California Symphony presents Handel-Rivers of Inspiration
CALIFORNIA SYMPHONY PRESENTS HANDEL–RIVERS OF INSPIRATION
Led by Donato Cabrera, Artistic & Music Director
Featuring the World Premiere of Viet Cuong’s Chance of Rain
Part of the California Festival
In Concert November 11 and 12, 2023
At Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts
California Symphony also presents Composing the Future: A Panel Discussion hosted by KDFC’s Dianne Nicolini on November 7 as part of the Statewide California Festival
Continuing a season of performances honoring trailblazing composers and unique artists
Tickets & Information: californiasymphony.org/festival
WALNUT CREEK, CA – California Symphony and Artistic and Music Director Donato Cabrera continue the 2023-24 season, featuring concerts that honor trailblazing composers and unique artists, with Handel–Rivers of Inspiration, on Saturday, November 11 at 7:30pm and Sunday, November 12 at 4pm at the Lesher Center for the Arts (1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek). These concerts are part of the statewide California Festival, showcasing the most compelling and forward-looking voices in performances of works written in the past five years.
California Symphony presents a line-up of water-inspired works for Handel—Rivers of Inspiration, including the highly-anticipated world premiere of Chance of Rain by the Symphony’s 2020-2023 Young American Composer-in-Residence Viet Cuong. Composed shortly after his father’s death, Cuong’s inspiration for this work came from early mornings spent as a child, watching the weather report over breakfast before practicing the piano while his father listened. Says Cuong, “The process of writing it has also reminded me that—while rain may fall—our fondest memories can keep us dry.” The program continues with George Frideric Handel’s Water Music, Suites No. 1 and No. 2. Jolly, jaunty, and packed with catchy tunes, the work was met with acclaim during its premiere at an outdoor concert on London’s River Thames in 1717 – so much so that King George I commanded the musicians to play it through three times over. An ingenious blend of popular styles of the day, Water Music is still among the most popular of Handel’s pieces. The program concludes with Robert Schumann’s euphoric Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish). Composed in a little over a month, Symphony No. 3 was inspired by a happy, peaceful trip that Schumann took with his wife Clara in the German countryside. Full of joyful rhythms and inventive melodies, the work beautifully captures the sights and sounds as the Rhine River rolls through the scenic landscape.
"While the most well-known piece on these concerts may be Handel's Water Music, I created this program as a tribute to our outgoing composer in residence, Viet Cuong,” says Cabrera. “When I found out that Viet's piece was titled Chance of Rain and inspired by the metaphorical significance of water, I wanted to pair his piece with other compositions from the past that used water as a signifier of time, place, and meaning. Spanning over three hundred years, the music on this program will also reveal the incredible breadth of style that an orchestra like the California Symphony can perform."
California Symphony additionally offers as part of the California Festival, Composing the Future: A Panel Discussion on Tuesday, November 7 at 7:30pm in the Lesher Center for the Arts. Moderated by San Francisco’s Classical KDFC host Dianne Nicolini and featuring panelists San Francisco Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey, composer Viet Cuong, and pianist Sarah Cahill, the panel discussion will explore how collaborations shape classical music. Guests are invited to enjoy a complimentary drink alongside a conversation into the future and evolution of contemporary classical music as well as the challenges and opportunities that composers, performers, presenters, and audiences face. Capacity is limited and free tickets, which are available at californiasymphony.org/festival, are required for entry.
The California Symphony’s November 11 and 12 concerts open with the premiere performances of Viet Cuong’s Chance of Rain. Inspired by the everyday, Cuong’s Chance of Rain reminisces on moments from childhood, finding comfort and shelter in memories. Chance of Rain uses the large ensemble to its fullest extent, acoustically creating an echoed delay, which embodies the task of remembering. Cuong develops a “thrilling experience” (San Francisco Classical Voice) of musical memory through Chance of Rain, reflecting his inventiveness and boundless imagination.
