Symphony’s swan song to include ‘Ode to Joy’
By Daily Press staff
CIVIC AUDITORIUM — More than 1,000 people gathered here earlier this month for the first concert of the Santa Monica Symphony’s 60th season.
The enthusiastic audience gave a standing ovation to the world premiere of “Rhythm Changes,” composed by young Los Angelino Peter Knell and directed by Allen Robert Gross. Martin Chalifour of the Los Angeles Philharmonic played violin.
Knell was introduced by Maestro Gross and told the audience how “Rhythm Changes” riffs on the jazz tradition exemplified by George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” and displays the virtuosity of the violin, from lush lyricism, to delicate harmonics to technical fireworks.
Before “Rhythm Changes,” the concert opened with the spirited “New England Triptych” by American composer William Schuman, featuring the symphony’s principal wind players. After the intermission, Chalifour played Ravel’s “Tizgane‚” one of the most difficult showpieces ever written for the violin. This was followed by Robert Schumann’s romantic “Rhenish‚ Symphony.”
The diverse audience was welcomed by Mayor Richard Bloom. Some who had been to the concerts as children are now bringing their grandchildren.
A look at the rest of the symphony’s 60th anniversary season: ■The Dec. 12 concert will be “A Salute to the Community” in which the symphony will be joined by baritone Jubilant Sykes, a Santa Monica native now a concert star, and by the Crossroads School Chamber Orchestra which will perform separately and then will join the full orchestra in playing Dvorak’s melodic Eighth Symphony. ■The March 13, 2005, concert will open with Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concert-ante‚ for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn and Orchestra,” featuring the symphony’s principal wind players. This will be followed by Shostakovich’s thrilling Fifth Symphony. ■ On May 29, 2005, the grand finale of the 60th anniversary season will be Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, “The Choral‚” with its famed “Ode to Joy.” For this, the Santa Monica Symphony will be joined by the Santa Monica College Chorale, the Occidental-Foothill Master Chorale, and soloists Elin Carlson, Tracy Van Fleet, Jonathan Mack and Jinyoung Jang. (All concerts are in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and begin at 7:30 p.m. There is a pre-concert talk by Raymond Knapp at 6:45 p.m. in the meeting room. For more information, call (310) 996- 3260 or log on to www.smsymphony.org.)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 20, 2004. Read the original PDF.