Off Stage

On the Radio

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California Symphony can now be heard by music lovers across the country, thanks to our partnership with WFMT Radio Network. Broadcasts are on Wednesdays through November 2022.

Tune in to hear past performances, aired in their entirety, which showcase California Symphony as an entertaining and engaging voice for America’s regional orchestras. Concerts feature diverse programming—from masterworks by Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler and Brahms, to pieces by Nat Stookey, Gabriela Lena Frank, and current California Symphony Composer-in-Residence Viet Cuong—while also highlighting Californian talent and rising young soloists.

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As someone who now resides in San Francisco, but whose Mexican American roots are in Los Angeles, it is with great pride that these performances will now be heard across the state.” 

—Music Director Donato Cabrera

 

UPCOMING EPISODES

WFMT, EPISODE SEVEN (Frank 1/2)

On air at WFMT on October 5, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                             Rachel Calloway, Mezzo-Soprano

AMERICAN COMPOSER            Gabriella Lena Frank

Beethoven                 The Creatures of Prometheus Overture
Frank                         La Centinela y la Paloma (The Keeper and the Dove)
Mahler                       Lieder (Songs)
Beethoven                 Symphony No. 5

Originally recorded on 9/15/2019.

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WFMT, EPISODE EIGHT (Frank 2/2)

On air at WFMT on October 12, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                             Charlie Albright, Piano

AMERICAN COMPOSER            Gabriella Lena Frank

Bernstein                    Overture to Candide
Beethoven                  Piano Concerto No. 3
Frank                          Three Latin-American Dances for Orchestra
Bernstein                   Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Originally recorded on 9/3/2018.

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WFMT, EPISODE NINE (Balch 1/2)

On air at WFMT on October 19, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                             Robyn Bollinger, violin

AMERICAN COMPOSER            Katherine Balch

Balch                           Artifacts, Violin Concerto (California Symphony Commission)
Bruckner                    Symphony No. 7

Originally recorded on 5/5/2019.

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WFMT, EPISODE TEN (Balch 2/2)

On air at WFMT on October 26, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                             Haochen Zhang, Piano

AMERICAN COMPOSER            Katherine Balch

Balch                           like a broken clock (California Symphony Commission)
Sibelius                       Symphony No. 3
Brahms                       Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 830

Originally recorded on 5/6/2018.

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WFMT, EPISODE ELEVEN (Sparr)

On air at WFMT on November 2, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                             Ilya Yakushev, Piano

AMERICAN COMPOSER           DJ Sparr

Sparr                               Dreams of the Old Believers (California Symphony Commission)
Rachmaninoff               Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Rimsky-Korsakov         Scheherazade

Originally recorded on 5/4/2014.

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WFMT, EPISODE TWELVE (Cuong)

On air at WFMT on November 9, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                             Nicholas Phan, tenor; Meredith Brown, horn

AMERICAN COMPOSER            Viet Cuong

Cuong                             Next Week’s Trees
Schoenberg                   Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night)
Britten                           Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings

Originally recorded on 5/8/2021, 5/15/2021, and 5/22/2021.

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WFMT, EPISODE THIRTEEN (Montgomery)

On air at WFMT on November 6, 2021

CONDUCTOR                                Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                             Alexi Kenney, violin

AMERICAN COMPOSER           Jessie Montgomery

Walker                           Lyric for Strings
Vivaldi                           Four Seasons
Montgomery                Starburst
Schubert                       Death and the Maiden (arr. Mahler)

Originally recorded on 11/6/2021.

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PAST EPISODES

WFMT, EPISODE ONE (Theofanidis)

On air at WFMT on August 24, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                             Maria Radutu, Piano

AMERICAN COMPOSER            Christopher Theofanidis

Theofanidis              Peace Love Light (California Symphony Commission)
Mozart                       Piano Concerto K. 488
Beethoven                 Symphony No. 4

Originally recorded on 1/22/2017.

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WFMT, EPISODE TWO (Puts 1/2)

On air at WFMT on August 31, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                 Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                              Annie Wu, Flute

AMERICAN COMPOSER             Kevin Puts

Puts                                  Network (California Symphony Commission)
Mozart                             Flute Concerto in G
Rachmaninoff                Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27

Originally recorded on 9/18/2016.

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WFMT, EPISODE THREE (Puts 2/2)

On air at WFMT on September 7, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                 Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                              Annie Wu, Flute

AMERICAN COMPOSER             Kevin Puts

Mozart                                 Symphony No. 1
Puts                                      Flute Concerto
Haydn                                  Symphony No. 104

Originally recorded on 11/17/2019.

