The season opens with a virtuosic performance of Brahms's beloved violin concerto, played by the 2022 Conservatory Concerto Competition winner. This romantic masterpiece is followed by Stravinsky's primal and percussive ballet The Rite of Spring. Join us in the lower lobby at 6 pm for an intimate pre-concert conversation with guest conductor Roderick Cox and Martin Beaver, violin faculty and the soloist's teacher.
BRAHMS Violin Concerto STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
In this evening of manic melodies, the frenzied energy felt in Shostakovich's first cello concerto is paired with the dark and turbulent power of Brahms’ Symphony No. 4. The program also features a contemporary piece by Elizabeth Ogonek as part of the California Festival: A Celebration of New Music, a two-week state-wide music initiative showcasing the most compelling and forward-looking voices in performances of works written in the past five years.
ELIZABETH OGONEK Moondog SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1 BRAHMS Symphony No. 4
Beethoven’s striking incidental music for Goethe’s Egmont opens this program of rich orchestral color. The somber sound of the viola then takes center stage for a chromatic concerto by Bartók, which leads into the evening’s grand finale: Rachmaninoff’s nostalgically romantic Third Symphony.
BEETHOVEN Egmont BARTÓK Viola Concerto RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3
This vibrant program opens with a colorful yet rarely-heard violin concerto by Karl Goldmark. That romantic spirit continues with Mahler’s weighty “Titan” Symphony, which takes listeners on an idyllic jaunt through nature before ending with an intense battle and ultimate victory.
GOLDMARK Violin Concerto No. 1 MAHLER Symphony No. 1
This intimate concert of Baroque and Classical favorites centers around a charming and operatic double concerto for flute. Rounding out the program are selections from Handel’s regal Water Music and Mozart’s solemn 40th Symphony, one of only two he wrote in a minor key.
HANDEL Selections from Water Music CIMAROSA Concerto for Two Flutes MOZART Symphony No. 40
In a program of grandeur fitting for Walt Disney Concert Hall, two monumental 20th century works take centerstage: Prokofiev’s powerful second piano concert and Shostakovich’s crowd-pleasing fifth symphony. A fast-paced work by Colburn’s Director of Conducting opens the concert.
ESA-PEKKA SALONEN Helix PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
Under the baton of conductor Elias Brown, soloists from the Conservatory perform concerto movements with the Colburn Orchestra. This performance will be livestreamed.