A SEASON OF FAVORITES, yours and mine, awaits us. Major symphonic works are in store, most of which you have heard during my time with the Monterey Symphony. The exception is Don Juan by Richard Strauss—one of the most challenging works in the repertoire—and one the musicians and I passionately look forward to performing. I think it is particularly appropriate that our marvelous concert master, Christina Mok, opens this season as a soloist with the lovely Dvořák Romance. Kun Woo Paik returns to play not one but two piano concerti, Mozart’s No. 27 and Brahm's No. 1, a complete program in honor of the two seasons of piano of which I am sure we all have wonderful memories. Brahms is the one composer duplicated in this season. My admiration for him is boundless. Another memorable soloist, Judith Ingolfsson, will perform Brahms' violin concerto, a monumental masterpiece. Oleg Caetani, whom I have always admired and whose father was one of the teachers who most influenced my style of conducting, will be our guest conductor in March. Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Elgar’s Enigma Variations, RimskyKorsakov’s Scheherazade, Sibelius’ Second Symphony and Mahler’s First Symphony are works that are close to my heart. They also are works that everyone should go out of their way to hear in concert. To be able to perform them all in one season is pure luxury. Luxury also is to have spent so many years working with the musicians of this special orchestra and making such extraordinary friends here on the Monterey Peninsula. Thank you to everyone. – Max Bragado-Darman 2 M O N T E R E Y S Y M P H O N Y. O R G
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2019–20 SEASON
AT-A-GLANCE OCTOBER 2019
10/6/19 PAELLA COOK-OFF Home of George & Patricia Yellich
OLEG CAETANI
10/17/19 PREVIEW LUNCHEON Los Laureles Lodge
NOVEMBER 2019
10/19/19 SEASON OPENING PARTY Sunset Center, Carmel
11/14/19 PREVIEW LUNCHEON The Club at Pasadera
10/19/19 - 10/20/19 CONCERT 1 Sunset Center, Carmel
11/16/19 - 11/17/19 CONCERT 2 Sunset Center, Carmel
10/20/19 SUPPER CLUB SUR Restaurant at the Barnyard
11/17/19 SUPPER CLUB Carmel Bouchée
10/21/19 YOUTH CONCERTS Sherwood Hall, Salinas
FEBRUARY 2020
2/13/20 PREVIEW LUNCHEON Corral de Tierra Country Club 2/15/20 3RD ANNUAL WOMEN'S NIGHT OUT Sunset Center, Carmel 2/15/20–2/16/20 CONCERT 3 Sunset Center, Carmel 2/16/20 SUPPER CLUB Forge in the Forest KUN WOO PAIK
MAY 2020
5/14/20 PREVIEW LUNCHEON MPCC Beach House 5/16/20 SEASON CLOSING PARTY Sunset Center, Carmel
MARCH 2020
5/16/20 - 5/17/20 CONCERT 6 Sunset Center, Carmel
3/12/20 PREVIEW LUNCHEON Schooner's Coastal Kitchen & Bar
5/17/20 FINALE CELEBRATION Carmel Woman's Club
3/14/20–3/15/20 CONCERT 4 Sunset Center, Carmel
5/18/20 YOUTH CONCERTS Sherwood Hall, Salinas
3/15/20 SUPPER CLUB Sunset Center
Free pre-concert lectures in the hall one hour prior to the concerts.
3/16/20 YOUTH CONCERTS Sunset Center, Carmel
Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. & Sundays at 3:00 p.m. at Sunset Center, Carmel.
APRIL 2020
4/16/20 PREVIEW LUNCHEON Fandango 4/18/20 - 4/19/20 CONCERT 5 Sunset Center, Carmel 4/19/20 SUPPER CLUB Anton & Michel 4/20/20 YOUTH CONCERTS Sunset Center, Carmel
JUDITH INGOLFSSON
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CONCERT 1 OCTOBER 19–20, 2019 Max Bragado-Darman, conductor Antonín Dvorák Romance, Op. 11 Christina Mok, violin Hector Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14
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he Monterey Symphony will open its 74th season Ovation with Antonín Dvořák’s Romance for violin and orchestra, featuring concertmaster Christina Mok. This delightful, single-movement work was commissioned to serve as an annual musical tradition for the Provisional Theatre Orchestra in Prague. Based on a theme from the second movement of his fifth string quartet, Romance is a lovely interplay between the violinist and the orchestra. Other iterations of the melody were presented in his later works—it was an obvious favorite of Dvořák’s!
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Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique takes the mercurial, and often tragic, life of an artist and sets it to music. The title underlines not only the fantastic musical fireworks that take place on stage, but also a fantasy Berlioz was demonstrating. Written as an homage to unrequited love—the result of too many unanswered love letters—Berlioz uses the voices of the instruments to explain his emotions. The work travels through the artist’s life, culminating in his own funeral in the wildly intense final movement.
CHRISTINA MOK
violin
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iolinist Christina Mok has captivated audiences with her solo performances, chamber recitals, and orchestral leadership. She has appeared as a soloist with the Russian Federal Symphony Orchestra, the Janáček Philharmonic, and the Seoul Symphony Orchestra, among others. The San Jose Mercury declared of one of her concerto performances, “She was a spellbinder as she dug in and let it fly—there was no need to long for Itzhak Perlman or Gil Shaham.”
