A classical music website dedicated to Pacific Symphony
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is one of, if not THE, most familiar pieces of music in history. With so much cultural awareness attached to it, a conductor is posed with an interesting puzzle: how do you make it come alive for an audience that’s heard it 1,000 times before?
Richard Wagner began his monumental cycle of operas Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) in 1848, in the wake of the Age of Enlightenment…
If the apocalypse has a soundtrack, it’s “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana…
Sacred music takes as many forms as humanity has images of God. The majestic sovereign of Handel’s “Hallelujah” Chorus, the terrifying and wrathful god in the “Dies irae” of Verdi’s Requiem, the simple beauty of Bach’s “Sheep may safely graze”—all startlingly different from each other, and all capturing some facet of our perception of deity…
When superstar violinist Joshua Bell and operatic soprano Larisa Martínez tied the knot in 2019, they had no idea about the future that awaited them. They barely had time to pause their busy careers…
Resphigi’s fascination with Rome’s fountains and pine trees reflects a love affair with his new home. Upon moving to Rome from his native Bologna in 1913, Respighi said that the city’s “marvellous fountains” and “umbrella-like pines that appear in every part of the horizon [have] spoken to my imagination above all.”
It’s hard for us to imagine Antonio Vivaldi as a radical. Yet to 18th-century audiences, his masterwork, The Four Seasons, was like a breath of fresh air to some, a slap in the face to others. “Il Prete Rosso has gone crazy this time,” some must have muttered…
The history of the symphony orchestra is all about growth. As composers’ ideas and demands became bigger and more complex, so did the number and type of instruments required to bring them to life….
Pacific Symphony Board Chair Arthur Ong and President and CEO John Forsyte are pleased to announce the appointment of Alexander Shelley as the orchestra’s third Music Director, beginning in the 2026-27 season, for an initial five-year term…
Eleanor (“Ellie”) Gordon’s life was a symphony, each movement reflecting the many ways she enriched the lives of those around her…