Performances Magazine | San Diego Symphony, February 2022

FEBRUARY 2022

MUSIC DIRECTOR RAFAEL PAYARE

ELENA URIOSTE

GEORGE LI

PACHO FLORES

CHRISTOPHER DRAGON

Hear Us Here

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4 In the Wings

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16 Parting Thought

Cast, performances, who’s who, director’s notes, donors and more.

Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, San Diego Museum Month, and must-see live theater.

Mexican cuisine in S.D. is diverse and delicious. We spotlight staples and notable new spots to try this winter.

Performances’ new program platform for shows and concerts brings the stage to your fingertips, instantly.

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IN T H E W IN GS

ART

ART COMES ALIVE THE WORKS OF DUTCH post-Impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) come to life, literally, in Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience—­presented by Keurig at the Wyland Center at Del Mar Fairgrounds, through March 6. A tortured artist who inf­amously severed his own ear, Van Gogh was commercially unsuccessful during his lifetime. This awe-inspiring exhibit—created by Mathieu St-Arnaud of Montreal’s Normal Studio—showcases more than 300 of Van Gogh’s masterpieces. Using cutting-edge projection technology, the walk-through experience lets guests view his mind, dreams, thoughts and art through a 3D lens. The space features projection-wrapped walls of shapes, lights and colors that dance and morph into the artist’s famous landscapes, flowers, cafes and portraits—all set to a symphonic score. 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar, vangoghsandiego.com

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GAYAMAN VISUAL STUDIO / COURTESY PAQUIN ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

Vincent Van Gogh’s art comes to life at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

IN T H E W IN GS

From top: Teatro Piñata at The New Children’s Museum downtown; San Diego Natural History Museum. Opposite: Tim Nelson, director of San Diego Opera’s Così fan tutte.

MUSEUMS

FOLLOWING A LARGELY virtual version in 2021, an in-person San Diego Museum Month returns for its 33rd year, Feb. 1-28. Presented by the San Diego Museum Council, the program gives residents and visitors access to more than 45 museums, historical sites, gardens and other cultural destinations for half-off admission.

Participating venues include the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Downtown,

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Fleet Science Center, Mingei International Museum, The New Children’s Museum, Birch Aquarium, Museum of Making Music, USS Midway Museum, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego Air and Space Museum, and Maritime Museum of San Diego. Museum Month passes are available for free at all San Diego County locations of program sponsor Macy’s and 75-plus local public libraries. sandiegomuseumcouncil.org

COURTESY SAN DIEGO MUSEUM COUNCIL

MUSEUM MONTH RETURNS

A Musical Comedy Gone Wild

STAGE

WEST COAST PREMIERE

JAN 12 – FEB 6

“Pinter’s masterpiece is first‑rate.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES CRITIC’S PICK

Must-See Shows FEBRUARY IS BRIMMING with live theater. Cygnet Theatre brings us Life Sucks—Aaron Posner’s bold remaking of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya— through Feb. 27. The Old Globe presents Trouble in Mind, Feb. 5-March 13; backstage drama erupts as a leading black actress and multiracial cast rehearse a Broadway play set in the South. In El Borracho, Feb. 17-March 20 at The Old Globe, Raul is a heavy drinker who falls ill and moves in with his ex-wife and their son.

San Diego Opera delivers Mozart’s farce, Così fan tutte, Feb. 12, 15, 18 and 20 at the Civic Theatre.

MARCH 2–27 DIRECTED BY DAVID ELLENSTEIN Suitable for mature audiences only

(858) 481-1055 | NorthCoastRep.org Group Sales: (858) 481-2155, ext. 202 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach

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PHOTO CREDIT: LAUREN RADACK

FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Greetings Friends, Welcome to 2022 and the turn of another page in the musical life of the San Diego Symphony. As we begin a new year, we once again affirm the power that art has to bring us all together.

As we look forward to the next months of music making, I share the words of Gerard McBurney who so compellingly captures the meaning of music in our lives: “The essence of music is that it is live, and that it is not only played by musicians but listened to by audiences. Without everyone in the hall, without all of us, there can be no music. Music is what happens when we all get together... to hear, to play, to listen and feel together. The word ‘symphony’ literally means ‘sounding together.’ As all of us emerge from one of the darkest times in recent history, music... and orchestral music in particular... is here right now to meet us, to embrace us, to welcome us to share the joys of a life which we have to live and experience together.”

This past fall, we spent a lot of time TOGETHER. We welcomed nearly 125,000 audience members to The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park to listen to music – all kinds of music – in the safety and beauty of the outdoors. As we begin 2022 it is our desire to bring the San Diego Symphony to you – all of you – throughout our region.

Our “Hear Us Here” project takes the orchestra to 9 venues for 29 concerts between January and May. As we return to indoor concerts we assure you we are paying close attention to the safest health conditions for our musicians, staff and our audience.

For our first concerts of the year, on January 28 and 29, we welcome back Music Director Rafael Payare at the San Diego Civic Theatre in a program featuring William Grant Still, Rachmaninoff and Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, a groundbreaking piece written almost 200 years ago. Berlioz shows us that the sound of music alone can conjure up stories as vivid as those in a modern Hollywood blockbuster.

We begin our February lineup of concerts by traveling to La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, and Chula Vista for four wonderful performances. Our friend and esteemed conductor Christopher Dragon takes the helm of the San Diego Symphony to lead unique presentations of Vivaldi’s classic The Four Seasons, juxtaposed by Piazzolla’s marvelous The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. We welcome the talented violinist Elena Urioste to join us for these performances which bring us to The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, The Village Church and Southwestern College.

Later in the month we will travel back downtown to the Civic Theatre as Music Director Rafael Payare returns and is joined by the amazing trumpet player Pacho Flores for a very special Jacobs Masterworks performance on February 26. The program opens with an introduction to the music of 21st century composer Andrew Norman, with a whimsical 4-minute work. Then, you’re in for a treat as Pacho Flores takes the stage for his debut with the San Diego Symphony to perform Neruda’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major and D'Rivera’s Concerto venezolano for Trumpet and Orchestra; the two works span centuries, yet both masterfully showcase the brilliance of the trumpet. And what better way to round out the evening than with Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, a symphony that represents a sublimely transformational period within the composer’s life. The four-movement piece takes us on a journey of despair, hope and a look at the unstoppable force that is fate, represented of course by that memorable brass fanfare.

With warmest wishes for a happy, healthy and musical 2022,

Martha A. Gilmer Chief Executive Officer Front cover credits: Rafael Payare photo by Henry Fair; Elena Urioste photo by Alessandra Tinozzi; George Li photo by Simon Fowler; Pacho Flores photo by Juan Martinez.

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PHOTO CREDIT: HENRY FAIR

RAFAEL PAYARE MUSIC DIRECTOR

RAFAEL PAYARE began his role as the Music Director of the San Diego Symphony on July 1, 2019.

own vision and knowledge of the score. I could not be more excited about this musical partnership.”

His profound musicianship, technical brilliance and charismatic presence on the podium has elevated him as one of today's most sought-after conductors.

This past fall, it was also announced that he will serve as the next Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. In September 2021 he took the title of Music Director Designate and will commence as Music Director from the 2022-23 season for an initial period of five years.

Prior to joining the San Diego Symphony as Music Director, Payare was Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra from 2014-19, with whom he appeared twice at the BBC Proms in 2016 and 2019. The Orchestra recently named him Conductor Laureate in recognition of his vast artistic contribution to the Orchestra and City of Belfast during his five-year tenure.

He has also served as principal conductor of the Castleton Festival and honorary conductor of Sinfonietta Cracovia. As a guest conductor, he works regularly with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, amongst others.

“When [Payare] conducted the orchestra in January 2018 there was a deep connection, and the musical bond and obvious potential for their relationship was clear,” said Martha Gilmer, San Diego Symphony CEO. "He has the perfect balance of bringing out the best in the musicians, encouraging and leading them to achieve more than they imagine possible. [Payare] has a calm assurance on the podium. The musicians spoke of their ability to take artistic risks knowing that he was secure in his

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As an opera conductor, Payare made his acclaimed debut at Glyndebourne Festival in 2019 conducting Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and has conducted Madame Butterfly and La bohème for Royal Swedish Opera and a new production of La traviata at Malmo Opera. During the 2020-21 season, he made his debut at the Staatsoper Berlin conducting La bohème. In July 2012, he was personally invited by his mentor, the late Lorin Maazel, to conduct at his Castleton Festival in Virginia, and in July 2015 he was appointed Principal Conductor and conducted performances of Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette and a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in memory of Lorin Maazel.

Born in 1980 and a graduate of the celebrated “El Sistema” in Venezuela, Payare began his formal conducting studies in 2004 with José Antonio Abreu. He has conducted all the major orchestras in Venezuela, including the Simón Bolívar Orchestra.

Having also served as Principal Horn of the Simón Bolívar Orchestra, he took part in many prestigious tours and recordings with conductors including Giuseppe Sinopoli, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle and Lorin Maazel. In May 2012, Payare was awarded first prize at the Malko International Conducting Competition. 

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SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY

BOARDS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Harold W. Fuson Jr. Chair of the Board*

Lisa Behun

Adm. Riley D. Mixson

David R. Snyder, Esq. Immediate Past Chair*

David Bialis*

Deborah Pate

Anthony C. Boganey, MD, FACS

Sherron Schuster

Terry Atkinson Vice Chair*

Julia R. Brown*

Marivi Shivers

Colette Carson Royston Vice Chair*

Ben G. Clay

J. William Weber Vice Chair*

Sam Ersan*

Una Davis Vice Chair* Kathleen Davis Treasurer* Linda Platt Secretary*

Pam Cesak* Phyllis Epstein* Lisette Farrell Janet Gorrie Dr. Nancy Hong Warren O. Kessler, M.D.*

Jathan A. Segur Christopher D. "Kit" Sickels Donald M. Slate* Gloria Stone Frank Vizcarra Mitchell R. Woodbury* John Zygowicz *EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER

Kris Kopensky Jeff Light

HONORARY LIFETIME DIRECTORS Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs Joan K. Jacobs Warren O. Kessler, M.D.

Anne Francis Ratner (1911-2011) Lawrence B. Robinson (d. 2021)

Herbert Solomon Mitchell R. Woodbury

FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Joan K. Jacobs Chair

Martha Gilmer

Robert Caplan, Esq. Vice Chair

Warren O. Kessler, M.D.

