Stories in Music
Music has the extraordinary ability to tell stories that resonate deeply within us. A symphonic masterpiece can transport us to far off lands, evoke cherished memories, or even reveal truths about ourselves that words cannot express. A single melody can evoke the joy of a sunrise, the depth of human longing, or the triumph of overcoming great odds. In short, music invites us to imagine and feel deeply.
This season, our repertoire is rich with storytelling, spanning centuries and genres. From the stirring drama of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle to the evocative fairytale lands of Debussy’s The Joyful Isle and Ravel’s The Child and the Magical Spells, from the power and majesty of Holst’s The Planets to Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition, every piece is a narrative waiting to be discovered.
In addition to favorite artists that you’ve heard in San Diego before, we’ll collaborate with 14 artists making their San Diego Symphony debut, and the orchestra will perform 11 works never before played by the orchestra, including John Adams’ Century Rolls, a piano concerto inspired by player pianos; Lera Auerbach’s Icarus, inspired by the myth of the winged boy who dared to fly too close to the sun; and Adam Schoenberg’s Cool Cat, a playful and celebratory work inspired by the extraordinary life of P-22, the mountain lion that captured the heart of Los Angeles and beyond.
Through these performances, we hope to connect with you in profound ways, creating shared experiences that linger long after the final note has been played. Music reminds us that, no matter our differences, we all share a common humanity—a truth that becomes all the more poignant when we gather to listen together.
Jacobs Masterworks
10 FRIDAYS AT 7:30 PM
*Choose 10 or 5 Friday Concerts
OCTOBER 3
FRENCH FAIRYTALES: RAVEL AND DEBUSSY
Rafael Payare, conductor
Liv Redpath, soprano
San Diego Symphony Chorus
Gerard McBurney, director
Additional artists to be announced
DEBUSSY The Joyful Isle
DEBUSSY (orch. Caplet) The Box of Toys
RAVEL The Child and the Magical Spells: a lyric fantasy in two scenes
A theatrical celebration of the light and enchantment of France and French music, beginning with Debussy’s evocation of a journey to a mysterious island of love, and his witty and charming ballet score for children about the adventures of a box of toys. The program ends with a colorful and delightful semi-staging of Ravel’s immortal and much-loved comic fantasy about a naughty child whose toys come to life to punish him.
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & B
OCTOBER 17
MUSIC OF THE HEAVENS: HOLST’S PLANETS
Gemma New, conductor
Geneva Lewis, violin
Women of the San Diego Master Chorale
LERA AUERBACH Icarus for Orchestra
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending HOLST The Planets
A concert about the skies above us, beginning with Lera Auerbach’s cinematic description of Icarus who flew too close to the sun, followed by Ralph Vaughan Williams’ most popular piece, The Lark Ascending, a miniature violin concerto in which the soloist represents a tiny skylark on a spring day, flying into the heavens in cascades of folk-inspired melody. The concert ends with Gustav Holst’s spectacular orchestral suite The Planets, describing seven planets of ancient astrology, each with their own mysterious properties which shape our character.
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & C
NOVEMBER 7
WHERE THE SHINING TRUMPETS BLOW: PAYARE LEADS
BRUCKNER NO. 4
Rafael Payare, conductor
Matthias Goerne, baritone
MAHLER Selections from The Boy’s Magical Horn (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4, “Romantic”
Few literary works in the 19th century were as significant as The Boy’s Magic Horn (Des Knaben Wunderhorn), a magical mix of everyday experience and the bizarre. Mahler used these texts as the basis for his own creation, evoking the lives and feelings of ordinary people in extraordinary times.
Bruckner’s spacious symphonies are filled with images of the countryside and high mountains. His Symphony No. 4 “Romantic” is especially loved for its magnificent writing for the horns, using these instruments to suggest wild huntsmen riding across a landscape.
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & B
NOVEMBER 14
TALES OF ENCHANTMENT: HADELICH PLAYS
SIBELIUS
Rafael Payare, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave)
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9, “The Great”
From Schubert to Sibelius, Romantic composers were fascinated by the strange and the exotic. Mendelssohn traveled to the remote Atlantic islands of Scotland where he was inspired to write his Hebrides overture, mimicking the sound of the sea and the wailing of ancient bagpipes. In his violin concerto, Sibelius caught the incantations of Finnish folk music and the wailing of wind in the northern forests. Schubert’s last and greatest symphony is one of the central works of Western classical music.
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & C
FEBRUARY 27
BRAHMS FESTIVAL: A GERMAN REQUIEM
Rafael Payare, conductor
Julie Boulianne, soprano
Michael Sumuel, bass-baritone
San Diego Symphony Chorus
Andrew Megill, advisor & chorus master
BRAHMS A German Requiem (Ein deutsches Requiem)
See page 18 for more information.
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & B
MARCH 6
BRAHMS FESTIVAL: VIOLIN CONCERTO AND SYMPHONY NO. 4
Rafael Payare, conductor Leonidas Kavakos, violin
BRAHMS Violin Concerto
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4
Aug ustin Hadelich,violin
Jacobs Masterworks
10 FRIDAYS AT 7:30 PM (Continued)
APRIL 10
JOURNEYS TO CALIFORNIA:
RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 3
Robert Spano, conductor Conrad Tao, piano
ADAM SCHOENBERG Cool Cat
JOHN ADAMS Century Rolls
RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3
Music by three composers who call California home. Massachusetts-born Adam Schoenberg melds popular idioms into energetic pieces. Cool Cat is a fanfare that celebrates the life of P-22, the mountain lion who lived for a decade in the hills above Los Angeles. John Adams wrote his piano concerto Century Rolls in the 1990s as a celebration of American player-piano recordings. Rachmaninoff was a huge admirer of American music and in the last movement of his Third Symphony we can hear the influence of Hollywood film-music.
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & B
Conrad Tao, piano
APRIL 24
A FEAST OF BEETHOVEN
Trevor Pinnock, conductor
Alexandra Dovgan, piano
BEETHOVEN Coriolan Overture
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7
Trevor Pinnock, one of the great masters of Baroque and Classical music in our age, and Alexandra Dovgan, a young pianist but already celebrated across the world for the majesty and beauty of her playing, join the Orchestra for an all-Beethoven program. After the tragic grandeur of the Coriolan Overture come two of Beethoven’s greatest masterpieces: the “Emperor” Concerto and the Seventh Symphony, both pieces of overwhelming power and invention.
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & C
MAY 15
FOLK
AURAS: THAYER PLAYS
BERG VIOLIN CONCERTO
Rafael Payare, conductor
Jeff Thayer, violin
JIMMY LÓPEZ Perú Negro
BERG Violin Concerto
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”
Three works inspired in very different ways by folk music and the mix of different cultures. Jimmy López’s Perú Negro (Black Peru) draws on the composer’s AfroPeruvian roots. Alban Berg’s last completed work, his Violin Concerto, was written in memory of Manon, who had died at the age of 18. And Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony was inspired by his trip to Scotland where the young Berliner was overwhelmed by the feeling of a haunting and ancient culture.
