Symphony Night
KNAU Winter 2024
A part of the WFMT Orchestra Series (WOS)
January 8: Dresden Staatskapelle presents works by Weber, Wagner, and R. Strauss
Christian Thielemann leads the Dresden Staatskapelle in an exceptional performance of audience favorites. We celebrate the start of the New Year with Weber’s Jubilee Overture and the ever-recognizable Also sprach Zarathustra by Strauss bookended by Wagner’s Overture to Tannhäuser and Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier suite.
ORCHESTRA: Dresden Staatskapelle, Germany
CONDUCTOR: Christian Thielemann
Carl Maria von Weber: Jubilee Overture, Op. 59
Richard Wagner: Overture to Tannhäuser
Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30,
Richard Strauss: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59
January 15: The Hallé performs Sibelius, Stravinsky, and Ravel
With Sibelius’s music woven through the Hallé’s DNA, expect a stunning performance of The Oceanides, an impressionistic masterpiece that evokes the sea and nymphs of Greek mythology. Roberto Ruisi, the Hallé’s concertmaster, performs Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto and the Hallé Choir join for Ravel’s complete Daphnis and Chloe.
ORCHESTRA: The Hallé, Manchester, England
CONDUCTOR: Sir Mark Elder
SOLOISTS: Roberto Ruisi, violin*; The Hallé Choir**
Jean Sibelius: The Oceanides, Op. 73
Igor Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D*
Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé (complete ballet score)**
January 22: Paul Lewis and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
In 1950s Manhattan, Bernstein’s electrifying dance rhythms punch and kick across the hot city streets. A world away, a composer in exile creates a masterpiece that’s part-symphony, part-ballet, and all Rachmaninov. And in between, Liverpool’s own piano superstar Paul Lewis salutes jazz-age America in Copland’s Piano Concerto and George Gershwin’s irresistible Rhapsody in Blue.
ORCHESTRA: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, England
CONDUCTOR: Domingo Hindoyan
SOLOISTS: Paul Lewis, piano*
Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Aaron Copland: Piano Concerto*
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue*
Serge Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
January 29: Alban Gerhardt, Marin Alsop, and the German Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop leads the German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, in a performance of Montgomery, Dean, and Dvořák. Drawing on American folk idioms and the spirit of dance and movement, Montgomery’s Strum moves from nostalgia to ecstatic celebration. Dean’s Cello Concerto, here exceptionally performed by Alban Gerhardt, plays with recurring motives and rhythms that moves seamlessly between intimate, dreamy, and agitated emotions. The concert closes with Dvořák’s familiar and timeless New World Symphony.
ORCHESTRA: German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin
CONDUCTOR: Marin Alsop
SOLOIST: Alban Gerhardt, cello
Jessie Montgomery: Strum for string orchestra
Brett Dean: Cello Concerto (2018)
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World”, Op. 95
February 5: Yuja Wang and the Oslo Philharmonic perform Ravel Piano Concertos
Pianist Yuja Wang joins the Oslo Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor Klaus Mäkelä for a program of 20th-century masterpieces by Ravel and Shostakovich. In a rare side-by-side performance, Yuja Wang brings her exceptional virtuosity to Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand and the jazz-influenced Piano Concerto in G. Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony concludes the concert.
ORCHESTRA: Oslo Philharmonic, Norway
CONDUCTOR: Klaus Mäkelä
SOLOIST: Yuja Wang, piano
Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major
Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
February 12: Celebrating the Chinese New Year
Celebrating the imminent start of the Chinese New Year on February 10, 2024, China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts and the National Traditional Orchestra present an astounding selection of works by Chinese and Western composers. The rousing Spring Festival Overture begins the program with a performance done in partnership with the China National Traditional Orchestra along with four other orchestras. We also hear Ravel’s Bolero and Ma Sicong’s Second Symphony following. Listeners will be thrilled by pipa virtuoso Li Jia’s performance of the concerto Little Sisters of the Grassland, and the broadcast closes with Lü Jia conducting Brahms’s Symphony No. 3.
ORCHESTRA: National Centre for the Performing Arts, China;
CONDUCTOR: Lü Jia; Peng Jiapeng*; Chen Lin**
SOLOISTS: China National Traditional Orchestra, China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra, China National Opera & Dance Drama Theatre Chinese Orchestra, and Beijing Chinese Orchestra*; Li Jia, pipa**
Li Huanzhi: Spring Festival Overture for Chinese Orchestra*
Maurice Ravel: Bolero
Ma Sicong: Symphony No. 2
Wu Zuqiang,
Liu Dehai, Wang Yanqiao: Pipa Concerto, Little Sisters of the Grassland**
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
Please Note: The names above follow the Chinese convention listing family name first and given name second.
February 19: Zhao & Mahler in Beijing
Violinist Ning Feng performs Zhao Jiping’s beautiful violin concerto with the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra in a performance led by Lü Jia. Fair Flowers Under Full Moon by Huang Yijun is heard in a presentation with the China National Traditional Orchestra and others. Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 closes out the program, with Zhang Yi at the podium.