Sandra Levinson Secretary Mitchell R. Woodbury Treasurer

Judith Harris Beth Sirull David R. Snyder, Esq. Ellen Whelan, Esq.

PAST BOARD CHAIRS 2018-21 David R. Snyder, Esq. 2015-18 Warren O. Kessler, M.D. 2014-15 Shearn H. Platt 2011-14 Evelyn Olson Lamden 2009-11 Mitchell R. Woodbury 2008-09 Theresa J. Drew 2007-08 Steven R. Penhall 2005-07 Mitchell R. Woodbury 2004-05 Craig A. Schloss, Esq. 2003-04 John R. Queen 2001-03 Harold B. Dokmo Jr. 2000-01 Ben G. Clay 1998-00 Sandra Pay 1995-96 Elsie V. Weston 1994-95 Thomas Morgan

1993-94 David Dorne, Esq. 1989-93 Warren O. Kessler, M.D. 1988-89 Elsie V. Weston 1986-88 Herbert J. Solomon 1984-86 M.B. “Det” Merryman 1982-84 Louis F. Cumming 1980-82 David E. Porter 1978-80 Paul L. Stevens 1976-78 Laurie H. Waddy 1974-76 William N. Jenkins, Esq. 1971-74 L. Thomas Halverstadt 1970-71 Simon Reznikoff 1969-70 Robert J. Sullivan 1968-69 Arthur S. Johnson 1966-68 Michael Ibs Gonzalez, Esq.

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1964-66 Philip M. Klauber 1963-64 Oliver B. James Jr. 1961-63 J. Dallas Clark 1960-61 Fielder K. Lutes 1959-60 Dr. G. Burch Mehlin 1956-58 Admiral Wilder D. Baker 1953-56 Mrs. Fred G. Goss 1952-53 Donald A. Stewart 1940-42 Donald B. Smith 1938-39 Mrs. William H. Porterfield 1934-37 Mrs. Marshall O. Terry 1930-33 Mouney C. Pfefferkorn 1928-29 Willett S. Dorland 1927 Ed H. Clay

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PA R T N E R WITH A PL AY ER The San Diego Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following donors for their membership in the Partner with a Player program and their profound impact on the orchestra. Partner with a Player members enjoy the unique opportunity to personally connect with the orchestra and engage with the Symphony in meaningful ways.

The following listing reflects pledges and gifts entered as of January 1, 2022.

San Diego Foundation

Rancho Santa Fe Foundation

$100,000 AND ABOVE Rafaela and John Belanich Chris Smith, Principal Trumpet Audrey Geisel , Dr. Seuss Foundation Jahja Ling, Conductor Laureate ◊

Phyllis and Daniel Epstein Sheryl Renk, Principal Clarinet Joan and Irwin Jacobs Martha Gilmer, Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bob and June Shillman and Maxwell Louis Shillman Greg Cohen, Principal Percussion

$50,000 – $99,999 Kathy Taylor and Terry Atkinson Igor Pandurski, Violin Anonymous San Diego Symphony Musicians Kevin and Jan Curtis Nancy Lochner, Associate Principal Viola Una Davis and Jack McGrory Susan Wulff, Associate Principal Bass Mr. and Mrs. Brian K. Devine San Diego Symphony Musicians

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Jewish Community Foundation

Sam B. Ersan Valentin Martchev, Principal Bassoon Julie Phillips, Principal Harp Esther and Bud◊ Fischer Ethan Pernela, Viola

◊

Deceased

Karen and Kit Sickels Jeremy Kurtz-Harris, Principal Bass SOPHIE AND ARTHUR BRODY FOUNDATION CHAIR

Karen and Jeff Silberman Jisun Yang, Assistant Concertmaster

Carol and Richard Hertzberg Nick Grant, Principal Associate Concertmaster Emeritus Karen and Warren Kessler Chi-Yuan Chen, Principal Viola

KAREN AND WARREN KESSLER CHAIR

Dr. William and Evelyn Lamden Andrea Overturf, Oboe DR. WILLIAM AND EVELYN LAMDEN ENGLISH HORN CHAIR

Carol Lazier and James Merritt Sarah Skuster, Principal Oboe Sarah Tuck, Flute Judy McDonald Gerard McBurney, Creative Consultant

Gayle◊ and Donald Slate Angela Homnick, Violin Dave and Phyllis Snyder Julia Pautz, Violin Gloria and Rodney Stone Paul ("P.J.") Cinque, Bass Haeyoung Tang San Diego Symphony Musicians Sylvia Steding and Roger Thieme Nicole Sauder, Violin Jayne and Bill Turpin San Diego Symphony Musicians Mitchell Woodbury Douglas Hall, Horn

Linda and Shearn◊ Platt Benjamin Jaber, Principal Horn

$25,000 – $49,999

Penny and Louis Rosso Andrew Watkins, Assistant Principal Timpani

Gordon Brodfuehrer Kenneth Liao, Violin Elyse Lauzon, Horn

Colette Carson Royston and Ivor Royston Yeh Shen, Violin

Pam and Jerry Cesak Samuel Hager, Bass

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Nikki A. and Ben G. Clay Mary Szanto, Cello Karen and Donald Cohn Hanah Stuart, Acting Associate Principal Second Violin Anne L. Evans Wesley Precourt, Associate Concertmaster Lisette and Mick Farrell/ Farrell Family Foundation Navroj ("Nuvi") Mehta, Concert Commentator Pam and Hal Fuson Courtney Cohen, Principal Librarian Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon Yumi Cho, Violin Sandra and Arthur Levinson Kyle Covington, Principal Trombone ◊

Eileen Mason Rose Lombardo, Principal Flute Monica and Robert Oder Erin Dowrey, Percussion Deborah Pate and John Forrest Jeff Thayer, Concertmaster

Sheryl and Harvey White Alexander Palamidis, Principal Second Violin

Val and Ron Ontell Darby Hinshaw, Assistant Principal & Utility Horn

$15,000 – $24,999

Jane and Jon Pollock San Diego Symphony, Flute Chair

Anonymous Hernan Constantino, Violin Anonymous Nathan Walhout, Cello Warren and Eloise Batts Alicia Engley, Violin Michael Blasgen Tricia Skye, Horn Dr. Anthony Boganey Logan Chopyk, Trombone

Stephen M. Silverman Ai Nihira Awata, Violin Jeanette Stevens Kathryn Hatmaker, Violin

Kathleen Seely Davis Qing Liang, Viola

Linda and Raymond◊ Thomas R.V. Thomas Family Fund Ray Nowak, Trumpet

Karin and Gary Eastham San Diego Symphony, Viola Chair Jill Gormley and Laurie Lipman Frank Renk, Bass Clarinet

The Potiker Family in memory of Sheila and Hughes Potiker Sarah Schwartz, Violin

Judith Harris and Dr. Robert Singer Michael Marks, Bass

Allison and Robert Price San Diego Symphony Musicians

Marilyn James and Richard Phetteplace John Stubbs, Violin

Raghu and Shamala Saripalli Chia-Ling Chien, Associate Principal Cello

Jo Ann Kilty Marcia Bookstein, Cello

Kathryn and James Whistler Rachel Fields, Librarian

Jayne and Brigg Sherman Rodion Belousov, Oboe

Dr. Miriam Summ Richard Levine, Cello

Janet and Wil Gorrie Zou Yu, Violin

Sue and Bill Weber Jing Yan Bowcott, Violin

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek Pei-Chun Tsai, Violin

Julia R. Brown Leyla Zamora, Bassoon and Contrabassoon

DEBORAH PATE AND JOHN FORREST CHAIR

Elizabeth and Joseph◊ Taft Wanda Law, Viola

Sally and Steve Rogers Kyle Mendiguchia, Bass Trombone

Isabelle and Mel◊ Wasserman Andrew Hayhurst, Cello Judy Gaze-Zygowicz and John Zygowicz Johanna Nowik, Viola

For more information, or to join, please contact Sheri Broedlow at (805) 637-4948 or sbroedlow@sandiegosymphony.org.

Dr. Marshall J. Littman San Diego Symphony, Cello Chair Rena Minisi and Rich Paul, Paul Plevin Sullivan & Connaughton, LLP Ryan Simmons, Bassoon Admiral Riley D. Mixson San Diego Symphony, Clarinet Chair

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PHOTO: SIMON FOWLER

PHOTO: HENRY FAIR

PROGRAM WILLIAM GRANT STILL Darker America SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

George Li, piano

– INTERMISSION –

HECTOR BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 I. Dreams, Passions II. Un bal (A Ball) Music Director

Rafael Payare

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28 | 8:00PM SATURDAY, JANUARY 29 | 2:00PM

JACOBS MASTERWORKS

III. Scène aux champs (Scene in the Country) George Li

IV. Marche au supplice (March to the Scaffold) V. Songe d'une nuit du sabbat (Dream of a Witches' Sabbath) Approximate program length: 1 hour, 45 minutes (includes one 20-minute intermission)

RACHMANINOFF'S RHAPSODY AND BERLIOZ'S SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE Rafael Payare, conductor George Li, piano

Performances at the San Diego Civic Theatre

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PROGRAM NOTES | RACHMANINOFF'S RHAPSODY AND BERLIOZ'S SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR RAFAEL PAYARE biography on page 2.

GUEST ARTIST SPONSORS We gratefully acknowledge our guest artist sponsors.

Please call (805) 637-4948 to participate!

ABOUT THE ARTIST Praised by The Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command and depth of expression,” pianist GEORGE LI possesses an effortless grace, poised authority and brilliant virtuosity far beyond his years. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation and performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors.

Recent and upcoming concerto highlights include performances with the Los Angeles, New York, London, Rotterdam, Oslo and St. Petersburg Philharmonics; the San Francisco, Tokyo, Frankfurt Radio, Sydney and Montreal Symphonies; as well as the Philharmonia, DSO Berlin and Orchestra National de Lyon. He frequently appears with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra.

In recital, Li performs at venues including Carnegie Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, the Mariinsky Theatre, Elbphilharmonie, Munich’s Gasteig, the Louvre, Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo’s Asahi Hall and Musashino Hall, NCPA Beijing, Shanghai Poly Theater and Amici della Musica Firenze, as well as appearances at major festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence Festival and Montreux Festival.