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & B
MAY 22
ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA & BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE
Rafael Payare, conductor
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano
Gerard McBurney, director Bass to be announced
STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra
BARTÓK Bluebeard’s Castle
Our season ends with two of the most spectacular and orchestrally overwhelming scores from the late romantic period. Richard Strauss’ epic tone-poem Also sprach Zarathustra is inspired by Nietzsche’s account of the deep meditations of the half-mythical Persian hermit-philosopher Zoroaster. Bartók’s dramatic Bluebeard’s Castle is based on the ancient fairytale about a young woman who marries a mysterious aristocrat and discovers that he has terrible secrets kept behind locked doors.
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & C
Bartók Bluebeard’s Castle
“None must see what is behind them.” – Duke Bluebeard
The mystery, suspense, and intrigue of Duke Bluebeard, the seven locked doors of his castle, and his new bride Judith – who is visiting his castle for the first time – play out dramatically onstage through the music of the San Diego Symphony in two performances.
Despite Bluebeard’s insistent requests that Judith love him unconditionally and not inquire about the contents of each room, Judith is both fascinated and mesmerized by the rumors of the mysterious Duke and embarks on a quest for knowledge that she hopes will sate her curiosity and quell her fears.
Bartók’s captivating score to a psycho-dramatic libretto by friend and poet Béla Balázs perfectly supports and envelopes the audience in the story of Bluebeard and Judith. And the spoken prologue to the work specifically asks something that great works often only imply: it asks the audience to question the meaning of the story, to consider its relevance to the observer. “Where is the stage? Outside or within, Ladies and Gentlemen? … Bitter and joyous are the events around us. But the world’s armies do not determine our fate…. We tell our own tales.” (From the translation by Peter Bartók.)
Experience this exciting and dramatic work with the San Diego Symphony on Friday and Sunday, May 22 and 24, 2026.
Jacobs Masterworks
17 SATURDAYS AT 7:30 PM
*Choose 17, 9, 8, 6 or 5 Saturday Concerts
OCTOBER 11
ROMANTIC VISIONS: SCHUMANN’S SYMPHONY NO. 2
Rafael Payare, conductor
Javier Perianes, piano
CHABRIER España, rhapsody for orchestra
JIMMY LÓPEZ Ephemerae, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2
Spain as evoked by the French composer Chabrier is followed by a lush new piano concerto, written by San Diego Symphony’s Composerin-Residence, Jimmy López, for soloist Javier Perianes and filled with echoes of Latin melodies and dance rhythms. The program ends with Schumann’s magnificent Symphony No. 2, composed at dizzying speed after the composer’s recovery from an illness, and shot through with an exuberant love of life and energetic overflowing melodies.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, B AND D
OCTOBER 18
MUSIC OF THE HEAVENS: HOLST’S PLANETS
Gemma New, conductor Geneva Lewis, violin Women of the San Diego Master Chorale
LERA AUERBACH Icarus for Orchestra
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending HOLST The Planets
A concert about the skies above us, beginning with Lera Auerbach’s cinematic description of Icarus who flew too close to the sun, followed by Ralph Vaughan Williams’ most popular piece, The Lark Ascending, a miniature violin concerto in which the soloist represents a tiny skylark on a spring day, flying into the heavens in cascades of folk-inspired melody.
The concert ends with Gustav Holst’s spectacular orchestral suite The Planets, describing seven planets of ancient astrology, each with their own mysterious properties which shape our character.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, C AND E
NOVEMBER
8
WHERE THE SHINING TRUMPETS BLOW: PAYARE LEADS BRUCKNER NO. 4
Rafael Payare, conductor
Matthias Goerne, baritone
MAHLER Selections from The Boy’s Magical Horn (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4, “Romantic”
Few literary works in the 19th century were as significant as The Boy’s Magical Horn (Des Knaben Wunderhorn), a magical mix of everyday experience and the bizarre. Mahler used these texts as the basis for his own creation, evoking the lives and feelings of ordinary people in extraordinary times.
Bruckner’s spacious symphonies are filled with images of the countryside and high mountains. His Symphony No. 4 “Romantic”is especially loved for its magnificent writing for the horns, using these instruments to suggest wild huntsmen riding across a landscape.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, B AND F
Gemma New, conductor
JavierPerianes ,piano
NOVEMBER 15
TALES OF ENCHANTMENT: HADELICH PLAYS SIBELIUS
Rafael Payare, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave)
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9, “The Great”
From Schubert to Sibelius, Romantic composers were fascinated by the strange and the exotic. Mendelssohn traveled to the remote Atlantic islands of Scotland where he was inspired to write his Hebrides overture, mimicking the sound of the sea and the wailing of ancient bagpipes. In his violin concerto, Sibelius caught the incantations of Finnish folk music and the wailing of wind in the northern forests. Schubert’s last and greatest symphony is one of the central works of Western classical music.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, C AND D
NOVEMBER
22
INVOCATIONS TO THE SPIRITS: BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4
Anja Bihlmaier, conductor
Steven Osborne, piano
OLLY WILSON Shango Memory
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 1
Music can suggest our deepest feelings of spiritual awe. In this program, three composers capture the human yearning for understanding. The great African American composer Olly Wilson drew on his roots in jazz and his ancestors to suggest the terrifying power of Shango, the ancient Yoruba god of thunder and lightning. In the slow movement of his Fourth Piano Concerto, Beethoven calls to mind the Greek divinity Orpheus who tamed wild beasts with the beauty of his music. Sibelius’ First Symphony plunges deep into the imaginary mythology of prehistoric Finland.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, C AND E
Gustav Holst The Planets
The mystic and visionary composer Gustav Holst was fascinated by astrology which helped shape The Planets. The name The Planets can be misleading; although each of the seven movements of the work bears the name of a planet (Holst did not use Earth, and Pluto was not discovered until 1930), Holst did not want to depict the planets themselves. Instead, he was interested in the names of the planets and the associations that went with them, particularly their astrological associations. Therefore, the seven planets and movements depict the musical characterization and traits of Mars, the Bringer of War; Venus, the Bringer of Peace; Mercury, the Winged Messenger; Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity; Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age; Uranus, the Magician; and Neptune, the Mystic.
When he began composing this work, Holst was convinced that he would never be able to arrange a performance, so rather than feeling constrained by the limits of a normal symphony orchestra, he added many unusual instruments. The piece calls for an orchestra of four flutes, two piccolos, bass flute in G, three oboes, English horn, three clarinets, bass clarinet, three bassoons, contrabassoon, six horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tenor tuba, bass tuba, two harps, celeste, organ, six timpani, a massive percussion battery (triangle, side drum, tambourine, cymbals, bass drum, gong, bells, glockenspiel, and xylophone), plus the usual strings. Balfour Gardiner, a wealthy patron of the arts, learned of this score and arranged a private performance with a professional orchestra. On September 29, 1918, Holst heard this music come to life for the first time.
Experience the grandeur and astonishing beauty of this work on Friday and Saturday, October 17 and 18, 2025.
