InTune | July 12, 2025

Page 1


InTUNE

Miller Outdoor Theatre:
The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires + Prokofiev 5
The Houston Symphony Magazine

ORCHESTRA ROSTER

Juraj Valčuha

Music Director

Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair

FIRST VIOLIN

Yoonshin Song, Concertmaster

Max Levine Chair

Vacant, Associate Concertmaster

Ellen E. Kelley Chair

Boson Mo, Assistant Concertmaster

Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster

Fondren Foundation Chair

Marina Brubaker

Tong Yan

MiHee Chung

Sophia Silivos

Rodica Gonzalez

Ferenc Illenyi

Si-Yang Lao

Kurt Johnson*

Christopher Neal

Sergei Galperin

Tianxu Liu+

SECOND VIOLIN

Vacant, Principal

Vacant, Associate Principal

Amy Semes

Annie Kuan-Yu Chen

Mihaela Frusina

Jing Zheng

Tianjie Lu

Anastasia Iglesias

Tina Zhang*

Yankı Karataş

Hannah Duncan

Alexandros Sakarellos

Samuel Park+

Teresa Wang+

VIOLA

Joan DerHovsepian, Principal

Wei Jiang, Acting Associate Principal

Samuel Pedersen, Assistant Principal

Paul Aguilar

Sheldon Person

Fay Shapiro

Keoni Bolding

Jimmy Cunningham

CELLO

Brinton Averil Smith, Principal

Janice H. and Thomas D. Barrow Chair

Christopher French, Associate Principal

Jane and Robert Cizik Chair

Anthony Kitai

Louis-Marie Fardet

Jeffrey Butler

Maki Kubota

Xiao Wong

Charles Seo

Jeremy Kreutz

COMMUNITY-EMBEDDED MUSICIAN

Lindsey Baggett, Violin

ASSISTANT LIBRARIANS

Ali Verderber

Hae-a Lee

DOUBLE BASS

Robin Kesselman, Principal

Timothy Dilenschneider, Associate Principal

Steven Reineke, Principal POPS Conductor

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Conductor Laureate

Gonzalo Farias, Associate Conductor

Andrew Pedersen, Assistant Principal

Eric Larson

Burke Shaw

Donald Howey

Avery Weeks

Michael Zogaib+

FLUTE

Aralee Dorough, Principal

General Maurice Hirsch Chair

Matthew Roitstein, Associate Principal

Judy Dines

Kathryn Ladner

PICCOLO

Kathryn Ladner

OBOE

Jonathan Fischer, Principal

Lucy Binyon Stude Chair

Anne Leek, Associate Principal

Colin Gatwood

Adam Dinitz

ENGLISH HORN

Adam Dinitz

Barbara and Pat McCelvey Chair

CLARINET

Mark Nuccio, Principal

Bobbie Nau Chair

Vacant, Associate Principal

Christian Schubert

Alexander Potiomkin

Ben Freimuth+

E-FLAT CLARINET

Vacant

Ben Freimuth+

BASS CLARINET

Alexander Potiomkin

BASSOON

Rian Craypo, Principal

Isaac Schultz, Associate Principal

Elise Wagner

Adam Trussell

CONTRABASSOON

Adam Trussell

STAGE PERSONNEL

Stefan Stout, Stage Manager

José Rios, Assistant Stage Manager

Nicholas DiFonzo, Head Video Engineer

Justin Herriford, Head Audio Engineer

Connor Morrow, Head Stage Technician

Giancarlo Minotti, Audio Production Manager

HORN

William VerMeulen, Principal

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan

Endowed Chair

Robert Johnson, Associate Principal

Nathan Cloeter, Assistant Principal/Utility

Brian Thomas*

Brian Mangrum

Ian Mayton

Barbara J. Burger Chair

Spencer Bay+

TRUMPET

Mark Hughes, Principal

George P. and Cynthia Woods

