October 8, 2009
55th Season Opens with San Diego Premiere, Bartok and Beethoven
La Jolla, Calif. (October 8, 2009) — On the weekend of October 31-November 1, La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) opens its 55th season with a celebration of songs and dances, offering wonderful examples of each. Bartok’s lively Romanian Folk Dances and Beethoven’s quintessential invitation to the dance, his Seventh Symphony, frame a program that includes three beautiful songs by Argentinean-Israeli-American composer Osvaldo Golijov and Bartok’s white-hot Miraculous Mandarin Suite.
Hungarian composer Béla Bartók is considered one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. Romanian Folk Dances is a suite of six short pieces originally for piano, composed in 1915 and orchestrated two years later. It is based on Romanian fiddle melodies from Transylvania, ranging from bagpipe music to graceful and haunting sonorities. Miraculous Mandarin Suite is a collection of music from Bartók’s ballet of the same title, composed between 1918 and 1924. The music is as lush and colorful as the ballet’s story of seduction and murder.
Osvaldo Golijov was born in Argentina in 1960 of Israeli heritage, and now calls the United States home. His Three Songs for Soprano & Orchestra, a San Diego premiere, will be performed by Grammy-award winning soprano Susan Narucki in her debut with the orchestra.
“Golijov’s songs are really love songs: addressed in Yiddish in the first song to the memories of his childhood; to his love for the simple melodies of early music in the second song; and in the beautiful finale, to the memory of a friend,” say Music Director Steven Schick, who conducts this concert. “We are very pleased to welcome Susan Narucki, professor of voice at UC San Diego, as our soloist. This will be a performance you will not soon forget.”
Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony was premiered in Vienna in 1813, and its appeal is easy to understand. Beethoven himself called it “one of the happiest products of my poor talents.” This powerful symphony with its ringing energy concludes the program.
The performances take place Oct. 31–Nov. 1, 2009 in Mandeville Auditorium at UCSD. Concert times are 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. Individual tickets are $29 general, $26 senior (65+), and $15 student. Group discounts are available. Parking is free. A pre-concert lecture is offered one hour prior to concert times. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the LJS&C office at (858) 534-4637.
