Revolutionary Romantics! October 2, 2011

Celebrating three revolutionary giants of 19th-century romanticism, with a particular nod to the birth bicentennial of the great Hungarian composer and first classical "rock star" virtuoso, Franz Liszt, featuring his First Piano Concerto and the brilliant Daniel Glover as soloist. The program and the 2011-2012 DSO season open regally with the music of Richard Wagner, close colleague, beneficiary, and later son-in-law of Liszt, who championed the work of the great German composer of opera and later "music drama."The concert concludes with one of the great masterpieces of the symphonic repertoire: Tchaikovsky's dramatically impassioned Fourth Symphony in F minor. Inspired by Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and its "fate" motive and composed at the end of his catastrophic marriage, this seminal work expresses, in all its glory, heart-wrenching angst and melancholy, inspired melodic invention and form, charm, and energetic exuberance as only Tchaikovsky can. Please join us for what will surely prove to be an exciting romantic journey from Munich to Weimar to Moscow!

When They Were Young November 27, 2011

Richard Strauss lived for 85 years and was an active composer for more then seven decades. We know the symphonic tone poems, concertos, and operas --- sprung from the pen of the mature Strauss --- but what was he composing when he was 12 years old? Come find out! This unique program features five works by well-known composers --- Strauss, Barber, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, and Ives --- all composed before the age of 30, plus the Northern California premiere of an award-winning fanfare by California native and USC graduate student Scott Copeland. South Bay piano virtuoso Brenda Vahur and East Bay master trumpeter Leonard Ott join Maestro Smith for a fascinating program full of youthful energy and invention.

Joyful Expressions February 12, 2012

Join the Diablo Symphony for a concert event guaranteed to bring warmth to your heart and happiness to your soul! First up will be American composer Christopher Theofanidis' "Rainbow Body." This uplifting work paints a colorful musical picture of the Tibetan Buddhist idea that when we die, our body is absorbed directly back into the universe as energy and radiant light. Next comes Mozart's charming Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, featuring violin soloist Karen Shinozaki Sor, a founding member of the esteemed New Century Chamber Orchestra as well as a highly sought-after performer throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our program concludes with Antonín Dvorák's glorious Symphony No. 8, truly one of the most joyous and delightful works in all of the symphonic repertoire. This concert will be sure to leave you smiling inside and out!

Each of the works on this program holds a very special place in the output of the three composers. Prince Igor occupied Borodin for nearly 18 years and remained unfinished at his death. The Polovtsian Dances, taken from this opera, are quintissential in their lyricism, drama, and color. At the end, several ideas are combined, transforming into a wild finish. Mozart's very special concerto provides a refreshing counterbalance to the raw energy of the dances. As his last purely instrumental composition, this is Mozart at the height of his powers. Jerome Simas brings his wonderful playing and overflowing musicianship to bear on this supremely beautiful work. The mighty Fifth Symphony is one of Tchaikovsky's most optimistic compositions, a true transformative journey from darkness to light. The "theme of fate" heard at the beginning goes through many sea changes and finally reaches a triumphant and joyful conclusion.

Russian Masters May 11, 2012

The musical politics of the Cold War era wanted to uphold Shostakovich as an anti-Stalinesque hero; honest appreciation of his music has long been clouded by the desire to search out coded politcal messages buried like treasure deep in his work. Similarly, Kabalevsky as an outspoken defender of the aestheic of "socialist realism", has been perhaps too easily denigrated as a composer of insubstantial, even frivolous, music. Let's forget what we are supposed to think about this music and hear it with new ears. Kabalevsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 is rich in memorable melodies and striking instrumental colors. Eliane Lust, "a consummate artist whose first language is music," will bring this composition boldly to life. Shostakovich's Festive Overture is quite simply a rowdy, boisterous frolic, and his Tenth Symphony exposes an astounding panorama of emotion culminating in a stunning triumph of the human spirit.