Mitchell Chair

John Parker, Associate Principal

Robert Walp, Assistant Principal

Richard Harris

TROMBONE

Nick Platoff, Principal

Bradley White, Associate Principal

Phillip Freeman

BASS TROMBONE

Phillip Freeman

TUBA

Dave Kirk, Principal

TIMPANI

Leonardo Soto, Principal

Matthew Strauss, Associate Principal

PERCUSSION

Brian Del Signore, Principal

Mark Griffith

Matthew Strauss

HARP

Allegra Lilly, Principal

KEYBOARD

Vacant, Principal

LIBRARIAN

Luke Bryson, Principal

*on leave + contracted substitute

PERFORMANCE CALENDAR

2025-26 se a son

O p e n i n g We e ken d : Val č u h a

C on du c t s St r av in s k y ’s Fi r eb i r d

S e pt e m b e r 1 9, 2 0* & 2 1

Eschenbach Conducts

Mozart & Bruckner

S e pt e m b e r 2 7 & 28*

K i n g f o r a D ay : T h e M u s i c o f El v i s

O c t o b e r 3 , 4* & 5

J ea n -Yve s T h i b a u d e t +

T h e T h r e e - C o r n e r e d H a t

O c t o b e r 1 0, 11* & 12

G e r s hw i n & G r i m a u d :

J a z z M e e t s Symp ho ny

O c t o b e r 1 7, 1 8* & 19

Fr o m St a g e t o S c r e e n :

B r o a d way Me e t s H o l l y woo d

O c t o b e r 3 1 , N ove m b e r 1* & 2

Fri g h t f u l l y Fu n ! A H a l l owe e n

C o n c e r t f o r K i d s

N ove m b e r 1

Shall We Dance?

N ove m b e r 8 & 9*

S N o s f e r a t u: S i le n t Fil m

w i t h L i ve O r g a n

N ov e m b e r 1 6

J o u r n ey t o L i g h t : Va l č u h a

C on du c t s S h o s t a kov i c h 1 0

N ove m b e r 2 1 , 2 2 * & 2 3

Th a nk s g i v i n g We e ken d :

Tcha i kovs k y ’s P i an o

C o n c e r t o N o . 1

N ove m b e r 28 , 2 9* & 3 0

H and e l s M es si a h

S

S

D ec e m b e r 5 , 6* & 7

J oy f u l Fa n fa r e s ! H o l i d ay

B r a s s S p ec t ac u l a r

D ec e m b e r 6 & 7

Vo c t ave: It Feels Like C h r i s t m a s

D ec e m b e r 8

Ve r y M e r r y Po p s

D ec e m b e r 11 , 1 3* & 1 4

O h , W h at Fu n ! A H o l i d ay

C o n c e r t f o r K i d s

D ec e m b e r 1 3

Mariachi Sol De Mexico de José Hernández presents: José Hernández’ Merry-Achi Christmas

Dec e m b e r 15

S S Elf i n C on c e r t

D ec e m b e r 1 9, 2 0 & 2 1 B a n k o f A m e r i c a P

A N at K i n g C o l e N ew Ye a r

See our full year calendar for even more concerts! J a n u a r y 2 , 3* & 4

*Pe r f o r m a n c e li ve s t r ea m e d

SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Barbara J. Burger

President

John Rydman Chair

Barbara McCelvey President-Elect

Mike S. Stude Chair Emeritus

Paul Morico General Counsel

Jonathan Ayre Secretary

Jonathan Ayre Chair, Finance

Brad W. Corson Chair, Governance & Leadership

Carey Kirkpatrick Chair, Marketing & Communications

Evan B. Glick Chair, Popular Programming

Barbara McCelvey Chair, Development

Sippi Khurana, M.D. Chair, Education & Community Engagement

GOVERNING DIRECTORS

Jonathan Ayre

Gary Beauchamp

Eric Brueggeman

Bill Bullock

Barbara J. Burger

Mary Kathryn Campion, Ph.D.

John Cassidy, M.D.

Janet F. Clark

Brad W. Corson

Lidiya Gold

Claudio Gutiérrez

Rick Jaramillo

David J. M. Key

Sippi Khurana, M.D.

