April 16, 2018
Season finale guest artist Zhang first wowed audiences at the age of 5 Then and now: At left, Zhang plays for family in preparation for his first professional gig, just shy of his 5th birthday. Right: Haochen Zhang now. In demand internationally for nearly a decade now, Haochen Zhang first rose to prominence with his 2009 win
April 16, 2018
The California Symphony’s May 6 season finale includes the world premiere of Balch’s “like a broken clock” California Symphony Young American Composer-in-Residence (2017–2020). Photo credit KatieL Photography. We caught up with Composer-in-Residence Katherine Balch to learn more about like a broken clock, the first of three pieces she will deliver during her three-year residency with the
April 13, 2018
Haochen Zhang reunites with Music Director Donato Cabrera five years after their first “glittering” collaboration Haochen Zhang and then Music Director candidate Donato Cabrera in 2013. For internationally acclaimed, award-winning pianist Haochen Zhang, the California Symphony’s 2017–18 season finale concert SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW marks Zhang’s second time performing with the orchestra—five years after his 2013
March 21, 2018
Featuring Bruckner, Beethoven, Bernstein, and more… The 2018–19 Season is here, and highlights include: Bernstein — A centennial celebration of the American icon Beethoven — With award-winning pianist and audience favorite Charlie Albright Movie Magic — Animated classic The Snowman with score performed live with the Pacific Boychoir, plus a program that showcases the genius of American composer John Williams Piazzolla — Concertmaster Jennifer
March 8, 2018
What additional treasures might exist had Mozart survived beyond 35? And what iconic works *wouldn’t* we have, if other great composers had died young like him? When I am… completely myself, entirely alone… or during the night when I cannot sleep, it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. Whence and
March 6, 2018
An agricultural engineer, a budding neuroscientist, and ripped pants during a performance: We learned some of the inner secrets of the talented stars of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music who will be featured in our MOZART REQUIEM concerts this month. Esther Tonea, soprano Esther Tonea, soprano 1. Where are you from? I usually say Buford, Georgia, but I
February 28, 2018
Mozart’s true life story needs no Hollywood-style embellishments, says Music Director Donato Cabrera. Tom Hulce as Wolgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1984 hit movie “Amadeus”. By California Symphony Music Director Donato Cabrera. A murderously jealous rival. A mysterious commission from a “gray messenger.” Rumors of poisoning… If the circumstances of Mozart’s death at 35 read like
January 17, 2018
Violin virtuoso Alexi Kenney, comes home to the Bay Area to debut with the California Symphony, January 20 & 21, 2018, at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. Alexi Kenney on Bruch’s Violin Concerto №1: “It’s is one of my personal favorites and also really a staple of our repertoire. It has everything
January 10, 2018
Maestro Donato Cabrera’s trip down memory lane reveals a bold choice for a young conductor. Now and Then: Music Director Donato Cabrera at the podium at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek (left) and at the University of Nevada, Reno in the 1990s (right). Our upcoming PASTORAL BEETHOVEN concerts include a nostalgic selection for California Symphony
January 9, 2018
We take a closer look at the wildly ambitious 1808 concert which debuted no less than two symphonies, a piano concerto, and a new choral piece (plus a selection of other favorites) in a frigid, four-hour long musical marathon. On a freezing cold winter’s night in Vienna, December 22, 1808, one of the most legendary