Grammy winner Paul Jacob performs for the Pacific Symphony May 2-4.
Photo courtesy of Pacific Symphony
The mighty forces of the William J. Gillespie concert organ pair with fleeting violin passages and an orchestral rhapsody during Pacific Symphony’s “Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony,” featuring music by the French Romantics. The concert is taking place Thursday through Saturday, May 2-4 at 8 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $25-$112, which includes a preview talk with Alan Chapman.
Grammy Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs returns for a reprise of Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3, “Organ.” (Jacobs played the same piece in 2008 to inaugurate the $3.1-million organ.) Led by 24-year-old guest conductor and rising star Aziz Shokhakimov, the concert also features the Symphony debut of violin soloist Tianwa Yang. Although the piece is referred to as a “symphony,” it is widely considered a concerto and is also said to have inspired Tchaikovsky to write his own wildly popular Violin Concerto in D Major.
In September 2010, was awarded the Best Solo Instrumental Grammy of the Year, the first time a disc of solo organ music has ever received this honor. Jacobs made musical history at the age of 23 when he played J.S. Bach’s complete organ works in an 18-hour marathon performance on the 250th anniversary of the composer’s death. He recently reached the milestone of having performed in each of the 50 United States.
The remarkable conductor Aziz Shokhakimov burst on the scene just three years ago at the age of just 21 by astounding audiences in Bamberg, where he was awarded second prize at the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition under the auspices of the Bamberger Symphoniker. Shokhakimov has since made several triumphant debuts: in Germany with the Staatskapelle Dresden; in Italy with the Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna and in Poland with the highly acclaimed Sinfonia Varsovia. He made his American debut with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra in the 2012-13 season.
“This program features our wonderful William J. Gillespie C.B. Fisk Opus 130 Organ,” says Music Director Carl St.Clair. “We’re really happy that we can from time to time allow our audiences to hear this magnificent organ. It’s also wonderful to have a friend such as Paul, who knows the instrument so well and can allow us to experience its greatness.”
The Organ Symphony’s haunting opening does little to reveal the grandiosity of what’s to come and instead begins with a rising four-note figure that evolves into a much quicker Allegro development. The tension dwindles into a slower, melodic section that finally introduces the organ in an unexpected way: tranquil.
It isn’t until the fourth movement when the true power and might of the organ shines through. Audiences may recognize this climactic moment from the family film, “Babe”; a melody that Saint-Saëns called “the defeat of the restless, diabolical element,” which leads to “the blue of a clear sky.” While France is the birth-place of all the composers featured in this concert, Spain is what inspires the first half of the program. The foot-stamping rhythms and flamenco-inspired beats of Chabrier’s “España” set the tone, followed by Lalo’s violin showcase “Symphonie Espagnole.”
After its premiere in 1875 by violin virtuoso Pablo Sarasate, Tchaikovsky wrote that “the work has given me great enjoyment. It is so fresh and light, and contains piquant rhythms and melodies which are beautifully harmonized. Lalo is careful to avoid all that is routinier, seeks new forms without trying to be profound, and is more concerned with musical beauty than with traditions.”
Neither Spanish nor a symphony, the music offers plenty of fiery spice and a young violin talent in Yang is here to tame it with authority.
For more information or to purchase tickets call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.