Cal Symphony finding new keys to success
Contrary to popular belief, the Bay Area’s classical music scene is alive, well and thriving. For examples, look no further than the California Symphony.
One of the reasons is music director Donato Cabrera, who joined the organization in 2013 after posts as resident director of the San Francisco Symphony and music director of the San Francisco Youth Orchestra. The other is executive director Aubrey Bergauer, who came on board the following year after successes at Seattle Opera and the Bumbershoot Festival. Together, they’ve partnered in a number of initiatives that have made the symphony a model for other regional orchestras.
“It’s been phenomenal,” Cabrera remarked in an interview last week. “We both have the sense of the possibilities of what can be achieved. Aubrey and I share a like-mindedness in what we feel is really important for an orchestra and how it should fit into the community.”
Among their achievements, Cabrera and Bergauer have made an official commitment to diversity, a drive to attract new audiences and an expansion of repertoire that includes women composers and artists of color. Bergauer’s Orchestra X program drew first-time classical music attendees. Sound Minds, the organization’s longtime education arm, has made inroads in Bay Area schools. This year, the symphony
launched Fresh Look: The Symphony Exposed. Funded by a grant from the League of American Orchestras, the adult education course reached full capacity in its first outing.
Still, much of an orchestra’s success depends on the music it plays, and Cabrera has proven an especially adept programmer. His concerts have attracted new audiences and kept established ones faithful. Last season saw record-breaking attendance.
This weekend, Cabrera opens the 2018-19 season — his sixth as music director — with a program reflecting some of his ideals. The Sunday afternoon concert opens with Bernstein’s
Overture to “Candide” and includes the composer’s Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story.” Pianist Charlie Albright returns as soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Gabriela Lena Frank’s Three Latin-American Dances for Orchestra completes the program.
Orchestras have been honoring Bernstein’s centenary for more than a year, but Cabrera said, “I’ve sort of been waiting in the wings. We’re performing some of his most beloved pieces, but the program celebrates Bernstein as a music director by showcasing an amazing young talent like Charlie Albright — a phenomenal
pianist but also a great musical citizen.”
Albright is still in his 20s, notes Cabrera, but he’s already established a scholarship for young musicians in his Centralia, Washington, hometown.
“To give back like this is a great testament to him,” Cabrera said.
Cabrera also has high praise for the Berkeleyborn Frank, whose works draw on her Peruvian-Chinese-Lithuanian heritage. “I’ve always loved her music,” he said.
Still to come in the season is a holiday program on Dec. 22; a concert featuring Mozart, Ravel and Piazzolla (Jan. 19-20); and an all-John Williams program
with the Blackhawk Chorus (March 16-17). The season closes with Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 and the world premiere of a violin concerto by California Symphony composer in residence Katherine Balch (May 5).
Cabrera, who also serves as music director of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, is expanding his reach this year. He’ll make his debut with Germany’s Cottbus State Theatre Philharmonic and return as guest conductor for Mexico’s Philharmonic Orchestra of Jalisco.
But the California Symphony remains his primary focus.
“I feel so fortunate to be here, working in the Bay Area with an orchestra like this,” he said. “With Aubrey, I always feel that we have each other’s back. When we lead with certain things, we’re always ready to explain why it’s important. It’s great to share that perspective.”
DETAILS >> California Symphony season opener, 4 p.m. Sunday, Lesher Center, Walnut Creek; $42$72; 925-943-7469; www. californiasymphony.org
RADVANOVSKY RULES >>
The cheers at the end of the San Francisco Opera’s opening night performance of “Roberto Devereux” earlier this month were among the longest, loudest and lustiest I’ve ever heard for an opera performance. As Elisabetta (Elizabeth I) in Donizetti’s riveting Tudor drama, soprano Sondra Radvanovsky gave an astonishing performance comprising equal parts vocal brilliance, dramatic intensity and eye-opening insight into the inner life of a monarch.
This production, directed by Stephen Lawless in a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, is the company’s first “Roberto Devereux” since 1979, and with an excellent supporting cast that includes tenor Russell Thomas in the title role, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Sara and baritone Andrew Manea as the Duke of Nottingham, it’s one for the ages.
DETAILS >> 2 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; $26-$398; 415864-3330; www.sfopera. com.