Performances Magazine San Diego | San Diego Symphony, October 2024

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A Celebration of Music ON THE DANUBE

Experience the rich musical heritage of the “Blue Danube” with an array of included excursions on AmaWaterways’ Celebration of Music river cruises. Walk in the footsteps of renowned composers during guided tours in Budapest and Bratislava. Visit the historic Mozart residence in charming Salzburg and find inspiration during an evening of live music at one of Vienna’s elegant venues.

Contact your travel advisor or scan the QR code for dates and details.

P1 Program

Cast, performances, who’s who, director’s notes, donors and more.

6 In the Wings

Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help at North Coast Rep; The Importance of Being Earnest at Lamb’s Players Theatre; October concerts at Jacobs Music Center; San Diego Food + Wine Festival; and more.

12 Spotlight on World Design Capital 2024

A look inside San Diego and Tijuana’s dual designation as the World Design Capital 2024, distinguishing both as design-driven destinations.

17 Travel

The best recent films of Japan—Godzilla Minus One, Perfects Days and The Boy and the Heron—inspire a fascinating tour of Tokyo.

32 Parting Thought

Performances’ new program platform for shows and concerts can be accessed from any digital device

PUBLISHER

Jeff Levy

EDITOR

Sarah Daoust

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Carol Wakano

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Christine Noriega-Roessler

BUSINESS MANAGER

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MARKETING/ PRODUCTION MANAGER

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Audrey Duncan Welch

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Lorenzo Dela Rama

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MATTHEW NEAL

MUST-SEE LOCAL SHOWS

BROADWAY SAN DIEGO brings us two dynamic productions in October at the San Diego Civic Theatre: Kimberly Akimbo, winner of five Tony Awards, including “Best Musical,” Oct. 8-13; and SpiderMan Across the SpiderVerse, Live in Concert, Oct. 22-24. And save the date for the “hell-raising journey to the underworld and back” that is the Broadway smash and Tony- and Grammy-winning musical, Hadestown, which visits Nov. 8-10. Anaïs Mitchell’s haunting yet hopeful theatrical experience is performed by an electric ensemble cast of actors, singers and dancers. broadwaysd.com North Coast Rep in Solana Beach presents the San Diego premiere of Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Oct. 23-Nov. 17. The heartwarming comedy by Katie Forgette takes us back to the 1970s and inside the working-class family home of the O’Shea clan. northcoastrep.org At Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado, Oscar Wilde’s comic masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, runs through Nov. 10. In this witty farce, two men assume the identity of a fictional man named Ernest, leading them to both fall in love. Shenanigans and hilarity ensue. lambsplayers.org

From left: Michael Louis Cusimano, Brian Mackey and Lauren King Thompson in The Importance of Being Earnest; the North American tour of Broadway’s Hadestown

L-R: NATHAN PEIRSON; T. CHARLES ERICKSON

Clockwise from far left: pianist Emanuel Ax; violinist Sergey Khachatryan; violinist Paul Huang; a scene from Giacomo Puccini’s timeless opera, La Bohème, which San Diego Opera presents at the San Diego Civic Theatre, Nov. 1-3.

SYMPHONY & OPERA HIGH NOTES

IT’S A NEW era for the San Diego Symphony, which ushers in its 2024-25 season at its newly renovated concert hall: Jacobs Music Center. It’s set to host the popular Jacobs Masterworks Series and much more. October concerts include “The Romantic Lyricism of Schoenberg and Brahms,” featuring violinist Sergey Khachatryan,

Oct. 12-13; “Where We Lay Our Scene: A San Diego Symphony and Romeo and Juliet,” with pianist Emanuel Ax and other special guests, Oct. 18-20; and “Romantic Fates: Tchaikovsky’s Towering Fifth,” with violinist Paul Huang, Oct. 25-26. sandiegosymphony.org

Marking six decades of operatic excellence, the San Diego Opera

celebrates its 60th anniversary season by delivering three mainstage productions, accompanied by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, at the Civic Theatre. The season opens with Puccini’s opera La Bohème, Nov. 1-3, taking us to 19th-century Paris, where a poor seamstress in declining health falls in love with a poet. sdopera.org

Movie Magic

THE CITY ROLLS out the red carpet for the San Diego International Film Festival, Oct. 16-20—showcasing more than 70 features, documentaries and short films by independent filmmakers across the globe. Presented by the San Diego Film Foundation, the festival marks its 23rd anniversary—“celebrating the power of film” with curated submissions from 3,200 filmmakers from 85 countries. The event lineup includes the Opening Night film premiere and reception at MOPA@ SDMA, Oct. 16; Night of the Stars Tribute at The Conrad, honoring some of the film industry’s more accomplished actors, directors and filmmakers, Oct. 17; film screenings at the AMC Theatres at Westfield UTC, Oct. 17-20; and Culinary Cinema on Oct. 20. sdfilmfest.com

WINE BY THE BAY

CALLING ALL FOODIES and oenophiles. Considered one of the premier culinary events in the U.S., the San Diego Food + Wine Festival returns Nov. 2-10, marking its 20th anniversary with a refreshed look and expanded programming. The event series (which tweaked its name from San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival) has partnered with the James Beard Foundation and Food Tank this year to present experiences countywide that spotlight Latin, Asian and BIPOC culinary influences—with 175-plus chefs, vintners and industry leaders; plus 800 wines and spirits. Popular events like the Grand Fiesta (including the spirited Taco TKO competition) at Liberty Station’s Ingram Plaza and the Grand Tasting along the bayfront return; joined by new happenings like the Food Tank Summit, Friends of James Beard Foundation Opening Night & Grand Decant, Baja Culinary Expedition, and Culinary Cinema. sandiegowineclassic.com

SPECIAL EVENT

San Diego Food + Wine Festival’s Grand Decant; Andy Garcia.

World Design Capital 2024

SAN DIEGO AND TIJUANA SPOTLIGHTED AS A CULTURE-RICH, DESIGN-DRIVEN CROSS-BORDER DUAL DESTINATION by STEPHANIE SAAD

THE TWO CITIES OF SAN DIEGO AND TIJUANA, straddling one of the busiest border crossings in the world, are linked by so much more than geography. They share a history, a workforce and cultural connections; and what happens in one city inevitably affects the other. Throughout 2024, this connection has been recognized and celebrated by the cities’ joint designation as a World Design Capital, which culminates in a variety of events in the last months of the year.

The World Design Organization, a Montrealbased non-governmental group comprised of more than 200 international design organizations, held its first World Design Capital (WDC) event in 2008. The event showcases how cities use design to reinvent themselves and improve their residents’ lives. Since 2008, WDC has been designated every other year to cities that include Seoul, South Korea; Helsinki, Finland; Cape Town, South Africa; Taipei, Taiwan; and Valencia, Spain. The WDC designation recognizes cities for their effective use of design to drive economic, social, cultural and environmental development. San Diego-Tijuana is the first binational, cross-border designation in WDC’s history and the first time a U.S. city has been selected for the

Exchange Pavilion being installed; Katalina Silva.

prestigious distinction.

“Both cities and the region bring unique strategic ways to solve problems through the lens of design,” says Tijuana-based graphic designer Katalina Silva, who was part of the group instrumental in bringing the WDC to San DiegoTijuana. “But not only that—design has a huge impact on the planet, and designers have a responsibility, in this complex region where we live, to find a way of co-living and collaborating to make life better for the people who live here; as well as for /CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

“A laugh-outloud comedy with a heartwarming touch.”

Embark on a delightful journey with the San Diego premiere of INCIDENT AT OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP. Set against the vibrant backdrop of the 1970s, Katie Forgette’s charming comedy unfolds within the confines of a working class family home. The quirky O’Shea clan navigates the tumultuous and sometimes awkward realities of this rapidly changing decade. Join us for an unforgettable evening.

san diego premiere OCT 23-NOV 17

DIRECTED BY JENNY SULLIVAN

NORTHCOASTREP.ORG

box office (858) 481-1055

group sales (858) 481-2155, ext. 202

FROM THE PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Dear friends,

This season will be remembered by all who are connected to The San Diego Symphony, and those who will walk through the Jacobs Music Center doors in the years to come. Now we will hear the first notes performed by the orchestra in our renovated indoor hall intended to be a destination for audiences well into the future.

Each time I have entered the hall in its progression toward its opening I have been struck by its history and its potential. It is timeless. The engineering that provides the infrastructure has stood the test of time and will support this building for decades to come. The original 1929 craftsmanship has been respected and lovingly restored by artisans of today. Our architects’ reimagining of the space will support an orchestra of today and tomorrow.

When I walk into this quiet space, I am overwhelmed by the anticipation of what is to come. Everyone who has had the opportunity to experience the hall in the months leading up to the reopening has been moved by the preservation of its storied past, and the refreshing of its spirit in and for the 21st century. They talk about the sense of calm and serenity with the beautiful sage green seats, the ornamental décor of the ceiling and walls, and the stunning medallion overhead. All give us moments of reprieve, stepping away from our outside world into a place where magic happens.

As always, our musicians will be at the center of the festivities, led by Music Director Rafael Payare. It is our privilage to sit in the stillness and anticipation of the first note all the way to the moment of slience after the last.

My deepest gratitude to all who have played your critical part in making this rebirth possible for today’s audiences and for all who will come after us. May they too find the magic within these walls.

Sincerely,

Martha A. Gilmer President and Chief Executive Officer

PARTNER PLAYER WITH A

The San Diego Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following donors for their membership in the Partner with a Player program and their profound impact on the orchestra. Partner with a Player members enjoy the unique opportunity to personally connect with the orchestra and engage with the Symphony in meaningful ways.

The following listing reflects pledges and gifts entered as of August 8, 2024

$100,000 AND ABOVE

Raffaella and John◊ Belanich

Rafael Payare, Music Director

$50,000 – $99,999

Anonymous San Diego Symphony Musicians

Anonymous San Diego Symphony Musicians

Michele and Jules Arthur

Kevin Gobetz, Bass

Terry Atkinson

Igor Pandurski, Violin

John and Janice Cone

Benjamin Jaber, Principal Horn

Kevin and Jan Curtis

Aaron McCalla, Principal Tuba

Una Davis and Jack McGrory

Susan Wulff, Associate Principal Bass

Mr. and Mrs.◊ Brian K. Devine

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Phyllis and Daniel Epstein

Sheryl Renk, Principal Clarinet

Pam and Hal Fuson

Courtney Cohen, Principal Librarian

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon

Yumi Cho, Violin

Carol and Richard Hertzberg

Nick Grant, Principal Associate Concertmaster Emeritus

Arlene Inch

John Degnan, Horn

Joan◊ and Irwin Jacobs

Martha Gilmer, Chief Executive Officer

Karen and Warren Kessler

Chi-Yuan Chen, Principal Viola

KAREN AND WARREN KESSLER CHAIR

Carol and George Lattimer

Gilbert Castellanos, Jazz @ The Jacobs and Jazz @ The Rady Shell Artistic Curator

Monica and Robert Oder

Gregory Cohen, Principal Percussion

Linda and Shearn◊ Platt

Ryan J. DiLisi, Principal Timpani

Marie Raftery and Dr. Robert Rubenstein

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Elena Romanowsky

Edmund Stein, Violin

Penny and Louis Rosso

Andrew Watkins, Assistant Principal Timpani

Colette Carson Royston and Ivor Royston

Yeh Shen, Violin

Jean and Gary Shekhter

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Karen and Kit Sickels

Jeremy Kurtz-Harris, Principal Bass

SOPHIE AND ARTHUR BRODY FOUNDATION CHAIR

Karen Foster Silberman and Jeff Silberman

Jisun Yang, Assistant Concertmaster

Gayle◊ and Donald Slate

Wesley Precourt, Associate Concertmaster

Dave and Phyllis Snyder

Julia Pautz, Violin

Gloria and Rodney Stone

P.J. Cinque, Bass

Jayne and Bill Turpin

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Leslie and Joe Waters

Ethan Pernela, Viola

Sue and Bill◊ Weber

Jing Yan Bowcott, Violin

Kathryn and James Whistler

Rachel Fields, Librarian

Cole and Judy Willoughby

Christopher Smith, Principal Trumpet

Mitchell Woodbury

Douglas Hall, Horn

Sarah and Marc Zeitlin

Cherry Choi Tung Yeung, Associate Principal

Second Violin

Anonymous

Nathan Walhout, Cello

Annette and Daniel Bradbury

Yao Zhao, Principal Cello

Nikki A. and Ben G. Clay Symphony Cellist

Karen and Donald Cohn

Hanah Stuart, Violin

Stephanie and Richard Coutts

Chia-Ling Chien, Associate Principal Cello

Karin and Gary Eastham

Jason Karlyn, Viola

Anne L. Evans

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Lisette and Mick Farrell/ Farrell Family Foundation

Rose Lombardo, Principal Flute

$15,000 – $24,999

Anonymous

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Eloise and Warren Batts

Alicia Engley, Violin

Diane and Norman Blumenthal

Aaron Blick, Bass

Dr. Anthony Boganey

Logan Chopyk, Trombone

Julia R. Brown

Leyla Zamora, Bassoon and Contrabassoon

Dr. Carol Randolph and Robert Caplan, Seltzer Caplan

McMahon Vitek

Pei-Chun Tsai, Violin

Ann Davies

Xian Zhuo, Cello

Kathleen Seely Davis

Qing Liang, Viola

Ana de Vedia

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Hon. James Emerson

Kenneth Liao, Violin

Dr. Joyce Gattas and Mr. Jay Jeffcoat

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Kelly Magerman and Michael Greenleaf

Xiaoxuan Shi, Violin

Sandy and Arthur◊ Levinson

Kyle Covington, Principal Trombone

Lisa and Gary Levine, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. San Diego Symphony Musicians

Eileen Mason

Julie Smith Phillips, Principal Harp

Anne and Andy McCammon

Richard Levine, Cello

Deborah Pate and John Forrest

Jeff Thayer, Concertmaster

DEBORAH PATE AND JOHN FORREST CHAIR

Allison and Robert Price

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Janet and Wil Gorrie

Zou Yu, Violin

Jill Gormley and Laurie Lipman

Frank Renk, Bass Clarinet

Judith Harris◊ and Dr. Robert Singer

Jonah Levy, Trumpet

Marilyn James and Richard Phetteplace

John Stubbs, Violin

Jo Ann Kilty

Tricia Skye, Horn

Helen and Sig Kupka

Lily Josefsberg, Piccolo/Flute

Dr. William and Evelyn Lamden

Andrea Overturf, Oboe

Carol Lazier and Dr. James Merritt

Sarah Tuck, Flute

Dr. Marshall J. Littman

John Lee, Cello

Sue and Lynn Miller

Max Opferkuch, Clarinet

Rena Minisi and Rich Paul

Ryan Simmons, Bassoon

Sally and Steve Rogers

Kyle Mendiguchia, Trombone

Marie Raftery and Dr. Robert Rubenstein

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Jeanette Stevens

Kathryn Hatmaker, Violin

Sandra Timmons and Richard Sandstrom

Sarah Skuster, Principal Oboe

Sheryl and Harvey White

Alexander Palamidis, Principal Second Violin

The Zygowicz Family (John, Judy, and Michelle)

Nancy Lochner, Viola

Val and Ron Ontell

Darby Hinshaw, Assistant Principal & Utility Horn

Jane and Jon Pollock

Evan Pasternak, Section Violin

Pamela and Stephen Quinn

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Sally and Steve Rogers

Kyle Mendiguchia, Bass Trombone

Cathy Robinson

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Stephen M. Silverman

Ai Nihira Awata, Violin

Elizabeth and Joseph◊ Taft

Wanda Law, Viola

Linda and Raymond◊ ThomasR.V. Thomas Family Fund

Ray Nowak, Trumpet

Julie & Stephen Tierney

San Diego Symphony Musicians

Isabelle and Mel◊ Wasserman

Andrew Hayhurst, Cello

For more information, or to join, please contact Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Sheri Broedlow at (619) 615-3910 or sbroedlow@sandiegosymphony.org.

SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY BOARDS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

David R. Snyder, Esq. Chair of the Board*

Harold W. Fuson Jr. Immediate Past Chair*

Colette Carson Royston Vice Chair*

Una Davis Vice Chair*

David Bialis Treasurer*

Linda Platt Secretary*

Michele Arthur

Tim Barelli

Lisa Behun*

Anthony C. Boganey, M.D., FACS

Julia R. Brown*

Mary Casillas Salas

Ben G. Clay

Kathleen Davis*

Martha G. Dennis, Ph.D.

Phyllis Epstein*

Lisette Farrell

Karen Foster Silberman

Janet Gorrie

HONORARY LIFETIME DIRECTORS

Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs

Joan K. Jacobs (1933-2024)

Warren O. Kessler, M.D.

Anne Francis Ratner (1911-2011)

Lawrence B. Robinson (d. 2021)

FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Warren O. Kessler, M.D. Chair

David R. Snyder, Esq. Vice Chair

Sandra Levinson Secretary

Mitchell R. Woodbury Treasurer

PAST BOARD CHAIRS

2021-23 Harold W. Fuson Jr.