Mary Lynn Marks Chair, Volunteers & Special Events

Robert Orr Chair, Strategic Planning

John Rydman Chair, Artistic & Orchestra Affairs

Jesse B. Tutor Chair, Audit

Janet F. Clark^ Immediate Past Chair

Steven P. Mach^ At-Large Member

Bobby Tudor^ At-Large Member

Leslie Nossaman^ President, Houston Symphony League

James H. Lee^ President, Houston Symphony Endowment

Juraj Valčuha^ Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair

Joan DerHovsepian^ Musician Representative

Mark Hughes^ Musician Representative

Gary Ginstling^ Executive Director/CEO

Margaret Alkek Williams Chair

As of June 1, 2025

Carey Kirkpatrick

Cindy Levit

Isabel Stude Lummis

Cora Sue Mach **

Rodney Margolis**

Mary Lynn Marks

Elissa Martin

Barbara McCelvey

Paul R. Morico

Leslie Nossaman

Robert Orr

Chris Powers

John Rydman**

Brittany Sakowitz

Ed Schneider

Justin Stenberg

William J. Toomey II

Bobby Tudor **

Betty Tutor **

Jesse B. Tutor **

Gretchen Watkins

Robert Weiner

Margaret Alkek Williams **

Wei Jiang^ Musician Representative

Mark Nuccio^ Musician Representative

Sherry Rodriguez^ Assistant Secretary ^Ex-Officio

EX-OFFICIO

Joan DerHovsepian

Gary Ginstling

Evan B. Glick

Mark Hughes

Wei Jiang

James H. Lee

Steven P. Mach

Mark Nuccio

Sherry Rodriguez

Juraj Valčuha

TRUSTEES

Christopher Armstrong

David J. Beck

Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl

Nancy Shelton Bratic

Terry Ann Brown**

Ralph Burch

John T. Cater**

Robert Chanon

Heaven Chee

Michael H. Clark

Virginia Clark

Aoife Cunningham

Andrew Davis, Ph.D.

Denise Davis

Tracy Dieterich

Joan Duff

Connie Dyer

Kelli Cohen Fein

Jeffrey B. Firestone

Lindsay Buchanan Fisher

Eugene A. Fong

Aggie L. Foster

Julia Anderson Frankel

Carolyn Gaidos

Evan B. Glick

Andrew Gould

Lori Harrington

Jeff Hiller

Grace Ho

Gary L. Hollingsworth

John W. Hutchinson

Brian James

Dawn James

Matthew Kades

I. Ray Kirk, M.D.

David Krieger

Matthew Loden

Steven P. Mach

Michael Mann, M.D.

Nancy Martin

Jack Matzer

Jackie Wolens Mazow

Aprill Nelson

Tim Ong

PAST PRESIDENTS OF THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY SOCIETY

Mrs. Edwin B. Parker

Miss Ima Hogg

Mrs. H. M. Garwood

Joseph A. Mullen, M.D.

Joseph S. Smith

Walter H. Walne

H. R. Cullen

Gen. Maurice Hirsch

Charles F. Jones

Fayez Sarofim

John T. Cater

Richard G. Merrill

Ellen Elizardi Kelley

John D. Platt

E.C. Vandagrift Jr.

J. Hugh Roff Jr.

PAST PRESIDENTS OF THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY LEAGUE

Miss Ima Hogg

Mrs. John F. Grant

Mrs. J. R. Parten

Mrs. Andrew E. Rutter

Mrs. Aubrey Leno Carter

Mrs. Stuart Sherar

Mrs. Julian Barrows

Ms. Hazel Ledbetter

Mrs. Albert P. Jones

Mrs. Ben A. Calhoun

Mrs. James Griffith Lawhon

Mrs. Olaf LaCour Olsen

Mrs. Ralph Ellis Gunn

Mrs. Leon Jaworski

Mrs. Garrett R. Tucker Jr.

Mrs. M. T. Launius Jr.