RAFAELA AND JOHN BELANICH

ALAN BENAROYA

DAVID BIALIS

UNA DAVIS FAMILY

MARTHA AND EDWARD DENNIS

MR. AND MRS. BRIAN K. DEVINE

JERRY AND TERRI KOHL

DOROTHEA LAUB

VAIL MEMORIAL FUND

Li is an exclusive Warner Classics recording artist, with his debut recital album released in October 2017 which was recorded live from the Mariinsky. His second recording for the label features Liszt solo works and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, which was recorded live with Vasily Petrenko and the London Philharmonic, and was released in October 2019. 

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PROGRAM NOTES | RACHMANINOFF'S RHAPSODY AND BERLIOZ'S SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

ABOUT THE MUSIC Darker America WILLIAM GRANT STILL

Born May 11, 1895, Woodville, Mississippi.

Died December 3, 1978, Los Angeles.

sorrow as contrasted to passive sorrow indicated at the initial appearance of the theme. Again hope appears and the people seem about to rise above their troubles. But sorrow triumphs.

Then the prayer is heard (given to oboe); the prayer of numbed rather than anguished souls.

Strongly contrasted moods follow, leading up to the triumph of the people near the end, at which point the three principal themes are combined.

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 13 minutes William Grant Still grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where his mother was a schoolteacher. Still left college to pursue a career in music, and – after service in the navy during World War I – moved to New York, where he worked with W.C. Handy, Paul Whiteman and Artie Shaw. He also studied composition with two teachers who could not have been more unlike each other: the conservative Boston composer George Chadwick and the visionary Edgard Varèse in New York. Still played the oboe in theater orchestras and was attracted to the ideals of the Harlem Renaissance, but in 1930 he moved to Los Angeles, which would be his home for the rest of his life. Still was a trailblazer in many ways. He was the first Afro-American to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in 1936) and the first to have an opera produced by a major opera company (Troubled Island, by the New York City Opera in 1949). His catalog of works includes nine operas, five symphonies, numerous other orchestral works, and music for chamber ensembles and for voice.

From the start, Still was passionately committed to African-American causes, and his Darker America – composed in 1924 when he was 29 – is one of his earliest efforts in that cause. While not pictorial in its intentions, Darker America is nevertheless a tone poem that depicts the struggles of AfricanAmericans, their setbacks and their eventual triumph. Eugene Goosens led the premiere at Aeolian Hall in New York City on November 22, 1926, and for that occasion Still provided a program note that offers a concise introduction to this music: Darker America, as its title suggests, is representative of the American Negro. His serious side is presented and is intended to suggest the triumph of a people over their sorrows through fervent prayer. At the beginning the theme of the American Negro is announced by the strings in unison. Following a short development of this, the English horn announces the sorrow theme which is followed immediately by the theme of hope, given to muted brass accompanied by strings and woodwind. The sorrow theme returns treated differently, indicative of more intense

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– William Grant Still 

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 SERGEI RACHMANINOFF

Born April 1, 1873, Semyonovo, Russia.

Died March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills.

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 22 minutes In the spring of 1934 Rachmaninoff – then 61 – and his wife moved into a villa they had just purchased on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. They were delighted by the house and its view across the lake, and Rachmaninoff was especially touched to find a surprise waiting for him there: the Steinway Company of New York had delivered a brandnew piano to the villa. Rachmaninoff spent the summer gardening and landscaping, and he also composed: between July 3 and August 24 he wrote a set of variations for piano and orchestra on what is doubtless the most-varied theme in the history of music, the last of Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Solo Violin. Paganini had written that devilish tune, full of rhythmic spring and chromatic tension, in 1820, and he himself had followed it with twelve variations. That theme has haunted composers ever since. In the nineteenth century, Liszt, Schumann and Brahms all wrote variations on it, and they have been followed in the twentieth century by Witold Lutosławski, Boris Blacher and George Rochberg.

Rachmaninoff described his new work to a friend as being “about the length of a piano concerto . . . the thing’s rather difficult,” but he had trouble deciding on a name. At first he was going to call it “Symphonic Variations on a Theme by Paganini,” and then he thought about “Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra in the Form of Variations on a Theme by Paganini.” In the end he settled on the simpler Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a title that places the focus on melody and somewhat disguises the ingenious variation-technique at the center of this music. The first performance, with S A N D IEGO SY MPH ON Y 2 021 -22 SE ASO N FEB RUA RY 2 02 2

PROGRAM NOTES | RACHMANINOFF'S RHAPSODY AND BERLIOZ'S SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE the composer as soloist, took place in Baltimore on November 7, 1934, with Leopold Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The Rhapsody has a surprising beginning: a brief orchestral flourish – containing hints of the theme – leads to the first variation, which is presented before the theme itself is heard. This gruff and hard-edged variation, which Rachmaninoff marks Precedente, is in fact the bass-line for Paganini’s theme, which is then presented in its original form by both violin sections in unison.

Some of the variations last a matter of minutes, while others whip past almost before we know it.

(Several of the variations are as short as nineteen seconds.) The 24 variations are sharply contrasted, in both character and tempo, and the fun of this music lies not just in the bravura writing for piano but in hearing Paganini’s theme sound so different in each variation. In three of them, Rachmaninoff incorporates the old plainsong tune Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), used by Berlioz, SaintSaëns and many others. Here it appears in the piano part in the seventh and tenth variations, and eventually it drives the work to its climax in the final variation. Perhaps the most famous of Rachmaninoff’s variations, though, is the eighteenth, in which Paganini’s theme is inverted and transformed into a moonlit lovesong. The piano states this variation in its simplest form, and then strings take it up and turn it into a soaring nocturne. This variation has haunted many Hollywood composers, and Rachmaninoff himself noted wryly that he had written this variation specifically as a gift “for my agent.”

From here on, the tempo picks up, and the final six variations accelerate to a monumental climax: the excitement builds, the Dies Irae is stamped out by the full orchestra, and suddenly – like a puff of smoke – the Rhapsody vanishes before us on two quick strokes of sound. 

Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 HECTOR BERLIOZ

Born December 11, 1803, La Côte-St-André, France.

Died March 8, 1869, Paris.

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 49 minutes It is impossible for modern audiences to understand how revolutionary Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique was when it burst upon surprised listeners in Paris in 1830. The music has become so over-familiar that we forget that it represented S A N D I E GO SY M PHON Y 2 021 -22 SE A SO N FE BRUA RY 2 022

not only a brilliant new use of the orchestra but also an entirely new conception of the role of the composer. For Berlioz subtitled this symphony “Episode in the Life of an Artist” and based it on details of his own life. And what made the symphony so sensational was that these autobiographical details were so lurid, private and painful. No longer was music an abstract art, at some distance from the psyche of its maker.

When Berlioz created the nightmare journey of the Symphonie fantastique out of his own internal fury, the art of music was all at once propelled into a new era.

In 1827 an English acting troupe visited Paris, where their performances of Shakespeare created a sensation. Nowhere did these performances have more impact than on a 23-year-old music student named Hector Berlioz, who was as much smitten with the company’s leading lady, Harriet Smithson, as he was with Shakespeare. Berlioz himself recalled the effect of watching the actress play the part of Juliet: “It was too much. By the third Act, hardly able to breathe – as though an iron hand gripped me by the heart – I knew I was lost.” Berlioz resolved on the spot to marry Harriet Smithson and soon mounted a concert of his own works as a way of attracting her attention; she never even heard of the concert. Plunged into the despair of his own helpless love, Berlioz came up with the idea that after much revision would become the Symphonie fantastique: he would depict in music the nightmare mental adventures of a love-stricken young musician who took opium as a way to escape his pain.

Such an idea carries with it all sorts of dangers for unbridled self-indulgence, but in fact the Symphonie fantastique is a tightly-disciplined score. Its unity comes from Berlioz’s use of what he called (borrowing the term from the psychology of his day) an idée fixe, or “fixed idea;” today we would call it an obsession. In the symphony, this obsession takes the form of a long melody which Berlioz associates with his beloved. This melody appears in each of the symphony’s five movements, varied each time to suit the mood of the movement and the mental state of the suffering hero.

First Movement: Dreams, Passions. The movement’s opening, with murmuring woodwinds and muted strings, depicts the artist drifting softly into the drugged dream-state. The animated idée fixe theme, the musical backbone of the entire symphony, is soon heard in the first violins and flute. This undergoes a series of dramatic transformations (this opening movement is in a sort of sonata form) before the movement closes on quiet chords marked Religiosamente.

Continued on page 10.

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PROGRAM NOTES | RACHMANINOFF'S RHAPSODY AND BERLIOZ'S SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE Second Movement: A Ball. Here Berlioz creates a flowing waltz, beautifully introduced by swirling strings and harps. Near the end, the music comes to a sudden stop, and the idée fixe melody appears in a graceful transformation for solo clarinet before the waltz resumes.

Third Movement: Scene in the Country. This is one of Berlioz’s most successful examples of scene-painting, perhaps inspired by Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, but nothing like it musically. The dialogue of the shepherds’ pipes to the accompaniment of distant thunder is a particularly imaginative touch; the idée fixe is heard during the course of the dreamy summer afternoon in the woodwinds.

Fourth Movement: March to the Scaffold. This is the most famous music in the symphony, with its muffled drums giving way to the brilliant march. At the end, the solo clarinet plays a fragment of the idée fixe, then the guillotine blade comes down as a mighty chord from the orchestra. Pizzicato notes mark the severed head’s tumble into the basket.

Fifth Movement: Dream of a Witches' Sabbath.

Here is a nightmare vision in music: the horrible growls and squeaks of the beginning give way to the grotesque dance for witches and spirits. Berlioz here takes his revenge on the Beloved, who had scorned him: her once-lovely tune is made hideous and repellent. The orchestral writing here is phenomenal: bells toll, clarinets squeal, the strings tap their bowsticks on the strings to imitate the sounds of skeletons dancing.

The first performance of the Symphonie fantastique on December 5, 1830 (six days before the composer’s 27th birthday) was a mixed success: the work had its ardent defenders as well as its bitter enemies. The storybook climax of this whole tale was that Harriet Smithson finally recognized the composer’s great passion for her, and they were married three years later. If this all sounds a little too good to be true, it was: the marriage was unhappy, the couple divorced, and Harriet died after a long struggle with alcohol.

