Pacific Symphony Opens Four Costa Mesa Performances Thursday: James Ehnes Plays the West Coast Premiere of James Newton Howard's Violin Concerto No. 2
The Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, Orange County, California, hosts four Pacific Symphony performances this week: Artistic and Music Director Alexander Shelley conducts, with violinist James Ehnes as soloist, on October 22, 23 and 24 at 8 p.m. and October 25 at 3 p.m. The concerts are ticketed; prices are as published on the Pacific Symphony website.
The program pairs three works: Paul Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice, famous from Disney's Fantasia; film composer James Newton Howard's Violin Concerto No. 2, performed by Ehnes in its West Coast premiere; and Richard Strauss' tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra, whose opening sunrise fanfare was immortalized in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The October 25 matinee is a shorter program without the violin concerto. A preview talk with Classical California host Alan Chapman precedes the evening concerts at 7 p.m. on October 22–24, and Shelley will sign posters in the hall after the evening performances.
James Newton Howard is one of Hollywood's leading film composers, with roughly 150 scores including The Hunger Games franchise and The Dark Knight. His Violin Concerto No. 1 was premiered by Ehnes and Pacific Symphony in 2015; the Second Concerto now returns to the same stage for its West Coast premiere. When Howard first sent Ehnes a demo of the concerto, Ehnes recalled that after a screening of the 2002 film Signs, which features solo violin, his wife had told him he should have James Newton Howard write him a violin concerto.
The venue is the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Pacific Symphony is Orange County's principal orchestra and performs at the hall throughout the season.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 小提琴家James Ehnes演奏资料图 · Yuja Wang Archives，CC BY 4.0（维基共享资源）