Mrs. Thompson McCleary

Mrs. Theodore W. Cooper

Mrs. Allen W. Carruth

Mrs. David Hannah Jr.

Mary Louis Kister

Mrs. Edward W. Kelley Jr.

Mrs. John W. Herndon

Mrs. Charles Franzen

Mrs. Harold R. DeMoss Jr.

Mrs. Edward H. Soderstrom

Mrs. Lilly Kucera Andress

Ms. Marilou Bonner

Mrs. W. Harold Sellers

Mrs. Harry H. Gendel

Mrs. Robert M. Eury

Mrs. E. C. Vandagrift Jr.

FOUNDATION FOR JONES HALL REPRESENTATIVES

Janet F. Clark

Edward Osterberg Jr.

Gloria G. Pryzant

Miwa Sakashita

Ted Sarosdy

Andrew Schwaitzberg

Helen Shaffer**

Becky Shaw

Robert B. Sloan, D.D., Theol.

Jim R. Smith

Miles O. Smith**

Quentin Smith

Tad Smith

Anthony Speier

Tina Raham Stewart

Mike S. Stude**

Nanako Tingleaf

Margaret Waisman, M.D.

Fredric A. Weber

Vicki West

Steven J. Williams

David J. Wuthrich

Ellen A. Yarrell

Robert M. Hermance

Gene McDavid

Janice H. Barrow

Barry C. Burkholder

Rodney H. Margolis

Jeffrey B. Early

Michael E. Shannon

Ed Wulfe

Mrs. J. Stephen Marks

Terry Ann Brown

Nancy Strohmer

Mary Ann McKeithan

Ann Cavanaugh

Mrs. James A. Shaffer

Lucy H. Lewis

Catherine McNamara

Shirley McGregor Pearson

Paula Jarrett

Cora Sue Mach

Kathi Rovere

Norma Jean Brown

Barbara McCelvey

Lori Sorcic Jansen

Nancy B. Willerson

Robert Yekovich

EX-OFFICIO

Alejandro Gallardo

Reverend Ray Mackey, III

Frank F. Wilson IV

**Lifetime Trustee

*Deceased

Barbara McCelvey Fredric Weber

Jesse B. Tutor

Robert B. Tudor III

Robert A. Peiser

Steven P. Mach

Janet F. Clark

John Rydman

Jane Clark

Nancy Littlejohn

Donna Shen

Dr. Susan Snider Osterberg

Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein

Vicki West

Mrs. Jesse Tutor

Darlene Clark

Beth Wolff

Maureen Higdon

Fran Fawcett Peterson

Leslie Siller

Cheryl Byington

Mary Fusillo

Heidi Rockecharlie

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

LEADERSHIP GROUP

Gary Ginstling, Executive Director/CEO

Margaret Alkek Williams Chair

Elizabeth S. Condic, Chief Financial Officer

Vicky Dominguez, Chief Operating Officer

Jennifer Renner, Chief Development Officer

Alex Soares, Chief Marketing Officer

DEVELOPMENT

Sarah Bhalla, Development Officer

Lauren Buchanan, Development Communications Manager

Alex Canales, Senior Development Ticket Concierge

Jessie De Arman, Development Associate, Gifts and Records

Timothy Dillow, Senior Director of Development

Amanda T. Dinitz, Senior Major Gifts Officer

Vivian Gonzalez, Development Officer

Kamra Kilmer, Development Gift Officer

Karyn Mason, Development Officer

Hadia Mawlawi, Senior Associate, Endowment and Planned Giving

Meghan Miller, Special Events Associate

Mayenne Minuit, Development Associate, Administration

Emilie Moellmer, Annual Fund Manager

Megan Mottu, Development Officer

Tim Richey, Director, Individual Giving

Sherry Rodriguez, Corporate Relations Manager & Board Liaison

Katie Salvatore, Major Gifts Officer

Lena Streetman, Manager, Research and Development Operations

Stacey Swift, Director, Special Events

Sarah Thompson, Donor Stewardship Manager

Christina Trunzo, Director, Foundation Relations

Alexa Ustaszewski, Major Gifts Officer

EDUCATION | COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Olivia Allred, Education Manager