But this in no way detracts from the musical achievement of the Symphonie fantastique. Berlioz looked deep within the nightmare depths of his own agonized soul and found there the material for a revolutionary new conception of music, music that was not an artistic abstraction but spoke directly from his own anguish, and he gave that torment a dazzling pictorial immediacy. Composers as different as Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Mahler and Richard Strauss were among the many who would be directly influenced by this new conception of what music might be.  -Program notes by Eric Bromberger

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THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PROUDLY PRESENTS

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PHOTO: ALESSANDRA TINOZZI

PROGRAM OSVALDO GOLIJOV Last Round Movido, urgente Muertes del angel (Deaths of the Angel) ANTONIO VIVALDI La primavera (Spring) in E Major from Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons), Op. 8, RV 269 Allegro Largo e pianissimo Allegro ASTOR PIAZZOLLA/Arr. L. Desyatnikov "Verano porteño" (Summer) from Las cuatro estaciones porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)

Christopher Dragon

Elena Urioste

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3 | 7:30PM FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4 | 7:30PM SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5 | 2:00PM SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6 | 2:00PM

JACOBS MASTERWORKS

FOUR SEASONS

BY VIVALDI AND PIAZZOLLA Christopher Dragon, conductor Elena Urioste, violin San Diego Symphony Orchestra

VIVALDI L'estate (Summer) in G minor from Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons), Op. 8, RV 315 Allegro mà non molto Adagio Presto PIAZZOLLA/Arr. L. Desyatnikov "Otoño porteño" (Fall) from Las cuatro estaciones porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires) VIVALDI L'autunno (Fall) in F Major from Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons), Op. 8, RV 293 Allegro Adagio Molto Allegro PIAZZOLLA/Arr. L. Desyatnikov "Invierno porteño" (Winter) from Las cuatro estaciones porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires) VIVALDI L'inverno (Winter) in F minor from Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons), Op. 8, RV 297 Allegro non molto Largo Allegro PIAZZOLLA/Arr. L. Desyatnikov "Primavera porteña" (Spring) from Las cuatro estaciones porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)

Feb. 3 and Feb. 6 performances at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, La Jolla Feb. 4 performance at The Village Church, Rancho Santa Fe

Elena Urioste, violin

Approximate program length: 1 hour, 20 minutes This concert will not have an intermission.

Feb. 5 performance at The Performing Arts and Cultural Center of Southwestern College, Chula Vista

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PROGRAM NOTES | FOUR SEASONS BY VIVALDI AND PIAZZOLLA

ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR Australian conductor CHRISTOPHER DRAGON is the recently appointed Music Director of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and Resident Conductor of the Colorado Symphony, after four seasons as its Associate Conductor. For three years he previously held the position of Assistant Conductor with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with Principal Conductor Asher Fisch.

Dragon works regularly in Australia and has guest conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. His 2015 debut performance at the Sydney Opera House with John Pyke and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was released on album by ABC Music and won an ARIA the following year. Dragon's international guest conducting includes Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

He has also conducted at numerous festivals including the Breckenridge and Bangalow Music Festivals, with both resulting in immediate re-invitations. At the beginning of 2016 Dragon conducted Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony as part of the Perth International Art Festival alongside Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Dragon began his conducting studies in 2011 and was a member of the prestigious Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program in Australia under the guidance of course director Christopher Seaman. He has also studied with numerous distinguished conductors including Leonid Grin, Paavo and Neeme Jarvi at the Jarvi Summer Festival, Fabio Luisi at the Pacific Music Festival and conducting pedagogue Jorma Panula. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST ELENA URIOSTE is a musician, yogi, writer, and entrepreneur, as well as a lover of nature, food, animals and connecting with other human beings.

As a violinist, Urioste has given acclaimed performances as soloist with major orchestras throughout the United States, including the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras; the New York, Los Angeles and Buffalo philharmonics; the Boston Pops; and the Chicago, San Francisco,

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National, Atlanta, Baltimore and Detroit symphony orchestras, among many others. In the U.K., she has appeared with the Hallé Philharmonia, London Philharmonic and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic orchestras; the BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic and BBC National Orchestra of Wales; and the Orchestra of Opera North. Engagements elsewhere include the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, France's Orchestre National de Lille, Canada's Edmonton Symphony, Germany's Würzburg Philharmonic and Hungary’s Orchestra Dohnányi Budafok and MAV Orchestras. She has collaborated with such celebrated conductors as Sir Mark Elder, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Vasily Petrenko, Christoph Eschenbach, Robert Spano, Karina Canellakis and Gábor Takács-Nagy. She has regularly performed as a featured soloist in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, and has given recitals at London's Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Kennedy Center's Family Theater, Konzerthaus Berlin, Sage Gateshead, Bayerischer Rundfunk Munich and Mondavi Center. Elena is a former BBC New Generation Artist (2012-14) and has been featured on the covers of Strings and Symphony magazines.

Her second album on BIS Records, Estrellita – a collection of miniatures for violin and piano recorded with pianist Tom Poster – was released in September 2018. Other recent musical highlights include her debuts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Malaysian Philharmonic orchestras, and as concerto soloist at the Barbican Centre in London. Her 2019-20 season included debuts with the Minnesota and Louisville orchestras, the San Diego and Virginia symphonies, and the Atlantic Classical Orchestra; a return engagement with the BBC Symphony Orchestra; and concerto performances with the Chineke!

Orchestra in London and on tour in Bruges, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Cologne and Aachen. Her fourth studio recording, a collection of Grieg sonatas and songs in collaboration with Tom Poster, was released in spring 2020 by Orchid Classics.

An avid chamber musician, Urioste is the founder and artistic director of Chamber Music by the Sea, an annual festival on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

She has been a featured artist at the Marlboro, Ravinia, La Jolla, Bridgehampton, Moab and Sarasota music festivals; Open Chamber Music at Prussia Cove; the Cheltenham Music Festival; Switzerland’s Sion-Valais International Music Festival; and the Verbier Festival’s winter residency at Schloss Elmau. She has collaborated with such luminaries as pianist Mitsuko Uchida, violist Kim Kashkashian, and members of the Guarneri Quartet, and has performed extensively in recital with pianists Tom Poster and Michael Brown. 

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PROGRAM NOTES | FOUR SEASONS BY VIVALDI AND PIAZZOLLA

ABOUT THE MUSIC Last Round OSVALDO GOLIJOV

Born December 5, 1960, La Plata, Argentina.

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 13 minutes The music of Osvaldo Golijov is the product of a number of varied and powerful influences. Born in Argentina, he grew up loving the music of Astor Piazzolla – in fact, he reports that he was unable to sleep the night he first heard Piazzolla’s music. As a member of a cultivated Jewish household, Golijov learned to play the piano and studied composition as a boy, and in 1983 he went to Israel for further training. In 1986 he came to the United States, where he studied with George Crumb, Lukas Foss and Oliver Knussen. He is presently on the faculty of Holy Cross and also teaches at the Boston Conservatory and Tanglewood Music Center.

Two specific events helped shape Golijov’s Last Round: Piazzolla’s final illness and Golijov’s encounter with the members of the St. Lawrence Quartet, whose playing has been an inspiration to him. In 1991 Piazzolla, then 70, suffered a disabling stroke, and in response to this troubling news Golijov began to sketch a slow movement for string orchestra. Members of the St. Lawrence Quartet saw that manuscript and encouraged Golijov to finish the work, and in the process he changed the music considerably: he completed Last Round in 1996 by adding an opening fast movement and re-scoring the work for two string quartets and double-bass.

In his liner note for the recording of this version of Last Round, Golijov has described in detail the inspiration and form of the music, and the composer’s note serves as the best possible introduction to this music: The title is borrowed from a short story on boxing

by Julio Cortázar; the idea was to give Piazzolla’s spirit an imaginary chance to fight one more time (he used to get into fistfights throughout his life). The piece is conceived as an idealized bandoneon. The first movement represents a violent compression of the instrument and the second a final, seemingly endless opening sigh (it is actually a fantasy over the refrain of the song “My Beloved Buenos Aires,” composed by the legendary Carlos Gardel in the 1930s). But Last Round is also a sublimated tango dance. Two quartets confront each other separated

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by the focal bass, with violins and violas standing up as in the traditional tango orchestras. The bows fly in the air as inverted legs in criss-crossed choreography. Always attracting and repelling each other, always in danger of clashing, always avoiding it with the precision that can only be acquired by transforming hot passion into pure pattern.

- Osvaldo Golijov At these performances, Golijov’s Last Round is heard in an arrangement with slightly expanded string sections. 

FOUR SEASONS: DIFFERENT CONTINENTS, DIFFERENT CENTURIES This imaginative pairing brings us two musical impressions of the four seasons, each cast as a set of violin concertos. But how different are these two takes on that natural cycle! Antonio Vivaldi conceived The Four Seasons as a set of musical portraits cast in the form of the baroque violin concerto. Astor Piazzolla, quite aware of Vivaldi’s great example, conceived Cuatro estaciones porteñas (“The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires”) as a sequence of four tangos, each inspired by scenes in the port district of Buenos Aires.

On this program the San Diego Symphony presents both Vivaldi’s and Piazzolla’s individual impressions of the four seasons but does it in a unique way, intercutting Piazzolla’s individual movements within the sequence of Vivaldi’s famous cycle. And so on this program we hear, side-by-side, the four seasons as imagined in Italy and Argentina, nearly three centuries apart. The sequence begins and closes with each composer’s impression of Spring. 

Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) ANTONIO VIVALDI

Born March 4, 1678, Venice.

Died July 28, 1741, Vienna.

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 37 minutes Are Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons the most popular composition in the classical literature? The evidence seems to suggest that – these four concertos have been recorded hundreds of times.

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PROGRAM NOTES | FOUR SEASONS BY VIVALDI AND PIAZZOLLA Only Bach’s Brandenburg concertos, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Ravel’s Bolero approach that number. Yet seventy-five years ago, hardly anyone had heard of The Four Seasons. It was a recording of this music that led to the revival of interest in baroque music after World War II, and today new recordings appear all the time. A mark of its popularity is that – in addition to the violin version – the current catalog lists arrangements for flute, recorder, trombone, brass quintet, guitar trio, electronic synthesizer and koto ensemble.