2018-21 David R. Snyder, Esq.

2015-18 Warren O. Kessler, M.D.

2014-15 Shearn H. Platt

2011-14 Evelyn Olson Lamden

2009-11 Mitchell R. Woodbury

2008-09 Theresa J. Drew

2007-08 Steven R. Penhall

2005-07 Mitchell R. Woodbury

2004-05 Craig A. Schloss, Esq.

2003-04 John R. Queen

2001-03 Harold B. Dokmo Jr.

2000-01 Ben G. Clay

1998-00 Sandra Pay

1995-96 Elsie V. Weston

Robert Caplan, Esq.

Harold W. Fuson Jr.

Martha Gilmer

Susan Mallory

Jeremy Pearl

Mark Stuart

Dr. Nancy Hong

Arlene Inch

Jerri-Ann Jacobs

Warren O. Kessler, M.D.*

Kris Kopensky

Deborah Pate

Alan Prohaska

Sherron Schuster

Marivi Shivers

Christopher D. “Kit” Sickels

Donald M. Slate*

Gloria Stone

Frank Vizcarra

Mitchell R. Woodbury*

*EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER

Herbert Solomon Mitchell R. Woodbury

1994-95 Thomas Morgan

1993-94 David Dorne, Esq.

1989-93 Warren O. Kessler, M.D.

1988-89 Elsie V. Weston

1986-88 Herbert J. Solomon

1984-86 M.B. “Det” Merryman

1982-84 Louis F. Cumming

1980-82 David E. Porter

1978-80 Paul L. Stevens

1976-78 Laurie H. Waddy

1974-76 William N. Jenkins, Esq.

1971-74 L. Thomas Halverstadt

1970-71 Simon Reznikoff

1969-70 Robert J. Sullivan

1968-69 Arthur S. Johnson

1966-68 Michael Ibs Gonzalez, Esq. 1964-66 Philip M. Klauber

1963-64 Oliver B. James Jr. 1961-63 J. Dallas Clark

1960-61 Fielder K. Lutes

1959-60 Dr. G. Burch Mehlin

1956-58 Admiral Wilder D. Baker

1953-56 Mrs. Fred G. Goss

1952-53 Donald A. Stewart

1940-42 Donald B. Smith

1938-39 Mrs. William H. Porterfield

1934-37 Mrs. Marshall O. Terry

1930-33 Mouney C. Pfefferkorn

1928-29 Willett S. Dorland

1927 Ed H. Clay

RAFAEL PAYARE MUSIC DIRECTOR

With his innate musicianship, charismatic energy, gift for communication, and irresistibly joyous spirit, Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare is “electrifying in front of an orchestra” (Los Angeles Times). Payare conducted the San Diego Symphony (SDS) for the first time in January 2018 and was subsequently named the orchestra’s music director designate one month later, before assuming the role of music director in January 2019.

Now in the sixth season of his transformative tenure as music director of the San Diego Symphony, Payare will conduct a full roster of performances with the orchestra at the newly renovated Jacobs Music Center over the 2024-25 season, bookended by Mahler’s Second and Third Symphonies. Last season, Payare led the SDS for its first appearance in a decade at Carnegie Hall, its first performance in Tijuana in nearly 20 years, and in three programs at the inaugural California Festival. These engagements continued his transformative tenure with the orchestra, which also included their commercial album debut with Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony, The Year 1905.

Payare’s other recent highlights include debuts at the Royal Opera House, at the Edinburgh Festival, and with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre national de France, and Staatskapelle Berlin, with which he reunited for Turandot at the Berlin State Opera this past summer.

The 2024-25 season also marks his third as Music Director of Canada’s Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (Montreal Symphony Orchestra/OSM). With the OSM he leads a similarly full season in

Montreal, tours to eight European cities with pianist Daniil Trifonov, and releases his third album with the orchestra on the Pentatone label—an all-Schoenberg recording to mark the composer’s 150th anniversary. The conductor rounds out his season with high profile returns to the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Other current positions are Principal Conductor of Virginia’s Castleton Festival, a post he has held since 2015, and Conductor Laureate of Northern Ireland’s Ulster Orchestra, where he was Principal Conductor and Music Director from 2014 to 2019, making multiple appearances at London’s BBC Proms.

Since winning first prize at Denmark’s Malko Competition for Young Conductors in 2012, Payare has made debuts and forged longstanding relationships with many of the world’s preeminent orchestras. His U.S. collaborations include engagements with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony, while his notable European appearances include dates with the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and Vienna Philharmonic, which he has led at the Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein, on a Baltic tour, and at Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. n

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4 7:30 PM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5 7:30 PM

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6 2 PM

Jacobs Music Center

2024 JACOBS MASTERWORKS

RESURRECTION

Rafael Payare, conductor

Angela Meade, soprano

Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano

San Diego Symphony Festival Chorus

Andrew Megill, advisor & chorus master

San Diego Symphony Orchestra

PROGRAM

THOMAS LARCHER

Time, Three Movements for Orchestra

Co-commissioned by the San Diego Symphony

Moderato

�� = c. 66

Andante -INTERMISSION-

MAHLER

Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Resurrection

Allegro maestoso

Andante moderato

In ruhig fliessender Bewegung

Urlicht (Primeval Light)

Im Tempo des Scherzo

Angela Meade, soprano

Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano

San Diego Symphony Festival Chorus

Total Program Duration: 2 Hours 5 Minutes (includes one, 20-minute intermission).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

RAFAEL PAYARE

See bio on page P5.

ANGELA MEADE

American soprano Angela Meade is the winner of both the Metropolitan Opera’s 2012 Beverly Sills Artist Award and the 2011 Richard Tucker Award. In 2008 she joined an elite group of history’s singers when, as Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani, she made her professional operatic debut on the Met stage. Since then she has fast become recognized as one of today’s outstanding vocalists, excelling in the most demanding heroines of the 19th-century bel canto repertoire as well as in the operas of Verdi and Mozart.

In the 2024/2025 season, Angela Meade makes notable returns to Teatro La Fenice, The Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Teatro Carlo Felice in celebrated role portrayals. She returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Leonora in Il Trovatore in David McVicar’s critically acclaimed production, conducted by Daniele Callegari. She sings the title role in Lucrezia Borgia in Munich, and makes her role debut as the title role in Die Liebe der Danae at Teatro Carlo Felice with Fabio Luisi. Concert appearances include Mahler 8 with Nashville Symphony and Mahler 2 with San Diego Symphony and Rafael Payare.

Last season, Meade returned to the Metropolitan Opera for Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera conducted by Carlo Rizzi. She sang the title role in Ermione with Washington Concert Opera alongside Lawrence Brownlee and David Portillo, followed by her role debut as Chrysothemis in Elektra at Dallas Opera. She sang the title role in Beatrice di Tenda at Teatro Carlo Felice and joined Teatro La Fenice for the Verdi Requiem. In the spring, she joined LA Opera for her role debut in the title role of Turandot conducted by James Conlon in the celebrated production by David Hockney, reprising the role later with Teatro dell’Opera di Roma at The Baths of Caracalla.

The season prior, Angela Meade made her Teatro alla Scala debut singing Elena in I Vespri Siciliani conducted by Fabio Luisi and made her role debuts in the title role of Lucrezia Borgia in her house debut at Bayerische Staatsoper, and as Leonora in La Forza del Destino with Amigos de la Ópera de A Coruña in A Coruña, Spain. She joined Amigos de la Ópera de A Coruña again for their 70th anniversary gala, and returned to Asociación Bilbaína de Amigos de la Ópera (“ABAO”) in Bilbao to perform the title role in Act III of Aida in concert. She returned to the Metropolitan Opera for Elisabeth de Valois in Sir David McVicar’s production of Don Carlo conducted by Carlo Rizzi and returned to Teatro Regio di Torino for the Verdi Requiem. Following her debut at La Scala, she sang the title role in Aida in Torino and at the Metropolitan Opera, the title role in Norma at the Metropolitan Opera, Lucrezia Contarini in I Due Foscari at Teatro Carlo Felice, and Elvira in Ernani at Palau De Les Arts Reina Sofia. n

ANNA LARSSON

Swedish Court Singer Anna Larsson made her international debut in 1996 singing Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Claudio Abbado. She has sung with the Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony and London Philharmonic Orchestras, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome with conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle, EsaPekka Salonen, Vladimir Jurowski, Adam Fischer, Zubin Mehta, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Harding, Antonio Pappano and Herbert Blomstedt. She is renowned for her interpretation of Mahler and regularly sings his 2nd and 3rd symphonies and song cycles. Other concert repertoire includes Beethoven Missa Solemnis, Elgar The Dream of Gerontius, Bach Oratorios, Brahms Alto Rhapsody, Wagner Wesendonck Lieder, Schönberg Gurrelieder and much contemporary repertoire. She has been a frequent guest at the festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, the BBC Proms, Lucerne Festival and Verbier Festival, and created the Dalecarlia festival in Sweden.

On the operatic stage she has sung Erda in Rheingold and Siegfried, Waltraute in Götterdämmerung and Klytaimnästra in Elektra at the Wiener Staatsoper, the latter also at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2022, Erda in Rheingold and Siegfried, Genevieve in Pelleas and Kundry in Parsifal at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin. Elsewhere she has sung Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Royal Opera Stockholm, and at Malmö Opera and Oslo Opera this season, and Genevieve/Pelleas et Melisande at the Salzburg Festival and Opera National de Paris.

At Teatro alla Scala Milan Anna sang Erda /Rheingold and Siegfried and Mahler’s Second Symphony with Gustavo Dudamel. She also sang Mistress Quickly in Frankfurt, Gluck Orfeus at the Royal Opera Copenhagen and Dalila/ Samson and Dalila at the Royal Opera Stockholm. She is widely represented in recordings both in opera and concert. A committed teacher and mentor, Anna regularly gives masterclasses, especially in universities throughout Sweden and internationally. She is a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music and was made a Swedish Court Singer and awarded two gold medals from the King of Sweden for her contributions as an artist and to Swedish culture through the Dalecarlia Festival. n

SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY FESTIVAL CHORUS

MEMBERS OF THE CHORUS

Adam Boocher, Bass

Aeria Chang, Soprano

Amanda Olea, Soprano

Amy Long, Soprano

Antonia Fuenzalida, Alto

April Fisher, Soprano

Becca Ung, Alto

Bella Son, Alto

Braden Pontoli, Tenor

Breanne Espinosa, Alto

Brian Byun, Tenor

Carlos Lewis, Tenor

Carly Cummings, Soprano

Carole Crocco, Soprano

Caroline Nelms, Soprano

Chase Lowary, Bass

Christian Durini, Bass

Christian Liu, Alto

Christopher Walters Bass

Cindy James, Alto

Danny Johnson, Tenor

Elda McGinty Peralta, Alto

Elizabeth King, Soprano

Emma Pinkerton, Alto

Enluis Montes Olivar, Tenor

Eric Drimmer, Bass

Erica Moss, Alto

Evangelina Woo, Alto

George Arcaina, Tenor

Gerald Shenk, Tenor

Gonzalo Ochoa Camarena, Tenor

Greg Frank, Bass

Hayley Woldseth, Alto

Ian Schipper, Bass

Iana Peralta, Soprano

Isabella Panagiotou, Soprano

Isabella Fine, Soprano

Ivy Bernhardson, Soprano

Jack Adkins, Tenor

Jade Popper, Soprano

James Shelley, Tenor

Jane Shim, Alt

Janet White, Soprano

John Polhamus, Bass

Jose Ruiz, Tenor

Joseph Argus, Tenor

Joshua Read, Bass

Karen Erickson, Alto

Kathleen Moriarty, Alto

Kelsey Fahy, Alto

Kevin Williams, Tenor

Kit Jack Chan, Tenor

Krista Wilford, Soprano

Kseniya Orlik, Soprano

Kyuyim Lee, Soprano

Laura Richwood, Alto

Laurelle Stuart, Alto

Lauren Rossen, Soprano

Lauren Zinke, Soprano

Lola Watson, Soprano

CHORUS DIRECTOR:

ANDREW MEGILL

Andrew Megill is professor of conducting and director of choral organizations at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, where he holds the Carol F. and Arthur L. Rice, Jr. University Professorship in Performance. In addition, he leads Music of the Baroque Chorus, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Chorus, the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale, and Fuma Sacra.

Megill is recognized as one the leading choral conductors of his generation, admired for both his passionate artistry and his unusually wide-ranging repertoire, which extends from early music to newly composed works. He has prepared choirs for the American Composers Orchestra, American Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonie, National Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Venice Baroque Orchestra for conductors including Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Joseph Flummerfelt, Rafael Frühbeck du Burgos, Alan Gilbert, Neeme Järvi, Zdenek Macal, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, John Nelson, Rafael Payare, and Julius Rudel. Recordings of choirs conducted or

Malachi Marshall, Bass

Marcia Banks, Soprano

Mary Boles Allen, Alto

Megan Jones, Alto

Melody Olvera, Bass

Meri Rogoff, Soprano

Nathan Villamor, Bass

Nicole Avakyan, Soprano

Nicole Bird, Alto

Nicole Taylor, Soprano

Noah Friedman, Tenor

Patrick McLaughlin, Bass

Paul Chen, Bass

Pierre Tang, Tenor

Rachel Fields, Soprano

Rick Roesler, Bass

Samuel Buse, Tenor

Sara Frondoni, Soprano

Sarah-Nicole Carter, Alto

Sean Smith, Bass

Susan Marberry, Alto

Theodora Mautz, Alto

Tim McLellan, Bass

Tony Malerich, Tenor

Trent Biggs, Bass

Walter DuMelle, Bass

William Propp, Bass

Zachary Kurzenberger, Bass

Zlatoslav Sokolov, Bass

prepared by him may be heard on the Decca, EMI, Canteloupe, Naxos, Albany, and CBC labels.

Megill is particularly admired for his performances of Baroque choral works. He regularly collaborates with leaders in the field of historically-informed performance, and has conducted many periodinstrument orchestras, including Piffaro, Rebel, Sinfonia NYC, Brandywine Baroque, the Sebastians, Tempesta di Mare, and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra. A frequent champion of music of our own time, he has also conducted regional or world premieres of works by Caleb Burhans, Paul Chihara, Dominic DiOrio, Sven-David Sandström, Caroline Shaw, Lewis Spratlan, Steven Stucky, Jon Magnussen, Arvo Pärt, and Krzysztof Penderecki.

Prior to his appointment at Northwestern, Megill served as professor and director of choral activities at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and taught at Westminster Choir College for more than 20 years. He also previously served as music director of the Masterwork Chorus and Orchestra and Chorusmaster for the Spoleto Festival USA. He has been a guest artist with the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, TENET vocal ensemble, the Juilliard Opera Center, and Emmanuel Music, and served as interim choirmaster for Trinity Church in Manhattan.

ABOUT THE MUSIC

Time: Three Movements for Orchestra

THOMAS LARCHER

Born September 16, 1963, Innsbruck, Austria

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 22 MINUTES

Thomas Larcher grew up in Austrian and studied piano and composition in Vienna. He made his career at first largely as a pianist, but over the last twenty years he has concentrated on composing. A prolific composer, Larcher has written one opera (The Hunting Gun, 2018), numerous works for orchestra, five string quartets and music for piano. He has shown a particular facility in writing for voice and has composed numerous song cycles, many written specifically for the talents of individual singers. Larcher was the featured composer of the BBC Symphony’s 2018-19 season, and he is currently composer-in-residence with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.

Larcher composed Time in 2022 on a joint commission from the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, NDR Radio Philharmonie, Netherlands Philharmonic and Tonkünstler Orchester. Rafael Payare led the world premiere with the Montreal Symphony on September 14, 2022, and the American premiere with the San Diego Symphony on November 12, 2022. In the published score, Larcher has provided a brief introduction to Time:

Every piece of music takes time into calculation. There are millions of ways to do that, but it always has to be done. Here, the treatment of time has been an underlying concept: Form is established through tensions evoked by ‘changing’ time (seemingly prolonging or compressing it) rather than motivic or even harmonic development. The treatment of rhythm has also been determined by sensing what a listener is really able to hear, to digest in a tiny or large amount of time. Thinking about time intensely has provoked a form which is open, as a piece of music can only ever be a cutout of ever-flowing time.

-Thomas Larcher

Time is in three inter-connected movements that span a total of about twenty minutes. It is scored for a very large orchestra that calls for three percussionists, who play an incredible array of instruments, including waterphone, sandblocks, thundersheet, cowbell, Chinese cymbals, wooden board, paper of various weights, and all manner of drums and woodblocks, to name only a few. In addition, Larcher calls for a prepared piano and double-basses that can tune their lowest string down to an A.

Given the title of this work, listeners should be alert to the many ways time is “expressed” here. At the most obvious level, this involves an almost constant “ticking” in the background. This ticking can be very subtle and quiet,

and it can also be overpowering, but a staccato pulse beats through much of this piece. Another expression of time comes in this music’s readiness to leap between different meters. Still another can be felt in Larcher’s subtle adjustment of tempo within movements, and yet another arises from the superimposition of different pulses (3 against 2, among many).

