|
|
|
Dear ALAN,
Summer is
almost here, and we are approaching the end of our 2012-2013 classics
season. But we still have one more marvelous concert to go before we
move on to our outdoor summer series. June 1st and 2nd bring
Debussy, Rodrigo, and Strauss to the California Theatre. Led by Maestro
Gregory Vajda, and featuring guitarist Jason Vieaux playing Rodrigo's
haunting dream of royal Spanish gardens, this will be a season finale
to remember.
Next season will be just as varied and full of magic, from Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique
in September to Beethoven's Eroica
in June. Be sure to check the information below and on our
website to see what we have planned for you in 2013-14.
I'll see you at the California Theatre.
Andrew Bales,
President
|
|
|
|
|
Richard Strauss's greatest tone poem is Ein Heldenleben, composed in 1898
when he was only 34. It was the last in a remarkable series of works
that established Strauss as a major presence in the orchestral music
scene. The music tells a vaguely autobiographical story of the
"Hero's" life journey, including battles with adversaries
(often thought to represent Strauss's critics), the Hero's companion
(more on that in a moment), the Battlefield, featuring clamorous
fanfares and military percussion, and finally the Hero's Works of Peace
and retirement from the world. In this last section Strauss
includes quotes from many of his other great works, including Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegel,
Death and Transfiguration, and Also sprach Zarathustra.
|
|
Christina
Mok, Symphony Silicon Valley Associate Concertmaster, comments on
performing Strauss's Ein
Heldenleben:
"We go on a journey together, the musicians and
the audience, and at the end of it, after we finish, it's almost as
if we have aged and become mature and wiser with the journey. That's
the feeling I get. Strauss's writing is absolutely incredible. He
uses the orchestra to its fullest, with such complicated
orchestration. Everything is carefully put together, and the result
is this enormous masterpiece. That's probably why it's a musician's
piece as well as an audience's piece."
Strauss described the third movement, titled "Des
Helden Gefährtin" (The Hero's Companion), as a portrait of his
wife, soprano Pauline de Ahna. De Ahna had sung Tristan und Isolde
under Strauss's baton in 1892 and performed in his own first opera, Guntram, in May
1894, four months before their wedding. She is represented here by
the virtuosic solo violin. "She is very complex," Strauss
wrote of de Ahna, "a trifle perverse, a trifle coquettish, never
the same, changing from minute to minute."
Christina shares her thoughts on preparing for this
spectacular solo:
"The solo demands enormous technique. It's not just these little
tunes I get to play; it's three or four pages long, just me, alone!
I'm portraying the wife of the hero, who is kind of emotionally
unstable. So that is what you hear in my playing: sometimes tender
and sometimes wild. It's a bit schizophrenic. I'm looking forward to
playing it. The solo is a great moment for any concertmaster, and the
piece as a whole is a wonderful experience for any performer. By the
end, I feel as though I've gone through a whole lifetime."
|
|
|
|
Ein Heldenleben violin solo
performed by Sergey Girshenko
|
|
|
A
Hero's Tale
June 1 & 2, 2013
California Theatre, San Jose, CA
Tickets Tickets $39-79
408-286-2600
|
|
|
|
2013-2014 SEASON
ANNOUNCED
|
|
It's not too late! Renew your season subscription today!
|
SEASON TICKET INFORMATION:
- Season
tickets on-sale today
- Buy
early for best seating
- Current
subscribers receive priority seating
- Single-show
tickets on sale August 26, at 10am
Current
subscribers should have received renewal packets in today's
mail. Didn't receive a renewal packet? No worries, just call
us! (408) 286-2600, ext. 23. Box office hours are Mon-Fri 10AM-5PM
|
|
2013-2014
SEASON
Subscribe
Today!
Season Tickets $148-$553
408-286-2600
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Hero's Tale
Saturday June 1, 8:00pm
Sunday June 2, 2:30pm
Tickets $39-79
Master classical guitarist Jason
Vieaux plays
Rodrigo's dream-filled Concierto de Aranjuez, followed by Richard Strauss' large-orchestra
showpiece Ein Heldenleben or A Hero's Life.
|
|
|
The Best of the British Romantics
Friday June 7, 8:00pm
Tickets $25
.
The Symphony Silicon Valley
Chorale presents a varied program at the Palo Alto United
Methodist Church. Music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten,
Edgar Elgar, and Will Todd.
|
|
|
Target Summer Pops
FREE!
Summer is almost here!
Picnics on the lawn, free ice cream and great music! This July,
Target Summer Pops, returns with Maestro Peter Jaffe and special
guests! What a show!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
About Symphony
Silicon Valley
|
|
Symphony Silicon Valley is the professional symphony
orchestra of San Jose. Founded in 2002, the nonprofit company has
progressed from a daring idea to rapidly become the greater South Bay's
premiere orchestra and a notable community success story. The
Symphony's artists, nationally recruited, locally resident, with an average
performance tenure in San Jose of over 20 years, are recognized as
among the best in the greater Bay Area. Led by an exciting roster
of distinguished guest conductors on the European model, the Symphony
is an anchor tenant of San Jose's magnificently restored downtown
California Theatre, one of Northern California's most outstanding music
halls. Symphony Silicon Valley is setting an example of an
innovative business model in the arts -- market driven and financially
conservative, with low overhead and the flexibility to match its
programming to its support base. Besides its core Classics
programming, the Symphony produces Target Summer Pops, a all-free music
festival held outdoors on the San Jose State University lawn every
summer. The five-concert festival is completely free, and brings
16,000 people out to enjoy the orchestra perform musical favorites in
relaxed, sociable, family-friendly surroundings. The Symphony also
manages ArtSPARK, a Santa Clara County-wide arts education program, and
performs a dozen free, high energy education concerts for 4th graders
each year.
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment