La Jolla Music Society Season 57 Program Book 1 by La Jolla Music Society

2025−2026 Calendar of Events

Lang Lang, piano

Angélique Kidjo, vocalist

SEPTEMBER

OPENING NIGHT

DANIIL TRIFONOV, piano

2 Performances

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025 • 7:30 PM

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 • 7:30 PM Piano Series

ENDEA OWENS & THE COOKOUT*

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2025 • 5:30 PM & 8 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

OCT0BER

BILL CHARLAP TRIO*

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2025 • 5:30 PM & 8 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

CHRISTIAN McBRIDE & BRAD MEHLDAU

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2025 • 7:30 PM Jazz Series

DMITRY SHISHKIN*, piano

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2025 • 3 PM Discovery Series

NOVEMBER

MARIZA*

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2025 • 7:30 PM

Global Roots Series · Balboa Theatre

BALLET PRELJOCAJ: GRAVITY

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2025 • 7 PM Dance Series Civic Theatre

ANDREAS OTTENSAMER*, clarinet; KIAN SOLTANI, cello; ALESSIO BAX*, piano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2025 • 7:30 PM Revelle Chamber Music Series

DISNEY'S MOANA LIVE-TO-FILM CONCERT*

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2025 • 6 PM

The ConRAD Kids Series Balboa Theatre

RAPHAËL FEUILLÂTRE*, guitar

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2025 • 3 PM Discovery Series

YULIANNA AVDEEVA*, piano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2025 • 7:30 PM Piano Series

DECEMBER

MIREYA RAMOS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2025 • 5:30 PM & 8 PM Concerts @ The JAI

MOMIX: ALICE

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2025 • 7:30 PM Dance Series • Civic Theatre

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2025 • 4–7 PM

THE HOLIDAYS WITH CANADIAN BRASS

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2025 • 7:30 PM Special Event

PHILIPP SCHUPELIUS*, cello

JULIUS ASAL* , piano

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2025 • 3 PM Discovery Series

JANUARY

DOUG SMITH*:

WILD WOLVES OF YELLOWSTONE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2026 • 7:30 PM Speaker Series

COTTON*

Co-production with San Diego Opera

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2026 • 7:30 PM Protostar Innovative Series

SUNNY JAIN’S WILD WILD EAST*

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2026 · 5 PM & 7:30 PM Concerts @ The JAI

LUCAS & ARTHUR JUSSEN, pianos

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Piano Series

COMPAGNIE HERVÉ KOUBI*: SOL INVICTUS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Dance Series • Balboa Theatre

FEBRUARY

ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ & PEDRITO MARTINEZ

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2026 · 5 PM & 7:30 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

JOEL ROSS* GOOD VIBES

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2026 · 5:30 PM & 8 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

JUAN DIEGO FLÓREZ*, tenor

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Recital Series

AROD QUARTET

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Revelle Chamber Music Series

KALANI PE‘A*

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2026 • 3 PM

Global Roots Series

EPHRAT ASHERIE DANCE* WITH ARTURO O’FARRILL: SHADOW CITIES

2 Performances

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2026 • 3 PM & 7 PM

Protostar Innovative Series

KEITH LADZINSKI*:FORCES OF NATURE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Speaker Series

MAO FUJITA, piano

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Piano Series

MARCH

CHUCHO VALDÉS & ARTURO SANDOVAL

LEGACY QUINTET

2 Performances

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2026 • 7:30 PM

THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Jazz Series

THE BAD PLUS* WITH CHRIS POTTER AND CRAIG TABORN

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2026 • 5:30 PM & 8 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

LE CONSORT: A TRIO SONATA SOIRÉE*

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2026 • 7:30 PM Revelle Chamber Music Series

AUGUSTIN HADELICH, violin

FRANCESCO PIEMONTESI*, piano

SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2026 • 8 PM

Recital Series

Doodle POP*

SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 2026 • 3 PM

The ConRAD Kids Series

LANG LANG, piano

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Special Event · Jacobs Music Center

RAVI SHANKAR ENSEMBLE*

SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2026 • 7 PM

Global Roots Series

APRIL

EMMET COHEN PRESENTS:

MILES AND COLTRANE AT 100

4 Performances

MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2026 • 5:30 PM & 8 PM

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2026 • 5:30 PM & 8 PM

Concerts @ The JAI: Jazz Mini-Festival

TERENCE BLANCHARD & RAVI COLTRANE*

MILES DAVIS & JOHN COLTRANE AT 100

THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Jazz Series: Jazz Mini-Festival Balboa Theatre

COLTRANE 100:

BOTH DIRECTIONS AT ONCE

SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Jazz Series: Jazz Mini-Festival

DANISH STRING QUARTET

DANISH NATIONAL GIRLS’ CHOIR*

SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2026 • 3 PM

Revelle Chamber Music Series

GAUTIER CAPUÇON, cello

JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET, piano

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Recital Series

BENNY BENACK III*: THE MAGIC OF MANHATTAN

SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026 • 5:30 PM & 8 PM Concerts @ The JAI

ARISTO SHAM*, piano VAN CLIBURN GOLD MEDAL WINNER

SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2026 • 3 PM Discovery Series

AARON DIEHL TRIO

FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2026 • 5:30 PM & 8 PM Concerts @ The JAI

