Reviews

Music lovers, the classical seasons begin soon, so it's time to give your calendars sparkling options for the concerts of 2023-2024. Here are programs of two of our longest running presenters: Monterey Symphony and Carmel Music Society.

Ogren's 'Music and Landscape'

Majestic landscapes of our Central Coast give their names to programs of the Monterey Symphony's 2023-2024 season beginning with Ventana, the wilderness in Big Sur.  Conductor Jayce Ogren leads the orchestra in his second cycle of concerts since being named the ensemble's music director. His appreciation of the natural beauty of the region draws our attention to these special places as he pairs them with his musical choices.

Like the geological Ventana, Ogren says that his first program provides both a window into the Symphony's season and into composers' use of folk melodies of their countries of origin. In October's program (Oct. 7-8), this element is shown in Copland's "Variations on a Shaker Melody" and Glinka's "Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla." Australian composer Percy Grainger's Colonial Song was written as a tribute to the Australian countryside.

Also on this program is the music of 21st-century composer Mason Bates, who incorporates elements of American vernacular music, blues, jazz and techno, in his lively cello concerto featuring Joshua Roman, the soloist for its premier in 2014. The concert concludes with Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra.

On Nov. 18-19, guest conductor Andrew Grahms leads the orchestra in the concert named "Pfeiffer," which translates to whistler.  Composer Anne Clyne borrows from a Scottish fiddle tune and draws inspiration from her experiences in Edinburgh for her piece "Pivot." Also on the program are Franz Liszt's "Les Preludes" and Brahms's violin concerto, which paid homage to Hungarian folk style and his friend and collaborator, the Austro-Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim. Monterey Symphony concertmaster Christina Mok will be featured in this concerto. A side note about this program is that it will be a part of the inaugural California Festival, a celebration of new music that includes 50 other organizations, among them the LA Phil and the San Francisco Symphony.

February's concert (Feb. 18-19) showcases Palo Corona, meaning Crown Tree. Ogren says this concert is about transformation, transcendence, and overcoming personal setbacks. It features Weber's "Overture to Der Freischütz," Jennifer Higdon's "Blue Cathedral" and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.  According to Ogren, each of these pieces reflects connections between the natural and supernatural worlds. This concert also features the world premiere of Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Monterey Symphony composer-in-residence John Wineglass with pianist Lara Downes.

On March 16 and 18, Santa Lucia, for whom the mountain range was named, was famous for lighting her way to Christians hiding in Roman catacombs by wearing a candlelit wreath on her head. Ogren compares this program to the artistic technique of chiaroscuro — light and shadow. The program features Mozart's "Overture to Don Giovanni," George Walker's "Lyric for Strings," and the West Coast premiere of David Robertson's "Light Forming," honoring relationships full of light and others that are full of darkness. The concert showcases pianist Orli Shaham in "Light Forming" and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor.

April 20- 21 brings to us Loma Prieta, the peak located just north of Monterey County that was the epicenter of the 1989 earthquake. Like the quake that disrupted so many lives, the music of this program concerns loss. Ogren conducts Adolphus Hailstork's "Epitaph to a Man Who Dreamed," honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.; the Benjamin Britten "Serenade for Tenor, Horns, and Strings;" Arvo Pärt's "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten;" and Vaughan Williams's Pastoral Symphony No. 3 about fallen soldiers in World War I.

The program named Pinnacles closes out the season on May 18-19, bringing to mind its craggy and otherworldly ridges that were formed around 23 million years ago.  Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 was composed during his brief courtship of Alma Schindler in 1901 before their marriage in 1902. The symphony has moments of cragginess and melancholy but finishes with joy and celebration.

For tickets and information see www.montereysymphony.org or call 831-646-8511.