In his introduction, Larcher states that “a piece of music can only ever be a cutout of ever-flowing time,” and so we should listen not just for a metronomic accompaniment or shifts of meter but also for the “music” that occurs within this “cutout of every-flowing time.” For all this music’s metronomic obsession, it also offers some lovely thematic material. (The opening theme of the final movement, scored for clarinets and cellos, is only one of many examples.) Every listener will feel that time is explored in different ways in this music, as it makes its way from the subtle beginning through great waves of sound and color (and rhythm!) and finally to a surprisingly subdued conclusion. n

Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Resurrection

GUSTAV MAHLER

Born July 7, 1860, Kalischt, Bohemia

Died May 18, 1911, Vienna, Austria

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES

In 1888 Gustav Mahler, then 28 years old, was well-known as the talented second conductor of the Leipzig Opera but almost unknown as a composer: he had completed his First Symphony the year before, but that music remained in manuscript, unperformed. While

Angela Meade Photo by Faye Fox

at Leipzig, Mahler began composing a new work, a huge symphonic movement. Always the most superstitious of composers, Mahler was assailed as he conceived the new work by visions of himself lying dead on his own bier, surrounded by funeral wreaths. He completed this long and dramatic movement in August 1888 and named it Todtenfeier: “Funeral Rite.” But – unsure how to proceed after so vast a beginning – Mahler set the work aside for five years.

He took it up again in the summer of 1893. Using Todtenfeier, now much revised, as a first movement, he composed second and third movements but could not decide how to conclude the work, and once again he set it aside. It was at a memorial service for conductor Hans von Bülow in March 1894 that Mahler heard a chorus sing the hymn Auferstehung (“Resurrection”) on a text by the German poet Friedrich Klopstock. At the moment he heard the chorus, Mahler felt his ideas for the conclusion of his symphony take shape – “It struck me like lightning, this thing, and everything was revealed to my soul clear and plain” – and quickly sketched the fourth and fifth movements, completing the symphony in 1894. Mahler conducted a performance of the first three movements in March 1895 and then of the entire symphony in December of that year. After a creative process lasting six years, the Second Symphony was finally presented to the public.

But that public had difficulty understanding the new work, which lasts eighty minutes and requires two soloists, a huge chorus and a gigantic orchestra. At the request of a young admirer who had been mystified by the symphony, Mahler drew up a program for it. He wrote of the first three movements:

I have named the first movement “Todtenfeier”… there is the great question: “Why did you live? Why did you suffer? Is it all nothing but a huge, frightful joke?” We must answer these questions in some

way, if we want to go on living – indeed, if we are to go on living! He into whose life this call has once sounded must give answer; and this answer I give in the final movement.

The second and third movements are conceived as an interlude. The second is a memory – a shaft of sunlight from out of the life of this hero. It has surely happened to you, that you have followed a loved one to the grave, and then perhaps, on the way back, there suddenly arose the image of a long-dead hour of happiness, which now enters your soul like a sunbeam that nothing can obscure – you could almost forget what has just happened. That is the second movement.

But when you awake from this wistful dream, and have to return into the confusion of life, it can easily happen that this ever-moving, never-resting, never-comprehensible bustle of existence becomes horrible to you, like the swaying of dancing figures in a brightly-lit ballroom, into which you look from the dark night outside – and from such a great distance that you can no longer hear the music. Life strikes you as meaningless, a frightful ghost, from which you perhaps start away with a cry of disgust. This is the third movement…

For a later performance, Mahler described the final movements:

Fourth movement: the morning voice of ingenuous faith strikes on our ears. Fifth movement: we are confronted once more with terrifying questions. A voice is heard crying aloud: “The end of all living things is come – the Last Judgment is at hand”… the trumpets of the Apocalypse ring out; in the eerie silence which follows, we can just catch the distant, barely audible song of a nightingale, a last tremulous echo of earthly life. A chorus of saints

Angela Meade

Photo by: Brescia - Amisano Teatro alla Scala

and heavenly beings softly breaks forth: “Thou shalt arise, surely thou shalt arise.” Then appears the glory of God: a wondrous soft light penetrates us to the heart – all is holy calm.

And behold, it is no judgment; there are no sinners, no just. None is great, none small. There is no punishment and no reward. An overwhelming love illuminates our being. We know and are.

But Mahler quickly withdrew this program, denouncing it as “a crutch for a cripple” and claiming that it gave only “a superficial indication” of the meaning of the symphony.

What sense, then, are we to make of Mahler’s elaborate program for his Second Symphony? Does it tell us what the symphony is “about”? Well, sort of. Mahler may have disavowed the verbal program, but the symphony does move from a death-haunted opening movement to resurrection in the finale, and the last two movements present texts that conform to and conclude Mahler’s program. The “meaning” of this symphony, however, does not lie in Mahler’s verbal description or even in the texts sung in the final movement, but in the entire music-drama itself, which cannot be reduced to simple verbal explanation. The music takes us where words cannot: it creates its own vast and dramatic world, one that deals with violent and terrifying issues, full of pain, terror and ecstasy.

For his model for this symphony, Mahler took one of the most imposing creations in music – Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – in which three instrumental movements are followed by a choral finale that addresses a grand philosophical question. Mahler seems to be trying to out-do Beethoven, particularly in the vastness of his conception and the huge forces he employs: the Resurrection Symphony requires quadruple woodwind, ten horns, eight trumpets, four trombones, two harps and a huge percussion battery.

The opening Allegro maestoso is one of Mahler’s most dramatic creations, in darkest C minor and enveloped at times in furious violence. It is in sonata form only in the most general of senses, opposing material of ear-splitting violence with passages of luminous, rapturous calm. At its end, a grim funeral tread pushes the movement toward a final cataclysm before the movement vanishes on barelyaudible pizzicato strokes.

After so violent an opening, the next movement seems an island of calm. It is a ländler, the ancient Austrian country dance, and it breathes a sort of nostalgia: “some lingering resonance of long past days,” said Mahler. The third movement has a more sinister air. It is a kind of perpetual-motion scherzo in which ghostly music presses continually ahead, erupting at times in grotesque humor. Mahler based this movement on his own song “Saint Anthony of Padua’s Sermon to the Fishes,” in which the fish patiently hear out the sermon and then resume their sinful ways. The bitter humor of that song flows through this movement, and Mahler underlines this with some wonderful scoring, including the use of the Rute (a bundle of wooden twigs beaten on the back of the bass drum), a squealing E-flat clarinet, and an ominous close on a tam-tam stroke.

The brief fourth movement functions as a transition away from issues of life and death and toward resurrection. The mezzo-soprano soloist sings Mahler’s setting of the German folk poem “Urlicht” (“Primal Light”), composed two years earlier, and her song leads us toward the finale: “I am from God and to God would I return!”

By far the longest of the five movements, the finale is virtually a piece of musical theater, depicting nothing less than a progression from the day of judgment to resurrection and requiring performers to move off and on stage, incorporating sounds that range from delicate birdcalls to the crack of doom, and employing a massive chorus in its final minutes. Like the opening of the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth, the finale of the Resurrection Symphony explodes, in this case with Mahler’s vision of the day of judgment. The long instrumental beginning presents a harrowing vision of that day, full of offstage brass calls and a propulsive march based on the ancient Dies Irae motif: in Mahler’s words, “The earth quakes, the graves burst open, the dead arise and stream on in endless procession… their cry for mercy, for grace, strikes fearfully on our ears.” Finally, with the fury of Judgment Day spent, the sound of the nightingale floats above the trembling air and the chorus begins to sing Klopstock’s Resurrection hymn with its message of rebirth and eternal life. Mahler, however, adds several verses of his own to the Klopstock, and these (beginning “O glaube”) sharpen the text, suggesting that life does not pass in vain, but that one can find meaning in earthly acts and still receive eternal life. As the souls make their passage to eternity, the Resurrection Symphony concludes with ringing brass and pealing bells, a triumphant sound that should rise up to shake the heavens. n

-Program note by Eric Bromberger

Anna Larsson

Photo by: Anna Thorbjörnsson

ARCHITECTURE AND THE EXPERIENCE OF LIVE MUSIC

The poet Goethe once told a friend:

“I’ve found a page among my papers where I describe architecture as ‘frozen music’. There’s something in that, you know. The state of mind produced by architecture is similar to the effect of music.”

Goethe was putting his finger on something even more important than he himself knew.

Two centuries later, Paul Scarbrough, the inspired creator of the amazing acoustic of our wonderful San Diego Symphony Orchestra’s new Jacobs Music Center, puts it this way: Music – and especially symphonic musicis made from a dialogue between the musicians and the room.

What does Paul mean? Too often in our lives today we experience music as something fixed, recorded, digitally preserved, and possible to replay in exactly the same way at the push of a button and an endless number of times.

But that’s not what live music is. And especially not symphonic music.

Live music is not a dead object, but a living experience, fluid, always different, endlessly changing. A recording of a great musical performance is like a photograph of a great painting or a fabulous waterfall in the mountains. It’s beautiful, but it is not the same as the live experience. So, what happens when we hear live music in a great hall – or ‘room’, as Paul Scarbrough calls it?

The room is an almost magical construction: it’s made, on the one hand, of the air contained within it, which vibrates as we send sounds through it; and on the other, of the array of walls and surfaces which surround and contain that air, some flat, some curved, some porous, some hard, some soft.

When a musician plays a note, the vibrations of that note fly out in waves towards the surrounding surfaces and are then thrown back in an almost infinite variety of different

ways. And on their way back these waves meet other waves and other vibrations coming in the opposite direction, and all these waves mix and combine in a thousand different ways. Like the gorgeous colors of a sunset or the shimmering of the ocean.

It’s like a pond. You throw a pebble into it and the ripples expand in every direction and meet other ripples coming in the opposite direction. And the combination of all these ripples is always changing and in motion, never fixed and never the same. It is a living thing.

A musician who throws a sound – an acoustic ‘pebble’ – into the beautiful vibrating space of a great room like the Jacobs Music Center can change that sound in an almost infinite number of ways. Not just by making it louder or softer, but by altering the colors and the textures, using their breath, their fingers and their ears. By using, in other words, their bodies and their imaginations (and maybe those two things are actually the same!).

And that’s just one musician.

Now take a symphony orchestra. Let’s say, 80 musicians or thereabouts. Each is throwing pebbles of sound into the air. Acoustic waves in the most dazzling combinations are flying about in every direction.

But orchestral musicians are doing a lot more than that, every second listening to one another, and changing – from moment to moment – what they do in order to combine in a thousand different ways with the endlessly kaleidoscopic waves being created in real time by their colleagues all around them.

So, listening to a symphony orchestra is like watching a vast flock of birds swirling through the sky. Or – as the Ancient Greeks thought we could actually do – hearing the stars and planets revolving in the cosmos.

That’s why every live performance of a piece of music is and should always be completely different and unique. In a hall like ours, you could hear Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony a hundred times and every time it would sound in a new way. And we, the listeners, would hear the ‘same music’ in a different way.

And that brings us to the most important element in a great hall: the audience.

Paul Scarbrough’s ‘dialogue’ is actually a ‘trialogue’, made up of the room and its vibrating air and surfaces; the musicians and the thousands of notes that they are playing; and the rest of us sitting in the audience and listening with our whole bodies. For, live music is nothing without an audience. And listening is never just a passive experience (‘letting the music wash over us’) but an active experience from every point of view. It starts with the imaginative creation by Paul Scarbrough and his team of this world-class new

acoustic space in the Jacobs Music Center. It continues with the imaginative response of the musicians of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra as they play to the room and the room speaks back to them (you might call this a dance between the musicians and the hall). And then comes our imaginative physical and emotional response in the audience to this endlessly changing acoustic life flowing around us. From that come the joys we feel, the tears we shed, as we listen.

And this living and reciprocal play and movement of sound doesn’t even stop there. For as the musicians hear how we are listening, they will change the way they play in order to respond to us. And then the air and surfaces of the new hall will change to respond to them, in yet more ways that no one could have predicted.

Two and half thousand years ago, an Ancient Greek philosopher is supposed to have said:

“All things are in motion and nothing is at rest. You cannot step into the same river twice.” n

— Gerard McBurney

CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU TO DOUG HALL!

Douglas Hall has enjoyed many adventures in good music here with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra since joining in 1976. In 1989 he and his wife Laura were married at Mission Bay’s Hospitality Point, the home of the Symphony’s summer series at that time; the horn section members were his best men, and the brass section played for the ceremony.

Some of the highlights of Mr. Hall’s career include: studying and listening to Dave Krehbiel at the San Francisco Symphony while earning a Master’s degree at the SF Conservatory; being the Fellowship Horn player for Leonard Bernstein at the LA Philharmonic Institute; building French horns as apprentice for George McCracken; learning band instrument repair with Gene Beckwith at the Red Wing School; enjoying the sunsets while playing in the Tucson Symphony and attending the University of Arizona; being a cabin counselor and water safety instructor at Interlochen; singing tenor with his dad in the National Presbyterian Choir; having his daughter Valerie sing and dance in the San Diego Opera's production of Hansel and Gretel (Doug was performing in the pit...)

During the rebuilding of the SDSO in the early “aughts” (after the hiring of former music director Jahja Ling), Doug ran more than 60 national auditions during his former service as assistant orchestra personnel manager. He also appeared in key marketing and fundraising materials during that period of recovery.

In retirement, you will likely find Doug on the links of the Torrey Pines or Coronado golf courses, walking the beach with his wife Laura, playing racquetball, or, because he really can’t help himself, building specialty French Horns. We thank Doug for his excellent musicianship through the years, as well as the warm relationships he cultivated over the decades with Symphony donors, staff and his fellow musicians, and wish him a happy and healthy retirement!

MUSICIANS SPOTLIGHT

CHERRY YEUNG • VIOLIN

Cherry Yeung is a violinist born and raised in Hong Kong. Winning her first job at one of the major orchestras in the United States at the age of 21, Ms. Yeung is now the Associate Principal Second Violin of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. When not playing music you can catch Cherry playing video games or trying out new recipes at home. Read on to learn more!

1. Tell us about your musical journey. How did you decide to become a professional classical musician? How did you come to the San Diego Symphony?

I started the violin totally by accident at nine years old. My brother wanted to learn cello growing up and so my mom tried signing us both up for cello lessons. Unfortunately, all the cello classes were filled, so they recommended we try violin instead. That’s how I started on violin! And fun fact, my brother actually quit violin after a month because he got tired of standing up while playing. I ended up continuing and eventually decided that I wanted to be a professional classical musician.

In my last year in school, I started the audition process. The San Diego Symphony audition was one of my first auditions I had taken that year and luckily it worked out! I ended up getting the Associate Principal Second Violin job. I remember my parents were so happy about it, because they love San Diego and my brother used to live in San Diego, so my family thinks it was truly fate that brought me here to San Diego.

2. What is your favorite San Diego Symphony memory so far?

My favorite San Diego Symphony memory would be playing my very first concert here, the program Verdi’s Requiem I remember almost tearing up when the audience gave us a standing ovation and feeling like all the hard work paid off. I have played with many professional orchestras before, but nothing can top your very first concert as a full-time professional musician. It was a momentous occasion that marked the start of my career.

3. What concerts are you looking forward to playing this summer?

I am most looking forward to the Jason Mraz concert. I grew up listening to his songs and I just love them—listening to them as well as singing them for karaoke. His songs are just so classic and it’s cool that he lives in San Diego!

4. Jacobs Music Center reopens on September 28th. What are you looking most forward to being back in our indoor music hall?

I am very excited for the reopening of Jacobs Music Center. Since I joined the symphony in 2022, I have never seen the hall before, and I’ve spent most of my time here playing at The Rady Shell. I am very excited to be going back to our indoor music hall because the acoustics there are just so wonderful. We also have lots of great programs next season and we get to play with some really good soloists, so I am just very excited.

5. When not performing with the San Diego Symphony, how do you like to spend your free time?

I am such a homebody. I love staying in and just watching different kinds of movies. I also love playing video games too. Some of my favorites are Mario Kart, Mario Party and PUBG where I reached ace master tier. I also love cooking and trying out different recipes at home.

BUILDING A SOUND TOMORROW

JACOBS MUSIC CENTER RENOVATION & ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN

The San Diego Symphony acknowledges the following donors who have made a gift of $10,000 or more toward the BUILDING A SOUND TOMORROW campaign, which supports the renovation of Jacobs Music Center and the San Diego Symphony Foundation’s endowment fund. With profound gratitude, we celebrate these generous supporters who have made a commitment to the future of music in our community. To make a gift please call (619)237-1969 or email campaign@sandiegosymphony.org.