Jacobs Masterworks
17 SATURDAYS AT 7:30 PM
(Continued)
DECEMBER 6
DRAMA AND PATHOS:
GOOSBY PLAYS
TCHAIKOVSKY
VIOLIN CONCERTO
Kahchun Wong, conductor
Randall Goosby, violin
UNSUK CHIN suddenly with power (subito con forza)
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
MUSSORGSKY (orch. Ravel) Pictures from an Exhibition
Korean composer Unsuk Chin’s subito con forza provides a thrilling opening mixing savage drama with sweet melodies. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto was written in only a few days in an unstoppable flow of passion and inspiration, while Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition (orchestrated by Maurice Ravel) mourns the tragic death of an artist friend; the music rages against the cruelty of his fate, remembers the sweetness of shared experiences, and fills us all with hope.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, B AND F
“Violinist Randall Goosby... was luminous in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto — his tone luscious, elegant and sweet without being syrupy.”
- The New York Times
JANUARY 17
HEROIC MONUMENTS:
DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO. 7
Thomas Guggeis, conductor
Marc-André Hamelin, piano
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7
Music and memory have always been close companions. Brahms’ First Piano Concerto, a work of symphonic vastness, was written out of his burning grief at the early death of his mentor Robert Schumann. Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony sprang from his intense longing for the freedom and independence of his native Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), and his desire to commemorate those who sacrificed so much in the cause of their country.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, B AND D
JANUARY 24
TRAGEDY
AND TRIUMPH: SHOSTAKOVICH
SYMPHONY NO. 8
Rafael Payare, conductor
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8
Beethoven’s exhilarating First Symphony was written in the last years of the 18th century, when Napoleon was seizing control of France and setting out to conquer Austria and Italy. The music breathes the air of earth-shaking public events and an intense optimism for the future. Shostakovich composed his Eighth Symphony in the depths of World War II. This dramatic music traverses every kind of human feeling from dark tragedy and struggle, through bitter satire and conflict, to a vision of a new world of transcendent beauty.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, C AND E
JANUARY 31
MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 7
Rafael Payare, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
One of the greatest orchestral composers of all time, Mahler wrote symphonies which “sum up the whole history of music”. Rafael Payare is a renowned champion of Mahler. The Seventh Symphony, a cathedral of sound, moves from an eerie opening inspired by a trip across an alpine lake at night, through central movements filled with the ghosts of nocturnal dreams and experiences, to an ending like a colossal and heroic dawn in which all humanity seems to be celebrating.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, B AND F
FEBRUARY 21
STORMS AND FIREWORKS: TCHAIKOVSKY
SYMPHONY NO. 6 “PATH É TIQUE”
Nicholas Carter, conductor
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
BRITTEN Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
RAVEL Piano Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”
Three of the best-loved pieces in the symphonic repertoire come together in this concert. Britten’s Sea Interludes depicts the changing colors and the terrifying storms of the North Sea between the UK and Germany. Ravel’s beloved G Major Piano Concerto echoes American jazz in the outer movements, and tributes Bach and Mozart in its central movement. The concert ends with one of the best known of all symphonies, Tchaikovsky’s Sixth, “Pathétique,” in response to the music’s mixture of drama and heartfelt melodies.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, C AND D
FEBRUARY 28
BRAHMS FESTIVAL: SYMPHONIES 1 & 2
Rafael Payare, conductor
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
See page 18 for more information.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, B AND E
MARCH 7
BRAHMS FESTIVAL: SYMPHONY NO. 3 & VIOLIN CONCERTO
Rafael Payare, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3
BRAHMS Violin Concerto
See page 18 for more information.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, C AND F
Le
Jacobs Masterworks
17 SATURDAYS AT 7:30 PM (Continued)
APRIL 11
JOURNEYS TO CALIFORNIA:
RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 3
Robert Spano, conductor
Conrad Tao, piano
ADAM SCHOENBERG Cool Cat
JOHN ADAMS Century Rolls
RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3
Music by three composers who call California home. Massachusetts-born Adam Schoenberg melds popular idioms into energetic pieces. Cool Cat is a fanfare that celebrates the life of the mountain lion who lived for a decade in the hills above Los Angeles. John Adams wrote his piano concerto Century Rolls in the 1990s as a celebration of American player-piano recordings. Rachmaninoff was a huge admirer of American music and in the last movement of his Third Symphony we can hear the influence of Hollywood film-music.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, B AND D
APRIL 18
FLITER PLAYS CHOPIN
Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, conductor
Ingrid Fliter, piano
KILAR Orawa
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2
BORODIN Symphony No. 2
BORODIN “Polovtsian Dances” from Prince Igor
This program features music from the shifting borderlands between Europe and Asia. Polish film-composer Wojciech Kilar’s Orawa celebrates the mountain fiddle players of Southern Poland. Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” conjure up the wild dancing of ancient nomadic tribespeople in Southern Russia. Both Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto and Borodin’s tuneful Second Symphony evoke the uproarious and warlike merrymaking of medieval knights-in-armor, with their ancient bards and strange-sounding folk-instruments.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, C AND E
JeffThayer , violin
APRIL 25
A FEAST OF BEETHOVEN
Trevor Pinnock, conductor
Alexandra Dovgan, piano
BEETHOVEN: Coriolan Overture
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7
Trevor Pinnock, one of the great masters of Baroque and Classical music in our age, and Alexandra Dovgan, a young pianist but already celebrated across the world for the majesty and beauty of her playing, join the Orchestra for an all-Beethoven program. After the tragic grandeur of the Coriolan Overture come two of Beethoven’s greatest masterpieces: the “Emperor” Concerto and the Seventh Symphony, both pieces of overwhelming power and invention.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, B AND F
MAY 9 FROM THE DEPTHS TO THE HEIGHTS: EIN HELDENLEBEN
Rafael Payare, conductor
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
GABRIELA ORTIZ Dzonot
R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben
The legendary Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz writes music of visceral energy and melodic sweetness. Her new cello concerto Dzonot, specially written for our very own Alisa Weilerstein, is inspired by the ‘cenotes,’ vast limestone sinkholes in Mexico which are like underground worlds all their own, with their own rivers, lakes, and plant and animal life.
This new work is paired with one of the most famous, sumptuous and outrageous orchestral scores of all time, Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life).
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, C AND D
MAY 16 FOLK AURAS: THAYER PLAYS BERG VIOLIN CONCERTO
Rafael Payare, conductor
Jeff Thayer, violin
JIMMY LÓPEZ Perú Negro
BERG Violin Concerto
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”
Three works inspired in very different ways by folk music and the mix of different cultures. Jimmy López’s Perú Negro (Black Peru) draws on the composer’s Afro-Peruvian roots. Alban Berg’s last completed work, his Violin Concerto, was written in memory of Manon, who had died at the age of 18. And Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony was inspired by his trip to Scotland where the young Berliner was overwhelmed by the feeling of a haunting and ancient culture.
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, B AND E
Jacobs Masterworks
11 SUNDAYS AT 2PM
*Choose 11, 6 or 5 Sunday Concerts
OCTOBER 5
FRENCH FAIRYTALES:
RAVEL AND DEBUSSY
Rafael Payare, conductor
Liv Redpath, soprano
San Diego Symphony Chorus
Gerard McBurney, director
Additional artists to be announced
DEBUSSY The Joyful Isle
DEBUSSY (orch. Caplet) The Box of Toys
RAVEL The Child and the Magical Spells: a lyric fantasy in two scenes
A theatrical celebration of the light and enchantment of France and French music, beginning with Debussy’s evocation of a journey to a mysterious island of love, and his witty and charming ballet score for children about the adventures of a box of toys. The program ends with a colorful and delightful semi-staging of Ravel’s immortal and muchloved comic fantasy about a naughty child whose toys come to life to punish him.