Allison Conlan, Senior Director, Education and Community Engagement

Austin Hinkle, Education and Community Engagement Coordinator

Cedric Mayfield, Project Manager, Evaluation

Jazmine Olwalia, Community Engagement Associate

Sheridan Richard, DeLUXE K!ds In Harmony Site Manager

Community-Embedded Musicians (CEM):

Lindsey Baggett, Lead CEM

Lucinda Chiu, CEM Teaching Artist

David Connor, CEM Teaching Artist

Stephen Hudson, CEM Education Specialist

Rainel Joubert, CEM Teaching Artist

Bianca Lozano, CEM Teaching Artist

Alexis Mitrushi, CEM Teaching Artist

FINANCE | ADMINISTRATION | IT | HR

José Arriaga, Systems Engineer

Henry Cantu, Finance Accountant

Kimberly Cegielski, Staff Accountant

Heather Fails, Database Administrator

Joel James, Director of Human Resources

Tanya Lovetro, Director of Budgeting and Financial Reporting

Freddie Piegsa, Help Desk Technician

Morgana Rickard, Controller

Gabriela Rivera, Senior Accountant

Pam Romo, Office Manager/HR Coordinator

Lee Whatley, Senior Director, IT and Analytics

MARKETING | COMMUNICATIONS

Bryan Ayllon, Web Coordinator

Mark Bailes, Marketing Revenue Manager

Rachel Cheng, Marketing and External Relations Assistant

Bella Cutaia, Patron Services Senior Representative

Ruben Gandara, Patron Services Representative

Kathryn Judd, Director, Marketing

Priya Kurup, Senior Associate, Group Sales

Caroline Lawson, Patron Services Representative

Lien Le, Patron Experience Coordinator

Yoo-Ell Lee, Graphics and Media Designer

Ciara Macaulay, Creative Director

Ashley Martinez, Patron Services Coordinator

Mariah Martinez, Email Marketing Coordinator

Casey Pearce, Graphic Design Manager

Aracely Quevedo, Patron Services Representative

Eric Skelly, Senior Director, Communications

Christian Sosa, Web Experience Director

Jonathan Townsend, Patron Services Representative

Jenny Zuniga, Director, Patron Services

OPERATIONS | ARTISTIC

Stephanie Alla, Associate Director of Artistic Planning

Becky Brown, Associate Director, Orchestra Personnel

Michael Gorman, Director, Orchestra Personnel

Julia Hall, Interim Director, Chorus

Adrian Hernandez, Concert Media Production Manager

Hazel Landers, Chorus Library Intern

Hae-a Lee, Assistant Librarian

Giancarlo Minotti, Audio Production Manager

Elena Reid, Artistic Intern

José Rios, Assistant Stage Manager

Brad Sayles, Senior Recording Engineer

Claudia Schmitz, Artistic Coordinator and Assistant to the Music Director

Stefan Stout, Stage Manager

Nathan Trinkl, Artistic Assistant

Ali Verderber, Assistant Librarian

Meredith Williams, Director of Concert Operations

Rebecca Zabinski, Senior Director, Artistic Planning

Featured Program MILLER OUTDOOR THEATRE:

The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires + Prokofiev 5

*François López-Ferrer, conductor

*Gabriela Lara, violin

0:07 G. ORTIZ – Kauyumari

0:25 PIAZZOLLA/DESYATNIKOV – Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas

I. Otoño porteño: quarter = 112--Lento--Allegro

II. Invierno porteño: Andante moderato

III. Primavera porteña: Allegro--Lento--Allegro

IV. Verano porteño: Allegro--Lento--Allegro

INTERMISSION

0:46 PROKOFIEV – Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Opus 100

I. Andante

II. Allegro marcato

III. Adagio

IV. Allegro giocoso

*Houston Symphony debut

Saturday, July 12

About the Music Program Insight

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board Guarantor

The Houston Symphony’s Miller Outdoor Theatre concerts are endowed by The Brown Foundation, Inc. in memory of Stewart and Hanni Orton

The Houston Symphony’s sound shell ceiling is made possible through the generosity of the Beauchamp Foundation and the Fondren Foundation

Miller Outdoor Theatre

8:30 p.m.