The following listing reflects pledges or gifts entered as of August 8, 2024

◊ denotes Deceased

$3,000,000 AND ABOVE

Joan ◊ and Irwin Jacobs

Pamela Hamilton Lester

In Memory of James A Lester

The Miller Fund

Price Philanthropies Foundation

$1,000,000 to $2,999,999

Willis J. Larkin

Lou and Penny Rosso and the Rosso Family

Robert Rubenstein and Marie Raftery

Karen Foster Silberman & Jeff Silberman

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon Through the Glickman Fund of the S.D. Jewish Community Foundation

Haeyoung Kong Tang

Katherine “Kaylan” Thornhill Artistic Initiatives Fund

Timmstrom Family

$250,000 - $499,999

Anonymous

Michele and Jules Arthur

Julia R. Brown

Arlene Inch

Debby and Hal Jacobs

Karen and Warren Kessler

Jerry and Terri Kohl

Sandy and Arthur ◊ Levinson

Imozelle and Jim McVeigh

Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation

Colette Carson Royston and Ivor Royston

Donald and Gayle ◊ Slate

James E. and Kathryn A. Whistler

$100,000 - $249,999

Anonymous

Eloise and Warren Batts

David Bialis

Drs. Edward A. and Martha G. Dennis

The Fuson Family

In honor of Ted and Audrey Geisel

Tom and Carolina Gildred

Annie and Jeffrey Jacobs

The Littman Jonkman Community Engagement and Education Fund

Susan and Peter Mallory

In honor of Martha Gilmer

Robert, Monica and Celeste Oder

Chris and Kris Seeger

Dave and Phyllis Snyder

Sue and Bill ◊ Weber

Jo and Howard ◊ Weiner

$500,000 - $999,999

Anonymous

The James Silberrad

Brown Foundation

Dr. Paul and Geneviève Jacobs

Dr. Seuss Foundation

Mitchell R. Woodbury

$25,000 - $49,999

Una Davis Family

Janet and Wil Gorrie

The Hong-Patapoutian Family

In honor of Willard Howard Kline

In memory of Alex and Judy McDonald

Linda and Shearn* Platt

Ingrid M. Van Moppes

Waldron Family Trust

$10,000 - $24,999

Susan and Peter Crotty

Peter Czipott and Marisa SorBello

Monica Fimbres

In memory of Lillian Hauser

The Rev. Michael Kaehr

Joan Lewan Trust

David Marchesani

Jack McGrory

Deborah Pate and John Forrest

Joan Salb Trust

Linda Thomas

In Honor of John Zygowicz

$50,000 - $99,999

Carol Rolf and Steven Adler

Lisa and Ben Arnold

Richard A. Samuelson

The Beethoven Society is designed to raise consistent, critical funding for artistic, educational and community programs. Members pledge multi-year support and commit to annual gifts of $50,000 and higher, designated for projects ranging from classical and jazz concerts to education and military programs.

The Symphony and its Board of Directors are pleased to thank the following for their leadership and to acknowledge them as Members of The Beethoven Society.

JOAN* AND IRWIN JACOBS

LINDA

MICHELE

JAN AND KEVIN CURTIS

BRIAN AND SILVIJA* DEVINE

MONICA

NOEL NOEL

Friday, December 13 | 7: 30PM

Saturday, December 14 | 2PM & 7: 30PM

Sunday, Decmeber 15 | 2PM & 7: 30PM

Jacobs Music Center

Christopher Dragon, conductor

Jonathan Gilmer, director

San Diego Master Chorale

San Diego Children’s Choir

San Diego Symphony Orchestra

Additional artists to be announced

Audiences will experience the return of Noel Noel at Jacobs Music Center, a program full of Christmas classics. The concert will be led once again by the artistic tour-de-force team consisting of celebrated guest conductor Christopher Dragon and Director Jonathan Gilmer, and it features the return of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Master Chorale and the San Diego Children’s Choir.

Sponsored by PNC Bank

CONCERTS

LESLIE ODOM, JR. – THE CHRISTMAS TOUR

Saturday, November 30 | 7: 30PM Jacobs Music Center

Leslie Odom, Jr. brings a night of holiday hits to Jacobs Music Center—including selections from his release The Christmas Album, which BroadwayWorld said “infuses love, joy, and merriment into the holiday season.”

Please note: the San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this program.

VOCTAVE – “IT FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS”

Thursday, December 19 | 7: 30PM Jacobs Music Center

Voctave’s holiday spectacular It Feels Like Christmas includes a stocking full of holiday favorites from their chart-topping album and is sure to be a magical evening of music for the whole family. Jazz Weekly raves “Voctave bring a cappella music to a new dimension.”

Please note: the San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this program.

ELF LIVE IN CONCERT

Saturday, December 21 | 7: 30PM Sunday, December 22 | 2PM & 7: 30PM Jacobs Music Center

Bruce Kiesling, conductor

San Diego Symphony Orchestra

Buddy was accidentally transported to the North Pole as a toddler and raised among Santa’s elves. This holiday season, Buddy travels to New York—with a live symphony orchestra! Experience John Debney’s wonderful score as the full film plays on the big screen. Brought to you by CineConcerts.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 7:30PM

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 2PM

Jacobs Music Center

2024 JACOBS MASTERWORKS

ROMANTIC LYRICISM

Rafael Payare, conductor Sergey Khachatryan, violin San Diego Symphony Orchestra

PROGRAM

BRAHMS

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 7

Allegro non troppo

Adagio Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace

Sergey Khachatryan, violin

-INTERMISSION-

SCHOENBERG

Pelléas und Mélisande, Op. 5

Total Program Duration: 1 Hour 42 Minutes (includes one, 20 minute intermission).

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

RAFAEL PAYARE

See bio on page P5.

SERGEY KHACHATRYAN

This 24/25 season Sergey’s international presence is sustained by performances with RAI National Symphony Orchestra (Cristian Măcelaru), Lyon National Orchestra (Nikolaj Znaider), Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Myung-Whun Chung), Montréal Symphony Orchestra (Rafael Payare), Frankfurter Museumsorchester (Michael Sanderling), Orquesta de Valencia (Alexander Liebrich), Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Tarmo Peltokoski), Gävle Symfoniorkester (Case Scaglione) and a Spanish tour with Bilbao Symphony Orchestra (Joana Carneiro).

Highlights of the previous seasons include Sergey’s residency with Orquesta de Valencia, comprising several concerts conducted by Alexander Liebreich including a chamber project, Sergey’s residency at the BOZAR in Brussels which comprised of a pair of recitals and a concert with Orchestre National de Belgique and Hugo Wolff. Re-invitations included the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rotterdam and Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Cleveland Orchestra. Sergey also embarked on a tour of the US and Europe with Alisa Weilerstein and Inon Barnatan with a programme entitled Transfigured Nights featuring the music of Beethoven, Schoenberg and Shostakovich. Other recent projects included a tour of Japan with the Nippon Foundation and in 2014/15 Sergey performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto at the Lucerne Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel as the recipient of the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award.

Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Sergey Khachatryan won First Prize at the VIII International Jean Sibelius Competition in Helsinki in 2000, becoming the youngest-ever winner in the competition’s history. In 2005 he claimed First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. n

ABOUT THE MUSIC

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77

JOHANNES BRAHMS

Born May 7, 1833, Hamburg

Died April 3, 1897, Vienna

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME

38 MINUTES

Brahms spent the summer of 1878 in Pörtschach on the Wörthersee. He loved this resort town on the lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains, and to a friend he noted how much he felt like writing music there: “So many melodies fly about that one must be careful not to tread on them.” Brahms set out that summer to write something for his friend and colleague of twenty-five years, the great violinist Joseph Joachim. Brahms did not play the violin, and he consulted frequently with Joachim during the composition of this concerto, asking for advice and criticism (some of which he took, some he did not). In its original form, this concerto was in four movements, but Brahms threw out the two middle movements, replacing them with what he called – with characteristic self-deprecation – “a feeble Adagio.” Joachim was soloist and Brahms the conductor at the premiere in Leipzig on January 1, 1879.

Brahms’ Violin Concerto is extraordinarily difficult for the soloist, and in a famous jibe it has been called “a concerto against the violin rather than for it.” But this music is not impossible, and in fact Brahms’ Violin Concerto is quite playable and even quite violinistic. It requires a tremendous violinist, one with the ability to make huge leaps and land with dead-center accuracy, to project the violin’s sound over a large orchestra, and to have hands big enough to play the tenths that Brahms frequently calls for. Yet this is not a showy or a flashy piece. Violin and orchestra are beautifully integrated, with the melodic line flowing seamlessly between them, and the soloist’s skills are always at the service of the music, rather than the reverse.

Brahms stays close to classical tradition in the first movement, where a long orchestral exposition introduces the themes before the entrance of the violinist. The very beginning, with its arching and falling main subject, is distinctive for the way Brahms manages to disguise the meter: it is in 3/4, yet the stresses of the opening phrases obscure the downbeats. Solo oboe introduces the second theme, and the full string section stamps out the third. (This last bears a close relation to the opening of Bach’s Chaconne for unaccompanied violin, a work Brahms very much admired). Only when these themes have been fully presented does the solo violin enter with its dazzling twooctave run up the scale, followed by a series of blistering string-crossings. This is a big, dramatic movement, and it can make a huge sound, but the score itself is littered with Brahms’ performance instructions, and these make clear what he believed the true character of this music to be: dolce, espressivo, tranquillo, lusingando (a term that does not translate easily from the Italian, but means

generally coaxing or charming). Much of the writing for violin is graceful and lyric, and in particular Brahms’ transformation of the second subject into a slow waltz is a moment of pure magic.

Perhaps as a nod to Joachim, Brahms did not write out a cadenza for the first movement. Joachim produced a splendid one, and others have been drawn to write their own. One of the other magic moments in this movement comes with the return of the orchestra at the end of the cadenza: over quiet accompaniment, the violinist lays out once again the movement’s opening theme and then takes it very high on long sustained notes as the orchestra sings far below. Gradually the music descends from these Olympian heights, gathers momentum and strength, and hurtles to the resounding D-Major chord that closes the movement.

The Adagio, in F Major, is anything but “feeble.” The entire opening statement is given to the wind choir, and it is the solo oboe rather than the solo violin that announces the main idea of the movement – when the violinist enters, it is with music that is already a variation of the oboe’s noble song. The center section, which moves to F-sharp minor, grows much more impassioned, with the violin burning its way high above the orchestra before the return of the poised opening material.

The last movement is the expected rondo, which Brahms marks Allegro giocoso (“fast and happy”), but he also specifies ma non troppo vivace: “not too fast.” Many have remarked on the Hungarian flavor of this movement, and some have seen this as another nod toward Joachim, who was Hungarian. In fact, Brahms loved Hungarian music (which for him meant – more exactly – gypsy music), and he hardly needed an excuse to compose in that style. This is a difficult movement for the soloist, full of extended passages in octaves and great leaps across the range of the violin, but there are some wonderfully lyric interludes along the way. A great cascade of runs from the violinist introduces the coda, where Brahms subtly recasts the 2/4 rondo tune so that it seems to be in 6/8. This gathers strength, and all appears set for the expected closing fireworks, but in the last measures Brahms springs one final surprise, winding the music down so that it seems almost to have lost its way before three great chords ring out to proclaim the true close. n

Sergey Khachatryan

Pelléas und Mélisande, Op. 5

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG

Born September 13, 1874, Vienna

Died July 13, 1951, Los Angeles

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME

41 MINUTES

Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck’s Pelléas et Mélisande was first produced in Paris on May 17, 1893, and it quickly took the world by storm. A grim medieval romance with Arthurian overtones, Pelléas et Mélisande tells the dream-like story of Melisande, a young woman who is found, wandering and disoriented, in the forest by Golaud, a prince out on a royal hunt. He takes her back to his castle and eventually marries her, but Golaud’s brother Pelleas is himself strongly attracted to Melisande, and he and Melisande fall in love. Golaud becomes suspicious, and although Pelleas and Melisande have resolved never to see each other again, Golaud kills Pelleas, and Melisande dies after giving birth to a child. It is difficult to convey how powerfully this tale – full of doomed love and an evocation of a misty and more romantic past – influenced the younger generation at the turn of the century, particularly the younger generation of composers. Claude Debussy wrote an opera based on it, Gabriel Fauré and Jean Sibelius both wrote incidental music for productions of the play, and Mel Bonis wrote a piano piece titled Mélisande in her Femmes de legende series.

One other composer – an unlikely one, at first glance –was strongly taken by this tale of doomed love. Arnold Schoenberg was so moved by Maeterlinck’s play that he thought of writing an opera based on it. (He did not know of Debussy’s opera until after its premiere in 1902). But he abandoned plans for an opera and instead composed a tone poem he titled Pelléas und Mélisande

Schoenberg was quite aware of the recent tone poems of his friend Richard Strauss, but he did not set out to write that kind of work. Strauss once bragged that he could set a glass of beer to music, and he set out to “tell” stories in his tone poems: he would create specific themes for different characters (Don Quixote, Till Eulenspiegel, and so on) and then portray their adventures in detailed music. Schoenberg saw the tone poem somewhat differently. Like Strauss, he composed themes or motifs that he identified with specific characters or actions, but instead of depicting their actions to tell a story, he used those musical ideas to compose what is in effect a fourmovement symphony. His story-telling is much more abstract than what Strauss would have written on the same topic, but it is a compelling on its own terms as his “medieval” themes evolve in classical forms, in the process mirroring Maeterlinck’s dark tale.

Schoenberg composed Pelléas und Mélisande between July 1902 and February 1903, shortly after composing Verklaerte Nacht. He had at this point not abandoned tonality (both those scores have key signatures), but his music was growing increasingly chromatic in these years.

Schoenberg’s scoring emphasizes the lower and middle registers of the orchestra, and there are particularly prominent roles here for the English horn and the violas. Pelléas und Mélisande is a big work: its four sections, which are played without pause, stretch out to about 45 minutes.

Here follows a brief guide to those four sections, to Schoenberg’s motifs and how they represent characters, and to the “events” of each of the sections. The opening section, in sonata form, corresponds to the first movement of a symphony, and in the first few moments we hear – in the bass clarinet – the four-note “fate” motif that will reappear in many forms throughout. This opening section, set in a deep forest, gradually introduces the themes associated with each character. “Melisande in her helplessness,” as Schoenberg described her, is portrayed by a plaintive, falling oboe melody. Golaud is introduced by a noble theme from the horn section (Schoenberg seems unusually sympathetic to Golaud in this recounting of the tale), and finally Pelleas – who as Schoenberg said, has a “youthful and knightly character” – is portrayed by an angular theme for solo trumpet. Along the way we hear the theme of Melisande’s awakening love; it begins in the solo clarinet and is taken over by a solo violin that soars ever higher.

The second section corresponds to the scherzo of a symphony. At a faster tempo, it is built on themes that portray Melisande at the fountain, where she playfully tosses her wedding ring in the air before having it fall into the fountain; the growing attraction between Pelleas and Melisande; the scene in the tower where Melisande combs down her long hair (Pelleas caresses that hair, and at that moment they are discovered by Golaud); and the scene in which Golaud – now growing suspicious – leads Pelleas through the catacombs beneath the castle.

The third section is a slow movement that brings the drama to its first climax: this music “depicts” the night scene at the fountain in the park, the warm love music between Pelleas and Melisande, and Golaud’s taking up his sword and murdering Pelleas.

The concluding section brings the death of Melisande, who dies proclaiming her innocence. This “finale” recapitulates themes introduced in the opening section, including numerous repetitions of the fate motif. The movement rises to a climax on a noble restatement of Golaud’s theme, and Schoenberg’s vision of Maeterlinck’s tale concludes loudly, dramatically –and very darkly.

