter Pacho Flores stars in the U.S. premiere of a new concerto by Paquito D’Rivera, a jazzy tribute to the Venezuelan people by the Cuban-born composer. Sat March 5 8:00 PM The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, La Jolla Sun March 6 2:00 PM The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, La Jolla Sun March 6 7:00 PM The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, La Jolla
Rafael Payare, conductor Jeff Thayer, violin
Schnittke: Moz-Art à la Haydn Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Violin Concerto No. 9 in G Major Mozart: Serenade No. 10 in B-flat Major Gran partita
A concert in honor and celebration of the playfulness and depth of the “classical music” of the late eighteenth century. In the first half, concertmaster Jeff Thayer joins Music Director Rafael Payare and the strings of the orchestra for a violin concerto by the Black French composer, the Chevalier de SaintGeorges (a contemporary of Mozart). In the second half, the wind instruments of the orchestra give us Mozart’s glorious Gran Partita. This was the music, in the film Amadeus, which made Salieri exclaim: “It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God.” 6
Wed March 16 7:30 PM California Center for the Arts Concert Hall, Escondido Fri March 18 7:30 PM The Village Church Rancho Santa Fe
Jonathon Heyward, conductor Yeol Eum Son, piano
Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major
A rising star among young American conductors, Jonathon Heyward leads the Orchestra in Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9. Written in 1945 at the end of World War II, this symphony was expected by the Soviet authorities to be a loud and noisy public celebration; when the composer created instead this lovely work of lightness, delicacy, charm and personal sorrow, he was roundly criticized. South Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son, well known for her interpretations of Mozart, makes her San Diego debut with one of that master’s greatest concertos.
Yeol Eum Son Jonathon Heyward
Ankush Kumar Bahl
Jeremy Kurtz-Harris
Ankush Kumar Bahl – Photo by Scott Suchman WINTER/SPRING SEASON 2022 Wed Apr 20 7:30 PM California Center for the Arts Concert Hall, Escondido Thurs Apr 21 7:30 PM Joan B. Kroc Theatre La Mesa Sat Apr 23 2:00 PM PHAME Performing Arts Center, Del Cerro
Ankush Kumar Bahl, conductor Jeremy Kurtz-Harris, double bass
Andrés Martín: Double Bass Concerto No. 1
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A Major, “Italian” Other works to be announced
Conductor Ankush Kumar Bahl takes us on a musical voyage to the immortal land “where the lemon-trees bloom, and the gold orange glows...” in Mendelssohn’s “Italian” symphony, inspired by his year-long trip to that country in 1830. Principal bass Jeremy Kurtz-Harris performs music by Tijuana-based composer Andrés Martín, whose concerto draws on the rhythms of tango from his native Argentina.
Edo de Waart, Oliverson and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Scheherazade
Aubree Oliverson
Gabriela Martinez
Edo de Waart
Wed Apr 27 7:30 PM California Center for the Arts Concert Hall, Escondido Thurs Apr 28 7:30 PM Poway Center for the Performing Arts, Poway Fri Apr 29 7:30 PM The Village Church Rancho Santa Fe
Edo de Waart, conductor Aubree Oliverson, violin
Haydn: Symphony No. 93 in D Major Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor
Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D Major, “Prague”
Rising-star violinist Aubree Oliverson plays Mendelssohn’s astonishing masterpiece, one of the best-loved violin concertos of all time, with its heart-tugging melodies and virtuoso fireworks. Edo de Waart leads the Orchestra in Mozart’s dark and dramatic “Prague” symphony, and the concert begins with Haydn’s Symphony No. 93, the first of the set of 12 that he created for London audiences at the end of his career.
Tianyi Lu
Fri May 6 7:00 PM The Rady Shell at Jacobs ParkTM Sat May 7 5:00 PM The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
Tianyi Lu, conductor Gabriela Martinez, piano
Salina Fisher: Tupaia Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Grieg’s world-famous piano concerto will feature the acclaimed Gabriela Martinez (“compelling, elegant, and incisive” – New York Times). Making her San Diego Symphony debut, conductor Tianyi Lu leads the orchestra in Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic showpiece based on the ancient stories of the Arabian Nights, including the voyages of Sinbad the Sailor; and voyages, oceanic and celestial, are explored in Tupaia, by New Zealand composer Salina Fisher.
