A flight of fancy inspired by the great outdoors, the music on this program evokes soaring larks, clucking hens, a mystical swan, and the wafting sounds of birdsong from the Bohemian countryside.
California Symphony presents TAKE FLIGHT at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 7:30pm and Sunday, Jan. 30 at 4pm, featuring:
Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending
Haydn – Symphony No. 83 (The Hen)
Sibelius – Swan of Tuonela
Dvořák – Symphony No. 8
Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending
“Quintessentially English” and yet with global appeal, 20th century English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending for solo violin and orchestra was completed in 1920, after WWI.
When a New York public radio station asked listeners what they’d like to hear on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, The Lark Ascending came second only behind Barber’s Adagio.
California Symphony Concertmaster and soloist on the TAKE FLIGHT program Jennifer Cho says “When I play The Lark Ascending, I can almost smell the forest and fresh air from a higher elevation. Rather than simply evoking a lark, I think Vaughan Williams succeeds in capturing the feeling of what it’s like to be one.”
Haydn – Symphony No. 83 (The Hen)
Friend and mentor to Mozart and a tutor to Beethoven, Franz Joseph Haydn is lauded as the “Father of the Symphony.” His Symphony No. 83 (The Hen) is full of irony and conflict and derives its name from a fowl-like “clucking” heard from a rhythmic motif in the first movement.
Sibelius – Swan of Tuonela
“Tuonela, the land of death, the Hell of Finnish mythology, is surrounded by a large river with black waters and a rapid current, on which the Swan of Tuonela floats majestically, singing.” The Kalevala, an epic work from Finnish mythology, informs this evocative tone poem by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
Program annotator Scott Foglesong writes “A solo English horn (representing the swan) enters into dialog with solo cello and viola over somber strings. Even if a brief ray of sunlight (harp) breaks through the murk, it’s not long before the forlorn darkness returns and the swan swims off into the fog.”
Dvořák – Symphony No. 8
Symphony No. 8 is cheerful and draws its inspiration from the Bohemian folk music that Dvořák loved. The less famous sibling of Symphony No. 9 (The New World Symphony,) the eighth is considered one of the composer’s greatest achievements.
California Symphony presents TAKE FLIGHT at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 7:30pm and Sunday, Jan. 30 at 4pm. Music Director Donato Cabrera leads a free, 30-minute pre-concert talk for ticket holders, starting an hour before each show. You can also visit with Lindsay Wildlife Experience animal ambassador Houston the Barred Owl in the lobby before concerts.
Main floor tickets start at $44 and $20 for students 25 and under with valid Student ID.
