May 12, 2023
More Timpani! William Walton’s Symphony No. 1 features not one but two sets of timpani—a first for timpanist Alex Orfaly in his career with California Symphony. Donato says you’re really looking forward to FRESH INSPIRATIONS because Walton’s Symphony No. 1 features two sets of timpani and two timpanists, and because you’ve never played this piece
April 18, 2023
Composer John Williams’ collaboration with director Stephen Spielberg has produced some of his best film scores. For William Walton, it was a partnership with celebrated British actor and director Laurence Olivier that resulted in some of the composer’s most enduring and iconic works, including soundtracks to four epic film versions of plays by William Shakespeare.
April 3, 2023
Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9 (1844) Hector Berlioz never met an applecart he didn’t want to upset, or an envelope he didn’t want to stretch. It was simply not in his nature to kowtow to prevailing fashion or to acquiesce to the dictates of the proletariat. Nor was he just some obnoxious
March 6, 2023
Who knew the triangle could be so expressive? Leave it to percussionist Victor Avdienko to navigate the triangle-a-thon in Rott’s Symphony No. 1 on the upcoming MAHLER’S INNER CIRCLE concerts. We can only agree that “We gotta fever… For more triangle!” via GIPHY You performed one single, epic, cymbal crash in the 2019 season finale
March 2, 2023
Alexander Zemlinsky (1871–1942) Lustspiel Overture (1891) He was the little quiet guy amidst a bunch of big loud personalities. His brother-in-law was Arnold Schoenberg. He fell in love with Alma Schindler, who rejected him—too short, too homely, she said—and married Gustav Mahler instead. One of his early boosters was Johannes Brahms. Among his students we
January 5, 2023
Austrian-Romanian pianist Maria Radutu, soloist in February’s CHOPIN IN PARIS concerts, talks about moving from Romania to Vienna at age 14, and plotting a similar path to artistic freedom in later life. (And plot twist: A snoring dog disrupts an important performance.) Can you tell us a little about yourself? I was born in Bucharest, Romania, and
January 3, 2023
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799) Overture to The Anonymous Lover (1780) We possess a fine 1787 portrait of Joseph Bologne in which he embodies the very image of the pre-Revolutionary French gentleman: powdered wig, billowing lace kerchief, richly textured velvet coat, gloves, and an elegant rapier attesting to his fencing skill. But there’s something
December 4, 2022
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
October 19, 2022
PRINCIPALS JENNIFER CHO (CONCERTMASTER), PHILIP SANTOS (VIOLIN), MARCEL GEMPERLI (VIOLA) AND LEIGHTON FONG (CELLO) TAKE PROMINENT ROLES IN ELGAR’S INTRODUCTION AND ALLEGRO, A WORK THAT HARKS BACK TO THE CONCERTO GROSSO* FORMAT OF THE BAROQUE ERA. WE CAUGHT UP WITH THIS AWESOME FOURSOME AS THEY PREPARE FOR A PROGRAM THAT CELEBRATES THE MELODIC HEART AND SOUL OF THE
October 5, 2022
Edward Elgar (1857–1934) Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47 (1905) Had Edward Elgar not been a musician, he just might have been a scientist or an inventor. Fascinated by technology, he was a keen amateur chemist who even patented a method to produce hydrogen sulfide. Thus it’s not surprising that he was an enthusiastic advocate of