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND B
OCTOBER 12
ROMANTIC VISIONS:
SCHUMANN’S SYMPHONY NO. 2
Rafael Payare, conductor
Javier Perianes, piano
CHABRIER España, rhapsody for orchestra
JIMMY LÓPEZ Ephemerae, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2
Spain as evoked by the French composer Chabrier is followed by a lush new piano concerto, written by San Diego Symphony’s Composer-inResidence, Jimmy López, for soloist Javier Perianes and filled with echoes of Latin melodies and dance rhythms. The program ends with Schumann’s magnificent Symphony No. 2, composed at dizzying speed after the composer’s recovery from an illness, and shot through with an exuberant love of life and energetic overflowing melodies.
StevenOsborne
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND C
,piano
DECEMBER 7
DRAMA AND PATHOS: GOOSBY PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO
Kahchun Wong, conductor
Randall Goosby, violin
UNSUK CHIN suddenly with power (subito con forza)
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
MUSSORGSKY (orch. Ravel) Pictures from an Exhibition
Korean composer Unsuk Chin’s subito con forza provides a thrilling opening mixing savage drama with sweet melodies. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto was written in only a few days in an unstoppable flow of passion and inspiration, while Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition (orchestrated by Maurice Ravel) mourns the tragic death of an artist friend; the music rages against the cruelty of his fate, remembers the sweetness of shared experiences, and fills us all with hope.
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND B
JANUARY 18
HEROIC MONUMENTS: DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO. 7
Thomas Guggeis, conductor
Marc-André Hamelin, piano
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7
Music and memory have always been close companions. Brahms’ First Piano Concerto, a work of symphonic vastness, was written out of his burning grief at the early death of his mentor Robert Schumann. Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony sprang from his intense longing for the freedom and independence of his native Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), and his desire to commemorate those who sacrificed so much in the cause of their country.
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND C
JANUARY 25
TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH: SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 8
Rafael Payare, conductor
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8
Beethoven’s exhilarating First Symphony was written in the last years of the 18th century, when Napoleon was seizing control of France and setting out to conquer Austria and Italy. The music breathes the air of earth-shaking public events and an intense optimism for the future. Shostakovich composed his Eighth Symphony in the depths of World War II. This dramatic music traverses every kind of human feeling from dark tragedy and struggle, through bitter satire and conflict, to a vision of a new world of transcendent beauty.
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND B
Add these matinee concerts to your Jacobs Masterworks subscription!
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15 | 2PM
YEFIM BRONFMAN IN RECITAL
Internationally recognized as one of today’s most acclaimed and admired pianists, Yefim Bronfman stands among a handful of artists regularly sought by festivals, orchestras, conductors and recital series. His commanding technique, power and exceptional lyrical gifts are consistently acknowledged by the press and audiences alike. Join him for an evening of piano favorites in this intimate recital.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 | 11AM
INVOCATI ONS TO THE SPIRITS: BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4
Anja Bihlmaier, conductor Steven Osborne, piano
OLLY WILSON Shango Memory
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 1
Music can suggest our deepest feelings of spiritual awe. In this program, three composers capture the human yearning for understanding. The late great African American composer Olly Wilson drew on his roots in jazz and his ancestors to suggest the terrifying power of Shango, the ancient Yoruba god of thunder and lightning. In the slow movement of his Fourth Piano Concerto, Beethoven calls to mind the Greek divinity Orpheus who tamed wild beasts with the beauty of his music. Sibelius’ First Symphony plunges deep into the imaginary mythology of prehistoric Finland.
Ravel’s The Child and the Magical Spells
“I am free, free..naughty and free!”
Ravel’s genius for weaving instrumental color throughout his scores is beautifully displayed in The Child and the Magical Spells, a large-scale fairytale stage work in two scenes. A combination of musical influences including waltz, ragtime, jazz and more, the work invites listeners into a sonic realm of imagination to discover a world of fantastic wonders.
The work tells the story of a young boy who, sent to his bedroom for bad behavior, throws a tantrum and wreaks havoc with everything in his room. A teapot is smashed to pieces, books are torn, the cat is terrorized, he swings from the pendulum of the grandfather clock…. As he grows weary in his anger and attempts to rest in a chair, the chair comes to life, preventing him from rest. Other objects of his rage also awaken and turn against him. The scene eventually moves to the garden, where elements of nature exact their own revenge – a tree, dragonfly, frog, bat, nightingale, and his pet squirrel. A melee ensues in which a squirrel is accidentally injured, and – upon watching the boy bind the squirrel’s injury – the animals have a change of heart and help the boy back toward the house, singing “he is good, the child, he is wise…” The music that accompanies this act –perhaps one of the most luminous passages of all Ravel’s works – rises in glorious splendor.
The ingenuity of Ravel’s composition combined with the libretto by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette –an accomplished author, actress and journalist in her own right – has charmed audiences since 1925 with its messages of magic, mystery and morality.
Experience the playfulness and artistry of this work on Friday and Sunday, October 3 and 5, 2025.
Jacobs Masterworks
11 SUNDAYS AT 2PM (Continued)
FEBRUARY 1
MUSIC OF THE NIGHT:
MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 7
Rafael Payare, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
One of the greatest orchestral composers of all time, Mahler wrote symphonies which “sum up the whole history of music”. Rafael Payare is a renowned champion of Mahler. The Seventh Symphony, a cathedral of sound, moves from an eerie opening inspired by a trip across an alpine lake at night, through central movements filled with the ghosts of nocturnal dreams and experiences, to an ending like a colossal and heroic dawn in which all humanity seems to be celebrating.
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND C
FEBRUARY 22
STORMS AND FIREWORKS: TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 6 “PATH É TIQUE”
Nicholas Carter, conductor
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
BRITTEN Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
RAVEL Piano Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”
Three of the best-loved pieces in the symphonic repertoire come together in this concert. Britten’s Sea Interludes depicts the changing colors and the terrifying storms of the North Sea between the UK and Germany. Ravel’s beloved G Major Piano Concerto echoes American jazz in the outer movements, and tributes Bach and Mozart in its central movement. The concert ends with one of the best known of all symphonies, Tchaikovsky’s Sixth, “Pathétique,” in response to the music’s mixture of drama and heartfelt melodies.
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND C
MARCH 1
BRAHMS FESTIVAL: A GERMAN REQUIEM
Rafael Payare, conductor
Julie Boulianne, soprano
Michael Sumuel, bass-baritone
San Diego Symphony Chorus
Andrew Megill, advisor & chorus master
BRAHMS A German Requiem (Ein deutsches Requiem)
See page 18 for more information.
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND B
BenjaminGrosvenor,piano
APRIL 19
FLITER PLAYS CHOPIN
Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, conductor
Ingrid Fliter, piano
KILAR Orawa
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2
BORODIN Symphony No. 2
BORODIN “Polovtsian Dances” from Prince Igor
This program features music from the shifting borderlands between Europe and Asia. Polish film-composer Wojciech
Kilar’s Orawa celebrates the mountain fiddle players of Southern Poland. Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” conjure up the wild dancing of ancient nomadic tribespeople in Southern Russia. Both Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto and Borodin’s tuneful Second Symphony evoke the uproarious and warlike merrymaking of medieval knights-in-armor, with their ancient bards and strange-sounding folk-instruments.