This evening the Houston Symphony welcomes Spanish-American conductor François López-Ferrer to Miller Outdoor Theatre for his debut performance with the orchestra. Recipient of the prestigious 2024 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, López-Ferrer opens the concert with Kauyumari, a 2021 work by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz inspired by the spiritual (and psychedelic) traditions of the Huichol people of Western Mexico.

Venezuelan violinist and Chicago Symphony Orchestra member Gabriela Lara then makes her Houston Symphony debut with Piazzolla’s Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas, or The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, a playful, tango-infused update of Vivaldi’s famous The Four Seasons. The program concludes with Prokofiev’s monumental Symphony No. 5, an epic work written during the final days of World War II. Although Prokofiev described it as “glorifying the grandeur of the human spirit, praising the free and happy man—his strength, his generosity, and the purity of his soul,” the Symphony also contains an underlying tension reflecting the realities of life in the Soviet Union, where Prokofiev was rarely a “free and happy man.” With its enigmatic ending, the work both celebrates collective victory and questions, “But what will come next?”

Program Notes

Among the Huichol people of Mexico, Kauyumari means “blue deer.” The blue deer represents a spiritual guide, one that is transformed through an extended pilgrimage into a hallucinogenic cactus called peyote. It allows the Huichol to communicate with their ancestors, do their bidding, and take on their role as guardians of the planet. Each year, these Native Mexicans embark on a symbolic journey to “hunt” the blue deer, making offerings in gratitude for having been granted access to the invisible world, through which they also are able to heal the wounds of the soul.

When I received the commission from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to compose a piece that would reflect on our return to the stage following the pandemic, I immediately thought of the blue deer and its power to enter the world of the intangible as akin to a celebration of the reopening of live music. Specifically, I thought of a Huichol melody sung by the De La Cruz family—dedicated to recording ancestral folklore—that I used for the final movement of my piece, Altar de Muertos (Altar of the Dead), commissioned by the Kronos String Quartet in 1997.

I used this material within the orchestral context and elaborated on the construction and progressive development of the melody and its accompaniment in such a way that it would symbolize the blue deer. This in turn was transformed into an orchestral texture that gradually evolves into a complex rhythm pattern, to such a degree that the melody itself becomes unrecognizable (the imaginary effect of peyote and our awareness of the invisible realm), giving rise to a choral wind section while maintaining an incisive rhythmic accompaniment as a form of reassurance that the world will naturally follow its course.

While composing this piece, I noted once again how music has the power to grant us access to the intangible, healing our wounds and binding us to what can only be expressed through sound. Although life is filled with interruptions, Kauyumari is a comprehension and celebration of the fact that each of these rifts is also a new beginning. —Gabriela Ortiz

PIAZZOLLA/DESYATNIKOV

Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (1970)

Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla carved out a special, possibly unique, niche in musical history as the man who modernized the tango, blending elements of classical music and jazz into the Argentine tango. Piazzolla’s ancestry was purely Italian, his grandparents on both sides having immigrated to Argentina in the late 19th century.

When he was three years old, his parents moved to New York, where he was exposed to both classical music and jazz. After numerous travels between New York and Argentina, and some trips to France, he settled permanently in Buenos Aires in 1937, joining the cabaret orchestra of leading bandleader Aníbal Troilo while studying concert music with noted Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera. In 1953, Piazzolla won a French government grant to study with the renowned composition teacher Nadia

Program Notes

PIAZZOLLA/DESYATNIKOV

Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (1970)

PROKOFIEV

Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Opus 100 (1944)

Boulanger, who quickly advised him that the tango was his true path to self-expression in music.