The Four Seasons are the first four concertos in the set of twelve Vivaldi published in 1725 as his Opus 8, which he nicknamed Il cimiento dell’ armonia e dell’ inventione (“The Battle between Harmony and Invention.”) Each of the four is a small tone poem depicting events of its respective season, and in the published score Vivaldi printed the four anonymous sonnets his music was intended to depict. (The poems may have been written after the music was composed, however.) The Four Seasons are thus one of the earliest examples of program music, but audiences should not expect the kind of detailed musical depiction of a composer like Richard Strauss. Strauss, who once said that his highest aim was to write fork music that could never be mistaken for a spoon, was a master at painting scenes with an orchestra. Vivaldi’s music, written nearly two centuries earlier, can seem a little innocent by comparison: his fast movements tend to depict storms, the slow movements shepherds falling asleep. But this music is so infectious and appealing, the many little touches so charming, that The Four Seasons seem to have an air of eternal freshness about them. Certainly these four concertos continue to win new friends for baroque music every day.

Each of the four is in the standard form of Vivaldi’s concertos. The first movement opens with a ritornello, or refrain, that will recur throughout the movement; between its appearances, the soloist breaks free with florid, virtuoso music of his own.

The slow movement is usually a melodic interlude, while the finale – dynamic and extroverted – is sometimes cast in dance forms.

Spring marches in joyfully with a buoyant ritornello, and soon the solo violin brings trilling birdsongs and the murmur of brooks and breezes. Thunder and lightning break out, but the birds return to sing after the storm. In the slow movement a shepherd sleeps peacefully while his dog keeps watch; the dog’s quiet “Woof! Woof!” is heard throughout in the violas. Nymphs and shepherds dance through the final movement, which shows some relation to the gigue. But the movement is no wild bacchanal, and Spring concludes with this most grave and dignified dance.

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At the beginning of Summer the world limps weakly under a blast of sunlight – the ritornello is halting and exhausted. Soon the solo violin plays songs of different birds – cuckoo, dove and goldfinch – and later the melancholy music of a shepherd boy, weeping at the prospect of a storm.

The Adagio depicts more of his fears: buzzing mosquitoes and flies (quiet dotted rhythms) which alternate with blasts of thunder. The concluding Presto brings the storm. A rush of sixteenthnotes echoes the thunder, and lightning rushes downward in quick flashes.

The jaunty opening of Fall depicts a peasants’ dance, and the solo violin picks up the same music. Soon the violin is sliding and staggering across all four strings – the peasants have gotten drunk and are collapsing and falling asleep; the Adagio molto, an exceptionally beautiful slow movement, shows their “sweet slumber.” The final movement opens with the sound of the orchestra mimicking hunting horns. Vivaldi’s portrait of the hunt is quite graphic – the violin’s rushing triplets depict the fleeing game that finally collapses and dies from exhaustion.

The beginning of Winter is one of the most effective moments in The Four Seasons: quick turns in the orchestra “shiver” with the cold, and later vigorous “stamping” marks the effort to keep warm. In the wonderful Largo, a graceful, melodic violin line sings of the contented who sit inside before a warm fire while outside raindrops (pizzicato strings) fall steadily. In the concluding Allegro, the solo violin shows those trying desperately to walk over ice. The ice shatters and breaks and strong winds blow, but Vivaldi’s music concludes with a sort of fierce joy – this is weather that, however rough, brings pleasure. 

Cuatro estaciones porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires) (arr. Leonid Desyatnikov) ASTOR PIAZZOLLA

Born March 11, 1921, Mar de Plata, Argentina.

Died July 4, 1992, Buenos Aires.

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 29 minutes Astor Piazzolla was a fabulously talented young man, and that wealth of talent caused him some confusion as he tried to decide on a career path.

Very early he learned to play the bandoneon, the Argentinian accordion-like instrument that uses Continued on page 16.

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PROGRAM NOTES

FOUR SEASONS BY VIVALDI AND PIAZZOLLA

buttons rather than a keyboard, and he became a virtuoso on it. He gave concerts, made a film soundtrack, and created his own bands before a desire for wider expression drove him to the study of classical music. In 1954 he received a grant to study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, and it was that great teacher who advised him to follow his passion for the Argentinian tango as the source for his own music.

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Piazzolla returned to Argentina and gradually evolved his own style, one that combines the tango, jazz and classical music. In his hands, the tango – which had deteriorated into a soft, popular form – was revitalized. Piazzolla transformed this old Argentinian dance into music capable of a variety of expression and fusing sharply-contrasted moods: his tangos are by turn fiery, melancholy, passionate, tense, violent, lyric and always driven by an endless supply of rhythmic energy.

Cuatro estaciones porteñas is an unusual collection of individual tangos that – taken together – form a remarkable whole. That title needs to be understood carefully: Cuatro estaciones is clear enough – it evokes The Four Seasons of Vivaldi. But the meaning of porteña (or porteño) is more elusive: it means “port” area, and it specifically has come to refer to the port area of Buenos Aires, where the tango was born. By extension, porteñas has come to mean anyone or anything native to Buenos Aires. And so a general translation of the title might be The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

Cuatro estaciones porteñas consists of four tangos that Piazzolla originally wrote for the small ensemble he led in Buenos Aires: violin, piano, electric guitar, bass and bandoneon. Each tango depicts a different season in Buenos Aires, and Piazzolla wrote them over a period of time. The first, Verano porteño, dates from 1964, and the others followed over the next few years: Otoño porteño in 1969, and Primavera porteña and Invierno porteño in 1970. Piazzolla sometimes performed them as a group, and Cuatro estaciones porteñas – by turns slinky, seductive, powerful and haunting – have become immensely popular. In 1999, at the request of violinist Gidon Kremer, the Russian composer Leonid Desyatnikov arranged Cuatro estaciones porteñas for solo violin and string orchestra specifically to make them a counterpart to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. But Desyatnikov did not simply transcribe Piazzolla’s music; he essentially recomposed those four tangos, sometime quoting from Vivaldi and forcing us to consider both composers in new ways. In Desnatyikov’s arrangement, these four tangos become a late twentieth-century Argentinian counterpart to Vivaldi’s famous tone-portraits, which had been set in Venice over nearly three hundred years earlier. 

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FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO COMMISSION FOR ARTS AND CULTURE.

THE LEGACY SOCIETY

The Legacy Society honors the following outstanding individuals who have committed a gift from their estate to the San Diego Symphony Foundation and/or to the San Diego Symphony Orchestra's Annual Fund to ensure the success of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra Association for generations to come. The following listing reflects pledges entered as of December 1, 2021.

Anonymous (2)

Lulu Hsu

Craig Schloss

William Beamish

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Todd Schultz

Stephen and Michele* Beck-von-Peccoz

Marjory Kaplan

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Karen and Kit Sickels

Anne and Takashi Kiyoizumi

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Alan Benaroya Rosanne B. and W. Gregory Berton Dr. James L. Bowers Dennis and Lisa Bradley Gordon Brodfuehrer Joseph H. Brooks and Douglas Walker

Evelyn and William Lamden Carol Lazier and James Merritt Sandra and Arthur* Levinson

Stephen M. Silverman Judith Harris and Dr. Robert Singer Gayle* and Donald Slate

Julia Brown

Gladys Madoff

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Roberta and Malin Burnham

Richard Manion

Robert Caplan and Carol Randolph

James Marshall

Barbara and Paul Chacon

Patricia and Peter Matthews

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon

Melanie and Russ Chapman

Una Davis and Jack McGrory

Suellen and James Sorenson

Nikki A. and Ben G. Clay

Sandra Miner

Valerie Stallings

Catherine Cleary

Riley Mixson

Marjorie A. Stettbacher

Elisabeth and Robert* Crouch

Judith A. Moore

Joyce and Ted Strauss

Bob and Kathy Cueva

Mona and Sam Morebello

Gene Summ

Peter V. Czipott and Marisa SorBello

Joani Nelson

Miriam Summ

Caroline S. DeMar

Elizabeth and Dene Oliver

Sheryl Sutton

Daniel J. and Phyllis Epstein

Val and Ron Ontell

James L.* and June A. Swartz

Esther and Bud* Fischer

Steven Penhall

Elizabeth and Joseph* Taft

Teresa and Merle Fishlowitz

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Margaret A. Flickinger John Forrest and Deborah Pate Norman Forrester and Bill Griffin

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Lyn Small and Miguel Ikeda Linda and Bob Snider Dave and Phyllis Snyder

Harriet and Maneck Wadia Sue and Bill Weber

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Edward Witt

Edward B. Gill

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Eric Witt

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Debra Thomas Richter and Mark Richter

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Judith and Dr. William Friedel Pam and Hal Fuson

Nancy and Fred Gloyna Alice Dyer*

Colette Carson Royston and Ivor Royston

Susan and Paul Hering

Joan and Jack* Salb

David A. Wood

LeAnna S. Zevely Dr. and Mrs. Philip Ziring *DECEASED

If you are interested in more information about joining The Legacy Society, please contact Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Sheri Broedlow at (805) 637-4948 or sbroedlow@sandiegosymphony.org.

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PHOTO: JUAN MARTINEZ

PHOTO: J HENRY FAIR

PROGRAM ANDREW NORMAN Drip Blip Sparkle Spin Glint Glide Glow Float Flop Chop Pop Shatter Splash JOHANN BAPTIST GEORG NERUDA Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major Allegro Largo Vivace

Pacho Flores, trumpet

PAQUITO D'RIVERA Concerto venezolano for Trumpet and Orchestra (San Diego Symphony cocommission*; U.S. premiere)

Music Director

Rafael Payare

Pacho Flores

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26 | 8:00PM

JACOBS MASTERWORKS

PAYARE LEADS TCHAIKOVSKY Rafael Payare, conductor Pacho Flores, trumpet

Pacho Flores, trumpet

– INTERMISSION –

PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 Andante sostenuto Andantino in modo di canzona Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato Finale: Allegro con fuoco

Approximate program length: 1 hour, 40 minutes (includes one 20-minute intermission)

San Diego Symphony Orchestra

*This commission was funded in part by a generous grant from:

Performance at the San Diego Civic Theatre

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PROGRAM NOTES | PAYARE LEADS TCHAIKOVSKY

ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR RAFAEL PAYARE biography on page 2. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST PACHO FLORES was awarded First Prize in the “Maurice André” International Contest (the most renowned trumpet contest in the world), as well as First Prize in the “Philip Jones” International Contest and First Prize in the “Cittá di Porcia” International Contest. Trained in the Orchestra System for Youth and Children in Venezuela (El Sistema), he received top recognition for his performances, recitals and recordings as a soloist.