Years later, Schoenberg wrote of the premiere: “The first performance, 1905 in Vienna, under my own direction, provoked great riots among the audience and even the critics. Reviews were unusually violent, and one of the critics suggested putting me in an asylum and keeping music paper out of my reach. Only six years later, under Oscar Fried’s direction, it became a great success, and since that time has not caused the anger of the audience.” n -Program notes by Eric Bromberger

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Micolyn Magee

Annie Cruz Magill

Patricia Mahtani

Deborah and Fred Mandabach

Sue Marberry

Ana Esther Martinez

Beverly and Harold Martyn

James R. Mathes

Kyle McEachern

Mac McKay

Susan and Douglas McLeod

Narriman McNair

Daniel McNaughton

James and Estelle Milch

Dr. Grant Miller

Ann Morrison

Jan and Mark Newmark

Barbara and Donald Dean Niemann

James and Jean O’Grady

Larry and Linda Okmin Household

Abraham Ordover

Brent Orlesky and Ronald T. Oliver

Abraham Ordover

Brent Orlesky and Ronald T. Oliver

Yolanda Ortiz Palacio

Dr. Robert Padovani

Marilyn Palermo

Julie Park

Julian Parra

Sally and Phillip Patton

Robert Plimpton II

Dean Popp

Joseph and Sara Reisman

Cindy and Daniel Reynolds

Patrick Ritto

Nancy Robertson

Steve and Cheryl Rockwood

Louis Rosen

Alice Rosenblatt

Ronnie and Stuart Rosenwasser

Rose Marie and Allan Royster

Norman and Barbara Rozansky

Mary Salas

Mary Margaret Saxton

Gretchen Louise Schafer

Joel Schaller

Mr. Daniel H. Schumann

David and Martha Schwartz

Thomas Schwartz

Dr. Bruce Shirer

Martha Shively

Stanley Siegel

Linda Small

Marilyn and Brian Smith

Darryl and Rita Solberg

Amelia Soudan

James and Phyllis Speer

Gregory Stanton

Regenia Stein and Roland

James

Mark Stenson

Judy S. Stern

John L. Stover

Derek Stults

Nancy and Michael Sturdivan

Kimberly Sullivan

Nelson Surovik

Kay and Cliff Sweet

Thomas Templeton and Mary Erlenborn

Paul and Mary Anne Trause

Steven Traut

Jean and Mark Trotter

Orlando S. Uribe

Allen Voigt

VOSA Student Symphony Ticket Fund

Loren Waldapfel

John Walsh

Rex and Kathy Warburton

Don and Sharon Watkins

Janet and Joel Weber

Irene, David◊ & Diana Weinrieb

Mike and Janet Westling

Joyce Williams

Stephen Wilson

Symphorosa Williams

Mary Michele Wilmer

Sherri Wittwer

Noel Wheeler

David A. Wood

Karen and Rod Wood

Victor T. Yamauchi

Peter and Terry Yang

Naima and Mike Yelda

Maria and Randy Zack

MEMORIAL GIFTS

In memory of John Cochran

Sue Lasbury

In memory of Sandra Cohen

Anonymous

In memory of Peter Eros, Georgia Eros, Dale Klabunde

Eileen Wingard

In memory of Marcia Fram

Leonard Fram

In memory of Matthew Garbutt

Shirley Estes

In memory of James Jessop Hervey

Linda Hervey

In memory of Joan Jacobs

Alan Benaroya

Stuart and Barbara Brody

Dr. Peter Czipott and Marisa SorBello

Susan and Steven Davis

Roy Devries

Robert and Nina Doede

Stan Flemming, Forward Ventures Globalstar

Jewish Community Foundation

Douglas and Susan McLeod

Karen and Jeffrey Silberman Family Fund

Frank O’Dea

Linda and Shearn* Platt

Anne Porter

Claudia Prescott

Allison and Robert Price

Alicia Rockmore

Lea Schmidt-Rogers and Larry Rogers

Jack Strecker

Allen and Helene Ziman

In memory of Sergio Jinich

Sonya Jinich

In memory of Bob Kyle

Laura Kyle

In memory of Mariam Lapid

Sharon Lapid

In memory of Judy McDonald

Pam and Hal Fuson

Judith Morgan

Stephanie and Richard Coutts

In memory of Judy and Alex McDonald

Ross Cohen and Valerie Leman

In memory of Bob Nelson Who Loved the Music, the Bay and San Diego

Kevin Tilden

In memory of Lorna Nemcek, wife of Adrian Nemcek from their friends at Mason Investment Advisors

David Engler

In memory of Lloyd Pernela, Ethan Pernela’s father

Ann Morrison

Lois Richmond (of blessed memory)

Jewish Community Foundation

In memory of Bruce Sutherland

Jo-Anne Brownwood

In memory of Bill Weber

Colette Carson Royston and Ivor Royston

Joyce Burns

Elaine and Dave Darwin

John Bloedorn

Franci Free

Patricia and Kent Newmark

Bob Morris

Penny and Lou Rosso

Linda and Michael Galagher

In memory of Bill Weber and Judy McDonald

Kathleen Seely Davis

In memory of David and Ilene Weinreb

Diana Weinreb

HONORARIA GIFTS

In honor of Victoria Andujar

Vance and Gloria Baker

In honor of Jan and Kevin Curtis

Claudia Levin

In honor of Matt Garbutt

Eileen Wingard

In honor of Melanie Gillette

Vance and Gloria Baker

In Honor of Dr. Melvin Goldzband’s 94th Birthday

Claudia Levin

In Honor of James and Theresa Grant, and Maria Atkins

Thao Hughes

In honor of Dr. Nancy Hong

Susan Diekman

In honor of Dr. Irwin Jacobs’s 90th Birthday

Paul Jacobs

Rebecca Moores

In honor of Lang Lang, Martha Gilmer and the wonderful San Diego Symphony Orchestra for a fantastic musical experience at The Rady Shell

Dr. and Mrs. Philip Ziring

In honor of Cheri LaZarus

Joani Nelson

In honor of Harriett Mallory

Kris and Pam Mallory and Linda Dawson

In honor of Rabbi Matthew Marko

in care of Tifereth Israel Synagogue

Laurie M. Gore

In honor of Dr. Dianne Moores

Ralph Hull

In honor of Ray Nowak

Linda Thomas

In honor of Dave and Phyllis Snyder

Barbara and Robert Scott

In honor of Mr. Gene Summ’s 93rd birthday

Dr. and Mrs. Philip Ziring

In honor of the retirement of Marsha Zeven

Eileen Wingard

CORPORATE HONOR ROLL

THESE PARTNERS CURRENTLY MAINTAIN AN ANNUAL SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SPONSORSHIP:

$200,000+

$100,000+

$50,000+

$25,000+

$15,000+

$10,000+

The San Diego Symphony Orchestra expresses sincere gratitude to the following donors for their generous contributions to the Symphony Summer Partners program. Our Summer Partners are a dedicated group of civicminded music-lovers who are committed to enriching our community through providing free music education and community engagement programs.

The following listing reflects pledges and gifts entered as of August 8, 2024.

$50,000

MR. LES J. SILVER AND ANDREA ROTHSCHILD-SILVER

$25,000

SHIRLEY ESTES

$15,000

GISELE BONITZ THE BOROS FAMILY

GORDON BRODFUEHRER

LINDA AND TOM LANG

CHRIS AND KRIS SEEGER

GAYLE AND PHILIP TAUBER

LISA AND MICHAEL WITZ

*Deceased

Becoming a Summer Partner of the San Diego Symphony affords you a unique opportunity to enhance your concert-going experience and support the inclusive and diverse programming that The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park has become known for. Your support as a Summer Partner is a commitment to the betterment of San Diego and the cultural excellence of our region.

For more information, or to join, please contact Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Sheri Broedlow at (619) 615-3910 or sbroedlow@sandiegosymphony.org

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18 7:30PM

SATUDAY, OCTOBER 19 7:30PM

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 2 PM

Jacobs Music Center

2024 JACOBS MASTERWORKS

WHERE WE

LAY OUR SCENE: A SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ROMEO AND JULIET

Rafael Payare, conductor

Emanuel Ax, piano

Giovanny Diaz de Leon, actor (Romeo)

Charlotte McBurney, actor (Juliet)

Gerard McBurney, director

Mike Tutaj, projections

Joel Shier, lighting designer

Tiffany Spicer Keys, lighting programmer

Joshua Heming, assistant lighting designer

San Diego Symphony Orchestra

PROGRAM

MOZART

Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, K. 503

Allegro maestoso Andante Allegretto

Emanuel Ax, piano -INTERMISSIONPROKOFIEV

Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 Ballet (G. McBurney compilation)

Total Program Duration: 2 Hours 10 Minutes (includes one, 20-minute intermission).

The San Diego Symphony is grateful to The Old Globe theater for their collaboration in casting of actors used in the design elements of this production.

Barry Edelstein, artistic director

Kim Heil, artistic producer and head of casting

VOICEOVER ACTORS :

Mahira Kakkar

Victor Morris

Gregg Mozgala

Gerardo Navarro

Emma Svitil

Cassia Thompson

Michael Underhill

Alejandra Villanueva

VIDEO ACTORS:

Alex Guzman

Madeline Grace Jones

Gerardo Navarro

Angelynne Pawaan

Akoni Steinmann

Emma Svitil

Cassia Thompson

Michael Underhill

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

RAFAEL PAYARE

See bio on page P5.

EMANUEL AX

Born to Polish parents in what is today Lviv, Ukraine, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. Mr. Ax made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists Series, and in 1974 won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed four years later by the Avery Fisher Prize.

The 2024/25 season begins with a continuation of the Beethoven For Three touring and recording project with partners Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma which takes them to European festivals including BBC Proms, Dresden, Hamburg, Vienna and Luxembourg. As guest soloist he will appear during the New York Philharmonic’s opening week which will mark his 47th annual visit to the orchestra. During the season he will return to the Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras, National, San Diego, Nashville and Pittsburgh symphonies and Rochester Philharmonic. A fall recital tour from Toronto and Boston moves west to include San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles culminating in the spring in Chicago and his annual Carnegie Hall appearance. A special project in duo with clarinetist Anthony McGill takes them from the west coast through the mid-west to Georgia and Carnegie Hall and in chamber music with Itzhak Perlman and Friends to Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Francisco. An extensive European tour will include concerts in Paris, Oslo, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Warsaw and Israel.

Mr. Ax has been a Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987 and following the success of the Brahms Trios with Kavakos and Ma, the trio launched an ambitious, multi-year project to record all the Beethoven Trios and Symphonies arranged for trio of which the first three discs have been released. He has received GRAMMY® Awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas. He has also made a series of GRAMMY-winning recordings with Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano. In the 2004/05 season Mr. Ax contributed to an International EMMY® Award-Winning BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust that aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In 2013, Mr. Ax’s recording Variations received the Echo Klassik Award for Solo Recording of the Year (19th Century Music/Piano).

Mr. Ax is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates of music from Skidmore College, New England Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and Columbia University. For more information about Mr. Ax’s career, please visit EmanuelAx.com. n

GERARD MCBURNEY

Gerard McBurney is a British composer, writer, and deviser, working in theater, radio, television, and concert hall. Recent projects have included collaborations with Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé, the Southbank and Barbican Centres, Lincoln Center, the festivals in Lucerne and Aix-en-Provence, and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra. In May 2017, he was Creative Partner for the Cincinnati May Festival, directing productions of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. In January 2018, he made a new staging of The Genesis Suite for Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, and in August 2018, for the BBC Proms, a tribute to Leonard Bernstein, The Sound of an Orchestra, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestraand Joshua Weilerstein.

Between 2006 and 2016, he was Artistic Programming Advisor at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Creative Director of Beyond the Score®. More recently, he joined the San Diego Symphony as Artistic Consultant. Following his studies in the USSR in the 1980s, Gerard’s intense interest in Russian culture and music found a reflection in many of his own compositions. As an orchestrator, he is best known for his completions of lost and forgotten pieces by Shostakovich, including the unfinished opera about a monkey, Orango, which was given its world premiere in his version by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2011. Upcoming work includes new collaborations with Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and, for Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the premiere of a lost melodrama by Liszt. n

MIKE TUTAJ

Mike Tutaj designs projections and sound for theatre and live performance. Based in Chicago, his designs have been seen and heard on the stages of The Goodman, Steppenwolf, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, The Second City, Lookingglass, TimeLine, Paramount Theatre, and many more. Off-Broadway credits include MCCTheater, p73, EnGarde Arts, and The York Theatre. Regional credits include Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Alliance Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, South Coast Rep, Center Theatre Group, Children’s Theatre Company (Minneapolis), and Theatre Squared. International credits include productions with BBC Proms, The Holland Festival, The Aldeburgh Festival, and the London Symphony Orchestra. Mike teaches projection design at The Theatre School at DePaul University. He is an artistic associate with TimeLine Theatre, and a member of United Scenic Artists local 829. Love to Emily. www.miketutaj.com. n

ABOUT THE MUSIC

Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, K. 503

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Born January 27, 1756, Salzburg

Died December 5, 1791, Vienna

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 30 MINUTES

In the fall of 1786, the 30-year-old Mozart set to work simultaneously on two large-scale orchestral works: he completed the Piano Concerto in C Major on December 4 and a Symphony in D Major two days later; the symphony would assume the nickname “Prague” when it was premiered in that city the following month. There is, however, no record of the premiere of the concerto, nor is there any indication of the occasion for which it was written – this remains the least-known of the series of phenomenal piano concertos Mozart wrote in the years 1785-6. It lacks the seething power of the Concerto in D Minor, K. 466, the jaunty heroism of the Concerto in C Major, K. 467, the lyricism of the Concerto in A Major, K. 488, and the dark drama of the Concerto in C Minor, K. 491, and some have found it almost faceless in that distinguished company. The New Grove Dictionary, in fact, calls this concerto “almost neutral in character.”

These critics seem to have a point. The Concerto in C Major, K. 503 is not memorably lyric: its themes – built on triadic chords, scales and simple rhythmic motifs –feel almost static. But the wonder of this music is what Mozart does with his material, for this concerto shows him at his finest: its graceful interplay between soloist and orchestra, ingenious development of (seemingly) neutral ideas, and contrapuntal ease make the Concerto in C Major one of his most subtle and affecting scores.

The opening Allegro maestoso is aptly named: this truly is majestic music, and it leaps to life with one of Mozart’s grandest openings, punctuated by the sound of trumpets and drums. Yet this massive opening is built simply on C Major chords, almost static in themselves, and only incidentally does Mozart introduce the rhythmic motif that will shape and unify so much of this music. (This pattern of three eighths and a downbeat would later become famous as the opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, but it haunted Mozart as well.) A further surprise is the entrance of the piano: after the mighty orchestral opening – with its powerful chords, rushing scales and C-minor modulations – the piano makes what seems an understated entrance, slipping in almost shyly. It has been noted that this movement manages to be heroic while avoiding any trace of struggle: there are no battles fought and won here, but instead an air of serenity, a carefree exultation in sophisticated music-making as Mozart transforms simple materials into music of charm and grace over an unusually long span. (This is in fact the longest movement in any Mozart concerto.)

The subsequent movements partake of the same spirit and technique, though on a smaller scale. The Andante,

relaxed and reflective, features some of Mozart’s sensitive writing for woodwinds. The piano part, gentle as it is, is marked by some unusually wide skips, particularly the upward leap of a tenth. Along the way, alert listeners will recognize the same rhythmic motif that underlay the first movement. The finale is rondo-like in structure, but with some important variations. Mozart borrowed its central theme from the ballet music to his opera Idomeneo, composed six years earlier, though here that tune makes few literal returns. Rather, it is subtly varied in a movement that seems more a series of continuous variations than the standard rondo process of literal repetition. In this movement, Mozart combines some of the reflective quality of the Andante with the C-Major trumpet-and-drum fanfares of the opening movement.

Some scholars have gone so far as to suggest that Mozart deliberately made the thematic material of this concerto neutral as a way of shifting interest away from the themes and onto what he does with them; this may explain the unusual length of the development in the first movement. In any case, while the Concerto in C Major may not have achieved the popularity of some of Mozart’s other piano concertos, it remains – in its subtle and expressive way – one of his finest creations. n

Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 Ballet (G. McBurney compilation)

SERGEI PROKOFIEV

Born April 23, 1891, Sontsivka, Ukraine

Died March 5, 1953, Moscow

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME

1 HOUR 20 MINUTES

Program Note from the Desk of: Gerard Mcburney Prokofiev was still a young man when he left Russia, a few months after the Bolshevik Revolution in the autumn of 1917. World war and political upheaval meant there were few prospects for a musician in his native land. After a madcap trip across Asia and through Japan, he moved to the United States and, a year or two later, to Western Europe.

As things began to settle down in the later 1920s, however, he started to receive invitations to travel and perform in what was now the USSR. Soon that led to lucrative commissions from Soviet cultural authorities, culminating in the mid 1930s with a request for a fulllength ballet on the story of Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet

Prokofiev worked with two colleagues to create a simplified version of Shakespeare’s complicated plot, omitting many of the characters and including plentiful crowd scenes which would allow the corps de ballet to show off their skills. The result was one of the greatest ballet-scores of the mid-20th century, today rarely out of the repertoire of the world’s principal ballet companies.

Some of the most beautiful and personal music in this score is, naturally enough, for the scenes between the protagonists of the title. Remember: in Shakespeare’s play Juliet is only 13 years old, and Romeo just 3 years older than that. In modern terms, just children, far below the age we would nowadays consider it acceptable to marry, though in Shakespeare’s time marriage at such an age was more normal.

Prokofiev always had a gift for writing music for and about children – think of Peter and the Wolf and his Seventh Symphony – and in this music the composer captures something remarkable, at once touchingly innocent and at the same time extremely passionate in a way we would nowadays think of as decidedly not childlike.

This performance, specially created for the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and the opening of our new Jacobs Music Center, gathers together all the music from the score which focuses our attention on the two young lovers and what happens to them, and interweaves Prokofiev’s 20th century Russian music with the astonishingly beautiful late 16th century English lovepoetry – including some of the most famous and inspiring lines that Shakespeare ever wrote – to create a tribute to

both great artists (who lived 350 years apart from one another and in quite different countries), and retell once again one of the world’s most famous love-stories in a way that reminds us of the haunting beauties of both the words and music.

