Previews, Reviews & Features: March 9 through April 5

T R AV E L SPECIAL CRUISE ISSUE: New adventures, classes and concerts for a growing legion of travelers E25

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SUNDAY • MARCH 26, 2017

From theater and dance to music and art, the new season promises a fresh roster of new faces and opportunities for new beginnings

CRISTINA BYVIK U-T ILLUSTRATION

BOOKS

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CLASSICAL MUSIC

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DANCE E 1 1

POP MUSIC

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T H E AT E R E 1 9 V I S U A L A R T

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ON SALE TODAY! More than a musical.

It’s a way of life.

LaJollaPlayhouse.org

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THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE

S P R I N G

A R T S

SUNDAY • MARCH 26, 2017

P R E V I E W

C L A S S I C A L

M U S I C

TOP PICKS

BY BETH WOOD

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pringtime usually symbolizes new beginnings. But this season, there will be two significant departures in classical music locally. The San Diego Symphony will bid farewell to Jahja Ling, its acclaimed music director for the past 13 years. And David Chase, the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus’ much-lauded choral director since the 1970s, is retiring. Even so, our classical music scene continues to bloom. direct the women of the San Diego Master Chorale, St. Paul’s Cathedral Choristers and mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, making her local debut. 8 p.m. May 5, 6; 2 p.m. May 7. Jacobs Music Center’s Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., downtown. $20-$96. (619) 235-0804 or sandiegosymphony.org

NEW BACH TRIO To finish off March — Johann Sebastian Bach’s birthday month — with flair and finesse, this international trio will perform the famed composer’s solo, duo and trio works. While cellist Dmitry Kouzov, violinist Wanchi Huang and pianist Tao Lin all have thriving individual careers, this is the group’s inaugural concert.

7:30 p.m. March 30. Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. $40-$45. (858) 4545872 or ljathenaeum.org/ chamber-concert-series

KALLISTI CHAMBER OPERA This yet-to-be-titled program features Francis Poulenc’s 1958 drama for solo soprano, featuring Hillary Jean Young. It will be followed by three lighthearted micro-operas by American minimalist composer Tom Johnson that feature Kallisti’s accomplished singers and musicians. 7 p.m. May 10, 12, 13. Conrad Prebys Music Center Experimental Theater, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. $15.50.

(858) 534-3448 or musicweb.ucsd.edu/concerts

THE FORMOSA QUARTET After several well-received concerts here last year, this adventurous string quartet returns. Its University of California San Diego concert will feature the world premiere of a work by the equally adventurous composer/pianist Wei-Chieh Lin. Also on the program are arrangements by Formosa violinist Jasmine Lin of four pieces by the late jazz-violin master Stéphane Grappelli.

3 p.m. April 9. Conrad Prebys Concert Hall, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. $10. (858) 534-3448 or musicweb.ucsd.edu/concerts

DAVID HARTIG

JAHJA LING’S FINALE

Renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman will help Maestro Ling celebrate his remarkable tenure as music director — the longest in the San Diego Symphony’s 103 years — with Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2. (Bronfman will also perform in the symphony’s chamber orchestra series on May 24.) Ling’s final concerts will conclude with Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2.

8 p.m. June 26, 27; 2 p.m. June 28. Jacobs Music Center’s Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., downtown. $20-$96. (619) 235-0804 or sandiegosymphony.org

8 p.m. April 21. Conrad Prebys Concert Hall, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. $40-$54. (858) 534-3448 or musicweb.ucsd.edu/ concerts

ARIEL QUARTET This dynamic chamber group was formed 16 years ago when the musicians were students in Israel and is now the faculty quartetin-residence at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. It is unusual in that its two violinists often switch parts. The concert will feature Beethoven, Schumann and a recent work by rising-star composer Mohammed Fairouz.

PAUL O’DETTE AND RONN MCFARLANE

SAVERIO TRUGLIA ARTPOWER

The Ariel Quartet will perform April 21 in La Jolla.

Two of the world’s finest lutenists, both of whom are renowned and Grammy-nominated, will play duets from pre-1700 Italy and England. The virtuosos, brought here by the San Diego Early Music

Society, are likely to dazzle their audience with both improvised and composed pieces. 3 p.m. April 30.

Performing Arts Theatre, Cuyamaca College, 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, El Cajon. $18-$30.

(619) 291-8246 or sdems.org

MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 3 Jahja Ling will conduct Mahler’s grand hymn to nature. Along with the San Diego Symphony, he will

By MOSS HART AND GEORGE S. KAUFMAN Presented by Premier Productions (not a Welk production)

APRIL 7–30, 2017

welkresorts.com | 1.888.802.SHOW (7469)

JEREMY DENK A brainy and emotional pianist, Denk has received much critical praise for this unusual, time-leaping program. It explores several centuries of classical music with his lively, insightful commentary and, of course, deft playing.

7:30 p.m. May 12. La Jolla Presbyterian Church, 7715 Draper Ave., La Jolla. $30-80. (858) 4593728 or ljms.org

MAINLY MOZART FESTIVAL It’s impossible to cover this impressive event in one paragraph. In year two of its six-year exploration of Mozart’s life, the festival will include five concerts at the Balboa Theatre by the All-Star Festival Orchestra, led by Michael Francis.

There’s also a luxurious two-day trip with the orchestra to Baja’s wine country and Tijuana. During “Genius Weekend,” music-brain connections will be explored by the orchestra and experts in neuroscience and music therapy. And its Spotlight Chamber Music Series will present a wide variety of intimate concerts.

June 2-25. Prices, times and venues vary.

LA JOLLA SYMPHONY & CHORUS

Concluding his 43 years with the organization, choral director David Chase conducts the orchestra and chorus in a program exploring the moods of love, including the delightful, macabre and naughty. His selected composers will be Hector Berlioz, Arnold Schoenberg and Samuel Barber.

7:30 p.m. June 10; 2 p.m.

June 11. Mandeville Auditorium, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, $15-$29.

(858) 534-4637 or lajollasymphony.com Wood is a freelance writer.

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