Capable of managing both classical and popular styles, Flores adds a great deal of energy tinged with the most beautiful instrumental colors to his captivating interpretations. As a soloist he has performed with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Kiev, Camerata from St. Petersburg, Orchestral Ensemble of Paris, Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine, NHK Orchestra of Japan, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra from Venezuela, the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra and the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic, among many others. He has also given recitals in concert halls such as the Carnegie Hall in New York, Pleyel Hall in Paris, and the Opera City in Tokyo.

Serving as one of the founding members of the Simón Bolívar Brass Quintet, Flores has taken part in numerous tours around Europe, South America,

the United States and Japan. An experienced orchestral musician, he has held the Principal Trumpet position in the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Saito Kinen Orchestra from Japan, and the Miami Symphony Orchestra, under the musical direction of maestros like Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Seiji Ozawa, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Rafael Frübeck of Burgos, Eduardo Marturet and Gustavo Dudamel.

As founding Director of the Latin-American Trumpet Academy in Venezuela, Flores fosters a promising generation of young talents. Flores is extremely keen on promoting contemporary music, providing important contributions by means of the performance and interpretation of his instrument. His repertoire includes commissions and premieres of works by composers such as Roger Boutry, Efraín Oscher, Giancarlo Castro, Santiago Báez, Juan Carlos Nuñez and Sergio Bernal.

Recently Flores has carried out a concert tour across Norway and Austria with the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic under the direction of maestro and composer Christian Lindberg, interpreting Lindberg’s concerto Akbank Bunka for Trumpet and Orchestra, making his debut at the Fiestpielhaus of Salzburg and at the Musikverein of Vienna.

A Stomvi Artist, Flores plays instruments that have been exclusively manufactured for him by this renowned firm, and he is actively involved in the development and innovation of his instruments.

Flores is a Deutsche Grammophon exclusive artist with three recordings: Cantar with Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin and Christian Vásquez; Entropía, Gold Medal of the Global Music Awards; and Fractales with the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic and Christian Lindberg. 

MAKE YOUR MARK! The DONOR APPRECIATION WALL at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park™ is a permanent monument, celebrating the generous San Diegans who support the San Diego Symphony’s THE FUTURE IS HEAR campaign.

To learn more, visit SanDiegoSymphony.org/Donate/The-Future-is-Hear or email campaign@sandiegosymphony.org

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ABOUT THE MUSIC

Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major

Drip Blip Sparkle Spin Glint Glide Glow Float Flop Chop Pop Shatter Splash

JOHANN BAPTIST GEORG NERUDA

ANDREW NORMAN

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 15 minutes

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 4 minutes

Almost nothing is known about Johann Neruda, and every biography of him offers the same few facts.

Born in what is now the Czech Republic, he learned to play the violin as a boy and for some years made his living as a violinist in Prague. In 1750 he moved to Dresden, where he became the director of the court orchestra. He composed 18 symphonies, 14 concertos, chamber and sacred music and one opera. And that essentially is all that we know about him. Neruda came from the generation that grew up between Bach and Haydn, and his music reflects that – he wrote in what we know as the style galant. This “galant” style set aside the contrapuntal complexities of baroque music but preceded the firm classical style of Haydn and Mozart – it emphasized clear and appealing melodies, uncomplicated accompaniment and an elegant and courtly manner of expression.

Born October 31, 1979, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Born in Michigan, Andrew Norman grew up in Modesto, studied composition and piano at USC and Yale, and over the last 15 years has developed into one of the outstanding composers of his generation. He has been composer-in-residence with both the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and in 2017 he was named Musical America’s Composer of the Year. His 45-minute orchestral work Play (its brilliant “Level 1” movement performed in 2019 by the San Diego Symphony) received the Grawemyer Award as the outstanding orchestral composition of 2017, and his Sustain (premiered in 2018 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to open their centennial season) has been hailed as one of the most important recent works for orchestra.

Norman’s music is notable for his careful attention to sonority, its high energy level, and his awareness of the dynamics behind the notes – the way the parts of a composition interact, trigger each other, and develop in their own ways. Norman currently teaches at the USC Thornton School of Music.

Norman’s Drip Blip Sparkle Spin Glint Glide Glow Float Flop Chop Pop Shatter Splash shows another side of the composer – a sense of fun. The piece was commissioned in 2005 by the Minnesota Orchestra for their Young People’s Concerts, and it has become a popular curtain-raiser as well as a piece Norman uses when he makes educational visits to schools. Norman has spoken of his method in composing it: As I say to the kids who listen to this piece during school visits, the process of writing it was a bit like making a tossed salad. I chopped up sounds from the orchestra – one sound for each of the thirteen verbs in the title – and then I tossed them all together and called it a piece.

Only four minutes long, Drip is full of a madcap energy, which has led some to describe this music as “cartoonish” in its methods – it is full of starts and stops, pauses and then great explosions, sounds that leap between sections of the orchestra, bits and pieces that collide and spin off in new directions. All of this zany energy is achieved, of course, with very careful control, but the effect is of fizzing energy and a kaleidoscopic spin of different sounds.

No wonder it works so well as a curtain-raiser. 

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Born about 1707, Bohemia.

Died about 1780, Dresden.

Neruda originally wrote the Concerto in E-flat Major for the corno di caccia, a forerunner of the modern French horn, but it is usually played today on the trumpet (recordings exist of both versions). Both the horn and trumpet of Neruda’s era lacked the valves of modern instruments, and it would have taken stellar performers just to manage the notes of this concerto, let alone play them with the elegance and authority this music demands.

The Concerto in E-flat Major does away with the contrasts of instrumental groups of the baroque concerto grosso, but it is not built on the opposition of themes and keys of the classical concerto – in fact, all three movements of this concerto are in the home key of E-flat Major, and they are in the fastslow-fast sequence that we expect in a concerto. A long orchestral introduction precedes the entrance of the trumpet in the opening Allegro, and the soloist picks up the orchestra’s principal theme as it enters.

Much of the writing in this concerto is set very high in the trumpet’s range, and the music demands both great agility and the ability to sustain a long, lyric line. Neruda offers his soloist the opportunity for a cadenza here (and in the other two movements as well). The Largo begins with ornate and interweaving string lines, and once again the trumpet takes over these themes as it enters. This movement develops a hint of harmonic tension as it proceeds, but these clouds pass quickly, and courtly order prevails. The concluding Vivace forms a brisk finale. The soloist has a demanding part, the orchestral accompaniment remains clear (the two violin sections often play in unison in this movement), and this pleasing concerto drives to a firm conclusion.  S A N D IEGO SY MPH ON Y 2 021 -22 SE ASO N FEB RUA RY 2 02 2

PROGRAM NOTES | PAYARE LEADS TCHAIKOVSKY

Concerto venezolano (U.S. Premiere) PAQUITO D’RIVERA

Born June 4, 1948, Havana.

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 16 minutes The genesis of this flavorful, tropical and trumpetfilled work contains a multi-faceted symbiosis that pairs up and brings together two remarkable musicians. Paquito D’Rivera, a saxophone player and clarinetist, and Pacho Flores, a trumpeter, are bound by language, by the continent, by the Caribbean, by the breath of their instruments, and most of all, by a warm and extroverted personality that guarantees a fruitful and – undoubtedly – fun musical collaboration. What do these two great musicians have to say about Concerto venezolano (“Venezuelan Concerto”)? First, let’s hear from the composer, Paquito D’Rivera: It could be said that Pacho Flores came into the world with a trumpet (or several!) under his arm.

With a special gift for playing the trumpet, the man even married the daughter of a trumpet maker; as my mother used to say: “La yerba que está pa’ ti, no hay chivo que se la coma” (“The grass that is there for you, no goat is going to eat it”). When Pacho – who was born in Venezuela – asked me to write a symphonic piece for him, I didn’t hesitate to mix up elements that symbolized the lush majesty of the landscape of his beautiful South American country, the huge contrast between the tragedy that punishes its people today and the proverbial joy of its traditional music. At the soloist’s request, the piece is conceived as a fantasy in one movement.

In the middle, an almost childish merengue in quintuple time emerges and culminates in a very Cuban danzón, as a symbol of the legendary musical and human relationship between the fellow countrymen of Antonio Lauro and Ernesto Lecuona.

And the grand finale? In response to the dramatic introduction of the concerto, it couldn’t be anything other than a triumphant and optimistic joropo, as if foreshadowing the nearness of a much-deserved happiness for which “the Brave People” have fought so hard.

During a brief video interview where the composer and trumpeter rehearse the piece, talk about each other, and about relevant musical topics, Pacho Flores said: This is part of all this crazy stuff we are doing to promote the trumpet repertoire, especially with a great, legendary master such as Paquito D’Rivera, a jazz legend. Listening to him my whole life, he has been a great point of reference for me. And now it is a dream come true that he could write a trumpet concerto for me with all these innovations,

features, discoveries that we’ve made in order to bring the trumpet into concert halls. Paquito named this particular concerto “Venezuelan” because there’s a really important story behind it for him. Because I am Venezuelan, he always remembers his time in Venezuela and all the great Venezuelan masters such as Antonio Lauro, the master Antonio Estévez, Simón Díaz – and Paquito himself is a much loved person in Venezuela. This concerto is going to be an important part and a flagship work of my repertoire, and of the catalogue of new works that I’m taking around the world.

It is no secret to anyone that today Pacho Flores is a star in the world of trumpet, and what better person to acknowledge and appreciate that status than another great musician, Paquito D’Rivera, who has this to say about his colleague and friend: Pacho Flores is a special guy. He is not just a virtuoso… The word “virtuoso” scares me a little.

When we talk about a virtuoso, we talk about someone who can play a lot of notes and has no heart, and doesn’t need it either. But Pacho is something else. Pacho is a great artist with a tremendous feeling for playing the trumpet. He is a unique artist, with unique theories on how to play the trumpet, which for him is not one instrument but many.

After playing the merengue section that Paquito D’Rivera mentions in his description of the Concerto venezolano, the Venezuelan trumpeter asked the Cuban saxophone player: “And did you like the merengue?” The response couldn’t have been stronger: “You are the one that has to like it. You are the Venezuelan one!”  – Program note provided by Carlos Magán Fernández, ACM Management

Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36 PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Born May 7, 1840, Votkinsk, Russia.

Died November 6, 1893, St. Petersburg.

