The Covid crisis forced the Pasadena Symphony to cancel their remaining two spring concerts earlier this year. Of course, they had to cancel their fall season as well. Unable to determine when they might return to live performances with an audience, the Symphony opted to create a new series of filmed performances. That series, Pasadena Presents, gets started this weekend.
The concept is rather simple. Selections from the two spring concerts and two of the fall concerts were performed with a reduced orchestra and one soloist. Filmed with social distancing guidelines in place, these films allow for intimate performances by members of the Pasadena Symphony.
Music Director David Lockington appears in all four programs and will offer interviews and pertinent information about the performances and the works being performed.
Here is the line-up for the Fall Season of Pasadena Presents:
October 17th: Mozart & Tchaikovsky
Violinist Simone Porter joins for a performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish.” Seven members of the Pasadena Symphony then perform Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence.
The musicians for the Tchaikovsky are Aaron Oltman and Lynn Grants – viola; Deborah Kollgaard and Trina Carey – cello; Elizabeth Hedman and Irina Voloshina – violin.
October 24th: Beethoven & Brahms
Violinist Angelo Xiang Yu performs Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 (the same concerto as in the Simone Porter clip above). Five members of the Pasadena Symphony then perform Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet in B minor.
The musicians for the Brahms are Donald Foster – clarinet; Dane Little – cello; Carrie Holzman-Little – viola; Sara Parkins and Mei Chang – violin.
November 14th: Rachmaninoff & Chopin
Pianist Inon Barnatan is the soloist. The program begins with Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances arranged for Solo Piano by Barnatan. He’ll then be joined by a string quintet of Pasadena Symphony musicians for a performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
We will add details about the specific musicians once we have it.
November 21st: Gershwin & Dvořák – NEW DATE and SOLOIST
Pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner performs Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Five members of the Pasadena Symphony then perform Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12, “American.”
The musicians for the Dvořák are Carrie Kennedy and Joel Pargman – violin; Aaron Oltman – viola; Ryan Sweeney – cello; Bryan Pezzone – piano.
In order to view these four concerts you’ll need to become a member of Pasadena Presents. Membership starts at $100. This will allow you to watch each concert from its premiere (8:00 PM West Coast time on the announced date) and as many times as you want afterwards. Of course, you aren’t limited to $100. Larger donations are encouraged if possible.
Recently I was asked what was going on with a number of performing arts organizations charging for their programming. This is a small way for any orchestra, theatre or dance company, or even individual musicians, to bring in a portion of their regular revenue. So much has been lost during the pandemic with the inability to perform live for audiences. Any and all amounts help keep institutions like this one alive.
Photo: David Lockington (Courtesy Pasadena Symphony)
UPDATE: This post has been updated to reflect a change in the soloist for “Rhapsody in Blue” and a date change for the Gershwin/Dvorak concert.
