Reviews

Hey! Coming our way, back-to-back Mozart, folks! Monterey Symphony's Concert Grand program #4 features guest conductor Connor Gray Covington and pianist Michael Davidman in a March Mozart madness St. Patrick's Day weekend. The overture to "Don Giovanni" opens the program followed by "Piano Concert No. 21 in C major," the Jupiter Symphony, and his very first symphony, written when he was an 8-year-old wunderkind. Audiences will especially enjoy the concerto for its gorgeous Andante movement that has become a beloved familiar work on its own in recent decades.

Programming the Jupiter Symphony No. 41, Mozart's final symphony, alongside his first symphony offers an intriguing opportunity to understand the composer's nascent genius and how it evolved over a lifetime.

Covington, recently appointed assistant conductor of the Utah Symphony, is completing his tenure as the Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He recently made his debut with the Curtis Symphony at Carnegie Hall.

New Yorker Davidman began his piano studies at the age of 5 at the Manhattan School of Music. He has attended the Curtis Institute of Music and has also studied conducting.

Davidman has performed at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, among other distinguished concert venues in this country and has appeared in recitals in Italy, Spain, and Russia.

Concerts will be performed at the Sunset Center in Carmel at 8 p.m. on Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays. The symphony's Preview Luncheon will take place at the Hyatt in Carmel Highlands on March 15.

You might also enjoy the pre-concert soiree on the terrace at Sunset Center on March 17 from 6:30-8 p.m., with hors d'oeuvres, wines and the jazz sounds of Danny Gerz and Friends.

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