ORCHESTRA: National Centre for the Performing Arts, China
CONDUCTOR: Peng Jiapeng *; Lü Jia **, Zhang Yi***
SOLOISTS: China National Traditional Orchestra, China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra, China National Opera & Dance Drama Theatre Chinese Orchestra, and Beijing Chinese Orchestra*; Ning Feng, violin**
Huang Yijun, arr.
Peng Xiuwen: Fair Flowers Under Full Moon*
Zhao Jiping: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E Major, Op. 1**
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor***
Please Note: The names above follow the Chinese convention listing family name first and given name second.
February 26: Bruckner’s Seventh & Guo’s Riyue Mountain
Guo Wenjing’s Passacaglia for Orchestra is a work inspired by prehistoric rock paintings in ancient caves on Riyue Mountain. Li Biao leads the orchestra, painting a stunning tonal picture underpinned by a repeating phrase punctuated by deep drum hits and lush strings. Bruckner’s lyrical Seventh Symphony completes the program, conducted by Lü Jia.
ORCHESTRA: National Centre for the Performing Arts, China
CONDUCTOR: Li Biao*, Lü Jia**
Guo Wenjing: Riyue Mountain, a Passacaglia for Orchestra*
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major, WAB 107**
Please Note: The names above follow the Chinese convention listing family name first and given name second.
March 4: Debussy, Berlioz, Chen, and Saint-Saëns
Based on an old melody by ancient composer Huan Yi, Chen Qigang’s Reflet d’un temps disparu is stunningly performed by cellist Gautier Capuçon. The program features lush and evocative works by Debussy and Berlioz before ending with Saint-Saëns’s beautiful Second Piano Concerto.
ORCHESTRA: National Centre for the Performing Arts, China
CONDUCTOR: Lü Jia
SOLOISTS: Gautier Capuçon, cello*; Chen Sa, piano**
Claude Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Hector Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette: Scène d’amour
Chen Qigang: Reflet d’un temps disparu*
Claude Debussy: La mer
Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22**
Please Note: The names above follow the Chinese convention listing family name first and given name second.
March 11: Fresh Inspirations: Cuong, Berlioz, Walton, and Ravel
In this performance, Viet Cuong, California Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence from 2020-2023, premieres his work Stargazer featuring Sarah Cahill at the piano. Walton’s Symphony No. 1 continues Music Director Donato Cabrera’s exploration of works written around the time of the Second World War, with its time-honored trajectory from darkness to light. Ravel’s audience favorite Mother Goose Suite ends the program.
ORCHESTRA: California Symphony
CONDUCTOR: Donato Cabrera
SOLOIST: Sarah Cahill, piano*
LIVING COMPOSER: Viet Cuong
Hector Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9
Viet Cuong: Stargazer* (World Premiere, CA Symphony commission)
William Walton: Symphony No. 1 in B-flat minor
Maurice Ravel: Ma Mère l'Oye (Mother Goose)
March 18: Intersections: Kodály, Clyne, Skoryk, and Tchaikovsky
Donato Cabrera leads the California Symphony in a program of dances and melodies. Kodály’s Dances of Galánta begins the concert, contrasted with Anna Clyne’s DANCE for Cello and Orchestra, featuring cellist Inbal Segev as soloist. Clyne wrote DANCE with Inbal in mind, so expect an exceptionally poignant performance! Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk’s emotional and tragic Melody begins the second half, developing into Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2, which uses Ukrainian folk songs to great effect.
ORCHESTRA: California Symphony
CONDUCTOR: Donato Cabrera
SOLOIST: Inbal Segev, cello*
LIVING COMPOSER: Anna Clyne
Zoltán Kodály: Dances of Galánta
Anna Clyne: DANCE for Cello and Orchestra*
Myroslav Skoryk: Melody for Symphony Orchestra
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17
March 25: Dancing Around the Piano: Beethoven, Bernstein, Debussy, and Frank
This concert brings a rousing set of works from Bernstein, Debussy, and Gabriella Lena Frank all focused on the theme of dance. And nestled in between, hear pianist Charlie Albright perform Beethoven’s virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 3.
ORCHESTRA: California Symphony
CONDUCTOR: Donato Cabrera
SOLOIST: Charlie Albright, piano*
LIVING COMPOSER: Gabriella Lena Frank
Leonard Bernstein: Overture to Candide
Claude Debussy: Danse (orch. Maurice Ravel)
Gabriella Lena Frank: Three Latin-American Dances for Orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37*
Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
April 1: Shades of E Minor: Cuong, Elgar, and Tchaikovsky
Rounding out California Symphony’s suite of concerts, we return to Viet Cuong’s compositions with his emotional and intricate work Next Week’s Trees, commissioned by the California Symphony early in his tenure as Composer-in-Residence. Captivating cellist Nathan Chan performs Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony concludes the concert.
ORCHESTRA: California Symphony
CONDUCTOR: Donato Cabrera
SOLOIST: Nathan Chan, cello*
LIVING COMPOSER: Viet Cuong
Viet Cuong: Next Week’s Trees
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85*
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64