November 6, 2025
Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981) Overture (2022) Musicians come in all sizes, shapes, and skillsets. Some are one-trick ponies, but their tricks are really good. Others might encompass multiple disciplines – pianist-composers, composer-conductors, performer-teachers, and the like. And there are those who embrace the whole. That’s where Jessie Montgomery comes in: violinist, teacher, and composer with…
November 6, 2025
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) Boléro (1928) Within two years of its premiere at the Paris Ópera with famed danseuse Ida Rubinstein, Boléro had been conducted by Piero Coppola, Willem Mengelberg, Serge Koussevitzky, Arturo Toscanini, and Ravel himself. Four years later it was the background to a Carole Lombard movie titled, not surprisingly, Bolero. It has popped…
April 7, 2025
Unfinished Nobility A special corner of the repertory is reserved for those works that are highly valued despite (or because of) being left incomplete by their authors. It’s quite the honor roll: Bach’s The Art of Fugue, Mozart’s Requiem and C Minor Mass, Mahler’s Tenth Symphony. To that we can add the two most tantalizing…
March 4, 2025
The third movement (Allegro molto vivace) is a thrilling, triumphant march, full of energy and momentum. After the deep emotions of the earlier movements, it builds to a rousing, powerful climax that feels like the grand finale. The music surges to a victorious conclusion—one so convincing that many assume the symphony is over. “What usually happens…
February 19, 2025
Saad Haddad (b. 1992) Fantasia for Strings (2025) It all starts with 16th century composer Thomas Tallis, who spent his career in the service of English monarchs Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. Within his vast catalog is a 1567 tune “Why turn’th in sight” that caught the attention of composer Ralph…
February 10, 2025
Robert Thies shot to fame in 1995 when he became the first American in four decades—since Van Cliburn’s Cold War win in 1958—to win a Russian piano competition, but things didn’t quite work out as planned… Robert talks with us ending up at zero after his feted win and looking forward to performing Mozart’s Piano…
January 3, 2025
From enduring extreme poverty and personal hardship to creating a piece that would captivate audiences around the world (and beyond!), Joaquín Rodrigo’s life and work are an inspiring testament to the power of music. Read on for six fast facts about the composer of the iconic Concierto de Aranjuez. 1. He Turned Adversity Into Art …
January 3, 2025
Carlos Simon (b. 1986) Breathe (2021) Anyone who has practiced meditation knows the centrality of the breath. Many traditions teach basic breath practices—focusing on nostrils or diaphragm or belly, counting breaths, etc. Breath is central to our very existence as living beings; we all breathe in one way or another, whether we are people, penguins,…
October 16, 2024
Kim Rooker is the Bay Area’s go-to expert in productions featuring movies with the soundtrack played by a live orchestra for over a decade. We go behind the scenes with Kim to learn how the orchestral, live movie magic comes together—so the images you see on screen stay in time with the music. California Symphony Orchestra:…
October 16, 2024
By Mason Bates An orchestra tunes and immediately, a sense of anticipation and wonder ripples through the room. As this super-instrument brings its marvels of engineering together into a single pitch, we are witnessing both art and science. The same orchestra that explores our emotional depths is also our finest example of interactive technology. The…