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND B
MAY 10
FROM THE DEPTHS TO THE HEIGHTS: EIN HELDENLEBEN
Rafael Payare, conductor
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
GABRIELA ORTIZ Dzonot
R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben
The legendary Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz writes music of visceral energy and melodic sweetness. Her new cello concerto Dzonot, specially written for our very own Alisa Weilerstein, is inspired by the ‘cenotes,’ vast limestone sinkholes in Mexico which are like underground worlds all their own, with their own rivers, lakes, and plant and animal life.
This new work is paired with one of the most famous, sumptuous and outrageous orchestral scores of all time, Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life).
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND C
MAY 24
ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA & BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE
Rafael Payare, conductor
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano
Gerard McBurney, director Bass to be announced
STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra
BARTÓK Bluebeard’s Castle
Our season ends with two of the most spectacular and orchestrally overwhelming scores from the late romantic period. Richard Strauss’ epic tone-poem Also sprach Zarathustra is inspired by Nietzsche’s account of the deep meditations of the half-mythical Persian hermitphilosopher Zoroaster. Bartók’s dramatic Bluebeard’s Castle is based on the ancient fairytale about a young woman who marries a mysterious aristocrat and discovers that he has terrible secrets kept behind locked doors.
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A AND B
Brahms Festival
Brahms is not only one of the most famous and cherished composers in all of 19th century music, but an artist of rich and wonderful contradictions. A musical architect of incredible intellectual skill, he wrote music that tugs instinctively at every human heart. Anyone can listen to it and be deeply moved and captivated by it, but each of us will always find that there is more and more to discover in it.
Brahms, in a word, is a whole world of feelings and of melody.
This San Diego festival is a rare occasion, bringing together some of his best-loved pieces – his four symphonies, his violin concerto and his ravishingly beautiful German Requiem – so that we can listen to them all in a single breath. Don’t miss this opportunity to take a deep dive into one of the greatest musical imaginations that ever lived!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27 | 7:30 PM
SUNDAY, MARCH 1 | 2 PM A GERMAN REQUIEM
Rafael Payare, conductor
Julie Boulianne, soprano
Michael Sumuel, bass-baritone
Andrew Megill, advisor & chrous master
San Diego Symphony Chorus
BRAHMS A German Requiem (Ein deutsches Requiem)
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & B
AVAILABLE IN SUNDAY PACKAGES A & B
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28 | 7:30 PM
SYMPHONIES 1 & 2
Rafael Payare, conductor
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
AVAILABLE IN SATURDAY PACKAGES A, B & E
FRIDAY, MARCH 6 | 7:30 PM
VIOLIN CONCERTO & SYMPHONY NO. 4
Rafael Payare, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E minor
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A & C
FRIDAY, MARCH 7 | 7:30 PM SYMPHONY NO. 3 & VIOLIN CONCERTO
Rafael Payare, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F minor
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major
AVAILABLE IN FRIDAY PACKAGES A, C & F
Rafael Payare, conductor
“Exuding a podium manner of extreme, yet unforced, exuberance... Mr. Payare puts a high premium on bringing joy to concert audiences.”
- Wall Street Journal
Don’t miss these otherworks by living composers in our 2025–26 Jacobs Music Center season
JOHN ADAMS Century Rolls April 10 & 11
LERA AUERBACH Icarus for Orchestra October 17 & 18
UNSUK CHIN subito con forza December 6 & 7
ANNA CLYNE Masquerade October 25
DAVID MACKENZIE Right Whale, Wrong Letter (World Premiere) February 7
JESSIE MONTGOMERY (arr. Jannina Norpoth) Starburst April 11
GABRIELA ORTIZ Dzonot
May 9 & 10
ADAM SCHOENBERG Cool Cat
April 10 & 11
IVAN TREVINO Space Junk (World Premiere) April 11
Jimmy López COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE
Jimmy López will be the composer-in-residence in the San Diego Symphony’s 2025–26 season. López has been described as “one of the most innovative and symphonically dynamic composers in the world today” (Lewis Whittington).
López’s works utilize sounds and color from his native Peru, and often touch on important issues of our time and place. Being performed this season by the San Diego Symphony are the works Perú Negro, which takes inspiration from Afro-Peruvian music and folklore, and Ephemerae, a concerto for piano and orchestra that utilizes the sensation when scents make lasting impressions, remaining in our memory long after they are gone.
This season’s works by Jimmy López & The San Diego Symphony
Ephemerae, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
October 11 & 12
Perú Negro
May 15 & 16
JOHN WILLIAMS “Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
October 25
“Main Title” from Star Wars
April 11
Jimmy Lopez, Composer
Masterworks Packages
FRIDAY A PACKAGE
OCT 3 | FRENCH FAIRYTALES: RAVEL AND DEBUSSY
OCT 17 | MUSIC OF THE HEAVENS: HOLST’S PLANETS
NOV 7 | WHERE THE SHINING TRUMPETS BLOW: PAYARE LEADS BRUCKNER NO. 4
NOV 14 | TALES OF ENCHANTMENT: HADELICH PLAYS SIBELIUS
FEB 27 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: A GERMAN REQUIEM
MAR 6 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: VIOLIN CONCERTO & SYMPHONY NO. 4
APR 10 | JOURNEYS TO CALIFORNIA: RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 3
APR 24 | A FEAST OF BEETHOVEN
MAY 15 | FOLK AURAS: THAYER PLAYS BERG VIOLIN CONCERTO
MAY 22 | ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA & BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE
FRIDAY
B PACKAGE
OCT 3 | FRENCH FAIRYTALES: RAVEL AND DEBUSSY
NOV 7 | WHERE THE SHINING TRUMPETS BLOW: PAYARE LEADS BRUCKNER NO. 4
FEB 27 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: A GERMAN REQUIEM
APR 10 | JOURNEYS TO CALIFORNIA: RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 3
MAY 15 | FOLK AURAS: THAYER PLAYS BERG VIOLIN CONCERTO
FRIDAY
C PACKAGE
OCT 17 | MUSIC OF THE HEAVENS: HOLST’S PLANETS
NOV 14 | TALES OF ENCHANTMENT: HADELICH PLAYS SIBELIUS
MAR 6 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: VIOLIN CONCERTO & SYMPHONY NO. 4
APR 24 | A FEAST OF BEETHOVEN
MAY 22 | ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA & BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE
SATURDAY A PACKAGE
OCT 11 | ROMANTIC VISIONS: SCHUMANN’S SYMPHONY NO. 2
OCT 18 | MUSIC OF THE HEAVENS: HOLST’S PLANETS
NOV 8 | WHERE THE SHINING TRUMPETS BLOW: PAYARE LEADS BRUCKNER NO. 4
NOV 15 | TALES OF ENCHANTMENT: HADELICH PLAYS SIBELIUS
NOV 22 | INVOCATIONS TO THE SPIRITS: BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4
DEC 6 | DRAMA AND PATHOS: GOOSBY PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO
JAN 17 | HEROIC MONUMENTS: DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO. 7