During his time as the 2020-23 Young American Composer-in-Residence at California Symphony, Viet Cuong has enjoyed a fruitful partnership with the orchestra, composing three works commissioned and premiered by the California Symphony. In 2021, California Symphony premiered Cuong’s Next Week’s Trees in their “Poetry in Motion” video series. The work, which takes its name from American poet Mary Oliver’s Walking to Oak-Head Pond, And Thinking Of The Ponds I Will Visit In The Next Days And Weeks, served as a reminder of the “confident hope of the present.” Viet Cuong’s Stargazer Piano Concerto, inspired by the refractions of starlight on its journey to Earth, was premiered by pianist Sarah Cahill in the California Symphony’s 2022-23 season finale. Chance of Rain is Cuong’s final contribution as Resident Composer for the California Symphony.
Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the “irresistible” (San Francisco Chronicle) music of Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong (b. 1990) has been commissioned and performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Sō Percussion, Atlanta Symphony, Sandbox Percussion, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among many others, and has been played at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, National Gallery of Art, and more. In his music, Cuong enjoys exploring the unexpected and whimsical, and he is often drawn to projects where he can make peculiar combinations and sounds feel enchanting or oddly satisfying. He was recently featured in The Washington Post’s “21 for ’21: Composers and performers who sound like tomorrow.”
Founded in 1986, California Symphony is in its eleventh season under the leadership of Artistic and Music Director Donato Cabrera. It is distinguished by its vibrant concert programs that combine classics alongside American repertoire and works by living composers and for making the symphony welcoming and accessible. The orchestra includes musicians who perform with the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, and others. Committed to developing new talent, California Symphony has launched the careers of some of today’s most well-known artists, including violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, cellists Alisa Weilerstein and Joshua Roman, pianist Kirill Gerstein, and composers Mason Bates, Christopher Theofanidis, and Kevin Puts.
California Symphony’s 2023-24 season is sponsored by the Lesher Foundation. The November concerts are sponsored by the Heller Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Three-concert subscriptions start at $99 and are available now, along with single tickets ($45-90, and $20 for students 25 and under). More information is available at CaliforniaSymphony.org. A 30-minute pre-concert talk and Q&A led by lecturer Scott Fogelsong will begin one hour before each performance.
FOR CALENDAR EDITORS:
WHAT: California Symphony presents Composing the Future: A Panel Discussion
California Symphony offers as part of the California Festival a panel discussion moderated by San Francisco’s Classical KDFC host Dianne Nicolini and featuring panelists San Francisco Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey, composer Viet Cuong, and pianist Sarah Cahill. The panel discussion will explore how collaborations shape classical music. Guests are invited to enjoy a complimentary drink alongside a conversation into the future and evolution of contemporary classical music as well as the challenges and opportunities that composers, performers, presenters, and audiences face.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 7:30pm
WHERE: Hofmann Theatre at the Lesher Center for the Arts
1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek
TICKETS: Capacity is limited and free tickets, which are available at californiasymphony.org/festival, are required for entry.
WHAT: California Symphony presents Handel–Rivers of Inspiration
California Symphony presents Rivers of Inspiration, a concert featuring the music of George Frideric Handel, Viet Cuong, and Robert Schumann. Opening the program is the highly anticipated world premiere of California Symphony’s 2020-2023 composer-in-residence Viet Cuong’s Chance of Rain. Robert Schumann’s exuberant Symphony No. 3 and Handel’s spectacular Water Music, Suites No. 1 and No. 2 accompany Viet Cuong’s world premiere. These concerts are part of the statewide California Festival, showcasing the most compelling and forward-looking voices in performances of works written in the past five years.
WHEN: Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 4:00 pm
WHERE: Hofmann Theatre at the Lesher Center for the Arts
1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek
CONCERT:
HANDEL–RIVERS OF INSPIRATION
7:30pm, Saturday, Nov. 11
4:00pm, Sunday, Nov. 12
Donato Cabrera, conductor
California Symphony
PROGRAM:
Viet Cuong—Chance of Rain (world premiere)
George Frideric Handel—Water Music, Suites No. 1 and No. 2
Robert Schumann—Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish)
TICKETS: Three-concert subscriptions start at $99 and are available now. Single tickets are $45-90 and $20 (for students 25 and under with valid Student ID).
INFO: For more information or to purchase tickets, the public may visit CaliforniaSymphony.org or call the Lesher Center Ticket Office at (925) 943-7469 (open Wed – Sun, noon to 6pm).
PHOTOS: Available here.