Spain Through French Glasses: Ravel and Debussy
Friday, October 16, 11am
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Jörgen van Rijen, trombone
DEBUSSY: "Nuages" and "Fêtes" from Nocturnes
JIMMY LÓPEZ: Shift, Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra
RAVEL: Alborada del gracioso
POULENC: Suite from The Does (Les biches)
RAVEL: Rapsodie espagnole
Ludovic Morlot, one of today’s foremost French conductors, leads a program of luminous and inviting French music – works alive with dance rhythms, nocturnal magic, and brilliant color. At its center is Shift, a virtuosic trombone concerto by Composer in Residence Jimmy López. Performed by Jörgen van Rijen and co commissioned by the San Diego, Rotterdam, and San Francisco symphonies, the four movement work explores the elements – Sound, Water, Light and Sonoluminescence, where vibrating sound waves create bubbles that glow with light.
Debussy’s Nocturnes evokes atmospheric scenes inspired by Whistler’s paintings: drifting Clouds and festive Celebrations. Ravel’s dazzling Alborada del Gracioso, steeped in Spanish flair, radiates rhythm and wit, while his earlier Rapsodie espagnole sways between habanera languor and fiery malagueña energy.
Poulenc’s Les biches (The Does) suite captures 1920s Paris at its most spirited – modern women at play, love affairs, and cocktails in chic salons, animated by jazzy exuberance and sly humor.
Elegy to Exaltation: Ravel, Rota, and Shostakovich
Friday, February 5, 11am
Andreas Ottensamer, conductor
Julie Phillips, harp
RAVEL: "Rigaudon" from Le Tombeau de Couperin
ROTA: Concerto for Harp
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
Immerse yourself in an evening of luminous melodies and emotional depth as the orchestra presents a program that celebrates elegance, imagination, and resilience. The concert opens with Maurice Ravel’s “Rigaudon” from Le Tombeau de Couperin, a brilliant tribute to 18th century French dance. Its crisp rhythms and buoyant energy capture Ravel’s unmatched craftsmanship and grace.
The mood turns tender and poetic with Nino Rota’s Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, performed by our own Julie Phillips, a rarely heard gem by the beloved composer of film scores such as The Godfather. In this work, Rota’s distinctive lyricism and cinematic color take center stage, as the solo harp shimmers over a tapestry of orchestral warmth – by turns playful, nostalgic, and dreamlike.
The evening concludes with the monumental Symphony No. 5 by Dmitri Shostakovich. Written under intense political scrutiny, the symphony moves through haunting introspection, defiant struggle, and ultimately, a cathartic triumph. It remains one of the most powerful and emotionally charged works of the 20th century – an unforgettable testament to music’s ability to speak truth and transcend hardship.
Symphonic Dances: Rachmaninoff, Bernstein and Salonen
Friday, March 26, 11am
Rafael Payare, conductor
Ricardo Morales, clarinet
ESTÉVEZ: Midday on the Plains (Mediodía en el llano)
SALONEN: kínēma
BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
RACHMANINOFF: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
This program unites a beloved Venezuelan tone poem with three works by composer conductors who shaped modern music.
Antonio Estévez’s Mediodía en el llano (1942) captures the heat and stillness of Venezuela’s central plains, Los Llanos. Originally part of a three movement suite portraying dawn, midday, and evening, it evokes the bright intensity of noon on the expansive grasslands, suffused with lyrical beauty and local color.
Finnish composer Esa Pekka Salonen’s kinēma, written in 2021, is a gentle clarinet concerto drawn from film music created during the pandemic. Its five movements – Dawn, Theme and Variations, Pérotin Dream, J.D. in memoriam, and Return – move from shimmering light to reflective lyricism and renewal.
Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story transforms his landmark Broadway score into a symphonic suite that distills the story’s passion, violence, and reconciliation, brimming with rhythm and theatrical brilliance.
Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances (1940), his final composition, reflects on a lifetime of memory and exile. Written in America yet steeped in nostalgia for Russia, its sweeping melodies and radiant conclusion – echoing his All Night Vespers – proclaim a final “Hallelujah.”
Together, these four works create a journey across lands and eras, celebrating color, movement, and the enduring human voice in music.
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Our Friday 11am Coffee and Classics series is an easy three-pack of eye-opener concerts featuring Ravel's Rapsodie espagnole, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances and more. Coffee and pastries will be served!
Subscribe to all three Friday 11 a.m. concerts and receive a complimentary San Diego Symphony coffee mug!*
*Mugs can be picked up in the Lower Lobby after the Oct 16 concert.
Coffee and pastries for "Coffee and Classics" are provided courtesy of
