The Santa Cruz Symphony is honored to present Testament, our second concert of the season, on Saturday and Sunday, October 29 & 30. This will be a profoundly moving program featuring music written to reflect the deepest parts of our souls.
We will begin with Valentin Silvestrov's Prayer for Ukraine, originally composed for chorus in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. After the Russian invasion earlier this year, Eduard Restasch arranged the work for chamber orchestra. Quiet and reflective, it speaks to the desires for freedom and peace that the Ukrainian people are yearning for today.
Next on the program is Béla Bartók's Viola Concerto, featuring soloist Yuchen Lu. Among the most beloved pieces for solo viola, the Concerto is one of the last works that Bartók wrote toward the end of his life. He passed away before its completion, and his friend Tibor Serly used the composer's sketches to finish the work in 1949. The piece moves through moods of intimate simplicity to grand, fully orchestrated gestures, finally ending with the lively Eastern European folk flavor for which Bartók is so loved.
Finally, the concert will conclude with Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 Pathétique. Grand and emotionally turbulent, this final symphony reflects the rich panorama of Tchaikovsky's life. He experienced periods of great joy, depression, a failed marriage, popular successes, and academic criticism throughout his career. Tchaikovsky himself even declared that he had put his "whole soul into this work."
We know that the Santa Cruz Symphony will inspire you with this program’s rich journey into the depths of the human experience.
FEATURING YUCHEN LU
This year, at the 36th Irving M. Klein International String Competition, thousands of people worldwide delighted in the talents of nine semifinalists via livestream as they competed for cash prizes and performance contracts. A jury of seven determined the winners. The first prize was awarded to 22-year-old violist Yuchen Lu.
Mr. Lu also won second prize at the Lionel Tertis viola competition. He has attended the Morningside Music Bridge summer festival, and was a member of the Seiji Ozawa Orchestra Academy. He also performed at the Marlboro Music Festival in summer 2022. This exceptional young artist will perform a viola concerto by Bartók, one of the greatest composers of the 20th century!
Here are some accolades from people who attended our last concert
“The Santa Cruz Symphony is a jewel in this community."
"Just fantastic. The finale at the end was incredible. The dancers and music and everything, so beautiful. It left me teary eyed."
"Thank you for enduring and thriving. Daniel Stewart is a treasure."
WHEN AND WHERE TO SEE IT:
October 29 at 7:30 pm at the Civic Auditorium (pre-concert talk at 6:30 pm)
October 30 at 2:00 pm at the Henry J. Mello Center (pre-concert talk at 1:00 pm)
