Reviews
Monterey Symphony examines mortality and saying farewell in 'Loma Prieta'
Monterey Symphony conductor Jayce Ogren. (Photo courtesy of Monterey Symphony)
Music director Jayce Ogren describes Monterey Symphony's fifth concert of the season as a program of introspection and mortality. Consistent with the Symphony's naming of each concert after a prominent natural peak in our region, the April offering is titled "Loma Prieta;' best known now as the epicenter of the devastating 1989 earthquake located just north of Monterey County. Ogren says the music reflects themes of loss that, like this quake, disrupted so many lives. He goes on to say, "In this singular, transformative concert experience, the Monterey Symphony will present four pieces about saying farewell:'
The program will feature works by Adolphus Hailstork, Benjamin Britten, Arvo Part and Vaughan Williams. '"Hailstork's Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed' is a moving tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr;' says Ogren. "Britten's wistful Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings features our superb principal horn, Daniel Nebel, as well as star tenor Sean Panikkar, who has sung at the world's great opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera. Next comes Arvo Part's Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten.
"Finally, the centerpiece of the concert is Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 3, Pastoral. It is a tribute to the beautiful landscape of northern France and the soldiers who died there during World War I. It is an elegiac program, yet there is an ineffable beauty in each piece that breathes life into the spaces they inhabit:'
Poignantly, the two April concerts will be dedicated to Steve Friedlander, the muchloved executive director of the Carmel Bach Festival, who died unexpectedly last month.
The Loma Prieta program takes place at Carmel's Sunset Center on April 20 at 7:30 p.m. and April 21 at 3 p.m. Pre-concert lectures are included with the Symphony ticket and are held in the main concert hall an hour before each performance and last approximately 30-minutes. For tickets and more information see www.montereysymphony.org (831) 646-8511. Special rates are available for students, teachers and active-duty military.