Yefim Bronfman
Jahja Ling Sat May 14 5:00 PM The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park Sun May 15 5:00 PM The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
Jahja Ling, conductor Yefim Bronfman, piano Tasha Koontz, soprano
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite (Selections compiled by J. Ling) Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor
Conductor Laureate Jahja Ling leads the Norwegian composer’s unforgettable incidental score written to accompany the first performance of the magical fairy-tale play, Peer Gynt, by Grieg’s friend and contemporary Henrik Ibsen. Brahms’ vast and tragic Piano Concerto No. 1, composed as a memorial to his beloved friend the composer Robert Schumann, is showcased by one of the greatest exponents of this music in our time, Yefim Bronfman.
Rafael Payare
Alisa Weilerstein
Veronika Eberle
Sat May 21 5:00 PM The Rady Shell at Jacobs ParkTM Sun May 22 5:00 PM The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
Rafael Payare, conductor Veronika Eberle, violin
Esa-Pekka Salonen: Nyx Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major Ravel: Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé Debussy: La mer (“The Sea”)
Rafael Payare leads the Orchestra in a program that begins with Esa-Pekka Salonen’s virtuosic symphonic poem, Nyx. The quiet and intimate lyricism of Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1, written in the middle of the Russian Revolution, is brought to life by German violinist Veronika Eberle. Two contrasted masterpieces by the greatest French composers of the early twentieth century, Debussy and Ravel, show the San Diego Symphony Orchestra at its most brilliant and virtuosic.
Rafael Payare
Fri May 27 7:00 PM The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park Sat May 28 5:00 PM The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
Rafael Payare, conductor Alisa Weilerstein, cello Felicia Moore, soprano Ronnita Miller, mezzo-soprano Mario Chang, tenor Peixin Chen, bass San Diego Master Chorale
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Choral
Join Rafael Payare for an unmissable season finale as he leads what is probably the most iconic and powerful work in all of classical music: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. From the dramatic tension of its opening pages to its glorious choral finale setting Schiller’s defiant political poem “Ode to Joy,” this is a symphony that draws us all together to celebrate and embrace our common humanity. The concert opens with superstar cellist Alisa Weilerstein in Elgar’s Cello Concerto, the English composer’s impassioned lament for the catastrophe of the First World War.
Chamber Music Series 1 Chamber Music Series Spanish Guitar, Italian Guitar Chamber Music Series 2 Jazz-Latin-Classical Fusion
Jason Vieaux – Photo by Tyler Boye Jason Vieaux
Tues Jan 11 7:30 PM The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, La Jolla
Jason Vieaux, guitar Members of San Diego Symphony Orchestra
Pasculli: Homage to Bellini for English Horn and Piano Verdi: String Quartet in E minor Music for solo guitar by J.S. Bach, Albéniz, D. Scarlatti and Tárrega Boccherini: Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D Major, Fandango
Pacho Flores
Tues March 1 7:30 PM The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, La Jolla
Pacho Flores , trumpet Members of San Diego Symphony Orchestra
Music for solo trumpet by Paquito D’Rivera, Efrain Oscher, Pacho Flores and others Paquito D’Rivera: Aires tropicales Martinů: Suite from La revue de cuisine (Jazz-Ballet)
Wu Man and Folk Traditions Brahms Piano Quintet
Wu Man Benjamin Hochman
Wed March 30 7:30 PM The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center La Jolla
Wu Man, pipa (Chinese lute) Members of San Diego Symphony Orchestra
Price: Five Folksongs in Counterpoint for string quartet Ross Edwards: Four Inscapes, quintet for flute, pipa, percussion, violin and cello Traditional Chinese music for solo pipa Other works to be announced
“Wu Man holds history in her hands. Master of the pipa— an ancient four-stringed instrument—the Chinese composer oscillates between intense, grandiose playing and delicate silk-like sounds. Wu Man’s music commands full attention; every note should be savored and admired.” – NPR MUSIC Sun May 1 2:00 PM The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center La Jolla
Benjamin Hochman, piano Members of San Diego Symphony Orchestra
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F Minor Other works to be announced
”Mr. Hochman, whose career as a pianist has been thriving, took time off recently to study conducting. It was time well spent. The stylistic insight, elegance and sparkle of Mr. Hochman’s pianism are beautifully matched by the playing of the orchestra.“ — The New York Times
