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Tchaikovsky’s triumphant battle plan for orchestra—the “1812” Overture—explodes in a grand finale of heart-pounding cannons and magnificent fireworks for Pacific Symphony’s “Tchaikovsky Spectacular.” Led by Assistant Conductor Maxim Eshkenazy for the second time (the first in 2009), this year’s “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” features the return of highly-acclaimed Georgian virtuoso Alexander Korsantia (who last performed with the Symphony in 2007) and the Huntington Beach Concert Band for a program filled with exuberant and enchanting works by favorite Russian composers. At the center is Rachmaninoff’s achingly romantic showpiece, Piano Concerto No. 2, performed by Korsantia, who according to The Calgary Herald, “held the audience in the palm of his hand, his performance the last word in polish, bravura technique and musical concentration.” The program also includes works by Shostakovich and Liadov.
The Symphony’s Summer Festival, presented by Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, comes to a memorable conclusion on Saturday, Sept. 3, at 8 p.m. at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine. Individual tickets are $25 (lawn) to $99 (orchestra); kids under 14 are half price in most sections with the purchase of an adult ticket. Guests are welcome to picnic on the grounds of the amphitheater starting at 6 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.
“We will have music from the great masters Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich—accompanied by super-bombastic, spectacular fireworks and cannons!” says Maestro Eshkenazy, who is taking the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra to new heights with its recent first international tour to Bulgaria. “I love combining fireworks and orchestra, although, I always sweat a little over the cannons. There are 16 of them, and it’s not as if we can just shoot them off whenever we want! It’s a very precise and complicated matter… But what better way to end the season?!”
The program opens with Shostakovich’s “Festive” Overture, a lively piece featured at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, where it was written. Then, Liadov’s “The Enchanted Lake” is an aural description of the mystical serenity found in nature followed by one of the finest ballet scores in a Suite of Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty.” After intermission, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, written by arguably one of the greatest pianists who ever lived, demands a huge note span, blinding dexterity and the ability to weave romance and melodic richness into the critically admired masterpiece’s exploration of anticipated love—suitably highlighting Korsantia’s award-winning “piano technique where difficulties simply do not exist” (Calgary Sun). And finally, Tchaikovsky’s “1812” Overture explodes with 16 cannon blasts and synchronized fireworks, as the Symphony welcomes the Huntington Beach Concert Band, which has been performing for Southern California audiences for 38 years.
Ever since winning the first prize and Gold Medal at the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition and the first prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition, Korsantia’s career has taken him to many of the world’s major concert halls, collaborating with renowned conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Christoph Eschenbach, and Paavo Jarvi and orchestras as the Chicago Symphony, Kirov Orchestra and Israel Philharmonic. During the 2011-12 season, Korsantia can be seen and heard in his debuts with the Edmonton Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Duluth Superior Symphony and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, while also returning to Pacific Symphony and Mannheim Symphony. He gives another recital at the Festival Piano Jacobins in Toulouse.
Summer Festival 2011 is presented by Hoag, with additional support from The Orange County Register; American Airlines, The Westin South Coast Plaza, KUSC, PBS SoCal, K-EARTH and KPCC.