As a chamber musician she has performed in Korea, Japan, England, Norway, Hong Kong, and the United States. Her recitals have been broadcast on the BBC and RTHK. She is the Concertmaster of the Stockton Symphony and the Monterey Symphony and the Associate Concertmaster of Symphony Silicon Valley.
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CONCERT 2 NOVEMBER 16-17, 2019 Max Bragado-Darman, conductor W.A. Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27, KV 595 Kun Woo Paik, piano Johannes Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15 Kun Woo Paik, piano
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ianist Kun Woo Paik returns to the Monterey Symphony to perform two piano concerti. Paik, winner of the Naumburg award and Gold Medallist at the Busoni International Piano Competitions, is considered one of the finest pianists of his generation. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27, KV 595 is his last piano concerto ever written. Myths surrounding both its composition and premiere give the work an air of mystery.
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Elegant in nature, the Mozart is complemented by Johannes Brahms’ 1st Piano Concerto, the first work Brahms ever premiered from the piano! Although Brahms was only 25 when he composed the work, the melodies are mature and sophisticated. The piece was composed two years after Schumann’s death and explores a complex set of emotions. Schumann played an important role in Brahms’ life and it is hard to not see the connection between them in some of his works.
KUN WOO PAIK
piano
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un Woo Paik came to prominence at the age of ten performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Korean National Orchestra. His international career took off soon after with his first New York recital at the Lincoln Center and his orchestral debut at Carnegie Hall.
Paik has collaborated all over the world with the most renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Neville Marriner, Jiří Bĕlohlávek, Vladimir Jurowski, Dmitri Kitaenko, Paavo Järvi and Ivan Fischer, with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic,
London Symphony, BBC Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony, and the Deutsche Bremen Kammerphilharmonie. He has recently performed with the New York Philharmonic, Lucerne and Berlin Symphony orchestras and given recitals at Carnegie Hall, La Scala, the Mariinsky Theatre and all over Asia and Europe. His numerous recordings appear on BMG, Decca and Deutsche Grammophon. Kun Woo Paik studied at the Juilliard School in New York with Rosina Lhevinne and worked with Ilona Kabos, Guido Agosti and Wilhelm Kempff.
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CONCERT 3 FEBRUARY 15–16, 2020 Max Bragado-Darman, conductor Edward Elgar Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Enigma Variations, Op. 36 Scheherazade, Op. 35
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ebruary’s program features two massive symphonic works, both weaving elegant stories for the listener. Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations are comprised of 14 separate movements sketching a different friend or close acquaintance. Rather than depicting the person as a whole, a single element of their personality or relationship with Elgar is illustrated musically. The movement titles contain cryptograms or keys to the identity of the subject! Elgar started the work casually at the piano as an exercise to capture someone musically, and evolved it into a large and beloved symphonic work. 1 0 M O N T E R E Y S Y M P H O N Y. O R G
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade is based on the Arabian Nights. Replete with Russian folk melodies, many excerpts of this piece are used for Olympic figure skating – making it a well-known and recognized work. RimskyKorsakov worked tirelessly on this composition, along with his ornate Russian Easter Overture and the completion of Alexander Borodin’s opera Prince Igor. The work features stunning and virtuosic violin solos–not to be missed!
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CONCERT 4 MARCH 14-15, 2020 Oleg Caetani, guest conductor Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Dmitri Shostakovich
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uest conductor Oleg Caetani hails from Italy and is making his debut with the Monterey Symphony. The son of famed conductor and composer, Igor Markevitch, Caetani completed his formal training at the Moscow Conservatory and graduated from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He won the RAI Competition and third prize at the Karajan Competition in Berlin.
Tchaikovsky’s 3rd Symphony, “Polish,” opens the program. This symphony is unique in that it is his only Symphony both in a major key, and containing five movements. The piece, sans first 1 4 M O N T E R E Y S Y M P H O N Y. O R G
Symphony No. 3, Op. 29 Symphony No. 15, Op. 141
movement, was used by choreographer George Balanchine for Diamonds, the third and final part of his ballet Jewels. Various instruments are showcased in this iconic work, including a lovely flute solo in the third movement. The second half of the program contains Shostakovich’s 15th Symphony, written in 1971 and premiered in Moscow, which is full of references to other composer’s works. Shostakovich tips his hat to Rossini and Glinka, as well as featuring the “Fate” motif from Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
OLEG CAETANI
guest conductor
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leg Caetani, one of the greatest conductors of his generation, moves freely between symphonic and opera repertoire. Caetani has conducted all over the world including: La Scala in Milan, the Mariinsky in Saint Petersburg, the Royal Opera House in London, the Opera House in San Francisco, the Musikverein in Vienna, Lincoln Center in New York and Suntory Hall in Japan, working with the greatest soloists of our days.
Oleg was chief designate at the ENO in 2005, chief designate 2002-2005 for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Music Conductor and Artistic Director for the same orchestra from 2005 to 2009. Before that, Caetani was the Principal Conductor for the Staatskapelle Weimar, First Kapellmeister of the Frankfurt Opera and GMD in Wiesbaden and in Chemnitz.