Traditionalists initially opposed Piazzolla’s hard-edged, realistic modernization of the tango, but students and young liberals supported it as an artistic symbol of their yearnings for political democracy. Piazzolla’s four tangos, titled Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (Four Seasons of Buenos Aires), are modern-day counterparts to Antonio Vivaldi’s famed set of four baroque violin concertos, known simply as The Four Seasons. Piazzolla’s set began almost randomly in 1965, with a tango, “Verano porteño,” which he composed as incidental music for a play by Alberto Rodriguez Muñoz. While the play was not a success, the music won praise and Piazzolla gradually completed the set of four tangos over the next five years. Its premiere, including a live recording, was given by Piazzolla and his quintet at Buenos Aires’s Teatro Regina on May 19, 1970.

Today, Piazzolla’s tangos are heard in countless versions. This solo violin/string orchestra version was made by Russian composer Leonid Desyatnikov, who has been a close associate of violinist Gidon Kremer. The set begins with “Otoño” (“Autumn”), since the sequence of climatic changes in Buenos Aires is the reverse of those in the northern hemisphere, where Vivaldi composed his Four Seasons. Each tango is divided into several sections, sharply contrasting the spiky, hard-edged jazz style of Piazzolla's tango-nuevo with the slower, more seductive manner of the traditional tango. Cadenzas for the violin soloist are sprinkled throughout the set and “Otoño” contains an additional cadenza and extended solo passage for a solo cello.

The music also contains numerous showy effects, such as sliding glissando playing, trills, and other ornaments. At various points, Desyatnikov calls upon the players to tap the strings with the wooden tip of their bows, imitating the hollow scraping sound of a Latin American folk instrument called a güiro. And in a salute to his famed predecessor, Piazzolla has included direct quotations of excerpts from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. —Carl R. Cunningham

Sergei Prokofiev composed his Fifth Symphony during the fateful summer of 1944. World War II raged across Europe: the Soviets were repelling the Nazis from their borders, and the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy in June.

Despite the war, terrifying confrontations with the Soviet government, and turmoil in his personal life, Prokofiev remained fundamentally idealistic and wrote that he conceived his symphony “as glorifying the grandeur of the human spirit, praising the free and happy man—his strength, his generosity, and the purity of his soul.”

Across the world, many would hear it as a symbol of the resilience of life in the face of so much war and death. The symphony begins simply, with a lyrical melody shared by the flute and bassoon. Perhaps the greatest

Program Notes

PROKOFIEV

Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Opus 100 (1944)

melodist of his time, Prokofiev filled this symphony with many uniquely beautiful ideas. An upward surging figure in the basses and cellos leads to a soft, contrasting theme in the flute and oboe. One last theme appears in the violins and brass, followed by a skittering figure in the strings.

The opening melody then returns in the low strings as these ideas recombine and interact. After this lyrical yet intense development, the opening melody returns in the trumpets. The other melodies return as well, leading to a grand ending based on the opening. The second movement is a fast, almost maniacal scherzo, full of Prokofiev’s characteristically sardonic sense of humor. After a more lyrical middle section, the scherzo returns with a frighteningly gradual crescendo. The slow and deeply felt third movement begins with a long, twisting melody that is passed among the woodwinds before soaring in the strings. Later, a Morse code-like pulsing in the piano introduces an urgent idea in the lower strings, which leads to an ominous melody in the trumpet and woodwinds characterized by drumroll-like trills. After a violent outburst, a high, delicate version of the lyrical opening melody returns. The last movement begins with a dialogue between the sections of the orchestra that recalls the opening of the symphony. The solo clarinet then launches into a quick, vivacious theme. This melody alternates with contrasting sections, and many ideas from the previous movements reappear. The symphony climaxes in a wild and brilliant finale, in which strangely mechanistic figures repeatedly cut off the main theme. Prokofiev seems to end by asking, “But what comes after the victory?”