JAN 24 | TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH: SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 8
JAN 31 | MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 7
FEB 21 | STORMS AND FIREWORKS: TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 6 “ PATHÉTIQUE”
FEB 28 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: SYMPHONIES 1 & 2
MAR 7 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: SYMPHONY NO. 3 & VIOLIN CONCERTO
APR 11 | JOURNEYS TO CALIFORNIA: RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 3
APR 18 | FLITER PLAYS CHOPI N
APR 25 | A FEAST OF BEETHOVEN
MAY 9 | FROM THE DEPTHS TO THE HEIGHTS: EIN HELDENLEBEN
MAY 16 | FOLK AURAS: THAYER PLAYS BERG VIOLIN CONCERTO
SATURDAY B PACKAGE
OCT 11 | ROMANTIC VISIONS: SCHUMANN’S SYMPHONY NO. 2
NOV 8 | WHERE THE SHINING TRUMPETS BLOW: PAYARE LEADS BRUCKNER NO. 4
DEC 6 | DRAMA AND PATHOS: GOOSBY PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO
JAN 17 | HEROIC MONUMENTS: DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO. 7
JAN 31 | MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 7
FEB 28 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: SYMPHONIES 1 & 2
APR 11 | JOURNEYS TO CALIFORNIA: RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 3
APR 25 | A FEAST OF BEETHOVEN
MAY 16 | FOLK AURAS: THAYER PLAYS BERG VIOLIN CONCERTO
SATURDAY C PACKAGE
OCT 18 | MUSIC OF THE HEAVENS: HOLST’S PLANETS
NOV 15 | TALES OF ENCHANTMENT: HADELICH PLAYS SIBELIUS
NOV 22 | INVOCATIONS TO THE SPIRITS: BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4
JAN 24 | TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH: SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 8
FEB 21 | STORMS AND FIREWORKS: TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 6 “PATHÉTIQUE”
MAR 7 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: SYMPHONY NO. 3 & VIOLIN CONCERTO
APR 18 | FLITER PLAYS CHOPIN
MAY 9 | FROM THE DEPTHS TO THE HEIGHTS: EIN HELDENLEBEN
SATURDAY D PACKAGE
OCT 11 | ROMANTIC VISIONS: SCHUMANN’S SYMPHONY NO. 2
NOV 15 | TALES OF ENCHANTMENT: HADELICH PLAYS SIBELIU S
JAN 17 | HEROIC MONUMENTS: DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO. 7
FEB 21 | STORMS AND FIREWORKS: TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 6 “PATHÉTIQUE”
APR 11 | JOURNEYS TO CALIFORNIA: RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 3
MAY 9 | FROM THE DEPTHS TO THE HEIGHTS: EIN HELDENLEBE N
SATURDAY E PACKAGE
OCT 18 | MUSIC OF THE HEAVENS: HOLST’S PLANETS
NOV 22 | INVOCATIONS TO THE SPIRITS: BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4
JAN 24 | TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH: SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 8
FEB 28 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: SYMPHONIES 1 & 2
APR 18 | FLITER PLAYS CHOPIN
MAY 16 | FOLK AURAS: THAYER PLAYS BERG VIOLIN CONCERTO
SATURDAY F PACKAGE
NOV 8 | WHERE THE SHINING TRUMPETS BLOW: PAYARE LEADS BRUCKNER NO. 4
DEC 6 | DRAMA AND PATHOS: GOOSBY PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO
JAN 31 | MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 7
MAR 7 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: SYMPHONY NO. 3 & VIOLIN CONCERTO
APR 25 | A FEAST OF BEETHOVEN
SUNDAY A PACKAGE
OCT 5 | FRENCH FAIRYTALES: RAVEL AND DEBUSSY
OCT 12 | ROMANTIC VISIONS: SCHUMANN’S SYMPHONY NO. 2
DEC 7 | DRAMA AND PATHOS: GOOSBY PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO
JAN 18 | HEROIC MONUMENTS: DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO. 7
JAN 25 | TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH: SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 8
FEB 1 | MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 7
FEB 22 | STORMS AND FIREWORKS: TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 6 “PATHÉTIQUE”
MAR 1 | BRAHMS FESTIVAL: A GERMAN REQUIEM
APR 19 | FLITER PLAYS CHOPIN
MAY 10 | FROM THE DEPTHS TO THE HEIGHTS: EIN HELDENLEBEN
MAY 24 | ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA & BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE
SUNDAY C PACKAGE
OCT 12 | ROMANTIC VISIONS: SCHUMANN’S SYMPHONY NO. 2
JAN 18 | HEROIC MONUMENTS: DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO. 7
FEB 1 | MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 7
FEB 22 | STORMS AND FIREWORKS: TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 6 “PATHÉTIQUE ”
MAY 10 | FROM THE DEPTHS TO THE HEIGHTS: EIN HELDENLEBEN
Subscriber Add-On Concerts
Add these concerts to your subscription order and avoid single ticket fees!
CLASSICAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29 | 7:30PM
ALISA
WEILERSTEIN: FRAGMENTS 4
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
In FRAGMENTS 4, the fourth installment of this groundbreaking performance series for solo cello performed by Alisa Weilerstein, new works are woven together with Johann Sebastian Bach’s fourth cello suite, responsive lighting and scenic architecture, inviting audiences into an immersive, multisensory experience.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 | 11AM MATINEE
INVOCATIONS TO THE SPIRITS: BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4
Anja Bihlmaier, conductor
Steven Osborne, piano
OLLY WILSON Shango Memory
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 1
Music can suggest our deepest feelings of spiritual awe. In this program, three composers capture the human yearning for understanding. The late great African American composer Olly Wilson drew on his roots in jazz and his ancestors to suggest the terrifying power of Shango, the ancient Yoruba god of thunder and lightning. In the slow movement of his Fourth Piano Concerto, Beethoven calls to mind the Greek divinity Orpheus who tamed wild beasts with the beauty of his music. Sibelius’ First Symphony plunges deep into the imaginary mythology of prehistoric Finland.
POPULAR
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16 | 6PM
DAVINA AND THE VAGABONDS
Davina Sowers and the Vagabonds have created a stir on the national music scene with their high-energy live shows, level A musicianship, sharp-dressed professionalism, and Sowers’ commanding stage presence. With influences ranging from Fats Domino and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Aretha Franklin and Tom Waits, the band is converting audiences one show at a time.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10 | 6PM
GORDON GOODWIN’S BIG PHAT BAND
Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band is an 18-piece jazz orchestra led by that combines the big band swing of the 1930s and 1940s with funk and jazz fusion. Goodwin is a gifted and creative pianist, an explosive and ‘haul ass’, ‘kick butt,’ sax player, an arranger of absolutely no limit of musical styles and composer.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15 | 2PM MATINEE
YEFIM BRONFMAN IN RECITAL
Internationally recognized as one of today’s most acclaimed and admired pianists, Yefim Bronfman stands among a handful of artists regularly sought by festivals, orchestras, conductors and recital series. His commanding technique, power and exceptional lyrical gifts are consistently acknowledged by the press and audiences alike. Join him for a matinee of piano favorites in this intimate recital.