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CONCERT 5 APRIL 18-19, 2020 Max Bragado-Darman, conductor Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto, Op. 77 Judith Ingolfsson, violin Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 2, Op. 43
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Monterey Symphony favorite, violinist Judith Ingolfsson returns in April to perform Brahms’ violin concerto. Judith is currently Professor at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart and co-artistic director and founder of the Festival “Aigues-Vives en Musiques” in France. Brahms’ violin concerto was written for Joseph Joachim and is the only violin concerto he wrote. Marked by soaring melodies for the violin, it contains some of the most challenging passages for the instrument.
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Jean Sibelius’ 2nd Symphony was started in Italy and completed in Helsinki. Sibelius himself declared the work “a confession of my soul.” The piece was premiered with the composer conducting and received three back-to-back sold out performances! A beloved work, after his wildly popular tone poem Finlandia, the 2nd Symphony is Sibelius at his finest with whimsical touches throughout!
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iolinist Judith Ingolfsson is recognized for her intense, commanding performances, uncompromising musical maturity, and charismatic performance style. Based in Berlin and enjoying a global career, she performs as soloist, chamber musician and in recital as the Duo Ingolfsson-Stoupel. The New York Times has characterized her playing as producing “both fireworks and a singing tone” and
JUDITH INGOLFSSON
violin
Strings Magazine described her tone as “gorgeous, intense, and variable, flawlessly pure and beautiful in every register.” Ingolfsson studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has also been appointed to the violin faculty at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.
CONCERT 6 MAY 16–17, 2020 Max Bragado-Darman, conductor Richard Strauss Gustav Mahler
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he season concludes with Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler. Both of these works require intense playing from the orchestra and give our fabulous Monterey Symphony the chance to boldly shine! Strauss’ Don Juan is a powerful tone poem for large orchestra featuring many passages used for Symphony auditions. The piece is based on the unfinished poem Don Juans Ende which tells the story of a man searching for love, which he never finds.
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Don Juan, Op. 20 Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 1 by Gustav Mahler, or “The Titan,” was composed in 1887–1888 in Leipzig and premiered in 1889. There are as many as six versions of the work, as Mahler was impassioned about perfecting it. He borrowed from some of his own works, and highlighted certain lied, or songs, in the movements. At one point there was an additional movement, which Mahler rejected after the first few performances. This Symphony is massive, lush, and gorgeous—a fitting end to a season deserving of many ovations!
MAX BRAGADO-DARMAN
conductor
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ax Bragado-Darman has served as Music Director of the Monterey Symphony since 2004. He was Music Director/ Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Castile and León in Valladolid, Spain, for nine years. With this ensemble he recorded works of Turina and Rodrigo and the cello concerti of Alberto Ginastera on the Naxos Label. He also recorded the flute and clarinet concerti by Joan Tower on the Opus One label. In 1995, Max Bragado-Darman was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Louisville Orchestra. He has worked with artists Alicia de Larrocha, Teresa Berganza, Horacio Gutièrrez, Elmar Oliveira, Dubravka Tomsic, André Watts, Angel Romero, Gary Graffman, and Aaron Rosand.
In 2003, he made his debut at the Wexford Opera Festival with the Granados opera “María del Carmen.” His conducting has been guided by teachers Robert Fountain, Robert Baustian, George Szell, Igor Markevich and Franco Ferrara. He has been the conductor for the “Iturbi Piano Competition” in Valencia, Spain in several editions. O VAT I O N 2 018 –19
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Let’s kick-off with a cook-off! You won’t want to miss your chance to experience our Maestro’s legendary paella, in a friendly competition against the best paella offerings from a local celebrity chef. Spanish guitar and flamenco dancing will fill the air at the beautiful home of George and Patricia Yellich. This will be a fiesta to remember! 2 0 M O N T E R E Y S Y M P H O N Y. O R G
OCTOBER 6, 2019 | 4PM HOME OF GEORGE AND PATRICIA YELLICH
FINALE
CELEBRATION may 17, 2 0 2 0, 6 pm car m e l wo man’s c lu b The encores continue at this Finale dinner for our Maestro Max. Join us at the Carmel Woman’s Club following the May concert for a send-off dinner fit for the Music Director who has led the Monterey Symphony for 15 seasons. Special guests and a gourmet meal will make this an unforgettable evening.
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JOIN US FOR A LUNCHEON Get an exclusive preview of each concert while enjoying a decadent lunch with the Monterey Symphony! Each Preview Luncheon offers you an opportunity to engage with our Music Director, guest artists and your fellow Symphony supporters. Experience a deeper connection with each concert.
SUPPER CLUB Unwind from a spectacular concert weekend with a Sunday Supper Club! You will get the chance to chat with our Music Director, guest artists and fellow Symphony patrons while the magic of the music is still in the air. Each Supper Club is held at a premier Carmel restaurant, serving an elegant three-course seated dinner. SEE PAGES 4-5 FOR DATES AND LOCATIONS
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- Symphony Attendee
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