ART OF ELAN: DANCING ON TIPTOES

SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2026 • 10 AM & 11:30 AM The ConRAD Kids Series • The JAI

ALEXANDRE KANTOROW*, piano

SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2026 • 7:30 PM Piano Series

DAVID McLAIN*: BLUE ZONES

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2026 • 7:30 PM Speaker Series

MAY

ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO*

SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2026 • 7 PM Global Roots Series

UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF LONGEVITY

HAYATO SUMINO*, piano

SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Protostar Innovative Series

TRACY DRAIN*: COSMIC ADVENTURES

THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2026 • 7:30 PM Speaker Series

SHENEL JOHNS*

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2026 · 5:30 PM & 8 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

STELLA CHEN*, violin

GILLES VONSATTEL, piano

SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2026 • 3 PM

Discovery Series

JUNE

JIHYE LEE ORCHESTRA*

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2026 • 5:30 PM & 8 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

*LJMS debut

Arod Quartet Terence Blanchard, trumpet

Gautier Capuçon, cello

UP NEXT: JANUARY 2026

DOUG SMITH: WILD WOLVES OF YELLOWSTONE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15 · 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Speaker Series

COTTON

Co-production with FRIDAY, JANUARY

The Baker-Baum C Protostar Innova

San Diego Opera 16 · 7:30 PM

Concert Hall

Innovative Series

SUNNY JAIN’S WILD WILD EAST

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18

5 PM & 7:30 PM

The JAI

Concerts @ The JAI

COMPAGNIE HERVÉ KOUBI: SOL INVICTUS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30 · 7:30 PM

Balboa Theatre Dance Series

LUCAS & ARTHUR JUSSEN, pianos

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22 · 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall Piano Series

FEBRUARY

ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ & PEDRITO MARTINEZ

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1

5 PM & 7:30 PM

The JAI

Concerts @ The JAI

“ The dancers of Compagnie Hervé Koubi could be mistaken for gods.”

—The New Yorker

JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5

5:30 PM & 8 PM

The JAI Concerts @ The JAI

JUAN DIEGO FLÓREZ, tenor

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12 · 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall Recital Series

FEBRUARY

AROD QUARTET

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14 • 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall Revelle Chamber Music Series

EPHRAT ASHERIE DANCE WITH ARTURO O’FARRILL SHADOW CITIES

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22 · 3 PM & 7 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall Protostar Innovative Series

KEITH LADZINSKI: FORCES OF NATURE

“

Juan Diego Flórez is one of the greatest tenors in the world. Of that there can be no doubt.”

— OperaWire

KALANI PE‘A

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15 · 3 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall Global Roots Series

A major, innovative figure in contemporary Hawaiian music” — Maui News

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26 · 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall Speaker Series

MAO FUJITA,

piano

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27 · 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall Piano Series

“ Brilliant...one to watch” — The Times

The moment has arrived... Join us for our grand reopening.

Acclaimed Executive Chef Kelli Crosson presents locally sourced, regional cuisine with breathtaking views of the Torrey Pines Golf Course and stunning sunsets over the Pacific Ocean.

TRANSFORMATIVE SUPPORT

Our gratitude to these Medallion Society Pillars founding members who have made significant four-year commitments that will help us better serve all of the San Diego region. The Conrad can be a catalyst to bring thousands of adults and children together through a common appreciation of the performing arts, which enhance the artistic fabric of our community.

$1 MILLION and above

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

$1 MILLION and above

Irwin and Joan* Jacobs

$1 MILLION and above

Dorothea Laub

$500,000 and above

Karen and Kit Sickels

$400,000 and above

Mary Ellen Clark

$400,000 and above

Raffaella and John* Belanich

$400,000 and above

Eleanor and Ric Charlton

$400,000 and above

Jacqueline and Jean-Luc Robert

$400,000 and above

Debbie Turner

$400,000 and above

Marco Londei and Liqun Wang

$200,000 and above

Keith and Helen Kim

$200,000 and above

Julie and Bert Cornelison

$200,000 and above

Angel and Fred Kleinbub

$200,000 and above

Haeyoung Kong Tang

Thank you to these Pillars in the community.

$200,000 and above

Sue and Peter Wagener

$200,000 and above

Herbert Solomon and Elaine Galinson

$200,000 and above

Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

For information about supporting La Jolla Music Society through membership in the Pillars program, please contact Ferdinand Gasang at 858.526.3426 or FGasang@TheConrad.org.

THE CONRAD

Home of La Jolla Music Society

Vision Statement

To transform lives through the performing arts, serving as a beacon of world-class artistic excellence, innovation, and inclusivity.

Mission Statement

To enrich the evolving cultural landscape of San Diego by curating a dynamic array of world-class performing arts programming, create meaningful learning opportunities, and build connections between artists and audiences.

The 2025−26 Season

From classical, jazz, and dance to global music, exciting speakers, and family concerts, each season

Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal brings the best artists in the world to the San Diego community. This season will feature more than 70 artists, including superstars like Lang Lang, Angélique Kidjo, MOMIX, Daniil Trifonov, Juan Diego Flórez, and many more. Join us at The Conrad as well as the Civic Theatre, Balboa Theatre, and Jacobs Music Center to see the best the world has to offer.

