It will be a Stravinsky Circus! for La Jolla Symphony & Chorus’ upcoming season
By Linda Thompson
Picking his favorite program in the upcoming La Jolla Symphony and Chorus 2011-12 concert season is nearly an impossibility for Maestro Steven Schick. “I can’t say. It’s like saying which is your favorite kidney,” he quipped. Schick is passionate about the entire season ahead, which surveys the works of 20th-century composer Igor Stravinsky and is aptly christened “Stravinsky Circus!”
Steven Schick
For Schick, each of the concerts rises to “a life-changing artistic event.” That’s in part because of the intensity of the rehearsals and labor of love that his community musicians put into each performance.
“Stravinsky Circus! will present the many faces of Stravinsky,” Schick said. “You will hear the Stravinsky of the ballets in his ‘The Rite of Spring’ and ‘The Firebird,’ and you will hear some later works of reduced instrumentation of which ‘Les Noces,’ written for pianos, percussion and chorus, is a fabulous example. We will have ‘Symphony in C’ from his neoclassical period and ‘Ebony Concerto,’ in which he embraced jazz in a work written for the Woody Herman band. There is so much to choose from!”
It was two years ago that Schick decided Stravinsky’s compositions should be used for a concert series. “Stravinsky changed the musical world. He was as important to the 20th century as the music of the 19th-century masters was to theirs. In a way, he was the Beethoven of the modern era.”
In addition to Stravinsky, patrons will hear the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Verdi, and Mozart alongside contemporary composers David Lang and John Adams.
“Music belongs to a time and often to a place,” Shick said. “We believe in playing the music of and for our time, in addition to the great classic works.”
Schick, who begins his fifth season with the LJS&C, likens appreciating music to learning a language by listening; those who listen more gain a deeper understanding.
To enrich the LJS&C experience, pre-concert lectures given by program annotator Eric Bromberger, Choral Director David Chase, and Schick give patrons insight into the composers and their music. Audiences are invited to ask questions in these sessions to help bring perspective and understanding to the performances.
“When speaking about the music to a La Jolla Symphony and Chorus audience, I try to give them access — perhaps by providing some concepts or background information — without robbing them of the chance to listen for themselves. We encourage everyone to find their own pathway through the music.”
2011-12 Concert Program
October 29-30
Igor Stravinsky Symphonies of Wind Instruments
Claude Debussy Danse Sacrée et Danse Profane
Maurice Ravel Mother Goose Suite
Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
*** Guest Artist: Charissa Barger, harp (2010 Young Artists Winner)
December 3-4
Györgi Ligeti Poème Symphonique
Igor Stravinsky Les Noces
David Lang Grind to a Halt
Béla Bartók Cantata Profana
*** Guest Artists: Lux Boreal and Allyson Green dancers, red fish blue fish
February 11-12
Giuseppe Verdi Overture to La Forza del Destino
Nicholas Deyoe still getting rid of
John Adams The Wound Dresser
Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C Minor
March 17-18
W.A. Mozart Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Igor Stravinsky Symphony in C
Igor Stravinsky Ebony Concerto
Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C Major
May 5-6
Edvard Grieg The Last Spring
Robert Schumann Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major “Spring”
Benjamin Britten Spring Symphony
June 9-10
Igor Korneitchouk Tintinnabulation WORLD PREMIERE
Samuel Barber Piano Concerto
Igor Stravinsky The Firebird
*** Guest Artist: Aleck Karis, piano
If you go
What: ‘Stravinsky Circus!” La Jolla Symphony & Chorus, 2011-12 season
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays
Where: Mandeville Auditorium, UCSD
Pre-concert lectures: Hour prior to concert times, free for ticket-holders
Six-Concert Series: $58-$152
Single Tickets: $15-$29
Box Office: (858) 534-4637
Website: lajollasymphony.com
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- Next ‘Face the Music’ concert will engage ears, eyes … and noses
- Ravi Shankar, 91, will perform at California Center for the Arts
- La Jolla Music Society will bring the Vienna Philharmonic to San Diego
- California dreamin’ comes full circle in new ‘art’ album
- Farewell summer 2010
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