—Calvin Dotsey

Program Bios

Spanish-American conductor

François López-Ferrer has carved

an impressive path in the world of classical music, distinguished by his dynamic artistry and compelling performances. Recipient of the prestigious 2024 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, he has had an international career marked by recent debuts with esteemed orchestras worldwide, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) at the Hollywood Bowl, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Opéra national de Paris, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de

Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica Radio Televisión Española, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Ensemble intercontemporain, Opéra de Lausanne, and George Enescu Philharmonic.

Upcoming engagements include debuts with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid at the Teatro Real de Madrid in a production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Houston and Utah Symphonies, Orchestra Sinfonica G. Rossini at the Rossini Opera Festival, Basque National Orchestra, Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra, and the

Program Bio

Spoleto Festival USA leading Britten’s Turn of the Screw, as well as returns to the Omaha Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico, and the Symphony San Jose.

His journey began as Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony (CSO) and May Festival, where he made a significant impact on audiences and critics alike. In January 2022, he seamlessly stepped in for Louis Langrée with the CSO for the U.S. premiere of Mark Simpson’s Violin Concerto, featuring Nicola Benedetti. López-Ferrer’s artistry was further refined during his tenure as a 2021–22 Dudamel Fellow with the LA Phil, as well as Resident Conductor of the Opéra de Paris’s Académie. He was a featured conductor in the 2022 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview alongside the Louisiana Philharmonic.

Early career achievements include serving as Associate Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile and Principal Conductor of the Ballet Nacional Chileno. As a 2018 Verbier Festival Conducting Fellow, he made a memorable debut stepping in for Iván Fischer in a shared program alongside Sir Simon Rattle and Gábor TakácsNagy. Furthermore, he is a twotime recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S.’s Career Assistance Award, winner of the inaugural 2015 Neeme Järvi Prize

at the Menuhin-Gstaad Festival, and former member of the Deutsche Dirigentenforum.

López-Ferrer holds a master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting

from the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne and a bachelor’s in Composition from the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music. Born in Switzerland and raised in the United States, he embodies a rich multicultural lineage, with a Cuban mother and Spanish father, and speaks six languages fluently. 

Gabriela Lara, violin

Originally from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Gabriela Lara began her violin studies at age eight and later became a member of the Latin American Violin Academy, where she was a student of Jose Francisco del Castillo and Francisco Diaz. She was also a member of El Sistema in Venezuela and, as part of that ensemble, had the opportunity to make a 2014 Europe Tour with the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra. She performed with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra as part of a 2016 European tour that included a concert at the Berliner Philharmonie and performed with

Sir Simon Rattle as part of a tour that included concerts at the Salzburg Festival.

Since moving to the United States in 2017, Lara was recognized as the winner of the 28th Sphinx Annual Competition as well as

placing second place in the 25th edition, and was the winner of the 2021 Frank Preuss International Violin Competition. She was also the recipient of a 2022 Project Inclusion Fellowship from the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, Lara received a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where she was a student of Almita Vamos, and went on to receive a Master’s degree in Suzuki Pedagogy from Roosevelt University in 2024.

In the 2022–23 Season, Lara was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago serving as Civic’s Concertmaster in 2023 to later become the first Chicago Symphony Orchestra Fellow. As a CSO Fellow, Lara performed on tour in North America and Europe with Riccardo Muti performing in prestigious halls like the Grand Hall of the Musikverein, the Paris Philharmonie, and the Teatro alla Scala. Lara held that position with the CSO first in the 2022–23 Season and continued in the program during the 2023–24 Season before her appointment to the second violin section of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In 2025, Lara became the first CSO musician appointed by Klaus Mäkelä as a member of the first violin section. 

VALČUHA CONDUCTS WEST SIDE STORY

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a FREE performance at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Led by Music Director Juraj Valčuha in his first ever appearance at Miller Outdoor Theatre, the orchestra performs dance-inspired pieces by Revueltas and Ginastera. Bernstein’s beloved West Side Story is brought to life in all its rhythmic flair, and Ravel’s sultry Bólero caps off this celebration of music and community.

Sept. 12

Miller Outdoor Theatre

Presenting Sponsor

Juraj Valčuha, Music Director

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