SummerFest

La Jolla Music Society’s acclaimed chamber music festival, SummerFest, curated by award-winning pianist and festival Music Director Inon Barnatan, celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026. SummerFest engages more than 80 of the world’s finest musicians to perform at The Conrad throughout the month of August. In addition to remarkable mainstage performances, SummerFest offers over 50 free and open-to-the-public educational activities. To learn more, visit TheConrad.org/SummerFest.

Mariza Chucho Valdés

Noah Bendix-Balgley, Stefan Jackiw, Inon Barnatan, Alisa Weilerstein, Teng Li

The Conrad

The Conrad opened in 2019 and serves as a gathering place for cultural, arts education, and community activity. As the permanent home of La Jolla Music Society, The Conrad hosts world-class performances presented by La Jolla Music Society and other local arts organizations in its four outstanding performance and activity spaces, The Baker-Baum Concert Hall, The JAI, The Atkinson Room, and the picturesque Wu Tsai QRT.yrd.

Learning & Engagement

La Jolla Music Society’s award-winning Learning & Engagement Programming provides unmatched access and learning opportunities to more than 15,000 students and community members throughout San Diego County annually. With learning and engagement at the heart of our mission, we work closely with each visiting artist and ensemble to create outreach activities that highlight their unique talents and expertise at both The Conrad and in the community. With our state-of the-art video and streaming capabilities at The Conrad, we are able to provide live streaming for events such as our annual SummerFest and education events for free in our Digital Concert Hall.

Land Acknowledgment

The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center acknowledges the ancestral, unceded territory of the Kumeyaay people, on which The Conrad was built. We hold great respect for the land and the original people of the area where our performing arts center is located. The Kumeyaay continue to maintain their political sovereignty and cultural traditions as vital members of the San Diego community.

Balourdet Quartet

Allison Boles, Edward Dusinberre, Harumi Rhodes, Inon Barnatan

Yunchan Lim

Sammy Miller & The Congregation

Lori Bell Quartet

BOARD OF DIRECTORS · 2025–26

Vivian Lim – Chair

Bert Cornelison – Vice Chair

Mary Ellen Clark - Treasurer

Stacy Kellner Rosenberg - Secretary

Stephen L. Baum

David Belanich

Marla Bingham

Eleanor Charlton

Sharon Cohen

Ellise Coit

Peter Cooper

Ann Parode Dynes

Jennifer Eve

Debby Fishburn

Stephen Gamp

Lehn Goetz

John Hesselink

Teresa Hixson

David Kabakoff

Nancy Linke Patton

Diana Lombrozo

Sue Major

Richard A. Norling

Kazeem Omidiji

Arman Oruc

Tom Rasmussen

Sylvia Ré

Sheryl Scarano

Neal Schmale

Jeanette Stevens

Stephanie Stone

Peter Wagener

Liqun Wang

Lise Wilson

Bebe L. Zigman

HONORARY DIRECTORS

Brenda Baker

Stephen L. Baum

Raffaella Belanich

Joy Frieman, Ph.D.

Irwin M. Jacobs

Joan Jacobs (1933—2024)

Lois Kohn (1924—2010)

Helene K. Kruger (1916—2019)

Conrad Prebys (1933—2016)

Peggy Preuss

Ellen Revelle (1910—2009)

Leigh P. Ryan, Esq.

Dolly Woo

LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY STAFF

Todd R. Schultz – President & CEO

Leah Rosenthal – Artistic Director

Inon Barnatan – SummerFest Music Director

ARTISTIC

Grace Smith – Artistic Planning & Operations Director

Anne-Marie Dicce – Artistic Planning Manager

George Pritzker – Artistic Operations Coordinator

Juliet Zimmer – Artistic Rentals & Partnerships Director

Braulio Fernandez-Flores – Artistic Rentals Coordinator/ Assistant Front of House Manager

John Tessmer – Lead Artist Liaison

Maggie de Lorimier − Artist Liason

Eric Bromberger – Program Annotator

PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS

Jamie Coyne – Director of Production & Operations

Adam Wiebe – Technical Director

Tyler Merrihew – Assistant Technical Director

Caren Heintzelman – Assistant Production Manager

Lauren Cernik-Price – Production Coordinator & Stage Manager

Sam Bedford – Stage Manager

Abby Viton – Stage Manager

Jonnel Domilos – Piano Technician

FACILITIES

Colin Dickson – Facilities Manager

Evan Calderon – Facilities Coordinator

Kim Chevallier – Security Guard

LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT

Allison Boles – Director of Learning & Engagement

Jade Lewenhaupt – Learning & Engagement Coordinator

Serafin Paredes – Community Music Center Director

Aimee Alvarado – Community Music Center Administrative Assistant

Community Music Center Instructors:

Mariana Flores Bucio, Marcus Cortez, David Garcia, Ian Lawrence, Sofia Magallenes

Marko Paul, Eduardo Ruiz, Juan Sanchez, Miguel Zazueta

DEVELOPMENT

Ferdinand Gasang – Director of Development

Anne Delleman – Development Manager

Wadeaa Jubran – Development Coordinator

Nicole Slavik – Special Events & Catering Director

Vivian Vu – Special Events Coordinator

Sarah Wood Torrey – Institutional Giving Consultant

MARKETING & GUEST SERVICES

Mary Cook – Director of Communications, Marketing & Guest Services

Stephanie Saad – Communications & Public Relations Director

David Silva – Marketing Manager & Sales Director

Cristal Salow – Database & Analytics Manager

Mariel Pillado – Graphic Designer

Marsi Bennion – Box Office & Guest Services Director

Patrick Mayuyu – Box Office & Guest Services Manager

Sam Crowley – Box Office & Guest Services Lead

Mitch Maker – Box Office & Guest Services Associate

Veronica Eddings – Box Office & Guest Services Associate

Shaun Davis – House Manager

Welcome to La Jolla Music Society’s 57 th Season

Welcome to La Jolla Music Society’s 57th Season!

