March 4, 2020
By California Symphony The signature concert cocktail is back—$12, available in the lobby. We couldn’t find any copper mugs with lids, but we’re assured it will taste just the same served in plastic cups with lid and straw (and even better when enjoyed at your seat.) Recipe Ketel One Vodka 2.0 oz Ginger beer 5
February 27, 2020
Behind every great composer is… a great patron. Without the financial and emotional support of Nadezhda Von Meck—the woman Tchaikovsky corresponded with for 14 years and yet never met—the first Russian composer to achieve international acclaim might never have made it. By California Symphony Nadezhda von Meck was the widow of a wealthy railroad magnate,
February 20, 2020
Hindsight has a funny way of making past successes seem effortlessly inevitable. (Kind of like fate?) But when Tchaikovsky wrote his Fifth Symphony, he had no way of knowing whether the work would be popularly received at its premiere (it was), or that it would still be performed over a hundred years later and adored
February 20, 2020
The first Russian to achieve international renown as a composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is also often considered the most Romantic of composers. He was also a deeply tormented and sensitive soul. By California Symphony If Tchaikovsky felt it, it found a way into his music.”—Prof Robert Greenberg Growing Up Tchaikovsky Born May 7, 1840 in
February 20, 2020
Even the legendary Russian Romantic composer struggled with writer’s block, self-doubt, and the occasional lack of inspiration. By California Symphony I am written out, my head is empty, my time is past…”—Tchaikovsky While composing his Fifth Symphony, Tchaikovsky consistently doubted his ability to write. He began working on the piece in the spring of 1888
February 20, 2020
By California Symphony Music Director Donato Cabrera. I suppose I could wax philosophically, in maestro-like fashion, and list all of the incredible opportunities our Young-American-Composer-in-Residence residency affords our chosen composer over the three years that they are with us. And while I believe all of these opportunities to be true and worthwhile, I’ll leave other
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 to talk marching band, his compositional style, and connections to former Young American Composers-in-Residence Chris Theofanidis, Kevin Puts,
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