PACIFIC SYMPHONY’S “TCHAIKOVSKY SPECTACULAR”
FEATURES HEART-POUNDING “1812” OVERTURE WITH ITS
BLAZE-OF-GLORY CLIMAX OF CANNONS AND FIREWORKS!
Concert also includes dynamic pianist Benjamin Pasternack performing Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Suite from “Swan Lake”
—Pacific Symphony’s popular Summer Festival, presented by Hoag Hospital, revisits the annual tradition of “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” a little earlier this year—on Saturday, Aug. 7, 8 p.m., at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.
Taking place smack dab in the middle of a season full of hot musical treats, the evening, led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, spotlights music by great Russian masters, including Tchaikovsky’s “1812” Overture in all its dramatic splendor, complete with booming cannons and dazzling fireworks punctuating the night sky.
The program also features the return of a Symphony favorite, acclaimed pianist Benjamin Pasternack, playing one of the classical repertoire’s most powerful, most demanding and most popular works—Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, featured in the 1996 hit movie “Shine.” Additionally, the evening includes Glinka’s Overture to “Russlan and Ludmilla” and Tchaikovsky’s charming Suite from “Swan Lake.”
Individual tickets are $25 (lawn) to $105 (orchestra); kids under 14 are half price in most sections. Guests are welcome to picnic on the grounds of the amphitheater starting at 6 p.m. For more information on the series or purchasing tickets or picnic dinners, call the Symphony ticket office at (714) 755-5799, or visit the website at www.pacificsymphony.org.
In 2006, The Orange County Register music critic Paul Bodine wrote about a
performance with Pacific Symphony: “Pasternack plays with a big-toned fluidity that steers clear of preciosity and self-consciousness, with a sharp and sure clarity that tightropes past dryness or harshness… His cadenza was a bracing adventure in dynamic and dramatic contrasts, and Pasternack’s third movement captured Beethoven’s playfulness and dancing rhythms while avoiding the urge to race virtuosically to the finish.”
American pianist Pasternack made his last appearance with Pacific Symphony just months ago in 2009-10, performing Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy” and Bernstein’s “On the Town” for St.Clair’s 20th Anniversary concert. Among the most experienced and versatile musicians today, he has performed worldwide as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. A native of Philadelphia, Pasternack entered the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 13, studying with Mieczyslaw Horszowski and Rudolf Serkin. He was the grand-prize winner of the inaugural World Music Masters Piano Competition held in Paris and Nice in July 1989.
Bestowed by the unanimous vote of a distinguished panel of judges, the honor carried with it a $30,000 award and engagements in Portugal, France, Canada, Switzerland and the United States. An earlier competition victory came in August 1988 when he won the highest prize awarded at the 40th Busoni International Piano Competition.
Coming up—the Symphony’s fourth concert of the series, “Kicked Up Classics,”
featuring Time for Three, takes place on Saturday, Aug. 28, at 8 p.m. Conducted by St.Clair, this concert features “new grass” trio “Time for Three” playing their patented blend of bluegrass-style fiddling, jazzy bass lines, classical tunes and hip-hop riffs. In addition, the Symphony will also play American classical favorites including John Williams’ Overture from “The Cowboys,” Aaron Copland’s Suite from “Billy the Kid,” and the “American Suite.”
Summer Festival 2010 is presented by Hoag Hospital, with additional support
from The Orange County Register; the Symphony’s official airline, American Airlines; official hotel, The Westin South Coast Plaza, official classical music station, KUSC; official television station, KOCE-TV; official pops radio station, K-EARTH; and official media partner, KPCC. Hoag Hospital is also the concert sponsor for “Tchaikovsky Spectacular.”
