Under the baton of artistic director Jahja Ling, San Diego Symphony opened the 2006-2007 Jacobs’ Masterworks Series with a rousing program comprising two Schuman(n) works and one by Johannes Brahms, his Piano Concerto No. 1, performed by brilliant pianist Garrick Ohlsson.
The woman seated behind us iterated her preference for Schumann (Robert, 1810-1856) over Schuman (William, 1910-1992) to all comers” enough times to make one wonder what her criteria for detecting and therefore detesting “that modern music” are. No doubt it is the century that lies between the two men’s birth. Quite likely anyone born after 1900 still causes some intense displeasure. Does Stravinsky make the cut because he was born in 1882? Unlikely.
Was anyone else disturbed that the audience applauded between each movement of Schumann’s Symphony No. 2? It was conducted with finesse and subtlety by maestro Ling. The silence that should follow the poignant end of the adagio was totally spoiled. Until the adagio began, 45 minutes into the program, there had been no time for contemplation.
With its huge statements in the brass, William Schuman’s American Festival Overture got the year off to a grand start. It is so percussive, aggressive and optimistic, so American, so fresh. Ye gods, what’s not to like in the work of this neglected American composer?
Schumann and Brahms heightened the Romantic Era, and as a matter of fact, Brahms (1833-1897) was influenced by the older Schumann, whose advice he treasured. Ohlsson gave the Brahms piano concerto an excellent, fluid reading. His exemplary playing, whether delicate or bombastic, seems effortless. He is an artist to be cherished.
The Jacobs’ Masterworks Series continues this weekend with performances Oct. 19 at California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, (800) 988-4253, and Oct. 20-22 at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., (619) 235-0804. The program features Maestro Ling, violinist Glenn Dicterow, boy soprano Daniel Myers and the San Diego Master Chorale.
The orchestra performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 25, K. 183 in G minor. Dicterow joins them for Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. The women of the Master Chorale perform Franz Schubert’s Psalm 23 with the orchestra. Then Myers and the entire chorale join the orchestra in performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Chicester Psalms.”
At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, at Copley Symphony Hall, San Diego Symphony Winter Pops presents Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez.
For more information and tickets, call (619) 235-0804 or visit www.sandiegosymphony.com.