So many of us are still glowing from the success of SummerFest 2025—four weeks of extraordinary concerts curated by Music Director Inon Barnatan, which drew record attendance and featured performances of the highest international caliber. And it wasn’t just us who felt the magic—critics agreed. Paul Bodine of Times of San Diego wrote, “One of the glories of La Jolla Music Society’s annual SummerFest is its perennial embrace of neglected music,” while Eileen Wingard of San Diego Jewish World praised the festival as “another illustration of Barnatan’s ability to draw the highest level of talent from all corners of the globe to create in SummerFest a festival of the highest order.”

Since the opening of The Conrad in 2019, our Season programming has grown phenomenally—thanks to you, our patrons and generous donors. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal, we’ve doubled the number of annual performances and introduced several new series, all met with enthusiastic audiences. This season, Leah has once again worked her magic to bring us a vibrant and eclectic mix of superstars, cuttingedge innovators, and emerging talents—something for every musical taste.

Looking ahead, we’re focused on long-range planning to ensure La Jolla Music Society’s continued vitality and impact. I’m proud to announce our “60 x 60 Endowment Campaign,” an ambitious effort to raise $60 million by our 60th Anniversary Season in 2029. This campaign will help secure artistic excellence, educational outreach, and cultural vibrancy at The Conrad and throughout San Diego for generations to come, and we invite anyone considering a donation or inclusion of La Jolla Music Society in their estate plans to contact Director of Development Ferdie Gasang.

Thank you for being part of the La Jolla Music Society family. I look forward to seeing you at The Conrad this season.

Todd R. Schultz President & CEO

PRELUDE 6:30 PM

Lecture by Kristi Brown-Montesano

DANIIL TRIFONOV, piano

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

TANEYEV

Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp Minor, Opus 29 (1856–1915)

Prelude, Andande

Fugue, Allegro vivace e con fuoco

PROKOFIEV

Visions Fugitives, Opus 22 (1891–1953) Lentamente

Andate

Allegretto

Animato

Molto giocoso

Con eleganza

Pittoresco (Arpa)

Comodo

Allegro tranquillo

Ridicolosamente

Con vivacita

Assai moderato

Allegretto

Feroce

Inquieto

Dolente

Poetico

Con una dolce lentezza

Tonight’s performance is dedicated in loving memory of Joseph Taft.

La Jolla Music Society’s 2025–26 Season is supported by The City of San Diego Cultural Affairs, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, Farfy Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Rancho La Puerta, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Eleanor and Ric Charlton, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Marge and Neal Schmale, Karen and Kit Sickels, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Liqun Wang and Marco Londei, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman.

Opus 3 Artists

MYASKOVSKY

Presto agitatissimo e molto accentuato

Lento irrealmente

Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-sharp Minor, Opus 13 (1881–1950)

INTERMISSION

SCHUMANN

Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Opus 11 (1810–1856) Introduzione: Un poco adagio – Allegro vivace

Aria

Scherzo: Allegrissimo – intermezzo: Lento

Finale: Allegro, un poco maestoso

Daniil Trifonov, piano

Daniil Trifonov last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Piano Series on November 10, 2022.

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp Minor, Opus 29 SERGEI TANEYEV

Born November 25, 1856, Vladimir, Russia

Died June 19, 1915, Dyudkovo, Russia

Composed: 1910

Approximate Duration: 8 minutes

Sergei Taneyev began studying composition with Tchaikovsky when he was a teenager, and he went on to become Tchaikovsky’s most successful student and a close friend. Taneyev gave the Moscow premiere of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto in December 1875 when he was only 19 and succeeded Tchaikovsky as professor of composition at the Moscow Conservatory. As a teacher at the Conservatory, Taneyev had a number of distinguished students, but—alarmed by the Conservatory’s elitist standards and moved by the revolutionary sentiments in the air—Taneyev resigned from the faculty in 1905 and formed his own “People’s Conservatory” in Moscow that would offer instruction even to those unable to pay. He died from the pneumonia he contracted at the funeral of one of his best students, Alexander Scriabin.

Taneyev occupies a unique position among turn-of-thecentury Russian composers in that he rejected all forms of nationalistic music, whether folktunes or dance rhythms, in favor of the classical forms of Western music. Taneyev was particularly interested in polyphony, and he made an intense study of the music of not just Bach, but of earlier masters like Palestrina, Lassus, and des Pres. The best example of this passion in Taneyev’s own music is his Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp Minor, Opus 29, composed in 1910, only five years before his death. This is not part of a set of preludes and fugues in all the keys in the manner of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, but a stand-alone composition, and it appears to have been important to its creator—it is the only one of his works for solo piano that he assigned an opus number.

