Tribute to Clara • Saturday September 21, 2019, 7:30PM
Hammer Theatre Center
Adam Marks, pianist
Quinn Mason Irish Dance Suite world premiere
Ludwig van Beethoven Leonore Overture no. 1, op. 138
Clara Schumann Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, op. 7
David Avshalomov Sinfonietta world premiere
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Divertimento, Intermezzo, and Gavotte from Suite no. 1 in D minor, op. 43
Points of interest:
Clara Schumann was born Sept. 13, 1819. She was a superb pianist and also highly regarded as a composer at a time when women were discouraged from composing music. We celebrate her 200th birthday!
David Avshalomov follows in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who were also composers. His Sinfonietta depicts his view of how life on earth will end.
A resident of Dallas, Texas, Quinn Mason has been composing music since he was 10. The Dallas Symphony commissioned a work from this young African American to be premiered this September.
Mother Nature Speaks • Saturday November 2, 2019, 7:30pm
Hammer Theatre Center
Michael Mizrahi, pianist
Adrienne Albert Interiors
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 1, op. 15
Felix Mendelssohn A Midsummer’s Night Dream
Gustav Mahler Blumine (What the Flowers Tell Me)
Johannes Brahms Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn, op. 56a
Points of interest:
Mendelssohn was only 17 when he wrote an overture inspired by the fairies, elves, and forest spirits of Shakespeare’s play.
Mahler originally included Blumine as the second movement of his Symphony no. 1.
Before beginning composing her own music in the 1990s, Adrienne Albert enjoyed a long career as a singer working with composers including Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, Philip Glass, and Gunther Schuller.
Pathways to Love • Saturday February 15, 2020, 7:30pm
San Jose First United Methodist Church
Dolores Ferraro, soprano
Charlie Barnett Three Completely Workable Perpetual Motion Devices
Romeo Cascarino Pathways to Love
Gioachino Rossini Overture to Tancredi
Linda Robbins Coleman For a Beautiful Land
Antonín Dvořák Czech Suite, op. 39
Points of interest:
Romeo Cascarino wrote eight charming songs for his wife, Dolores Ferraro, who will perform them in celebration of Valentine’s Day.
One of Linda Robbins Coleman’s works, In Good King Charles’s Golden Days, has been performed and broadcast over 100 times in the U.S. and abroad
Charlie Barnett has written scores for film and television, including Saturday Night Live. He plays piano and guitar for an eclectic jazz band, Chaise Lounge.
C A N C E L L E D
Wildfires and Heroes • Saturday April 4, 2020, 7:30pm
Hammer Theatre Center
Rufus Olivier, bassoonist
Benjamin Britten Simple Symphony, op. 4
Leslie LaBarre Wildfires from California Suite world premiere
Marc Fish The Once-ler’s Tale for Bassoon and Orchestra world premiere
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony no. 3 in E-flat, op. 55, “Eroica”
Points of interest:
California’s recent wildfires made such an impression on Leslie LaBarre, she wrote a movement about them in her California Suite.
Beethoven originally planned his third symphony as an homage to Napoleon when he thought Napoleon was a champion of equality and individual freedom.
As a child, Britten loved to spend time writing music. He wrote some of his melodies for Simple Symphony when he was only eleven, and completed the work at the age of 21.