Dvořák’s New World Symphony

We went to the Pacific Symphony's Sunday Matinee concert!  :)

The Saturday night performance will broadcast on Classical KUSC on February 10, 2019.

Music director Carl St.Clair conducted with Soprano Michaela Vaughn.

Škroup/Kajetán Tyl:  National Anthem of the Czech Republic "Kde domov můj" "Where is My Home?"

Smith/Scott Key:  National Anthem of the United States "Star-Spangled Banner"

DVOŘÁK:  Symphony No. 9 in E Minor“From the New World”

This was also celebrating the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia's independence.

The concert started off with the national anthem of both the Czech Republic and the USA.  Ambassador Pavol Šepeľák from Czech gave a speech, and Dr. Hana Ayala gave a presentation of Pangea World.  I learned that Czechoslovakia and USA had many ties since inception.  Czechoslovakia became independent exactly 100 years ago, on October 28, 1918.  Their constitution was published in Philadelphia, an their first president's wife was from Brooklyn, NY!

Rach 3 & Boléro

We went to the first concert of the Pacific Symphony's 2018-2019 classical concert series!  :)

Listen to Alan Chapman's preview on SoundCloud.

The Saturday night performance will broadcast on Classical KUSC on February 3, 2019.

Music director Carl St.Clair conducted with pianist Olga Kern.

FRANK Ticheli:  Shooting Stars

Rachmaninoff:  Piano Concerto No. 3

Mozart:  Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola

Ravel:  Boléro

The Boléro piece was played with a video showing footage of the 40 years of the Symphony.  It was perfectly in synch with the music.  Very good job, Jeffery Sells!  :)

We also went to the Sunday concert.

Olga Kern was amazing as the Saturday concert, a very powerful Rachmaninoff.

If the fact that she wore a different dress on the concert wasn't amazing enough, she also played different pieces for the encore.  On Saturday, it was a virtuosic piece by Mussorgsky.  On Sunday, it was the Flight of the Bumblebee.  I don't know how she can do that right after a Rach 3!

She noted that she never felt the piece to be difficult, maybe because she was experiencing it before she was born.  Her mother was playing it when Olga was still in the womb!

You can sample Olga's piano on Amazon!  :)