At the same time, this performance has been imagined so as to reveal the astonishing musical, spatial and theatrical possibilities of this amazing new hall, to celebrate the achievement of this architectural and musical reimagining, and enable us to hear this famous orchestral music and these famous words in a way that has never been tried before. n

-Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Building a Sound Tomorrow

Jacobs Music Center Renovation and Endowment Campaign

“To have the opportunity to improve the beautiful hall we call home, and to improve the musical communication on stage with the musicians, and to create a more intimate connection with our audiences, is a fantastic dream.”

– Rafael Payare, Music Director, San Diego Symphony

Under the leadership of Music Director Rafael Payare and Chief Executive Officer Martha Gilmer, the San Diego Symphony has completed a historic renovation of its indoor home. The renovation of The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Music Center complements The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park and provides San Diego with two extraordinary venues designed to celebrate music and community. Likewise, in the same way that these venues promise an ever-brighter future, the San Diego Symphony Foundation’s endowment provides longterm financial stability for the organization, ensuring that the power of live music continues to inspire and uplift our community for generations to come.

PLAY A PART IN BUILDING THE SYMPHONY’S FUTURE

The San Diego Symphony Foundation manages our Endowment, the cornerstone of our long-term stability and artistic excellence. By contributing to the Endowment, donors play a crucial role in sustaining our orchestra’s ability to present worldclass performances, expand our educational outreach, and foster innovation in the arts. We invite you to join us in this enduring legacy by supporting the Endowment, securing the future of music in San Diego, and leaving an indelible mark on our cultural landscape.

NAME A SEAT!

The beauty of the newly renovated Jacobs Music Center will be most enjoyed from the reconfigured seating in the hall. We ask you to join this historic campaign by investing in the San Diego Symphony and NAMING A SEAT. The named seats serve as a celebration of all individuals who helped make the renovation possible. With a gift of $10,000, you can name a seat on the Orchestra level, or with a gift of $25,000, you can name a seat in the Grand Tier. Your contribution can be pledged and paid over a period of one to five years.

A gift toward the renovated Jacobs Music Center supports the orchestra, elevates the audience experience, and impacts the growing vitality of downtown San Diego. To learn more, send an email to: campaign@sandiegosymphony.org

101 | Susan & Thomas Smith

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25 7:30PM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 7:30PM

Jacobs Music Center

2024 JACOBS MASTERWORKS

ROMANTIC FATES: TCHAIKOVSKY’S TOWERING FIFTH

Antonio Méndez, conductor

Paul Huang, violin

San Diego Symphony Orchestra

PROGRAM

MENDELSSOHN

Overture to Ruy Blas, Op. 95

BRUCH

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26

Vorspiel; Allegro moderato

Adagio

Finale: Allegro energico

Paul Huang, violin -INTERMISSION-

TCHAIKOVSKY

Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 6

Andante - Allegro con anima

Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza

Valse: Allegro moderato

Finale: Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace

Total Program Duration: 1 Hour 20 Minutes (includes one, 20 minute intermission).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ANTONIO MÉNDEZ

Spanish conductor Antonio Méndez is fast becoming one of the most exciting, established and sought-after conductors, having created strong links with the most important orchestras in Europe.

Over the last few years, Antonio has had great success conducting orchestras such as Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Wiener Symphoniker and Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.

This season, he will perform with San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Gunma Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Orquestra de les Illes Balears, and Orchester des Pfalztheaters Kaiserslautern among ot hers.

In the past season, Antonio debuted with La Monnaie / De Munt, Brucknerhaus Linz, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla and RST Symphony Orchestra among others. Highlights of recent seasons include acclaimed debuts with Wiener Symphoniker, Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, BBC Philharmonic, Orchestra de Chambre de Paris, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Russian National Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic and a tour with Orchestre de Chambre de Paris to the Canary Islands.

Also working in opera over recent seasons, Méndez has conducted The Turn of the Screw at La Monnaie / De Munt, Ariadne auf Naxos at the Canary Islands Music Festival, 7 Deaths of Maria Callas – a show that combines opera, live arts, performance art and video creation – at Gran Teatre del Liceu, Madame Butterfly at the Palma de Mallorca Opera House and L’Elisir d’Amore at the Tenerife Opera House. Antonio held the post of Principal Conductor of Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife from the 2018/19 to 2020/21 season.

Antonio’s recording with Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR on SWR Music (for Berlin Classics) was awarded an Echo Klassik Award. He has also recorded with Scottish Chamber Orchestra for Linn Records.

The artist attracted international attention as a prize winner at the prestigious 2012 Malko Competition in Copenhagen, and later as a finalist at the 2013 Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award.

Born in 1984 in Palma de Mallorca, Antonio began his musical studies at the Conservatori Professional de Música de Mallorca in piano and violin. He also attended the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid to study composition and conducting. Since 2007 he has

been living in Germany, where he completed his conductor training at the Universität der Künste Berlin with Professor Lutz Köhler, also as a member of the Dirigentenforum (‘Conductor’s Forum’ from the German Music Council) and at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Franz Liszt’ Weimar with Professor Nicolás Pasquet.

PAUL HUANG

Recipient of the prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, violinist Paul Huang is considered to be one of the most distinctive artists of his generation. The Washington Post remarked that Mr. Huang “possesses a big, luscious tone, spot-on intonation and a technique that makes the most punishing string phrases feel as natural as breathing,” and further proclaimed him as “an artist with the goods for a significant career” following his recital debut at the Kennedy Center.

Known for his “unfailing attractive, golden, and resonant tone” (The Strad), Mr. Huang’s recent highlights have included acclaim debut at Bravo!Vail Music Festival stepping in for violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter in the Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.4 with Chamber Orchestra Vienna-Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic with Lahav Shani, Detroit Symphony with Leonard Slatkin, Houston Symphony with Andres Orozco-Estrada, Baltimore Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic with Markus Stenz, and recital debuts at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland and Aspen Music Festival. In Fall 2021, Paul also became the first classical violinist to perform his own arrangement of the National Anthem for the opening game of the NFL at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina to an audience of 75,000. An exclusive recording artist with France’s Naïve Records, his debut album “Kaleidoscope” was released worldwide in October of 2023. His recording of Toshio Hosokawa’s Violin Concerto “Genesis” with Residentie Orkest Den Haag will be released on NAXOS in June of 2024.

During the 2023-24 season, Mr. Huang appears with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan with Jun Markl, Pacific Symphony with Matthew Halls, and makes debuts with Dallas Symphony Orchestra and NHK Symphony with Fabio Luisi, Vancouver Symphony with Otto Tausk, and San Francisco Symphony with Mei-Ann Chen. Other highlights will include engagements with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Brevard, and Augusta Symphonies.

2023-24 season recital, chamber music, and festival performances will include Mr. Huang’s return to both the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Camerata Pacifica, and his much anticipated recital return at the Kennedy Center (Washington Performing Arts presents) and his recital debut in Singapore at the Victoria Concert Hall. Mr. Huang will also return to Bravo!Vail, North Shore, and Rockport Music Festivals. In January 2024, Mr. Huang will launch the 2nd edition of “Paul Huang & Friends” International Chamber Music Festival in Taipei, Taiwan, in association with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.

Mr. Huang’s recent recital engagements included Lincoln Center’s “Great Performers” series and debuts at the Wigmore Hall, Seoul Arts Center, and the Louvre in Paris. A frequent guest artist at music festivals worldwide, he has performed at the Seattle, Music@Menlo, Savannah, Caramoor, La Jolla, Santa Fe, Moritzburg, Kissinger Sommer, Sion, Orford Musique, and the PyeongChang Music Festival in South Korea. His chamber music collaborators have included Gil Shaham, Cho-Liang Lin, Nobuko Imai, Mischa Maisky, Jian Wang, Lynn Harrell, Yefim Bronfman, Kirill Gerstein and Marc-Andre Hamelin. Winner of the 2011 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Mr. Huang made critically acclaimed recital debuts in New York at Lincoln Center and in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center. Other honors include First Prize at the 2009 Tibor Varga International Violin Competition Sion-Valais in Switzerland, the 2009 Chi-Mei Cultural Foundation Arts Award for Taiwan’s Most Promising Young Artists, the 2013 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and the 2014 Classical Recording Foundation Young Artist Award.

Born in Taiwan, Mr. Huang began violin lessons at the age of seven. He is a recipient of the inaugural Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School, where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under Hyo Kang and I-Hao Lee. He plays on the legendary 1742 “ex-Wieniawski” Guarneri del Gesù on extended loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago and is on the faculty of Taipei National University of the Arts. He resides in New York. n

ABOUT THE MUSIC

Overture to Ruy Blas, Op. 95

FELIX MENDELSSOHN

Born February 3, 1809, Hamburg

Died November 4, 1847, Leipzig

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 7 MINUTES

Early in March 1839, the Leipzig Theatrical Pension Fund planned to produce Victor Hugo’s play Ruy Blas, which had been premiered only four months earlier in Paris, and they asked Felix Mendelssohn to compose an overture to launch the play. But there was a problem: Mendelssohn read the play, and he hated it, calling it “entirely repulsive and beneath all dignity.” Not wishing to offend the fund, he composed a brief romance for sopranos and strings but begged off writing the overture, saying that he didn’t have the time (and in this he was quite correct: only three weeks later he would conduct the premiere of the recently discovered Schubert Ninth Symphony). The Pension Fund sent him a very graceful note, thanking him for the romance and saying that they understood that it was impossible to write an overture on such short notice. Apparently that note went straight up Mendelssohn’s nose: he sat down and wrote the overture in three days, just to show them that he could do it. He handed the manuscript to his copyist on March 8, and that copyist also worked in a hurry: the overture was premiered on March 11 at the start of the play.

Hugo’s play tells of a servant who suddenly becomes prime minister in the court of Charles II of Spain in 1699; he enacts humane reforms but dies during the play’s bloody denouement. We need know none of this to enjoy Mendelssohn’s overture – he made no attempt to depict the events of the play, and his overture should be enjoyed as a piece of abstract music. It begins quite solemnly, with deep C-minor chords from the orchestra’s winds, which are answered by fast and twisting responses from the strings. These string figures turn into the overture’s principal theme, which leaps ahead at the Molto allegro, but the ominous wind chords return throughout, and the overture eventually drives to a grand, brassy climax in C Major.

Mendelssohn may have hated the play, but he liked his own overture, which is an effective curtain raiser for any occasion. He conducted it a number of times over the following years, but at those concerts it was not called the Overture to Ruy Blas – Mendelssohn insisted that the name for this piece should be the Theatrical Pension Fund Overture. n

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26

MAX BRUCH

Born January 6, 1838, Cologne

Died October 2, 1920, Berlin-Friedenau

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 24 MINUTES

Max Bruch appears fated to remain a one-work composer. His choral compositions are still admired in Germany, and one hears the Scottish Fantasy from time to time, but Bruch’s reputation today rests squarely on the fame of one work, his First Violin Concerto. Ironically, this concerto was a product of his youth – he began work on it at age 19, finished the first version nine years later, and had it in final form in 1868, when he was only 30. Joseph Joachim, the dedicatee, gave the successful premiere of this version, and the concerto’s instant popularity overwhelmed everything else Bruch wrote thereafter. He is said to have reacted with exasperation when young violinists came to play for him, for they always played this concerto. He was left complaining that he had written some other pieces for violin.

There are several good reasons for this concerto’s continuing popularity. Bruch writes gorgeous melodies for the violin here – this is late German romanticism at its most lyric. He is then able to build these simple melodies into climaxes of tremendous power and excitement. Last, and certainly not least, this concerto is beautifully written for the violin – it sits gracefully under the fingers, and while the Concerto in G minor is very difficult, it is also very grateful to play. This concerto has an evergreen quality that will keep it fresh forever.

The form is slightly unusual, and the opening movement gave Bruch a great deal of trouble. The first two movements are joined, and Bruch worried

that the opening section was not a complete movement. He called it Vorspiel (Prelude), and it is in an unusual form. It begins with a slow orchestral introduction, and the violin enters with a cadenza-like recitative. The music soon rushes ahead on soaring themes and dramatic writing to a great climax, and then Bruch brings back the recitative of the very beginning to lead the way into the middle movement.

The Adagio is one of the great slow movements in all the violin concerto literature, and it shows Bruch’s considerable melodic gift. There are three separate themes, all gentle and yearning, and all of them wellsuited to the violin’s lyrical nature. Bruch weaves them into a climax of considerable power before the movement ends quietly. The finale, aptly marked Allegro energico, is a rondo-like movement in G Major. The orchestra’s introduction leads to the impressive violin entrance, reminiscent of gypsy fiddling. Once again, Bruch offers some terrific writing for the violin, and his performance markings tell the tale: passages marked appassionato or con fuoco or con forza alternate with material marked dolce or tranquillo e grazioso. The movement races to its close on a Presto coda that sends the solo violin soaring to the very top of its range. n

Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64

PYOTR ILYICH TC HAIKOVSKY

Born May 7, 1840, Votkinsk

Died November 6, 1893, St. Petersburg

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 44 MINUTES

In the winter of 1887-88 Tchaikovsky made a tour of Western Europe, conducting his own works in Leipzig, Hamburg (where he met Brahms), Berlin, Prague, Paris and London. Those audiences responded enthusiastically to his music (Brahms was an exception), and Tchaikovsky returned to Russia ready to attempt a new symphony. In April 1888 he moved into a villa in Frolovskoye, northwest of Moscow, where he could work on his new symphony and take long walks in the woods. Two years later he would return to Frolovskoye to discover – in a moment straight out of Chekhov – that the forests had all been cut down, but now he worked happily in this beautiful setting, and his Fifth Symphony was done by August. Tchaikovsky led the premiere in St. Petersburg on November 17, 1888.

While it lacks the white-hot fury of the Fourth Symphony or the dark intensity of the Sixth, the Fifth Symphony –full of those wonderful Tchaikovsky themes, imaginative orchestral color and excitement – has become one of his most popular works, so popular in fact that it takes a conscious effort to hear this symphony with fresh ears. As he did in the Fourth, Tchaikovsky builds this symphony around a motto-theme, and in his notebooks he suggested that the motto of the Fifth Symphony represents “complete resignation before fate.” But that is as far as the resemblance goes, for Tchaikovsky

supplied no program for the Fifth Symphony, nor does this music seem to be “about” anything. The motto theme returns in each of the four movements, often in quite different guises, but it may be best to understand this motto as a unifying device rather than as anything so dramatic as the Fourth Symphony’s “sword of Damocles.” Listeners are of course free to supply their own interpretations as to what this music is about, but despite the tantalizing hints about “resignation before fate,” Tchaikovsky apparently regarded his Fifth Symphony as abstract music.

Clarinets introduce the somber motto-theme at the beginning of the slow introduction, and gradually this leads to the main body of the movement, marked Allegro con anima. Over the orchestra’s steady tread, solo clarinet and bassoon sing the surging main theme of this sonata-form movement, and there follows a wealth of thematic material. This is a lengthy movement, and it is built on three separate-theme groups, full of soaring and sumptuous Tchaikovsky melodies. The development fuses these lyric themes with episodes of superheated drama, and listeners will hear the motto-theme hinted at along the way. The movement draws to a quiet close, its furious energy finally exhausted.

Deep string chords at the opening of the Andante cantabile introduce one of the great solos for French horn, and a few moments later the oboe has the graceful second subject. For a movement that begins in such relaxed spirits, this music is twice shattered by the return of the motto-theme, which blazes out dramatically in the trumpets. Tchaikovsky springs a surprise in the third movement – instead of the expected scherzo, he writes a lovely waltz. Its trio section skitters along a steady flow of sixteenth-notes from the strings (this section feels very much like a scene from one his ballets), and Tchaikovsky rounds the movement off beautifully – he writes an extended coda based on the waltz tune, and in its closing moments the motto-theme makes a fleeting appearance, like a figure seen through the mists.

However misty that theme may have seemed at the end of the third movement, it comes into crystalline focus at the beginning of the finale. Tchaikovsky moves to E Major here and sounds out the motto to open this movement – this music seems to have arrived at its moment of triumph even before the last movement has fairly begun. The main body of the finale, marked Allegro vivace, leaps to life, and the motto-theme breaks in more and more often as it proceeds. The movement drives to a great climax, then breaks off in silence. This is a trap, designed to trick the unwary and propel them into premature applause, for the symphony is not yet over. And in fact no attentive listener should be fooled, for this false “conclusion” is in the “wrong” key of B Major! (One wonders just what thoughts were running through Tchaikovsky’s mind when he designed this trap.) Out of the ensuing silence begins the real coda, and the mottotheme now leads the way on constantly-accelerating tempos to the (true) conclusion in E major. n

-Program notes by Eric Bromberger

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Bird Singers from the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation performing at the opening of a San Diego Symphony Community Concert on stage at Live & Up Close | Sycuan Casino Resort.

THE FUTURE IS HEAR CAMPAIGN

The San Diego Symphony Orchestra acknowledges the following donors who have made a gift of $10,000 or more toward The Future is HEAR campaign, our current $125 million campaign supporting the San Diego Symphony’s construction of The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park and its wide-ranging artistic and community programs. We are extremely grateful! To make a gift, please call (619) 237-1969. The following listing reflects pledges or gifts entered as of August 8, 2024.