This is an extraordinarily difficult piece for the pianist, who must master its supple rhythms, powerful chordal writing, and chromatic harmonies—the piece may be in G-sharp minor, but the notion of a clear home key is often lost in this wide-ranging music. The Prelude gets off to a gentle start, and some sense of this music can be felt in Taneyev’s instructions to the pianist: cantabile, espressivo, dolce. Still, it drives to a massive climax marked Maestoso (“majestic”) and con forza before falling away to a most subdued conclusion. Out of that silence, the fugue explodes to life. Taneyev’s marking is Allegro vivace e con fuoco, and he does indeed want the fugue played “with fire.” It is in the unusual metric marking 2/4 (12/16), and the pianist must keep the complex contrapuntal strands clear at a very rapid tempo. Again, Taneyev’s markings tell the tale: he wants this music played agitato, impetuoso, and marcatissimo. The music drives to another Maestoso climax, then rushes to a sudden, surprising conclusion.

Aware of this music’s difficulty, Taneyev arranged it for two pianos in 1914, but it remains difficult even for two performers. Mr. Trifonov opens this recital with the original version for just one pianist.

Visions Fugitives, Opus 22 SERGEI PROKOFIEV

Born April 23, 1891, Sontsovka, Russia

Died March 5, 1953, Moscow

Composed: 1917

Approximate Duration: 24 minutes

Prokofiev composed this collection of twenty brief pieces for piano during the years 1915–17, just as the Russian Revolution exploded around him. These pieces were not composed in the sequence in which they were published, and listeners should not search for a progression or for any unifying element. Prokofiev’s title is the key to understanding this music, for these pieces truly are fleeting—or fugitive—visions: each of them is a tiny toneimpression, some lasting only a matter of seconds.

Prokofiev took his title from a poem by the Russian Constantin Balmont:

In every fugitive vision I see worlds,

Full of the changing play of rainbow hues. The full quotation is important, for this music does change by the instant, very much like the shifting tints of a rainbow. Prokofiev varies the pieces—and the moods—sharply. The lyric gives way to the fierce, which gives way to the sardonic, and so on. Particularly striking are the quiet pieces—this music came from a period in Prokofiev’s career when he delighted in outraging audiences, and the gentleness of the Visions Fugitives caught early audiences by surprise. An exception to this is the next-to-last piece, marked Presto agitatissimo e molto accentuato. Written during the revolutionary struggles early in 1917, it was meant to depict—in just a few moments of violent sound—the fighting Prokofiev saw around him.

Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-sharp Minor, Opus 13 NIKOLAI MIASKOVSKY

Born April 20, 1881, Novogeorgiyevsk, Poland

Died August 8, 1950, Moscow

Composed: 1912

Approximate Duration: 20 minutes

Born into a military family, Nikolai Miaskovsky was expected to go into the army, and he did. But music was his true calling, and he recognized that early: while he was stationed in Moscow, the young officer found time to study harmony with Glière, and he left the army as soon as he could. Miaskovsky entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1906, at the advanced age of 25, and there he studied with Liadov and RimskyKorsakov and became a lifelong friend of Prokofiev (he would later become a good friend of Shostakovich).

Miaskovsky was much respected as a teacher, and among his students were such composers as Khachaturian, Kabalevsky, and Shebalin. Though Miaskovsky appears to have been sincere in

his support for the ideals of the revolution, life for a Soviet artist was never easy: Miaskovsky was one of those singled out for censure at the infamous Congress of Soviet Composers in 1948. At that time he was already suffering from the cancer that would kill him, and he did not respond to the government’s criticism.

There was a time when Miaskovsky was regarded, along with Prokofiev and Shostakovich, as one of the three greatest Soviet symphonists, but over the last half-century his music has almost disappeared from Western concert halls. The sheer quantity of Miaskovsky’s music can be intimidating: he composed 27 symphonies, 13 string quartets, nine piano sonatas, and a number of orchestral and chamber scores. That music has certainly had its advocates: Mstislav Rostropovich championed Miaskovsky’s Cello Concerto, Glenn Gould admired his piano music, and both the Philadelphia Orchestra and Chicago Symphony recorded Miaskovsky’s excellent one-movement Symphony No. 21, composed in 1940. But today, seventy-five years after his death, Miaskovsky’s music is seldom heard in this country, and that makes a performance of the Piano Sonata No. 2 all the more welcome.

Miaskovsky wrote this sonata in 1912, the year after he graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and revised it in 1948, two years before his death. Like many of his works, the sonata—which spans about twenty minutes—is in one continuous movement, though that structure can divide into sections at different tempos. This is big-boned music, bold in attack and sonority: when Miaskovsky marks the slow introduction deciso (“decisive”), he means it. This music’s unstable harmonic language often suggests the music of Scriabin, who was at this time composing his own cycle of piano sonatas.

The Lento introduction gives way to the main body of the sonata, which has the tempo marking Allegro affanato (“anxious, unsettled”). This Allegro is in a generalized sonata-form structure, but this is shaped with much imagination. The opening subject is indeed unsettled, and its sonority can be powerful and heavy. A measure of relief arrives with the second subject, but then comes a surprise: Miaskovsky introduces a third theme, and it is the Dies Irae, the ancient plainchant melody that so haunted Rachmaninoff. Miaskovsky treats all these ideas in the extended development, but rather than concluding with the expected recapitulation, he builds a fugue on a variant of the Dies Irae theme, and this drives the sonata to its powerful conclusion.

Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Opus 11

ROBERT SCHUMANN

Born June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Germany

Died July 29, 1856, Endenich, Germany

Composed: 1832-1835

Approximate Duration: 30 minutes

Schumann’s First Piano Sonata took shape slowly during the period 1832–5, when the composer was in his early twenties and deeply in love with Clara Wieck, then in her mid-teens. Her father was so violently opposed to the match that he forbade

Clara to see the young composer, and when Schumann published the sonata in 1836 he did so anonymously, inscribing it only “Dedicated to Clara from Florestan and Eusebius.” These were the two faces Schumann recognized in his own personality: Florestan was the impulsive, impetuous side; Eusebius the calm, reflective one. Clara of course knew who had written the sonata and performed it in public to defy her father.

Perhaps because the Piano Sonata No. 1 took shape over a period of years, Schumann borrowed from several early works for his thematic material, but he combines this material skillfully. In fact, one of the most remarkable things about this sonata is its thematic unity. The first movement opens with a long introduction, and the Allegro vivace then begins with a quiet eight-note figure in the left hand. The composer of this figure, however, was not Schumann but the young Clara—it comes from her Characteristic Pieces, Opus 5—and Schumann uses it here as the accompaniment to his own main theme, heard immediately in the right hand. The ingenious combination of his own music with Clara’s was a clear message of love. The right-hand theme had been composed several years earlier by Schumann as his Fandango: fantaisie rhapsodique pour le pianoforte. A tender second subject leads to a long development, and the movement ends with a quiet restatement of Clara’s eightnote figure.

Schumann called the second movement Aria and based it on his song To Anna, written in 1828. If the theme sounds familiar, it should: in one of the sonata’s most striking touches, Schumann had foreshadowed this melody by using it in the introduction to the first movement. The third—a Scherzo e Intermezzo marked Allegrissimo—is mercurial, racing brilliantly through the range of the keyboard. One expects the Intermezzo to be a quiet contrast, but again Schumann springs a surprise, for this section is even more vigorous than the scherzo. He marks it alla burla, ma pomposo: “jestingly, but pompous.” Before the return of the scherzo section, Schumann brings the Intermezzo to an inflated close, instructing the pianist to sound “quasi Oboe.” The Finale, marked Allegro un poco maestoso, contains some of the sonata’s most brilliant music. The main theme, of steady rhythmic pulse, is heard immediately and—despite some quiet interludes— dominates the long final movement.

PRELUDE 6:30 PM

Lecture by Tiffany Kuo

DANIIL TRIFONOV, piano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

TCHAIKOVSKY

Piano Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Opus Posth. 80 (1840–1893)

Allegro con fuoco

Andante

Allegro vivo

Children’s Album, Opus 39

Morning Prayer: Andante

Winter Morning: Allegro

Playing Hobby-Horses: Presto

Mama: Moderato

March of the Wooden Soldiers: Moderato

The Sick Doll: Moderato

The Doll’s Funeral: Adagio

Waltz: Allegro assai

The New Doll: Allegro

Mazurka: Allegro non troppo, Tempo di mazurka

Russian Song: Allegro

The Accordion Player: Adagio

Kamarinskaya: Vivace

Polka: Moderato. Tempo di Polka

Italian Song: Moderato assai

Old French Song: Molto moderato

Tonight’s performance is sponsored by Doctor Bob and Mao Shillman, in recognition of Ferdie Gasang.

Opus 3 Artists

SCHUMANN

German Song: Molto moderato

Neapolitan Song: Andante

Nanny’s Story: Moderato

The Sorcerer: Presto

Sweet Dreams: Moderato

Lark Song: Moderato

The Organ-Grinder: Andante

In Church: Moderato

INTERMISSION

Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Opus 11 (1810–1856)

Introduzione: Un poco adagio – Allegro vivace

Aria

Scherzo: Allegrissimo – intermezzo: Lento

Finale: Allegro, un poco maestoso

Daniil Trifonov, piano

Daniil Trifonov last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Piano Series on September 24, 2025.

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Piano Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Opus Posth. 80 PETER ILYCH TCHAIKOVSKY

Born May 7, 1840, Votkinsk, Russia

Died November 6, 1893, St. Petersburg, Russia

Composed: 1865

Approximate Duration: 26 minutes

Most Tchaikovsky enthusiasts know of only one piano sonata by him, the massive Sonata in G Minor, composed in 1878 in the aftermath of his disastrous marriage. But there is in fact another piano sonata, composed when Tchaikovsky was very young and not published until after his death.

Tchaikovsky entered St. Petersburg in 1863 and spent only two years there before being invited to join the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory at the end of 1865. In his final year in St. Petersburg, the young composer sketched out a Piano Sonata in C-sharp Minor. He did not publish it, nor is there any record of a public performance, and the manuscript was discovered among his papers and published in 1900, seven years after his death. Certain passages in Tchaikovsky’s manuscript were not complete, and the sonata has appeared in slightly different versions.

