Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego's three top classical music concerts of 2019

La Jolla Music Society, San Diego Symphony, Mainly Mozart

Augustin Hadelich at Mainly Mozart. - Image by Ken Jacques
Augustin Hadelich at Mainly Mozart.

Since we are at the end of a decade, I’m feeling an obligation to name the top concerts I’ve experienced in the past 10 years. That’s a lot of pressure so I’ve decided to ease into it by sharing the three best concerts I witnessed in 2019.

In years past, the three best concerts were clear. This year, the best concert was head and shoulders the best concert but two and three weren’t as obvious. To be honest, there aren’t a two and three but rather two very different yet equal concerts tied for two.

The first of the two was the Miró Quartet at the La Jolla Music Society Summerfest on Saturday, August 11, 2019. The all-Beethoven concert featuring an early, middle and late quartet by the master, was all anyone could wish for.

The setting was intimate and elegant at the Conrad, in the heart of La Jolla, and the house was full. The programming was all-Beethoven. The playing was accurate and expressive.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In 2019, The San Diego Symphony finally gave us a Vaughan Williams symphony, concert number two. The first half of the concert was underwhelming as a consequence of the repertoire. It was Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 which is his weakest piano concerto. I expressed some doubts as to whether or not the conductor, Robert Spanos, was going to exhibit any personality.

For Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No. 2, maestro Spanos exhibited a magisterial conducting personality which led to one of the most satisfying concert experiences I’ve witnessed at Symphony Hall.

My top concert of the year was two concerts at the Mainly Mozart Festival. I am an employee of the festival but I’ve expounded upon the merits of the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra for years within these pages.

Beethoven is a player in this narrative. The final concert of the 2019 Mainly Mozart Festival included Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6. No one exceeds the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra and Music Director Michael Francis in this repertoire.

Earlier in the festival, Francis programmed Mozart’s David Penitente with Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. The David Penitente is Mozart’s reworking of his unfinished Mass in C Minor. Mozart adds some difficult solo sections for soprano, mezzo-soprano, and tenor for David Penitente. The trio assembled by Mainly Mozart handled their business.

Augustin Hadelich might be the greatest violinist in the world. It is difficult to imagine anything exceeding his performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Mainly Mozart.

All the requisite elements aligned to perfection in this concert. The orchestra, maestro Francis, Hadelich, the venue, and the audience were in such harmony that the Muse herself decided to grace the concert with her presence.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Todd Gloria gets cash from McDonald's franchise owners

Phil's BBQ owner for Larry Turner
Next Article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class
Augustin Hadelich at Mainly Mozart. - Image by Ken Jacques
Augustin Hadelich at Mainly Mozart.

Since we are at the end of a decade, I’m feeling an obligation to name the top concerts I’ve experienced in the past 10 years. That’s a lot of pressure so I’ve decided to ease into it by sharing the three best concerts I witnessed in 2019.

In years past, the three best concerts were clear. This year, the best concert was head and shoulders the best concert but two and three weren’t as obvious. To be honest, there aren’t a two and three but rather two very different yet equal concerts tied for two.

The first of the two was the Miró Quartet at the La Jolla Music Society Summerfest on Saturday, August 11, 2019. The all-Beethoven concert featuring an early, middle and late quartet by the master, was all anyone could wish for.

The setting was intimate and elegant at the Conrad, in the heart of La Jolla, and the house was full. The programming was all-Beethoven. The playing was accurate and expressive.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In 2019, The San Diego Symphony finally gave us a Vaughan Williams symphony, concert number two. The first half of the concert was underwhelming as a consequence of the repertoire. It was Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 which is his weakest piano concerto. I expressed some doubts as to whether or not the conductor, Robert Spanos, was going to exhibit any personality.

For Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No. 2, maestro Spanos exhibited a magisterial conducting personality which led to one of the most satisfying concert experiences I’ve witnessed at Symphony Hall.

My top concert of the year was two concerts at the Mainly Mozart Festival. I am an employee of the festival but I’ve expounded upon the merits of the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra for years within these pages.

Beethoven is a player in this narrative. The final concert of the 2019 Mainly Mozart Festival included Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6. No one exceeds the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra and Music Director Michael Francis in this repertoire.

Earlier in the festival, Francis programmed Mozart’s David Penitente with Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. The David Penitente is Mozart’s reworking of his unfinished Mass in C Minor. Mozart adds some difficult solo sections for soprano, mezzo-soprano, and tenor for David Penitente. The trio assembled by Mainly Mozart handled their business.

Augustin Hadelich might be the greatest violinist in the world. It is difficult to imagine anything exceeding his performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Mainly Mozart.

All the requisite elements aligned to perfection in this concert. The orchestra, maestro Francis, Hadelich, the venue, and the audience were in such harmony that the Muse herself decided to grace the concert with her presence.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class
Next Article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader