“Fantasy & Fate” featuring Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Austin Huntington
And Austin Huntington performing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1
Hot off a wildly successful opening concert that left audiences and critics thirsty for more, the Santa Cruz County Symphony’s new maestro, Daniel Stewart will re-introduce local music-lovers to the most well-known masterpiece ever composed – Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony – on Saturday, November 16 at 8:00 pm at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium with an encore matinee performance on Sunday, November 17 at 2:00 pm at Watsonville’s Mello Center for the Performing Arts.
The concert opens with Maurice Ravel’s enchanting Ma mère l’oye – the Mother Goose suite. This musical collection of French fairy tales brings to life Ravel’s strong desire to reflect the magical world of childhood fantasy in music. The wondrous joy of Ma mère l’oye is truly contagious, and invites audiences to indulge in their secret worlds of imagination.
The Symphony then welcomes to the stage cellist Austin Huntington, winner of the MUICCAS, MTNA, Stulberg and Irving M. Klein International String Competitions. Austin made his solo orchestral debut at the age of 10 and has performed a guest artist with the Indianapolis Symphony, the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, the Peninsula Symphony and the Marin Symphony. He’s performed at Music in the Vineyards and has collaborated with artists including Itzhak Perlman and Gustavo Dudamel. Austin will perform Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in Eb major, an incredibly challenging, but soulful work that is perhaps the most popular cello concerto of the 20th Century.
Everyone knows the theme of Beethoven’s Fifth. While the simple yet profound eloquence of the work’s first 8 notes is probably unparalleled in classical music, there there is far, far more to this masterpiece than the familiar “Duh-duh-duh Dah…” The heart-stopping introduction opens a world of impassioned musical complexity that has reached deep into the hearts of countless listeners around the world over two centuries, and signaled the dawn of a new era in classical music. This transformative work promises to grip you in a raw primal way and transport you to another world. Through his fifth symphony Beethoven illustrates the emotional realm of the human condition in all its glory and adversity. As Beethoven himself said of the work’s theme, “Thus fate knocks at the door…”
Maestro Daniel Stewart
“Fantasy & Fate” Concert Saturday, November 16 at 8:00 pm at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium with an encore matinee performance on Sunday, November 17 at 2:00 pm at Watsonville’s Mello Center for the Performing Arts.
Free pre-concert talks take place before both performances: at 7 PM in the Civic Auditorium, prior to the Saturday evening concert; and at 1 PM in the Watsonville Mello Center, prior to the Sunday matinee concert. The Pre-concert talks are free and open to all concertgoers.
Tickets: Single tickets ($22-$67) are now on sale: 831.420.5260 or SantaCruzTickets.com
2013/14 Symphony Season Tickets are available by calling 462-0553, ext. 10.
Student Rush: On the day of the concert, bring a Student ID to the box office between 6:30-7:30pm at the Civic Box Office or to the Mello Box Office between 12:30-1:00, and pay just $10!
Season Sponsors: Dorothy Wise, Rowland & Pat Rebele and the Symphony League of Santa Cruz County generously sponsor The 2013/14 season. Concert Sponsors: The “Fantasy & Fate” concerts are made possible with support from Barbara Canfield and by the Mello Music Makers.
More information about the symphony: Visit SantaCruzSymphony.org