Anne Akiko Meyers / Photo courtesy of Pasadena Symphony
The Pasadena Symphony welcomes David Lockington as new music director in his inaugural concerts Saturday, Nov. 2, at 2 and 8 p.m. at the acoustically exquisite Ambassador Auditorium.
Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, celebrating its 100th anniversary, will be the centerpiece of the concert. Shostakovich’s Festive Overture will welcome the audience at the start of the program.
The concert will also feature world-renowned violinist Anne Akiko Meyers performing Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade with the orchestra. A five-movement violin concerto in all but name, Bernstein’s Serenade is a musical journey through Plato’s dialogue, “Symposium,” filled with literary allusions. Meyers will perform the piece on the famed “Vieuxtemps” Guarneri del Gesu, considered by many to be the finest violin in the world today.
“The G string sounds like a cello, the E string rings like cathedral bells, and the mid-range hooks it all together. How could one man make a violin like this? It’s like having super hot water and super icy cold water coming out of one spigot. The sun and the moon out at the same time. Salt and sugar in one bite,” Meyers said in a press release.
The Pasadena Symphony Association’s CEO Paul Jan Zdunek will talk with Lockington about the program, his passion for the music and more an hour before each concert (1 and 7 p.m. on stage at the Ambassador Auditorium).
Ambassador Auditorium, 131 South St. John Ave., Pasadena 91123. Tickets start at $35, and may be purchased by visiting www.PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org or calling (626) 793-7172. Box office is also open onsite on the day of the concert.