Tchaikovsky was a competent pianist but by no means a virtuoso, and—while difficult enough—the Sonata in C-sharp Minor is not a virtuoso work. The marking for the first movement, Allegro con fuoco, might seem a little overwrought, for this is not fiery music. Tchaikovsky introduces three themes, and their development can be turbulent, but the movement ends on a quiet restatement of the opening theme and three rolled chords. The Andante alternates several different sections and comes to a subdued close on two high A-major chords.

If the third movement sounds familiar, it should—in the following year Tchaikovsky adapted it as the third movement of his First Symphony. For the symphony he composed a new trio section, but the sonata’s original trio section is gentle, almost sedate. In the symphony, this movement ends with a great crash, but for the sonata Tchaikovsky composed a bridge passage marked Adagio that leads directly into the finale. This Allegro vivo is a propulsive rondo, and Tchaikovsky provides several varied episodes along the way before the movement builds up to a full-throated climax.

Children’s Album, Opus 39

PETER ILYCH TCHAIKOVSKY

Composed: 1878

Appoximate Duration: 30 minutes

We tend to think of composers as intensely serious creators, bent on producing High Art for the ages, but many great composers—Bach, Schumann, Debussy, Ravel, and Bartók among them—have been happy to compose music expressly for children. This music may be for children’s education or simply for their pleasure, but much of it is so good that it lives on, to be heard in concert halls full of adults.

Tchaikovsky loved children, and he too felt pulled to compose for them. In May 1878 he wrote to his patroness Madame Nedezhna von Meck: “A while ago I thought that it would not be a bad idea to make a small contribution to the stock of children’s musical literature, which is very modest. I want to create a series of little individual pieces just for children, and with an attractive title, like Schumann’s” (he was thinking here of works like Schumann’s Kinderszenen and Album für die Jugend). Over the following month, Tchaikovsky composed a set of twenty-four very brief pieces (many last less than a minute) and titled it Children’s Album.

This all sounds very innocent (and it is), but we should remember that this was also the most difficult moment in Tchaikovsky’s life. The year before, he had been maneuvered into marrying one of his students, a deranged young woman named Antonina Milyukova, and the marriage had been an instant disaster. Tchaikovsky abandoned his bride within days, suffered a nervous breakdown, and fled to Switzerland, where he would slowly recover over the next year. He returned to Russia in April 1878, but, unwilling to face his friends and colleagues in Moscow, he went instead to the family estate in Kamenka in the Ukraine. It was there that Tchaikovsky composed Children’s Album, and perhaps this evocation of childhood memories offered the composer some relief from the problems he was facing in the world of adults.

Tchaikovsky gave Children’s Album a subtitle that makes its identity and heritage clear: “24 pièces faciles, à la Schumann.” Many of these “easy pieces” have titles that evoke the world of childhood, and some are based on folk tunes. None needs detailed description, and audiences (of any age) can sit back and enjoy Tchaikovsky’s excursion into the world of childhood, in all its pleasures and all its innocence.

Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Opus 11 ROBERT SCHUMANN

Born June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Germany

Died July 29, 1856, Endenich, Germany

Composed: 1832–35

Approximate Duration: 30 minutes

Schumann’s First Piano Sonata took shape slowly during the period 1832-5, when the composer was in his early twenties and deeply in love with Clara Wieck, then in her mid-teens. Her father was so violently opposed to the match that he forbade Clara to see the young composer, and when Schumann published the sonata in 1836 he did so anonymously, inscribing it only “Dedicated to Clara from Florestan and Eusebius.” These were the two faces Schumann recognized in his own personality: Florestan was the impulsive, impetuous side; Eusebius the calm, reflective one. Clara of course knew who had written the sonata and performed it in public to defy her father.

sonata is its thematic unity. The first movement opens with a long introduction, and the Allegro vivace then begins with a quiet eight-note figure in the left hand. The composer of this figure, however, was not Schumann but the young Clara—it comes from her Characteristic Pieces, Opus 5—and Schumann uses it here as the accompaniment to his own main theme, heard immediately in the right hand. The ingenious combination of his own music with Clara’s was a clear message of love. The right-hand theme had been composed several years earlier by Schumann as his Fandango: fantaisie rhapsodique pour le pianoforte. A tender second subject leads to a long development, and the movement ends with a quiet restatement of Clara’s eightnote figure.

PRELUDE 6:30 PM

Interview hosted by Robert John Hughes

CHRISTIAN McBRIDE & BRAD MEHLDAU

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2025 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Christian McBride, bass Brad Mehldau, piano

PROGRAM

Works to be announced from stage

THIS PERFORMANCE HAS NO INTERMISSION

Support for our jazz programs is provided by:

Dorothea Laub

ABOUT

Two of the most respected artists in contemporary jazz join forces in this duo. Hailed “one of modern jazz’s most innovative musicians” by Glide Magazine, Christian McBride says, “Brad is justifiably revered as one of the greatest pianists of all time. I’m very proud to have been friends and cohorts with him for almost 35 years. He was one of the first people I met when I moved to NYC in 1989, and it continues to be an uplifting experience every time we play together.” Named “one of our greatest living pianists” by NPR, Brad Mehldau says, “It is a dream come true to play with Christian in this duo setting. Playing with Christian, especially in this co nfiguration, is both joyful and daunting all at once. His level of sophistication and swing, of emotional power and grace, is unsurpassed- not in the least on what he has achieved on his instrument, but also as one of our strongest voices in the music more generally, at the top of his game. I’m so honored to be on stage with him.” This longtime friendship and musical camaraderie has led to various collaborations through the years including the albums MoodSwing (1994), RoundAgain (2020), and LongGone (2023) with Joshua Redman and Brian Blade; trio tour dates with drummer Marcus Gilmore; and a recent duo performance at the Big Ears Festival that had the crowd utterly captivated.