San Diego Foundation Rancho Santa Fe Foundation Jewish Community Foundation ◊ Deceased

$1,000,000 AND ABOVE

Terry L. Atkinson

Bank of America

Dianne Bashor

Malin and Roberta Burnham

Harry and Judy Collins Foundation

Daniel J. and Phyllis Epstein

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Jack McGrory

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Sahm Family Foundation

T. Denny Sanford

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Karen and Jeff Silberman

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The State of California

Gloria and Rodney Stone

Sycuan Casino Resort

Roger◊ Thieme and Sylvia Steding

Sue and Bill◊ Weber

$250,000 AND ABOVE

Anonymous

Raffaella and John Belanich

Alan Benaroya

Susan and Jim Blair

The James Silberrad Brown Foundation

Julia Brown Family

David C. Copley Foundation

Sam B. Ersan◊

Esther Fischer

Pam and Hal Fuson

Karen and Warren Kessler

Carol Ann and George Lattimer

The Payne Family Foundation

M&I Pfister Foundation

Linda and Shearn◊ Platt

Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation

Dave and Phyllis Snyder

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon

Elizabeth and Joseph◊ Taft

Jayne and Bill Turpin

Kathryn A. and James E. Whistler

$100,000 AND ABOVE

Jules and Michele Arthur

Denise and Lon Bevers

David Bialis

Catherine & Phil Blair, Linda & Mel Katz, Manpower San Diego

Nikki and Ben Clay

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Diane and Charles Culp

Diane and Elliot Feuerstein

Walt Fidler

Anne and Steve Furgal

Lisa Braun Glazer and Jeff Glazer

Linda & Melvyn Katz

In memory of Jim Lester

The Hering Family

Carol and Richard Hertzberg

Arlene Inch

Brooke and Dan◊ Koehler

Bill and Evelyn Lamden

Curt Leland and Mary DiMatteo

Sandra and Arthur◊ Levinson

The Alex C. McDonald Family

Lori Moore, Cushman Foundation

The Parker Foundation (Gerald T. & Inez Grant Parker)

Bill and Clarice Perkins

Marilyn James and Richard Phetteplace

Jeanne and Arthur◊ Rivkin

Sage Foundation

In memory of Bob Nelson who loved the music, the bay and San Diego

Tucker Sadler Architects

U.S. Bank

Jo and Howard◊ Weiner

Cole and Judy Willoughby

Richard◊ and Joanie Zecher

$50,000 AND ABOVE

Carol Rolf and Steven Adler

Bonnie & Krishna Arora and Family

David A. and Jill Wien Badger

Carolyn and Paul Barber

Cindy and Larry Bloch

Lisa and David Casey

The John D. & Janice W. Cone Family Trust

Scotty Dale

Kathleen Seely Davis

The den Uijl Family

In Loving Memory of LV

Gary and Karin Eastham

In loving memory of Kenrick “Ken” Wirtz◊

Jose Fimbres Moreno◊

Karen Wahler and Michael Gay◊

William and Martha Gilmer

The Jaime Family Trust

Roy, Peggy, Dean, and Denise Lago

The Peggy and Robert Matthews Foundation

Admiral Riley◊ D. Mixson

Gerry and Jeannie Ranglas

Marilyn & Michael Rosen, Juniper and Ivy Restaurant

Richard Sandstrom and Sandra Timmons

Congresswoman Lynn Schenk

Kris and Chris Seeger

Deborah Heitz and Shaw Wagener

Emma and Leo Zuckerman

$25,000 AND ABOVE

Anonymous

Lisa and Dennis Bradley

Gordon Brodfuehrer

Pamela and Jerry Cesak

County of San Diego

The Druck/Silvia Family

Susan E. Dubé

Lisette & Mick Farrell

Dr. John and Susan Fratamico

Janet and Wil Gorrie

Virginia and Peter Jensen

Jeff Light and Teri Sforza

Sig Mickelson◊

Sandy and Greg Rechtsteiner

The Segur Family

In honor of Robert (Bud) Emile, SDS Concertmaster 1960-1975

Bill and Diane Stumph

Gayle and Philip Tauber

In memory of my husband

Raymond V. Thomas, Lover of the Symphony

The Bartzis-Villalobos Family

RANAS

Leslie and Joe Waters

John J. Zygowicz and Judy Gaze Zygowicz

$10,000 AND ABOVE

Erina Angelucci

Aptis Global, A subsidiary of The Kimball Group

DeAnne Steele, Carlo Barbara and Cole Barbara

Eloise and Warren Batts

Lauren Lee Beaudry

Karl and Christina Becker

Edgar and Julie Berner

Diane and Norm Blumenthal

The Boros Family

Sarah◊ and John Boyer

Annette and Daniel Bradbury

Lori and Richard Brenckman

Sheri Broedlow and Kyle Van Dyke

Beth Callender & Pete Garcia

Robert Caplan and Carol Randolph, Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek

The Casdorph Family

Angela Chilcott

Kurt and Elizabeth Chilcott

Dr. Samuel M. Ciccati and Kristine J. Ciccati

Thomas Jordan and Meredith M. Clancy

P. Kay Coleman & Janice E. Montle

Dr. William Coleman

Peter V. Czipott and Marisa SorBello

Ann Davies

Caroline S. DeMar

Drs. Edward A. and Martha G. Dennis

George & Jan DeVries

Robert and Nina Doede

In loving memory of Karen Cooper Ferm◊

Michael and Susan Finnane

Gertrude B. Fletcher

K. Forbes

Deborah Pate and John Forrest

4040 AgencyMary, Bill & John

Judith and William Friedel

Barbara and Doug Fuller

Cheryl J. Hintzen-Gaines and Ira J. Gaines

Vicki Garcia-Golden and Tim Jeffries, Gardiner & Theobald Inc.

Joyce M. Gattas, PhD

Lynn and Charlie Gaylord

In memory of Royce G. Darby◊

Kimberly and Jeffrey Goldman

In memory of Samuel Lipman◊Clarinetist

The Granada Fund

Robert and Carole Greenes

Carrie and Jim Greenstein

Georgia Griffiths and Colleen Kendall

Lulu Hadaya

Jeff and Tina Hauser

In memory of Lucille Bandel◊

In Memory of Dick Hess◊

Richard A. Heyman and Anne E. Daigle Family Foundation

Let the music play on, Drew!

Mary Ann and John Hurley

Cynthia Thornton and Michael Keenan

Keith and Cheryl Kim

Katherine Kimball

Helen and Sig Kupka

Linda and Tom Lang

Alexis and Steven Larky

Tom and Terry Lewis Foundation

The Li Family

Larry Low and Mikayla Lay

Josephine & Alex Lupinetti◊

Scott MacDonald and Patti Kurtz

Daniel and Chris Mahai

Sally and Luis Maizel

Susan and Peter Mallory, in honor of Martha Gilmer

David Marchesani Family

Anne and Andy McCammon

The McComb Family

Katy McDonald

Larry McDonald and Clare White-McDonald

Mark, Amy, Auguste & Paris Melden

In Memory of James C. Moore◊

Judith and Neil Morgan

Clara and Donald Murphy

Patricia R. Nelson

The Lorna◊ & Adrian Nemcek Family

The Ning Family

Frank O’Dea O’Dea Hospitality

Val and Ron Ontell

Carol and Vann Parker

The Hong-Patapoutian Family

The Pollock Family

The Quintilone and Cooper Families

Phillip Rand, M.D., dedicated Ob-Gyn, kind and gentle soul, humanitarian

In loving memory of Long “Chris” Truong◊

Dr. Vivian Reznik and Dr. Andrew Ries

Burton X and Sheli Rosenberg

Marie G. Raftery and Dr. Robert Rubenstein

The Ryde Family Memorial Foundation at The San Diego Foundation

Shari and Frederick Schenk

Colin Seid and Dr. Nancy Gold

Susan and Michael Shaffer

Brigg and Jayne Sherman

Shinnick Family

Ruey & Marivi Shivers

Stephen M. Silverman

Janet Simkins

Hon. Stephanie Sontag and Hon. David B. Oberholtzer

Jeanette Stevens

Sudberry Properties

Beatriz & Matthew Thome

Katherine “Kaylan” Thornhill

Jacqueline Thousand and Richard Villa

Glenda Sue Tuttle

Michael and Eunicar Twyman

Susan and Richard Ulevitch

Aysegul Underhill

Patricia and Joe Waldron

Lori and Bill◊ Walton

The Warner Family

The K. Nikki Waters Trust

Shirli, Damien and Justin Weiss

Mike and Susan Williams

Jeffrey P. Winter and Barbara Cox-Winter

The Witz Family

In loving memory of Ching H. Yang

Howard and Christy Zatkin

THE LEGACY SOCIETY

The Legacy Society honors the following individuals who have made cash pledges or future commitments from their estates to the San Diego Symphony Foundation and/or the San Diego Symphony Orchestra Association to ensure the success of the orchestra for generations to come. The following listing includes commitments as of August 8, 2024

$1,000,000 AND ABOVE

Sophie & Arthur Brody Foundation

Nikki A. and Ben G. Clay

Daniel J. and Phyllis Epstein

John Forrest and Deborah Pate

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon

Norman Forrester and Bill Griffin

Pauline Foster*

Pamela Hamilton Lester In Memory of Jim Lester

Joan* and Irwin Jacobs

Karen and Warren Kessler

Willis J. Larkin*

Beatrice P. and Charles W. Lynds*

Jack McGrory

The Miller Fund

Marilyn James and Richard Phetteplace

Penny and Louis Rosso

Robert A. Rubenstein M.D. and Marie G. Raftery

Lyn Small and Miguel Ikeda

Katherine “Kaylan” Thornhill

Sue and Bill* Weber

Mitchell R. Woodbury

UNDISCLOSED OR UNDER $100,000

Anonymous (3)

Leonard Abrahms*

Carol Rolf and Steven Adler

Pat Baker and Laurence Norquist*

William Beamish

Stephen and Michele* Beck-von-Peccoz

Alan Benaroya

Lt. Margaret L Boyce USN*

Dennis and Lisa Bradley

Gordon Brodfuehrer

Joseph H. Brooks and Douglas Walker

Donna Bullock

Melanie and Russ Chapman

Catherine Cleary

Warrine and Ted Cranston*

Elisabeth and Robert * Crouch

Peter V. Czipott and Marisa SorBello

Caroline S. DeMar

Ms. Peggy Ann Dillon*

Alice Dyer Trust*

Arthur S. Ecker*

Jeanne and Morey Feldman*

David Finkelstein*

Teresa and Merle Fischlowitz*

Margaret A. Flickinger

Judith and Dr. William Friedel

Carol J. Gable*

Edward B. Gill

Madeline and Milton Goldberg*

Helene Grant*

Dorothy and Waldo Greiner*

David and Claire Guggenheim

Lulu Hsu

$100,000 AND ABOVE

Anonymous

Alfred F. Antonicelli*

Rosanne B. and W. Gregory Berton

Julia R. Brown

Margaret and David* Brown

Roberta and Malin Burnham

The Carton Charitable Trust*

Joan R. Cooper*

Bob and Kathy Cueva

Elizabeth and Newell A. Eddy*

Esther and Bud* Fischer

Pam and Hal Fuson

Joyce A. Glazer

Nancy and Fred Gloyna

Muriel Gluck*

Judith Harris* and Dr. Robert Singer

Susan and Paul Hering

Barbara M. Katz

Evelyn and William Lamden

Inge Lehman*

Sandy and Arthur* Levinson

Marjory Kaplan

Patricia A. Keller*

Anne* and Takashi Kiyoizumi

Carol Lazier and James Merritt

Joan Lewan*

Jaime z’’l* and Sylvia Liwerant - JCF

Gladys Madoff*

Richard Manion

James Marshall, Ph.D.

Patricia and Peter Matthews

Antoinette Chaix McCabe*

Sandra Miner

Judith A. Moore

Ermen and Fred Moradi*

Mona and Sam Morebello

Helen and Joseph R. Nelson*

Mariellen Oliver*

Elizabeth and Dene Oliver

Val and Ron Ontell

Steven Penhall

Margaret F. Peninger*

Pauline Peternella *

Robert Plimpton

Elizabeth Poltere

Sheila Potiker*

Jim Price and Joan Sieber

Dr. Carol Randolph and Robert Caplan

Sarah Marsh-Rebelo and John Rebelo

Lois Richmond (of blessed memory)*

Debra Thomas Richter and Mark Richter

Dr. Arno Safier*

Joan and Jack Salb*

Pamela Mallory

Elizabeth R. Mayer*

Vance M. McBurney*

Imozelle and Jim McVeigh

Shona Pierce*

Linda and Shearn* Platt

Anne Ratner*

Colette Carson Royston and Ivor Royston

Ken Schwartz*

Kris and Chris Seeger

Karen and Kit Sickels

Gayle* and Donald Slate

Sheila Sloan*

Dave and Phyllis Snyder

Pat Stein*

James L.* and June A. Swartz

Elizabeth and Joseph* Taft

Leslie and Joe Waters

Richard A. Samuelson*

Craig Schloss

Todd Schultz

Melynnique and Edward* Seabrook

Pat Shank

Kathleen and Lewis* Shuster

Drs. Bella and Alexander* Silverman

Stephen M. Silverman

Richard Sipan*

Linda and Bob Snider

Valerie Stallings

Richard Stern*

Marjorie A. Stettbacher

Susan B. Stillings*

Joyce and Ted Strauss*

Gene Summ

Sheryl Sutton

Joyce and Joseph Timmons

Victor van Lint

Harriet and Maneck* Wadia

Pauline and Ralph Wagner*

Betty and Phillip Ward PIF Fund*

Mike & Janet Westling

James R. Williams and Nancy S. Williams*

Martha Jean Winslow*

Marga Winston*

Edward Witt

Carolyn and Eric Witt

David A. Wood

Zarbock 1990 Trust*

LeAnna S. Zevely

Dr. and Mrs. Philip Ziring

If you are interested in more information about joining The Legacy Society, please contact Vice President of Institutional Advancement Sheri Broedlow at (619) 615-3910 or sbroedlow@sandiegosymphony.org.

*Deceased

THE MEMBERS OF THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

MUSIC DIRECTOR

RAFAEL PAYARE

Music Director

VIOLIN

Jeff Thayer

Concertmaster

DEBORAH PATE AND JOHN FORREST CHAIR

Wesley Precourt

Associate Concertmaster

Jisun Yang

Assistant Concertmaster

Alexander Palamidis

Principal Second Violin

Nick Grant

Principal Associate Concertmaster Emeritus

Cherry Choi Tung Yeung

Associate Principal Second Violin

Ai Nihira Awata

Jing Yan Bowcott

Yumi Cho

Hernan Constantino

Alicia Engley

Kathryn Hatmaker

Kenneth Liao

Igor Pandurski

Evan Pasternak

Julia Pautz

Yeh Shen

Xiaoxuan Shi

Edmund Stein

Hanah Stuart

John Stubbs

Pei-Chun Tsai

Tiffany Wee

Han Xie

Zou Yu

Melody Ye Yuan

Andrew Kwon*

Sarah Schwartz*

VIOLA

Chi-Yuan Chen

Principal

KAREN AND WARREN KESSLER CHAIR

Nancy Lochner

Associate Principal

Jason Karlyn

Wanda Law

Qing Liang

Ethan Pernela

I-Hsuan Huang*

Sung-Jin Lee*

Rebecca Matayoshi*

CELLO

Yao Zhao

Principal

Chia-Ling Chien

Associate Principal

Andrew Hayhurst

John Lee

Richard Levine

Nathan Walhout

Xian Zhuo

Youna Choi*

Nicole Chung*

Benjamin Solomonow*

BASS

Jeremy Kurtz-Harris

Principal

SOPHIE AND ARTHUR BRODY FOUNDATION

CHAIR

Susan Wulff

Associate Principal

Aaron Blick

P.J. Cinque

Kevin Gobetz

Samuel Hager

Michael Wais

Margaret Johnston+

FLUTE

Rose Lombardo

Principal

Sarah Tuck

Lily Josefsberg

PICCOLO

Lily Josefsberg

OBOE

Sarah Skster Principal

Rodion Belousov

Andrea Overturf

ENGLISH HORN

Andrea Overturf

DR. WILLIAM AND EVELYN LAMDEN ENGLISH HORN CHAIR

CLARINET

Sheryl Renk

Principal

Max Opferkuch

Frank Renk

BASS CLARINET

Frank Renk

BASSOON

Valentin Martchev Principal

Ryan Simmons

Leyla Zamora

CONTRABASSOON

Leyla Zamora

HORN

Benjamin Jaber

Principal

Darby Hinshaw

Assistant Principal & Utility

John Degnan

Tricia Skye

Douglas Hall

TRUMPET

Christopher Smith

Principal

Jonah Levy*

Ray Nowak

TROMBONE

Kyle R. Covington Principal

Logan Chopyk

Greg Ochotorena*

Kyle Mendiguchia

BASS TROMBONE

Kyle Mendiguchia

TUBA

Aaron McCalla Principal

HARP

Julie Smith Phillips Principal

TIMPANI

Ryan J. DiLisi Principal

Andrew Watkins Assistant Principal

PERCUSSION

Gregory Cohen Principal

Erin Douglas Dowrey

Andrew Watkins

Eduardo Meneses*

PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN

Courtney Secoy Cohen

LIBRARIAN

Rachel Fields

* Long Term Substitute Musician + Staff Opera Musician

The musicians of the San Diego Symphony are members of San Diego County, Local 325, American Federation of Musicians, AFL-CIO.

