Description

California Symphony’s season finale concerts feature Rachmaninoff's dazzling piano concerto, Borodin's dramatic symphony, and a world premiere. The performances include the third and final commission for the California Symphony by Resident Composer Saad Haddad, whose music explores the relationship between the West and the East and has been praised by The New York Times for “achiev[ing] a remarkable fusion of idioms.” 

Sofya Gulyak, First Prize winner of the 2009 Leeds International Piano Competition, takes on one of the most celebrated and challenging concertos ever written – Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 – often called the “Mount Everest” of piano concertos for its legendary degree of difficulty. The concerts conclude with Alexander Borodin’s Symphony No. 2, composed intermittently between 1869 and 1876 due to the demands of the composer’s primary career as a chemist and physician. The work is filled with dramatic energy and rich melodies inspired by Russian folklore – a bold, heroic sound that combines mighty rhythms with lush orchestral textures.

California Symphony takes the stuffiness out of the concert experience: Take selfies at the photo booth, order a signature cocktail, and sip at your seat. Tickets include a free 30-minute pre-concert talk by award-winning instructor Scott Foglesong, starting one hour before the show.