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 45 minutes

The Fourth Symphony dates from the most tumultuous period in Tchaikovsky’s difficult life, and its composition came from a moment of agony. When he began work on the symphony in May 1877, Tchaikovsky had for some years been tormented by the secret of his homosexuality, a secret he kept hidden from all but a few friends. As he worked on this score, one of his students at the Moscow Conservatory – a deranged young woman named Antonina Ivanovna Milyukova – Continued on page 22.

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PROGRAM NOTES | PAYARE LEADS TCHAIKOVSKY declared her love for him. Knowing that such a prospect was hopeless, Tchaikovsky put her off as gently as he could, but she persisted, even threatening suicide at one point. As fate would have it, Tchaikovsky was also at work on his opera Eugene Onegin at this time and was composing the scene in which the bachelor Onegin turns down the infatuated young Tatiana, to his eventual regret. Struck by the parallel with his own situation – and at some level longing for a “normal” life with a wife and children – Tchaikovsky did precisely the wrong thing for some very complex reasons: he agreed to Antonina’s proposal of marriage. His friends were horrified, but the composer pressed ahead and married Antonina on July 18, 1877. The marriage was an instant disaster. Tchaikovsky quickly abandoned his bride, tried to return, but fled again and made what we would today call a suicide gesture. He then retreated to St. Petersburg and collapsed into two days of unconsciousness. His doctors prescribed complete rest, a recommendation Tchaikovsky was only too happy to follow. He abandoned his teaching post in Moscow and fled to Western Europe, finding relief in the quiet of Clarens in Switzerland and San Remo in Italy. It was in San Remo – on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean and far from the chaos of his life in Moscow – that he completed the Fourth Symphony in January 1878.

The Fourth Symphony has all of Tchaikovsky’s considerable virtues – great melodies, primary colors and soaring climaxes – and in this case they are fused with a superheated emotional content. The composer’s friends guessed, perhaps inevitably, that the symphony had a program, that it was “about” something, and Tchaikovsky offered several different explanations of the content of this dramatic music. To his friend Serge Taneyev, Tchaikovsky said that the model for his Fourth Symphony had been Beethoven’s Fifth, specifically in the way both symphonies are structured around a recurring motif, though perhaps also in the sense that the two symphonies begin in emotional turmoil and eventually win their way to release and triumph in the finale. For his patroness, Madame Nadezhda von Meck, who had supplied the money that enabled him to escape his marriage, Tchaikovsky prepared an elaborate program detailing what his symphony “meant.” One should inevitably be suspicious of such “explanations” (and Tchaikovsky himself later suppressed the program), but this account does offer some sense of what he believed had shaped the content of his music.

The symphony opens with a powerful brass fanfare, which Tchaikovsky describes as “Fate, the inexorable power that hampers our search for happiness.

This power hangs over our heads like the sword of Damocles, leaving us no option but to submit.” The principal subject of this movement, however, is a dark, stumbling waltz in 9/8 introduced by the violins: “The main theme of the Allegro describes feelings of depression and hopelessness. Would it not be better to forsake reality and lose oneself in dreams?” This long opening movement (it is nearly half the length of the entire symphony) has an unusual structure: Tchaikovsky

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builds it on three separate theme-groups which evolve through some unusual harmonic relationships. Like inescapable fate, the opening motto-theme returns at key points in this dramatic music, and it finally drives the movement to a furious close: “Thus we see that life is only an everlasting alternation of somber reality and fugitive dreams of happiness.”

After so turbulent a beginning opening, the two middle movements bring much-needed relief. The contrast is so sharp, in fact, that Taneyev complained that these were essentially ballet music made to serve as symphonic movements; Taneyev may have a point, but after that scalding first movement, the gentle character of the middle movements is welcome. The Andantino, in ternary-form, opens with a plaintive oboe solo and features a more animated middle section. Tchaikovsky described it: “Here is the melancholy feeling that overcomes us when we sit weary and alone at the end of the day. The book we pick up slips from our fingers, and a procession of memories passes in review…”

The scherzo has deservedly become one of Tchaikovsky’s most popular movements. It is a tour de force for strings (which play pizzicato throughout), with crisp interjections first from the woodwinds and then from brass. Tchaikovsky makes piquant contrast between these quite different sounds, combining all his forces only in the final moments of the movement.

The composer notes: “There is no specific feeling or exact expression in the third movement. Here are only the capricious arabesques and indeterminate shapes that come into one’s mind with a little wine…”

Out of the quiet close of the third movement, the finale explodes to life. The composer described this movement as “the picture of a folk holiday” and said, “If you find no pleasure in yourself, look about you. Go to the people. See how they can enjoy life and give themselves up entirely to festivity.” Marked Allegro con fuoco, this movement simply alternates its volcanic opening sequence with a gentle little woodwind tune that is actually the Russian folktune “In the field there stood a birch tree.” At the climax, however, the fate-motto from the first movement suddenly bursts forth: “But hardly have we had a moment to enjoy this when Fate, relentless and untiring, makes his presence known.”

Given the catastrophic events of his life during this music’s composition, Tchaikovsky may well have come to feel that Fate was inescapable, and the reappearance of the opening motto amid the high spirits of the finale represents the climax – both musically and emotionally – of the entire symphony. This spectre duly acknowledged, Tchaikovsky rips the symphony to a close guaranteed to set every heart in the hall racing at the same incandescent pace as his music.  -Program notes by Eric Bromberger

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MUSIC CONNECTS The San Diego Symphony is coming to your neighborhood February–April for 14 FREE concerts of classical favorites! Designed for all ages, it's the perfect way to experience the San Diego Symphony and discover how music moves you.

FEBRUARY 2022 CONCERTS Saturday, February 12 at 11:00am and 12:30pm Foothills United Methodist Church, La Mesa

Saturday, February 19 at 11:00am and 12:30pm St. Brigid Parish, Pacific Beach

Saturday, February 12, 2022 at 7:30pm First Presbyterian Church of San Diego, Banker's Hill

Sunday, February 20, 2022 at 2:00pm Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, Cardiff

Stefano Sarzani, conductor

Conner Gray Covington, conductor

Ludwig van Beethoven: Overture to Coriolan, Op. 62 Louise Farrenc: Symphony No. 3 in G minor

Edward Elgar: Serenade in E minor, Op. 20 William Grant Still: Mother and Child Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425, Linz

Approx. concert length: 48 minutes

Approx. concert length: 46 minutes

For additional concert dates and information, or to reserve your tickets, visit www.SanDiegoSymphony.org/music-connects

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SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA RAFAEL PAYARE Music Director EDO DE WAART Principal Guest Conductor JAHJA LING Conductor Laureate

VIOLIN Jeff Thayer Concertmaster

DEBORAH PATE AND JOHN FORREST CHAIR

Wesley Precourt Associate Concertmaster Jisun Yang Assistant Concertmaster Alexander Palamidis Principal Second Violin Nick Grant Principal Associate Concertmaster Emeritus Hanah Stuart Acting Associate Principal Second Violin Ai Nihira Awata Jing Yan Bowcott Yumi Cho Hernan Constantino Alicia Engley Kathryn Hatmaker Angela Homnick Kenneth Liao Igor Pandurski Julia Pautz Yeh Shen Edmund Stein John Stubbs Pei-Chun Tsai Zou Yu Tommy Dougherty* Benjamin Hoffman* Nicole Sauder* Sarah Schwartz* VIOLA Chi-Yuan Chen Principal

KAREN AND WARREN KESSLER CHAIR

Nancy Lochner Associate Principal Wanda Law Qing Liang Abraham Martín Johanna Nowick Ethan Pernela Marcel Gemperli* Jason Karlyn* Michael Molnau*

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CELLO Yao Zhao Principal

TRUMPET Christopher Smith Principal

Chia-Ling Chien Associate Principal

John MacFerran Wilds Ray Nowak

Marcia Bookstein Andrew Hayhurst Richard Levine Mary Oda Szanto Nathan Walhout Xian Zhuo Anna Cho*

TROMBONE Kyle R. Covington Principal Logan Chopyk Kyle Mendiguchia BASS TROMBONE Kyle Mendiguchia

BASS Jeremy Kurtz-Harris Principal

OPHIE AND ARTHUR BRODY S FOUNDATION CHAIR

HARP Julie Smith Phillips Principal

Susan Wulff Associate Principal P. J. Cinque Samuel Hager Michael Wais Margaret Johnston+ Kathryn Bradley* Kaelan Decman*

TIMPANI Ryan J. DiLisi Principal

FLUTE Rose Lombardo Principal Sarah Tuck

Erin Douglas Dowrey Andrew Watkins

Andrew Watkins Assistant Principal PERCUSSION Gregory Cohen Principal

PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN Courtney Secoy Cohen

OBOE Sarah Skuster Principal

LIBRARIAN Rachel Fields

Rodion Belousov Andrea Overturf ENGLISH HORN Andrea Overturf

DR. WILLIAM AND EVELYN LAMDEN ENGLISH HORN CHAIR

CLARINET Sheryl Renk Principal Frank Renk BASS CLARINET Frank Renk BASSOON Valentin Martchev Principal

* Long Term Substitute Musician + Staff Opera Musician ˆ On leave

All musicians are members of the American Federation of Musicians Local 325.

Financial support is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and the County of San Diego.

Ryan Simmons Leyla Zamora CONTRABASSOON Leyla Zamora HORN Benjamin Jaber Principal Darby Hinshaw Assistant Principal & Utility Elyse Lauzon^ Tricia Skye Douglas Hall

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DININ G

BEYOND

THE BURRITO

From Bone Marrow and Birria to a Taste of Tulum, Mexican Cuisine in S.D. is Deliciously Diverse / by sarah daoust /

Tartare with dry-aged ribeye and osetra caviar at VAGA

COURTESY VAGA RESTAURANT & BAR

When Tuetano Taqueria —a quaint San Ysidro taco shop near the U.S.-Mexico border—became one of just five local restaurants to be recognized by the Michelin Guide as an “inspiring new discovery” in 2020—a national spotlight was shed upon one of San Diego’s better-kept secrets. Owner Priscilla Curiel was dishing out handmade tortillas filled with birria de res (a spicy beef stew), topped with roasted bone marrow— whose meaty butter was then scooped out and spread over it. Tuetano’s cult following expanded, along with many minds when it comes to the often-unsung creativity behind tacos and, for that matter, “Mexican food.”