EXECUTIVE

Martha A. Gilmer

SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ADMINISTRATION

President and Chief Executive Officer

Katy McDonald Chief of Staff

Elizabeth Larsen

Sr. Executive Assistant to the CEO and Board of Directors

Ellen Damore Executive Coordinator

ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION

Lea Slusher

Vice President of Artistic Administration and Audience Development

Alan J. (AJ) Benson

Director of Artistic Planning

Theodora Bellinger

Director of Artistic Operations

Liam McBane Artistic Coordinator

Seasonal Artistic Assistants:

Kristen Garabedian, Michael Hull, Melyssa Mason, Sade Rains, Evelyn Zuniga

Jeffrey Jordan

Director of External Events

Angela Chilcott

Managing Director, Orchestra and Stage Operations

Ed Estrada Director of Production

Pete Seaney Director of Stage Operations

Jason Rothberg

Production & Technical Designer

Joel Watts

Audio Director

Beth Hall

Production Stage Manager

Niko Lambros Smith

Production Stage Manager

Shea Perry

Orchestra Personnel Manager

Diego Plata

Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager

Courtney Cohen

Principal Librarian

Rachel Fields

Librarian

Gerard McBurney Creative Consultant

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Maureen Campbell Melville

Chief Financial Officer

Ashley Madigan

Controller

Oscar Gonzalez

Assistant Controller

Whitney Hall

Staff Accountant

Kimberly Vargas

Director of Human Resources

Susan Cochran Payroll and Benefits Manager

Amanda Shepherd

Human Resources Generalist

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Craig Hall

Vice President of Marketing and Communications

Elizabeth Holub

Director of Marketing

J.D. Smith

Director of Marketing and Sales Technology

Kristen Turner

Director of Communications, Content and Digital Strategies

John Velasco

Communications Manager

Graphic & Production Designers

Ashley Smith, Brie Witko

Maria Kusior

Digital Media Specialist

Savanna Hunter-Reeves

Marketing Specialist

Noëlle Borrelli-Boudreau

Marketing Coordinator

Sabina Spilkin

Digital Systems Analyst

Theater Direct Outbound Sales and Fundraising

TICKETING AND PATRON SERVICES

Casey Patterson

Director of Ticketing Services, Partnerships and Premium Seating

Kym Pappas

Manager of Ticketing and Subscriptions

Anastasia Franco Manager of Ticket Operations and Training

Cheri LaZarus

Ticket Service Associate - Lead Subscriptions

Ticket Services Associates: Clelia Cabezas, Mollie Davis, Levan Korganashvili, Eden Llodrá, Nayeli Valencia

INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

Sheri Broedlow

Vice President of Institutional Advancement

Rick Baker

Director of Advancement, Institutional Giving

Jennifer Nicolai

Director of Advancement, Campaign and Major Gifts

Ida Sandico-Whitaker

Director, Donor Programs and Special Events

Bob Morris

Major Gifts Officer

Theresa Jones

Major Gifts Officer, Corporate Relations

Maya Steinberg

Institutional Advancement Gift Officer

Sydne Sullivan

Associate Director of Advancement Operations

Sydney Wilkins

Annual Fund Manager

Kirby Lynn Tankersley

Special Events Manager

Brenda Jones

Advancement Manager, Planned Giving

Luke Wingfield

Stewardship Manager

Citli Mejia

Advancement Operations Manager and Assistant

LEARNING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Laura Reynolds

Vice President of Impact and Innovation

Stephen Salts

Director of Learning and Leadership

Lauren Rausch

Social Impact & Leadership Programs Manager

VENUE OPERATIONS

Travis Wininger

Vice President of Venue Operations

Rob Arnold

Managing Director, Venue Operations

Paige Satter

Director of Operations Administration

Diane Littlejohn Venue Operations Manager

Devin Burns Event Operations Manager

Robert Saucedo Senior Technician

Lead Facilities Technicians: Peter Perez, David Russell

Lorenzo Peay Facilities Technician

Sean Kennedy Director of Information Technology

Jovan Robles IT Operations Manager

German Luna

IT Coordinator

Roberto Castro Director of Guest Experience

Danielle Litrenta Manager, Guest Experience

Front of House Managers:

Beverly Feinberg, Christine Harmon, K Roesler, Karen Tomlinson

Front of House Staff:

Judy Bentovim, Sue Carberry, Julio Cedillo, Kerry Freshman, Sharon Karniss, Laurel Nielsen, Linda Thornhill, Marilyn Weiss

Drew Gomes

Director, Event Operations and Security

Devin Burns

Event Operations Manager

Event Operations Leads: Mateo Alvarez, Luke Ban, Jackson Butler

Event Operations Staff:

Joshua Albertson, Kayla Aponte, Tyler Bao Buu, Sydney Berman, Jason Boucher, Lily Castillo, Jafet Chavez, Kinsey Claudino, Brandon Croft, Jessica Dau, Gabriel Carlo De Guzman, Ryan Fargo, Brook Hill, Sophia Hirasuna, Jocelyn Jenkins, Ben Kelly, Garrett Lockwood, Edward Manzo, Harry McCue, Logan McKerring, Shannon McElhaney, Ricardo Mendoza, Casey Meyer, Slaine Miller, Abraham Montoya, Cyrille Morales, Valerie Navarrete, Taryn O’Halloran, Brennan Owen, Gabriela Perez, Chance Pettit, Zoe Pollack, Riane Rosanes, James Renk, Dylan Renk, Mario Ruiz, Tom Rufino, Gabriel Sheaffer, Brandon Scott, Mia Sevilla, Aden Starr, Owen Stiefvater, Nicholas Stroh, Elias Valdvia, Paige Vigiletti, Chris Wilson, Connor Wilson, Yadira Zuniga

STAGE PERSONNEL

Adam Day

Head Carpenter

Evan Page

Electrical Department Head

Shafeeq Sabir

Property Department Head

RJ Givens

Audio Department Head

Jonnel Domilos

Piano Technician

Tokyo, Directors’ Cut

The best Japanese films of the past year—Godzilla Minus One, Perfect Days and The Boy and the Heron —inspire a fascinating tour of its capital. / by BENJAMIN EPSTEIN /

TOKYO SKYTREE, THE WORLD’S TALLEST TOWER at more than 2,000 feet…. Shibuya Crossing, the world’s busiest pedestrian intersection…. Senso-Ji, the city’s oldest temple, completed in the year 645…. These are typical attractions on Tokyo itineraries.

But lovers of cinema might prefer a particularly timely agenda inspired by this past year’s top Japanese films.

Godzilla Minus One, highest-grossing Japanese live-action film ever in the U.S.—and the best in the

franchise’s 70-year history—took home this year’s Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Takashi Yamazaki was responsible for those effects, as well as writing and directing.

For many, Godzilla Minus One is a more poignant and relatable commentary on nuclear holocaust than Best Picture winner Oppenheimer. The embodiment of Japanese fears about nuclear weapons following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Godzilla is among the most potent symbols/metaphors in film history.

The Toho Building’s Godzilla head looms over Shinjuku City.

Tokyo’s landmark Godzilla head, “life-sized” at 40 feet high, looms over the Shinjuku Toho Building. Though recently closed for maintenance and construction, you could touch the head on

the eighth-floor terrace of the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku, which also has Godzilla-themed rooms.

Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa joins Godzilla on pens, T-shirts and note cards at Godzilla

Store Tokyo, at nearby Shinjuku Marui Annex.

Director Wim Wenders is known for masterpieces including Paris, Texas (1984)—in re-release for its 40th anniversary—and Wings of Desire (1987).

Wenders’ new Perfect Days earned the Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award for star/executive producer Koji Yakusho, and was Oscar-nominated for Best International Film. It eclipsed Wenders’ global box office records.

In it, Yakusho plays a cleaner for the Tokyo Toilet—17 architecturally

extraordinary public restrooms by 16 designers in the Shibuya neighborhood (tokyotoilet.jp.en); the film features about half of the locations.

Clockwise: Ghibli Museum; architecturally significant Tokyo Toilets at Ebisu Station; and at Nabeshima Shoto Park.

Kengo Kuma describes his secluded Nebeshima Shoto Park project as “a toilet village…. The five huts, each covered with eared cedar board louvers installed at random angles, are connected by a walk in the woods.” Shigeru Ban’s glass-walled wonder at Haru-noOgawa Community Park is transparent when available, opaque when in use.

Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron—No. 1 at the North American box office earlier this year and likely Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki’s final film—was named Best Animated Feature at both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.

Studio Ghibli has produced such landmark animated films as Spirited Away (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) and unforgettable characters Totoro and No-Face.

Designed by Miyazaki and described as "portal to a storybook world," the maze-like Mitaka Forest Ghibli Museum in the Tokyo suburbs is one of the city’s hottest tickets. Online tickets sell out instantly; pricier tour operators are an option.

In addition to exhibits on animation art and technique, the venue offers a gift shop, bookstore, cafe, rooftop garden, theater and children’s play area.

“IHAVECHILLSEVERYTIMETHISCHOIRSINGS.”

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CONT’D. FROM PAGE 15 year long in both cities.

future generations.”

World Design Capital

San Diego Tijuana has provided a yearlong platform to showcase design; while further enhancing cross-border collaboration and raising the profile of this binational region on the global stage. Dozens of events—including conferences, performances, exhibitions and activations—have been held all

In August, the Exchange Pavilion was unveiled in Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama. It was created by Daniel Ruanova, an internationally recognized visual artist from Tijuana; and Heleo, a San Diego architecture and design agency. The curving metal sculpture references the San Diego-Tijuana border wall, but aims to bring people together rather than

separate them. A digital ticker along the edge exhibits poems rather than stock prices.

For the rest of 2024, according to the group, the Exchange Pavilion will serve as a hub for free programming, including lectures, performances, workshops and gatherings that invite visitors to explore, learn and engage— actively participating in

Artwork by Hugo Crosthwaite (top) and Francisco Palomares.

Richard O’Brien’s

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

Sep. 11 - Nov. 2

Music, book and lyrics by Richard O’Brien

Directed by Sean Murray

Musical Direction by Patrick Marion

Choreography by Luke H. Jacobs

the exchange of ideas, culture and experiences. Among these was a new musical composition written for the youth symphonies of San Diego and Tijuana, who joined at the Pavilion in September to perform it as one group. In October, the Exchange Pavilion will be the site of a community dialogue, “Reimagine Balboa Park,” to discuss an update to the 1989 Balboa Park Master Plan with input from the public.

Scott Robinson—head of design firm FreshForm, and founding president of Design Forward Alliance, which was formed in 2016 to bring WDC to San Diego-Tijuana—says during the process of preparing its bid, the organization realized “you cannot decouple San Diego from

Artwork by David Mont Virgen (above); Scott Robinson.

“This is who we are—products of cross-border life. Many people cross the border every day, to work, play, eat, attend sporting events, and so on.”

—Scott Robinson

Tijuana, and we are stronger for it. This is who we are—products of crossborder life. Many people cross the border every

THE CONRAD

Home of La Jolla Music Society

FEATURE

day, to work, play, eat, attend sporting events, and so on. So we made it a part of our application, and the World Design Organization broke its own rules to give two cities the designation for the first time.”

Silva says that attending World Design Capital events in the last designated city, Valencia, Spain, in 2022 made her realize “we have a duty to design for the future. It made me aware that in Tijuana and San Diego, we live in a very specific way that could be an inspiration for other cities.”

One New Season, Countless New Memories

Robinson says one of the highlights of the WDC San Diego Tijuana to date was the World Design Festival held in Tijuana in May. With 100 events over five days, many small studios were spotlighted for their designs and creations, from architecture and furniture design to pottery and art; with workshops and presentations that brought in attendees from around the world. “Many had never been to Tijuana

before, and the festival was crucial to changing their perceptions of what a border town is.”

WDC San Diego Tijuana has also been supporting myriad impact projects in different areas on both sides of the border—from science and technology, to arts and culture, to climate and sustainability, and more. Robinson says these projects were set up as experiments to have a catalyzing effect on the region, such as revitalizing 20 acres in Friendship Park, on each side of the border, in an effort to find and foster new forms of connection. “Encouraging activation gives us opportunities to express and share positivity and fight the negative border town stereotypes,” he says.

In addition to events at the Exchange Pavilion, other WDC San Diego Tijuana events this

Photo by Chelsea Penyak

A jacket by textile artist Claudia Rodriguez-Biezunski (above); art by Becky Guttin.

FEATURE

Barbara Leon of Heleo Architecture + Design

“We have a duty to design for the future. It made me aware that in Tijuana and San Diego, we live in a very specific way that could be an inspiration for other cities.”

Katalina Silva

month include the firstever San Diego-Tijuana International Jazz Festival, to be held at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido on Oct. 4; the Tijuana Jazz and Blues Festival on Oct. 5; and continuing at the Quartyard in East Village on Oct. 6. Featured artists who will perform on both sides of the border include Magos Herrera with the Hausmann Quartet;

CECILIA MARTIN DEL CAMPO

Gilbert Castellanos’ All-Star Sextet; and a Youth Ensemble consisting of San Diego’s acclaimed Young Lions Jazz Conservatory and the Instituto Contemporáneo de Música de Baja California. Slated for Oct. 8-10, the 21st International Congress “Designing for Humanity/ Future” will take place at the Universidad Anáhuac México, at which design is considered through the light of other disciplines. These are just a few of dozens of events on the WDC 2024 schedule. Coming up is “Beyond Boundaries,” a World Design Policy Conference at UC San Diego in La Jolla, Nov. 12–13. This two-day event hosted by the UC San Diego Design Lab and the City of San Diego will feature panel discussions, workshops and a speaker series with the goal of shaping the future of urban living and

Carlos Hernandez of Heleo Architecture + Design

San Diego Holiday Classic!

design policies. Then, on Nov. 16, the WDC 2024 Convocation Ceremony at the Salk Institute in La Jolla will celebrate the year’s achievements; and then pass the torch to Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Germany, which will host WDC in 2026.

“It’s a real awareness moment for the region,” says Silva. “We’re hoping participating in these events will help the general public see how to approach problems with a different perspective, a creative perspective—an opportunity to collaborate and enhance a possible future.”

“We look at WDC 2024 as the beginning of something, like the Panama–California Exposition in 1915 that led to the creation of Balboa Park,” says Robinson. “It’s intended to be the start of a dialogue that allows the region to thrive and flourish in the future. What might the future be for this region—more collaborative, more thoughtful and intentional. If we start conversations now and put design at the forefront, that’s what design can do.”

For more info on World Design Capital and the full calendar of 2024 events in Tijuana and San Diego, please visit: wdc2024.org

Music by Vince Guaraldi, arranged by Peter Sprague

bachcollegiumsd.org

Ruben Valenzuela Artistic Director

reprogrammed !

Performances Magazine unveils a digital program platform for shows and concerts

DROP DOWN MENU Table of app contents.

REGISTER

Stay arts-engaged, access past programs.

THE ESSENTIALS Acts, scenes, synopses, repertory and notes.

CONTRIBUTORS

Donors and sponsors who make it all possible—you!

NO RUSTLING PAGES, no killing trees . . . The new Performances program platform, accessed on any digital device, is among the more enduring innovations to have come out of the pandemic. The platform provides the programs for 20 Southern California performing-arts organizations, from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Ahmanson Theatre to San Diego Opera, where the app made its debut.

The touchless platform provides cast and player bios, donor and season updates and numerous other

arts-centric features. Audiences receive a link and a code word that instantly activate the app; QR codes are posted, too.

Screens go dark when curtains go up and return when house lights come back on. Updates—such as repertory changes, understudy substitutions and significant new donations—can be made right up to showtime, no inserts necessary. Other features include video and audio streams, translations and expanded biographies.

For those who consider printed

SEARCH

Find whatever it is you want to know—easily.

SIGN IN

Link to your performing-arts companies and venues.

THE PLAYERS

Bios and background for cast, crew and creators.

WHAT’S ON

What’s coming at a glance and ticket information.

programs to be keepsakes, a limited number, as well as commemorative issues for special events, continue to be produced. Collectibles!

Meanwhile, there is less deforestation, consumption of petroleum inks and programs headed for landfills. For the ecologically minded, the platform gets a standing ovation.

When theaters and concert halls reopened after their long intermission, the digital Performances was but one more reason for audience excitement. Activate your link and enjoy the shows. —CALEB WACHS

PHOTO IS COURTESY OF THE OLD GLOBE