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WFMT, EPISODE FOUR (Stookey)

On air at WFMT on September 14, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                 Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                              Maria Valdes, Soprano

AMERICAN COMPOSER             Nat Stookey

Barber                                       Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Stookey                                     YTTE (Yield To Total Elation)
Mahler                                      Symphony No. 4

Originally recorded on 9/24/2017.

WFMT, EPISODE FIVE (Visconti 1/2)

On air at WFMT on September 21, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                 Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                              Adam Golka, Piano

AMERICAN COMPOSER             Dan Visconti

Visconti                                     Breakdown (California Symphony Commission)
Grieg                                          Piano Concerto
Tchaikovsky                             Symphony No. 4

Originally recorded on 5/3/2015.

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WFMT, EPISODE SIX (Visconti 2/2)

On air at WFMT on September 28, 2022

CONDUCTOR                                 Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST                              Inbal Segev, Cello

AMERICAN COMPOSER             Dan Visconti

Beethoven                                    Coriolan Overture Op. 62
Visconti                                        Tangle Eye (California Symphony Commission)
Bruckner                                      Symphony No. 6

Originally recorded on 5/7/2017.

CONCERT PROGRAM BOOK

KDFC Season 2, Ep. 1: ICONIC BEETHOVEN

On air at KDFC on September 26, 2021 at 8:00 pm

CONDUCTOR      Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST   Rachel Calloway, Mezzo-Soprano

Beethoven             The Creatures of Prometheus Overture
Frank                     La Centinela y la Paloma (The Keeper and the Dove)
Mahler                   Lieder (Songs)
Beethoven             Symphony No. 5

Original performance date: 09/15/2019

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KDFC Season 2, Ep. 2: PASTORAL BEETHOVEN

On air at KDFC on October 24, 2021 at 8:00 pm

CONDUCTOR      Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST   Alexi Kenney, violin

Smetana                Vltava (Die Moldau)
Bruch                     Violin Concerto No. 1
Beethoven             Symphony No. 6

Original performance date: 01/20/2018

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KDFC Season 2, Ep. 3: MOZART REQUIEM

On air at KDFC on November 28, 2021 at 8:00 pm

MUSIC DIRECTOR              Donato Cabrera

GUEST CONDUCTOR         Ragnar Bohlin

GUEST ARTISTS                 Esther Tonea, soprano

Kaitlin Bertschi, mezzo-soprano

Jimmy Kansau, tenor

Brandon Bell, baritone

San Francisco Conservatory of Music Chorus

Vaughan Williams                Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Part                                          Te Deum
Mozart                                    Requiem

Original performance date: 03/17/2018

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KDFC Season 2, Ep. 4: RHAPSODY IN BLUE

On air at KDFC on January 23, 2022 at 8:00 pm

CONDUCTOR         Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST     Charlie Albright, Piano

Stravinsky               Scherzo a la russe
Milhaud                   La creation du monde
Bernstein                Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs
Weill                        A Little Three-Penny Music
Gershwin                Rhapsody in Blue

Original performance date: 01/24/2016

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KDFC Season 2, Ep. 5: LYRICAL DREAMS

On air at KDFC on February 27, 2022 at 8:00 pm

CONDUCTOR         Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST     Maria Valdes, Soprano

Barber                      Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Stookey                    YTTE (Yield To Total Elation)
Mahler                     Symphony No. 4

Original performance date: 09/24/2017

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KDFC Season 2, Ep. 6: BRAHMS FEST

On air at KDFC on March 27, 2022 at 8:00 pm

CONDUCTOR           Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTISTS     Alina Kobialka, violin; Oliver Herbert, cello

Brahms                      Hungarian Dance No. 6
Brahms                      Hungarian Dance No. 5
Brahms                      Symphony No. 3
Brahms                     Concerto for Violin and Cello

Original performance date: 02/01/2020

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KDFC Season 2, Ep. 7: FOUR SEASONS

On air at KDFC on April 24, 2022 at 8:00 pm

CONDUCTOR           Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTISTS     Alexi Kenney, violin

Walker                         Lyric for Strings
Vivaldi                         The Four Seasons
Montgomery             Starburst
Schubert                    Death and the Maiden (arr. Mahler)

Original performance date: 11/07/2021

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KDFC Season 2, Ep. 8: BEETHOVEN & BERNSTEIN

On air at KDFC on May 22, 2022 at 8:00 pm

CONDUCTOR          Donato Cabrera

GUEST ARTIST       Charlie Albright, Piano

Bernstein                   Overture to Candide
Beethoven                 Piano Concerto No. 3
Frank                         Three Latin-American Dances for Orchestra
Bernstein                  Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Original performance dates: 09/23/2018

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