SATURDAY, MARCH 14 | 7:30PM
AN EVENING ON BROADWAY WITH ROB FISHER
Broadway conductor and arranger Rob Fisher brings his entertaining mix of Broadway veterans and classic Broadway tunes to the Jacobs Music Center stage.
AlisaWeilerstein,cello
Jazz @ The Jacobs
SATURDAYS AT 7:30 PM
Experience the Jazz @ The Jacobs series in its second year at the renovated Jacobs Music Center. Curated by renowned musician Gilbert Castellanos, the immersive venue wraps audiences in sound and emotion. Subscribe to the 2025-26 three-concert series and experience these unforgettable performances.
*All Jazz @ Jacobs shows will feature a pre-show performance by Young Lions Jazz Conservatory All-Stars.
john coltrane
NOVEMBER 29
JOHN COLTRANE: BLUE TRAIN
Brian Levy, Tenor saxophone
Gilbert Castellanos, trumpet
Andre Hayward, trombone
Mike Gurrola, bass
Additional artists to be announced
*Young Lions Jazz Conservatory All-Stars, jazz band
Gilbert Castellanos, Brian Levy, Andre Hayward, Mike Gurrola bring John Coltrane’s Blue Train to life. Coltrane wrote all but one of the compositions on the album - rare at the album’s time of release.
FEBRUARY 14
SONGS FOR LOVERS:
The music of Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker, and Dinah Washington
Charles McPherson, saxophone
Gilbert Castellanos, trumpet
Melissa Morgan, vocals
Willie Jones III, drums
Additional artists to be announced
*Young Lions Jazz Conservatory All-Stars, jazz band
Spend Valentine’s Day with loved ones and the music of Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker, and Dinah Washington.
TIME OUT THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
APRIL 4
THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET: TIME OUT
Josh Nelson, piano
Nicole McCabe, alto saxophone
Luca Alemanno, bass
Joe LaBarbera, drums
Additional artists to be announced
*Young Lions Jazz Conservatory All-Stars, jazz band
Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out broke records and conventions alike, becoming the first jazz album to sell a million copies. Join a quartet of jazz greats for an evening featuring this remarkable album.
Gilbert Castellanos, trumpet
Music for Families
Symphony Kids Series
4
SATURDAYS AT 10AM & 1130AM | AGES 0–5
For our youngest music lovers, the Symphony Kids Series is the perfect introduction to the world of music! These 30-minute interactive concerts are sensory-friendly and designed with little ones in mind. Sing-alongs, rhymes, dances, and musical games will engage your child while introducing them to the instruments of the orchestra.
NOVEMBER
1
MEET THE WINDS: MOTHER GOOSE
Featuring a San Diego Symphony Wind Quintet
Take a musical journey into the whimsical world of Mother Goose with the lively sounds of a woodwind quintet! Featuring the flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and horn, this enchanting performance introduces young listeners to a colorful palette of melodies and playful characters. With music that twirls, soars, and sparkles, kids will love discovering how each instrument tells its part of the story. Perfect for curious minds and little explorers!
DECEMBER
13
MEET THE BRASS: ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Featuring a San Diego Symphony Brass Quintet
Feel the holiday spirit in this festive musical celebration! Our brass section will bring the beloved poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas to life with sparkling fanfares, warm tones, and holiday cheer. Perfect for young listeners, this performance is a cozy, jolly way to kick off the season together.
FEBRUARY 14
MEET
THE
PERCUSSION: CLAPPING MUSIC
Featuring a San Diego Symphony Percussion Ensemble
Get ready to stomp, clap, and groove as we dive into the rhythmic world of percussion! Featuring the electrifying Clapping Music and an array of drums, cymbals, and marimbas, this interactive performance will have your little ones moving to the beat and making music of their own. Fun, lively, and totally unforgettable!
MARCH 28
MEET THE STRINGS: FERDINAND THE BULL
Featuring a San Diego Symphony String Quintet
Join us for the heartwarming tale of Ferdinand the Bull, told through music and the beautiful melodies of the string family. Violins, violas, cellos, and basses will take center stage, bringing Ferdinand’s peaceful world to life in this charming, interactive experience. A gentle and joyful way to inspire budding music lovers.
Family Concerts Series
3 SATURDAYS AT 11AM AGES 6–12
Experience the thrill of live music with our full orchestra in three fun and engaging performances at Jacobs Music Center! These 1-hour concerts feature captivating musical stories and interactive moments that are sure to inspire both kids and adults alike.
OCTOBER 25
SPOOKY SOUNDS AND MAGICAL MELODIES
San Diego Symphony Orchestra
Start your day with a magical and spooky adventure with the orchestra! Enjoy the enchanting Hedwig’s Theme, the thrilling Danse macabre, and the fiery finale of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. Don’t forget your costumes, this morning of music will have you spellbound!
FEBRUARY 7
PETER AND THE WOLF
San Diego Symphony Orchestra
Embark on a musical journey celebrating the beauty of the animal kingdom. From the buzzing Flight of the Bumblebee to the classic musical story Peter and the Wolf, to a world premiere of Right Whale, Wrong Letter, this concert is an unforgettable tribute to our furry, finned, and feathered friends!
APRIL 11
SPACE JUNK
WindSync, wind quintet
San Diego Symphony Orchestra
Blast off with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra for a cosmic adventure through music! From the triumphant Sunrise Fanfare to the dramatic Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the iconic Star Wars theme, this concert will take you to the stars and beyond. With the world premiere of Space Junk, it’s a family-friendly journey through the galaxy you won’t want to miss!
Symphony Kids Series: This series was developed in partnership with SDSU Center for Autism and the Autism Society San Diego. General admission seating. Tickets are required for all ages, including babies in arms. Family Concert Series: Seating selected with purchase. Children 2+ and adults require a ticket; attendees under age 2 seated on an adult’s lap are included with adult ticket purchase.
Illustrations by Becky Aitken
A Nig h t in Spai n G al
a
Dinner, P erformance, and After-pa r t y Fea t urin g t h e San Diego Sy m phony w ith :
We d nes d ay, O ct ober 8, 2025, 5 :30 p.m . The R ady Shell a t Jacob s Pa r k
Thank you to our 2025–26 Season Corporate Sponsors
Rafael P aya r e
Marina Heredi a F lamenco Sin g e r
Javie r P eriane s P ian o
Subscriber Benefit s
BECOME A SUBSCRIBER AND RECEIVE THESE BENEFITS:
• Lowest ticket prices
• Savings on fees
• First choice of seating
• Same seats at each concert
• Free ticket exchanges
• Ability to reserve pre-concert prix-fixe dinners at the University Club atop Symphony Towers on Friday and Saturday nights
• Priority access to purchase tickets to additional events
• Special offers from San Diego Symphony partners
• Two guest tickets for a concert within your subscription package
2025-26 Season Concerts
OCTOBER
OCT 3 & 5
FRENCH FAIRYTALES:
RAVEL AND DEBUSSY
Rafael Payare, conductor
Liv Redpath, soprano
Additional artists to be announced
San Diego Symphony Chorus
Gerard McBurney, director
DEBUSSY The Joyful Island (L’Isle Joyeuse)
DEBUSSY (orch. Caplet) The Toy Box (La Boîte à joujoux)
RAVEL The Child and the Spells: A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts (L’enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties)
OCT 11 & 12
ROMANTIC VISIONS: SCHUMANN’S SYMPHONY NO. 2
Rafael Payare, conductor
Javier Perianes, piano
CHABRIER España, rhapsody for orchestra
JIMMY LÓPEZ Ephemerae, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2
OCT 17 & 18
MUSIC OF THE HEAVENS: HOLST’S PLANETS
Gemma New, conductor
Geneva Lewis, violin
Women of the San Diego Master Chorale
LERA AUERBACH Icarus
VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending
HOLST The Planets
OCT 25
THE FIREBIRD
San Diego Symphony Orchestra
OCT 29
ALISA WEILERSTEIN: FRAGMENTS 4
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
NOVEMBER
NOV 1
MEET THE WINDS: MOTHER GOOSE
Featuring a San Diego Symphony Orchestra Wind Quintet
NOV 7 & 8
WHERE THE SHINING TRUMPETS BLOW: PAYARE LEADS BRUCKNER NO. 4
Rafael Payare, conductor
Matthias Goerne, baritone
MAHLER Selections from The Boy’s Magic Horn (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4
NOV 14 & 15
TALES OF ENCHANTMENT: HADELICH PLAYS SIBELIUS
Rafael Payare, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave)
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9, “The Great”
NOV 16
DAVINA AND THE VAGABONDS
NOV 21 & 22
INVOCATIONS TO THE SPIRITS: BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4
Anja Bihlmaier, conductor Steven Osborne, piano
OLLY WILSON Shango Memory
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 1
NOV 29
JOHN COLTRANE: BLUE TRAIN
DECEMBER
DEC 6 & 7
DRAMA AND PATHOS: GOOSBY PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO
Kahchun Wong, conductor Randall Goosby, violin
UNSUK CHIN subito con forza TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto MUSSORGSKY (orch. Ravel) Pictures from an Exhibition
DEC 13
MEET THE BRASS: ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Featuring a San Diego Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet
JANUARY
JAN 10
GORDON GOODWIN’S BIG PHAT BAND
JAN 17 & 18
HEROIC MONUMENTS:
DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO. 7
Thomas Guggeis, conductor
Marc-André Hamelin, piano
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7
JAN 24 & 25
TRAGEDY & TRIUMPH: SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 8
Rafael Payare, conductor
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8
JAN 31 & FEB 1
MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 7
Rafael Payare, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
FEBRUARY
FEB 7
PETER AND THE WOLF
San Diego Symphony Orchestra
FEB 14
MEET THE STRINGS: FERDINAND AND THE BULL
Featuring a San Diego Symphony Orchestra String Quintet
FEB 14
SONGS FOR LOVERS:
The music of Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker, and Dinah Washington
FEB 15
YEFIM BRONFMAN IN RECITAL
FEB 21 & 22
STORMS AND FIREWORKS: TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO.6 “PATHETIQUE”
Nicholas Carter, conductor Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
BRITTEN Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
RAVEL Piano Concerto TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”
FEB 27 & MAR 1
BRAHMS FESTIVAL: A GERMAN REQUIEM
Rafael Payare, conductor
Julie Boulianne, soprano
Michael Sumuel, bass-baritone San Diego Symphony Chorus
BRAHMS A German Requiem (Ein deutsches Requiem)
FEB 28
BRAHMS FESTIVAL: SYMPHONIES 1 & 2
Rafael Payare, conductor
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
MARCH
MAR 6
BRAHMS FESTIVAL: VIOLIN CONCERTO & SYMPHONY NO. 4
Rafael Payare, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
BRAHMS Violin Concerto
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4
MAR 7
BRAHMS FESTIVAL: SYMPHONY NO. 3 & VIOLIN CONCERTO
Rafael Payare, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3
BRAHMS Violin Concerto
MAR 14
AN EVENING ON BROADWAY WITH ROB FISHER
MAR 28
MEET THE PERCUSSION: CLAPPING MUSIC
Featuring a San Diego Symphony Orchestra Percussion Ensemble
APRIL
APR 4
DAVE BRUBECK: TIME OUT
APR 10 & 11
JOURNEYS TO CALIFORNIA: RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 3
Robert Spano, conductor Conrad Tao, piano
ADAM SCHOENBERG Cool Cat
JOHN ADAMS Century Rolls RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3
APR 11
SPACE JUNK
WindSync, wind quintet San Diego Symphony Orchestra
APR 18 & 19
FLITER PLAYS CHOPIN
Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, conductor
Ingrid Fliter, piano
KILAR Orawa
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2
BORODIN Symphony No. 2
BORODIN “Polovtsian Dances” from Prince Igor
APR 24 & 25
A FEAST OF BEETHOVEN
Trevor Pinnock, conductor Alexandra Dovgan, piano
BEETHOVEN Coriolan Overture
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7
MAY
MAY 9 & 10
FROM THE DEPTHS TO THE HEIGHTS: EIN HELDENLEBEN
Rafael Payare, conductor
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
GABRIELA ORTIZ Dzonot
R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben
MAY 15 & 16
FOLK AURAS: THAYER PLAYS BERG VIOLIN CONCERTO
Rafael Payare, conductor Jeff Thayer, violin
JIMMY LÓPEZ Perú Negro
BERG Violin Concerto
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”
MAY 22 & 24
ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA & BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE
Rafael Payare, conductor
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano Bass to be announced
R. STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra
BARTÓK Bluebeard’s Castle
CONCERT SERIES KEY
JACOBS MASTERWORKS FAMILY & SYMPHONY KIDS SERIES JAZZ @ THE JACOBS SPECIAL CONCERTS
Ingrid Fliter, paino
“San Diego Symphony finally has a venue that permits it to sound like the world-class orchestra they’ve been...”
-
San Diego Union Tribune
Pricing
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
Jacobs Masterworks
STEP 1: Choose your day of the week
STEP 2: Choose a full or partial package
STEP 3: Choose your price level and preferred seating location
STEP 4: Go online, call, or mail in your subscription
How to Order
4 WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE
ONLINE
sandiegosymphony.org
EMAIL OR PHONE tickets@sandiegosymphony.org (619) 235-0804
San Diego Symphony Ticket Office 1245 7th Ave. San Diego, CA 92101
IN PERSON Ticket Office
750 B Street San Diego, CA 92101
Subscription and Add-On Seating
Seating assignments will be based on the following factors: a patron’s giving level, subscriber level, renewing paid subscriptions by date received and new paid subscriptions by date received.
Group Tickets
Experience the fun and savings when you bring your group of 10 or more! For more information, please email groups@SanDiegoSymphony.org or call (619) 235-0804.
Wheelchair, companion, semi-ambulatory and transfer seats available by request.
If you require any assistance, please contact the Ticket Office in advance to accommodate your ticketing needs.
Choral Terrace
Parterre
Mezzanine
San Diego Symphony Musicians: Andrea Overturf, English horn & oboe; Hernan Constantino, violin; Lily Josefsberg, piccolo & flute; Zou Yu, violin