February 19, 2020
The New York Times has called his music “alluring” and “wildly inventive” and his compositions have already been featured in concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center. We sit down with our newest Composer-in-Residence Viet Cuong, whose three-year residency begins August 1, 2020, to talk marching band, his compositional style, and connections to former
February 21, 2020
Young American Composer-in-Residence Katherine Balch is about to complete her final World Premiere of her residency with the California Symphony. Katherine sits down with friends and upcoming featured artists to talk about vocal music, their shared history, and their weirdest performance moments. Kelly Guerra (mezzo-soprano), Molly Netter (soprano), and Alexandra Smither (soprano) are each
February 21, 2020
Katherine Balch connects texts to celebrate women in Illuminate, the final commission and world premiere of her three-year tenure as California Symphony Young American Composer-in-Residence. By Katherine Balch This summer, I had a few days in between projects to do some hiking in Swiss Alps. During these few solitary days trekking around and over snow-covered summits,
February 28, 2020
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64 On May 19, 1888 Tchaikovsky wrote his brother Modest that “now, little by little, with difficulty, I am beginning to squeeze the symphony from my benumbed brain.” He squeezed throughout the summer, and on August 14 sent this succinct message to
January 30, 2020
By California Symphony Concertos usually offer a single soloist the chance to shine at center stage—to work in partnership with the conductor and orchestra, and put on a show that wows the audience with their virtuosic skills. So why did Brahms deviate from the norm and complicate things by adding a second soloist? In conceiving
January 22, 2020
By California Symphony Instantly recognizable, Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 has provided the soundtrack to some memorable pop culture moments, including a Charlie Chaplin skit, a Looney Tunes cartoon, and a routine performed by two naked Frenchmen with a couple of towels. Would Brahms have approved? 1. A CLOSE SHAVE “Make your work a pleasure.
January 22, 2020
Within his Hungarian Dances, Johannes Brahms captured the rich and vibrant soul of Hungary’s beloved tradition of dance. Perhaps one of his most well-recognized works, Brahms’ Hungarian Dances is a set of 21 dances inspired by Hungarian folk music, a diverse genre home to the colorful blend of the aural histories of Hungarians and Hungarian-minorities
January 10, 2020
By California Symphony Whether it’s Frank Sinatra crooning it, Carlos Santana picking it, or Robert Mitchum playing it at the piano, the melody in the slow third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 has inspired many tributes. (Or rip offs, if you prefer, since Brahms is rarely credited as a writer.) Chances are that even
January 10, 2020
Brahms and the Orchestra It has been said that Brahms was an indifferent or unimaginative orchestrator. However, it has also been said that the bathtub was invented in Philadelphia in 1842, so let’s not believe everything we hear. Bathtubs date back thousands of years; Johannes Brahms was a wonderful orchestrator, imaginative, creative, and insightful. That
January 9, 2020
Bay Area natives Alina Kobialka and Oliver Herbert joined us to talk about growing up with parents who were professional musicians, their pre-concert rituals, and to reminisce about their shared history with Donato Cabrera and the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. You’ll be joining forces to perform Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Cello. How does