WORLD PREMIERE OF MICHAEL DAUGHERTY’S “TO THE NEW WORLD” TO CELEBRATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF MOON LANDING
Pianist Juho Pohjonen Debuts With Pacific Symphony In A Performance Of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, April 11-13
In a program for the ages, Pacific Symphony is joined by returning guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni and pianist Juho Pohjonen, who will be making his debut with the orchestra, for “A Space Odyssey.” This space-themed concert will feature the world premiere of composer Michael Daugherty’s “To the New World,” a three-movement work celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, along with Pohjonen’s performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, with Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” ending the evening.
The concerts begin at 8 p.m. on April 11-13, with doors opening at 6:45 p.m. for a preview talk hosted by Alan Chapman at 7 p.m. Tickets for these concerts start at $25. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit the website, www.PacificSymphony.org. Pacific Symphony gratefully acknowledges sponsorship for these concerts as part of the Symphony’s 2018-19 Hal & Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation Classical Series.
The program opens with a world premiere of “To the New World” by composer Michael Daugherty. Explaining his thinking behind the piece, the composer says, “Like the rocket, which separated in three stages after lift-off, and the spacecraft, which was divided into three modules, my 22-minute composition is in three movements. I have created otherworldly music, evoking the sense of awe and trepidation that the Apollo 11 astronauts must have felt as they traveled to the new world.”
Next on the concert is Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, which was finished on March 2, 1786, two months prior to the premiere of his opera, “Le nozze di Figaro,” and was probably premiered by Mozart himself. The talented Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen will be the soloist. This concert of musical exploration will culminate in Strauss’ thrilling tone poem, “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” with its legendary opening fanfare forever cemented in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