Christian McBride last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Jazz Series on October 2, 2019. Brad Mehldau last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Piano Series on March 11, 2017.

PRELUDE

2 PM

Musical Prelude by students from the Colburn School

DMITRY SHISHKIN, piano

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2025 · 3 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

J.S. BACH Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude, BWV 639 (arr. Busoni) (1685–1750)

FRANCK Prelude, Fugue and Variations, Opus 18 (arr. Bauer) (1822–1890) Prélude. Andantino

Lento

Fugue. Allegretto ma non troppo Variation. Andantino

TCHAIKOVSKY Dumka, Opus 59 (1840–1893)

Scherzo à la Russe, Opus 1, No. 1, TH124

INTERMISSION

SCRIABIN Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp Minor, Opus 19 (1872–1915) Andante

Presto

RACHMANINOFF

Support for the Discovery Series is provided by:

Gordon Brodfuehrer

Jeanette Stevens

Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Eleanor and Ric Charlton, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Marge and Neal Schmale, Karen and Kit Sickels, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Liqun Wang and Marco Londei, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman.

Selections from Preludes Opus 23 (1873–1943) No. 1 in F-sharp Minor No. 3 in D Minor No. 5 in G Minor

RACHMANINOFF Selections from Preludes Opus 32 No. 5 in G Major No. 8 in A Minor No. 10 in B Minor No. 12 in G-sharp Minor

PROKOFIEV

Piano Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Opus 14 (1891–1953)

Allegro ma non troppo

Scherzo. Allegro marcato

Andante

Vivace

Dmitry Shishkin, piano

This performance marks Dmitry Shishkin’s La Jolla Music Society debut.

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Ich ruf’

zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude, BWV 639 (arr. Ferruccio Busoni)

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Born March 31, 1685, Eisenach, Germany

Died July 28, 1750, Leipzig

Composed: 1713–1716

Approximate Duration: 3 minutes

As a devout Lutheran, Bach took very seriously Martin Luther’s call for a music (and a language) available to all members of the congregation. In the effort to reach the common man and make religion more immediate and meaningful, the music of the Lutheran service was built not on the Latin of the Roman Catholic Church—chanted by the priest—but on the simple and sturdy hymn-tunes of Germany (some of them by Martin Luther himself), which could be sung by all the members of a congregation. Bach was drawn to these old German chorale melodies throughout his career: he wrote cantatas based on chorale tunes, he included chorales in his passions, he composed about thirty new chorale tunes of his own, and he also made about 400 reharmonizations of existing chorale tunes, usually for solo organ.

Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ was originally from Bach’s Orgelbüchlein, a collection of short works for organ that he composed in Weimar between 1713 and 1716. Some listeners may be familiar with Ich ruf’ zu dir in Leopold Stokowski’s sumptuous arrangement for symphony orchestra, but this haunting, subdued music also exists in arrangements for piano by Wilhelm Kempff and Andre Watts. It is heard at this recital in a transcription by the German-Italian pianist Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924), who left seven volumes of Bach transcriptions. Some listeners will recognize this music from its use in the 1972 Russian science fiction film Solaris

Prelude, Fugue, and Variations, Opus 18 (arr. Harold Bauer)

CÉSAR FRANCK

Born December 10, 1822, Liège, Belgium

Died November 8, 1890, Paris

Composed: 1860–1862

Approximate Duration: 12 minutes

César Franck originally composed his Prelude, Fugue, and Variation during the years 1860–62 as one of a set of six pieces for organ that he dedicated to his pupil, Camille Saint-Saëns. Franck himself made arrangements of this music for two pianos and for harmonium, but it did not become widely known until English pianist Harold Bauer arranged it for solo piano early in the twentieth century. This lovely music represents Franck at his finest. The opening Prelude, simultaneously elegant and wistful, flows smoothly along its 9/8 meter and is made all the more expressive by Franck’s subtle chromatic shading. This opening subject gives way to a more vigorous secondary material, and eventually the Prelude drives to a full-throated conclusion. A

brief Lento precedes the Fugue, nicely anticipating the fugue subject as it alternates firm chords and wispy arpeggios. The Fugue, marked Allegretto ma non troppo, begins quietly but eventually grows to a powerful climax. In its aftermath, the final section seems at first almost lost: it opens with a wandering, improvisatory quality, as if this strand of steady sixteenths is looking for a home. Eventually it finds one: Franck brings back the opening section, and this final section is in effect a recapitulation of Prelude, now interwoven with the steady strand of sixteenths as counterpoint. This wonderful music eventually arrives at a very quiet—and poised—concluding chord. Bauer’s arrangement deserves special mention. Because Franck conceived this music for organ, he could make use of the organist’s two hands and two feet to produce very wide chords and a very rich sound. With only two hands, a solo pianist cannot hope to match that range and sonority, but Bauer’s arrangement—which requires some unusually wide chording for the performer—is a very effective transfer of this music for the piano.

Dumka, Opus 59