Review: San Diego Symphony Perform Richard Strauss and Shostakovich at The Jacobs Music Center
This year’s final subscription concert at the new Jacobs Music Center began with Richard Strauss’s tone poem Don Juan and ended with his equally familiar Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. In between, Inon Barnatan was featured in two 20th Century piano concertos by Dimitri Shostakovich.
The usual please-silence-the-phones admonition before the concert was more emphatic than usual. The audience was informed that this last of three performances would be recorded for possible commercial release. As you’ll see, that didn’t stop one competitive phone from auditioning.
The familiar Don Juan lives up to its name. It’s a tone poem for orchestra with a mix of romance, heroism and tragedy. San Diego Symphony Music Director and conductor Rafael Payare was at his enthusiastic acrobatic best. The music’s many moods were reflected in his motions and facial expressions and then realized in the orchestra for an exciting performance.
92NY to Present The Junction Trio in November
The 92nd Street Y in New York will present the JUNCTION TRIO, featuring works by Shostakovich and a world premiere by John Zorn, both in-person and streaming online. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.
Review: San Diego Symphony Shines at New Jacobs Music Center Opening
What did our critic think of SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY SHINES AT NEW JACOBS MUSIC CENTER OPENING!
Shortly after the waterfront’s Rady Shell opened in 2021, I was standing in a short line behind San Diego Symphony CEO Martha Gilmer and complimented her on the Rady’s awesome state-of-the-art sound system. Then, as an afterthought, I suggested the Rady’s sound was better than that of Symphony Hall. Her reply was a terse determined, “We’re fixing that.”
And have they ever!
Pasadena Symphony Reveals 2024-25 Season
Pasadena Symphony will launch a bold new era with the announcement of its 2024-25 season, the first to be programmed and led by recently appointed Music Director Brett Mitchell, who is only the sixth conductor to helm the orchestra since it was founded in 1928.