Pacific Masterworks Chorus, Dr. Arthur Barnes, Dr. Greg Lyne

Beethoven, Wagner, and Sibelius

Sat, Dec 3, 2011 at 8:00pm ♦ $10-$28

Wagner: Overture to Rienzi
Beethoven: Choral Fantasy
- » featuring Ben Malkevitch, piano
- » and The Pacific Masterworks Chorus
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2

Dr. Arthur Barnes (bottom-left photo) and the orchestra open the season with three works by musical giants. Richard Wagner’s overture to Rienzi was written for an opera which celebrates a champion of the Roman people. For the Choral Fantasy of Ludwig van Beethoven, the orchestra will be joined by piano soloist Ben Malkevitch and the Pacific Masterworks Chorus. The Choral Fantasy is a unique mix of solo piano, orchestra, and voice which bears a striking resemblance to the Ode to Joy in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and speaks of “when love and strength are united.” The Symphony No. 2 of Jean Sibelius, once called “a struggle between death and salvation” by the composer, became a symphony of liberation in the hearts of his Finnish countrymen.

Pianist Ben Malkevitch is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music with a master's degree in Collaborative Piano.

The Pacific Masterworks Chorus is directed by Dr. Greg Lyne (bottom-right photo) and embraces a wide repertoire ranging from works of the a cappella tradition through accompanied compositions including choral masterworks.

Something for Everyone

Sat, Feb 11, 2012 at 8:00pm ♦ $10-$28

Smetana: Vltava (The Moldau)
Saint-Saëns: Danse Macabre
Dvořák: Wind Serenade
Davies: Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise
Debussy: Premiere Rhapsodie
- » featuring Clifford Tam, clarinet
- » Winner 2011–2012 Competition for Young Musicians
Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18
- » featuring Christine Xu, piano
- » Winner 2011–2012 Competition for Young Musicians

The two winners of the Symphony’s annual Competition for Young Musicians will be featured soloists on this program which provides special treats for music lovers of every persuasion. The Moldau of Bedřich Smetana portrays a waterway’s inspiring transformation from 2 tiny springs to a noble river. A solo violin leads the orchestra in a nocturnal dance of death in the Danse macabre of Camille Saint-Saëns. The orchestra’s wind players will be highlighted in the sparkling spontaneity of the Wind Serenade of Antonin Dvořák. The popular Orkney Wedding with Sunrise by Peter Maxwell Davies brings to life a spirited, all-night marriage celebration complete with bagpipes.

Home from NY: Laura Hamilton

Sat, Mar 24, 2012 at 8:00pm ♦ $10-$28

Wagner: Overture to The Flying Dutchman
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
- » featuring Laura Hamilton, soloist
Dvořák: Symphony No. 6

Laura Hamilton, member of the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and former Livermore resident, comes home to play the Mendelssohn violin concerto. This famous composition ushered violin concerti repertoire into the Romantic era with its lyrical intensity and structural innovations and has long been a standard by which violinists are measured.

The evening opens with the raging storm of Richard Wagner’s overture to The Flying Dutchman. Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6 blends German influences designed to please Viennese audiences with expressions of his own Czech nationalism to produce a mature work which would surely be as well known as his New World symphony if it had been tagged with an equally catchy nickname.

Guest Maestro: Lara Webber

Sat, May 12, 2012 at 8:00pm ♦ $10-$28

Beethoven: Symphony No. 1
De Falla: El Sombrero de Tres Picos
Franck: Symphony in D Minor

Maestro Lara Webber, former associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony and current Livermore resident, is guest conductor for an evening of contrasting and distinctive musical styles.

The program opens with the work Ludwig van Beethoven called his Grande Simphonie. Its surprising opening and allegro molto e vivace sprint to the finish launched a musical revolution.

Selections from Manuel De Falla’s El Sombrero de Tres Picos (Three-Cornered Hat) will whisk the audience away to a village in Spain.

César Franck’s Symphony in D Minor provides dual pleasures of cyclical construction and melodic richness bringing the evening to a close with one of the most ear-catching tunes of the symphonic repertoire.