The taqueria shuttered its San Ysidro location last fall and has reopened at Old Town Urban Market on Congress Street—alongside Mar Rustico, Curiel’s new Mexican seafood concept. (The ceviches are exceptional.)

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El MESíAS HANDEL'S MESSIAH FOR A NEW WORLD

March 18-20, 2022

Featuring a newly commissioned Spanish libretto, which shines a new light on this beloved work, and seeks to explore how our diverse communities access this music.

2021/22 NINETEENTH SEASON

Performances in San Diego & Tijuana Tickets: www.bachcollegiumsd.org

Feb 19

Dr. Ching-Ming Cheng

Mar 12

Tim Bluhm

Two Pianos, Four Hands

& The Coffi Brothers

Feb 26

David Castañeda

Fusions of Brazil, Cuba & U.S.

Discover In-Person & Virtual Concerts at MoMM! www.museumofmakingmusic.org (760) 438-5996

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“The Taco” at Camino Riviera, with tempura sea bass and edible gold leaf

Like Tuetano, other San Diego restaurants are putting their stamp on the diversity and deliciousness that is Mexican cuisine. Pushing past the mainstream in celebration of Mexico’s many different regions and recipes, eateries are offering dishes that pay homage to culture, geography, family and tradition— blending authenticity with creativity. Following are just a few—a mix of both new and established spots—whose menus marry familiar favorites with pleasant surprises.

In north Little Italy, former Mexican restaurant El Camino has been transformed into the new Camino Riviera—a dining experience operated by SDCM Restaurant Group

Transforming lives and nourishing San Diego communities since 2014!

JAMES TRAN

Our Culinary and Baking Apprenticeship Promotion and Graduation Ceremony, October 18, 2021 at The Rady Shell

(Kettner Exchange, The Waverly). Travel to the Yucatán Peninsula by way of executive chef Brian Redzikowski’s Tuluminspired menu, with most ingredients sourced locally.

Standout dishes include the lamb-shoulder barbacoa, “The Taco,” (tempura sea bass with edible gold leaf), and “corn” ice cream with corn streusel and popcorn for dessert. The hacienda-style decor is vibrant and sexy—featuring indoor/outdoor dining, a thatched-roof-style ceiling, glittering disco balls, lush tropical foliage, an interior courtyard, and a sultry vibe that echoes the Riviera Maya on a warm night.

Drive too quickly past its unassuming outpost in Golden Hill, and you might miss the magic

that is Birria El Rey. With a simple walkup window and a few outside tables, the eatery is small in frills but huge in heart and flavors. A recently expanded menu offers authentic, Tijuana-style birria that is loaded into burritos, tacos and tortas; plus specialties such as the “Birriamen” with shredded-beef birria and ramen noodles, and the cheesy “Quesabirria.”

Another favorite: the consommé. It’s flavor-packed liquid comfort. Slurp it or dip the “Quesataco” in it for extra gluttony worth the guilt.

In the heart of Mission Hills, La Puerta (a Gaslamp Quarter staple since 2008) has opened a second location; and it’s fun, casual and cool.

The cantina sings with

Apprenticeships in Culinary Arts, Pastry Arts and Hospitality Management offer fresh career opportunities to individuals overcoming adversity. Our skills training, support services and job placements truly transform lives.

We nourish our communities by preparing high-quality, nutritious, ready-to-heat-and-eat meals for San Diegans facing food insecurity. We package these alongside our wonderful volunteers to distribute county-wide each week.

Learn more about Where Food Changes Lives at www.kitchensforgood.org or call us at (619) 736-1876 Kitchens for Good is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.

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The San Diego Concert Band presents “Spring Bouquet of Music” April 5 at 7:00 p.m.

The Joan B. Kroc Performing Arts Theatre 6611 University Avenue San Diego, CA .Tickets available March 2022 online –

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www.SanDiegoConcertBand.com.

Sinaloa-style dishes and 100% pure, agave-tequila selections from both big-name brands and small-batch distillers.

The 4,000-square-foot space (formerly The Patio on Goldfinch) boasts ample patio dining, faux crocodile-skin booths, living plant walls, an adobe-style fireplace, and nostalgic, music-inspired artwork by Marc Sandoval.

La Puerta is known for its fresh-squeezed margaritas, high-quality familiar fare (street tacos, papas fritas, quesadillas), and one-pound burritos. But three signature dishes are especially worth the food-coma risk: the T.J. Dawg & Fries, with two bacon-wrapped turkey hot dogs; the Carnitas & Pancakes; and the Torta La Puerta with achiote pork, skirt steak, ham and jack cheese.

On the Mexican finedining front, Javier’s at Westfield UTC delivers.

The restaurant is an experience and destination unto itself—like stepping into a posh Mexican resort. Inside, a massive, rope-like light canopy glitters up from the center of the main bar and spans the ceiling of the lounge.

Eye candy abounds at every turn, with fire features, modern fountains, mosaic tiling, lush greenery and stylish patrons sipping margaritas. Dine on premium steaks, scallops,

February 12, 15, 18, 20m, 2022 San Diego Civic Theatre

COURTESY IMAGE

The elegant lounge at Javier's

Maine lobster enchiladas, Mexican prawns bathed in wine sauce and garlic butter, and arguably the best carnitas plate on this side of the border. Slowcooked, tender pork meat is pan-fried on the bone to crispy, golden perfection— served with corn tortillas.

At the Alila Marea Beach Resort in Encinitas, executive chef Claudette Zepeda—a San Diego native, Top Chef alum and James Beard “Best Chef West” semifinalist—is doing something special at VAGA Restaurant & Bar. While VAGA is not a “Mexican restaurant” per se, you’ll find nods to Zepeda’s Mexican heritage and extensive travels through the country in many dishes. In fact, “vaga,” which means “to roam or wander,” has been Zepeda’s nickname since she was a smallchild—used most often by her abuelita (grandmother), who shared her adventurous spirit. The menu reflects this love of

Così fan tutte WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Così fan tutte returns to the San Diego Opera stage after a 17 year absence in a new production!

Featuring an international cast of award-winning young stars.

FOR TICKETS, VISIT SDOPERA.ORG OR CALL (619) 533-7000

EXPERIENCE THE EXPRESSIVE POWER OF THE HUMAN VOICE Scan this QR code with the camera app on your smartphone for a sneak preview of Così fan tutte.

PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 13

Fresh offerings at Pure Taco

Indulge in Vitamin Sea Sally’s Fish House & Bar is San Diego’s go-to waterfront spot for fresh seafood, craft cocktails and California wines.

Just steps from Gaslamp Quarter, Sally’s offers beautiful marina views, dog-friendly patios and a full bar on San Diego Bay. Park at Grand Hyatt San Diego for 3 free hours when you dine at Sally's.

1 Market Place - Marina District (619) 358-6740 sallyssandiego.com

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wanderlust, blending local ingredients with flavors of Baja and beyond for a dining experience that is uniquely San Diegan.

This means dishes such as yellowtail crudo with fermented pineapple and spicy black-garlic sauce; scallops with macadamia nuts, chili oil, heirloom corn and roasted-plantain puree; and Baja sea bass with Marcona-almond basmati. Watch Zepeda in action in the open kitchen, while taking in postcardworthy ocean views.

For a modern, “global” taco shop experience, stop by Pure Taco—the elevated fast-casual concept by the cofounders of nearby Casero Taqueria in Carlsbad. The new spot offers a range of tacos that incorporate flavors from around the world, served on hand-pressed tortillas.

Selections include citrusbraised pork, green-curry shrimp, pho beef, Korean roast pork, traditional pastor and grilled mahi-mahi.

Or choose from burritos,

ARLENE IBARRA

Elevate Your Experience

ahi-poke nachos, salads and bowls (try the savory chicken-tikka-masala bowl); plus margaritas, palomas and local beers on tap. The decor is bright and airy, with colorful iron stools and artwork.

In Oceanside, be whisked away to Baja’s bourgeoning Valle de Guadalupe wine region with Valle—the new fine-dining restaurant by revered chef Roberto Alcocer. The flagship of the new beachfront Mission Pacific Hotel, Valle wows with northern Mexico fare and ocean views. Alcocer—who has worked in Michelinstarred kitchens and opened restaurants across Mexico—has dreamt up plates such as California sea urchin with roastedbone-marrow crème brûlée and cotija cheese; Baja-farmed abalone tacos with roasted cauliflower and fermented habanero; and Ensenada black cod with white garlic. A full bar spotlights agave cocktails and Baja wines.

personalized service | free delivery | centrally located

TORREYHOLISTICS.COM | 858-558-1420 10671 Roselle St. #100, San Diego, CA 92121

C10-0000242-LIC

PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 15

P A RTIN G TH OUGH T

reprogra mmed!

Performances Magazine unveils a digital program platform for shows and concerts

DROP DOWN MENU Table of app contents.

SEARCH Find whatever it is you want to know—easily.

REGISTER Stay arts-engaged, access past programs.

SIGN IN Link to your performing-arts companies and venues.

THE ESSENTIALS Acts, scenes, synopses, repertory and notes.

THE PLAYERS Bios and background for cast, crew and creators.

CONTRIBUTORS Donors and sponsors who make it all possible—you!

NO RUSTLING PAGES, no killing trees.... Of all the innovations to have come out of the pandemic, the new Performances program platform, accessed on any digital device, may be least likely to disappear in the foreseeable future.

Not only has its time come—it was long overdue.

Performances provides the programs for 20 SoCal performingarts organizations, from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Ahmanson to San Diego Opera, where the app made its debut.

16 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE

WHAT’S ON What’s coming at a glance and ticket information.

The touchless platform provides cast and player bios, donor and season updates and arts-centric features. Audiences receive a link and code word that instantly activate the app; QR codes are posted, too.

Screens go dark when curtains rise and return with the house lights.

Updates—repertory changes, understudy substitutions, significant donations—can be made right up to showtime, no inserts necessary.

Other features include video and audio streams, translations and expanded biographies.

For those who consider printed programs keepsakes, a limited number, as well as commemorative issues for special events, will continue to be produced. Collectibles!

Meanwhile, there will be less deforestation, consumption of petroleum inks and programs headed for landfills. For the ecologically minded, the platform gets a standing ovation.

Theaters and concert halls are reopening after a year-long intermission. The stage is set, excitement is mounting. Activate your link and enjoy the shows. —CALEB WACHS

Tickets Available

www.VanGoghSanDiego.com DEL MAR FAIRGROUNDS