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2024 classical music in San Diego
In November, The San Diego Symphony presented the most brilliantly understated concert I’ve been to.
The San Diego Mainly Mozart String Section
With Christmas over and New Year's just ahead, let’s look back at the year that was 2024 for classical music in San Diego.
Back on March 1, 2024, The San Diego Symphony gave a concert at The San Diego Civic Theatre. Music director Rafael Payare conducted and the program included La Valse and Bolero by Maurice Ravel and The Pines of Rome Ottorino Respighi. The chance to hear the orchestra indoors was significant at the time as The Jacobs Music Center was still under renovation.
Superstar pianist Lang Lang performed at the Rady Shell in April and the immortal cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed in May. Yo-Yo Ma was initially scheduled to perform for the opening of The Jacobs Music Center but the completion date was delayed. It was at the Yo-Yo Ma concert on May 7, 2024, at the San Diego Civic Theatre that we found out about the passing of Joan Jacobs. Joan Jacobs was a beloved San Diego Symphony patron and philanthropist.
Also in May was a tidy production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at San Diego Opera. The production was perfect and the stage direction was well-executed. The singing was sufficient to allow the big dramatic moments to happen. On May 24, 2024, The San Diego Symphony presented the first act of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre. While the concert was outdoors and therefore the singers were mic’d, the concert was quite effective with projections at The Rady Shell.
Of course, June was all about The San Diego Mainly Mozart Festival. The best concert of the year was on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, at The Conrad Prebys Music Center in La Jolla. The performers were the string section of the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra. Mainly Mozart music director Michael Francis conducted. The music they performed was Pytor Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. This was a once-in-a-lifetime performance. To hear those string players play that piece was sublime.
The Jacobs Music Center had its long-delayed grand opening on Saturday, September 28, 2024. The concert showcased the improved acoustics of the concert hall and the orchestra flexed its sonic abilities.
October was all about Gustav Mahler and his Symphony No. 2: Resurrection. The concert set a new standard for choral singing in San Diego. The chorus was assembled from across the country and the quality of the singing matched the quality of the playing for the first time that I can remember at a San Diego Symphony concert.
In November, The San Diego Symphony presented the most brilliantly understated concert I’ve been to. Nothing about the programming of Mozart, Haydn, and early Beethoven suggested a concert of consequence and yet it was. Maestro Bernard Labadie conducted.
Here's something you might be interested in.
2024 classical music in San Diego
In November, The San Diego Symphony presented the most brilliantly understated concert I’ve been to.
2024 classical music in San Diego
In November, The San Diego Symphony presented the most brilliantly understated concert I’ve been to.
The San Diego Mainly Mozart String Section
With Christmas over and New Year's just ahead, let’s look back at the year that was 2024 for classical music in San Diego.
Back on March 1, 2024, The San Diego Symphony gave a concert at The San Diego Civic Theatre. Music director Rafael Payare conducted and the program included La Valse and Bolero by Maurice Ravel and The Pines of Rome Ottorino Respighi. The chance to hear the orchestra indoors was significant at the time as The Jacobs Music Center was still under renovation.
Superstar pianist Lang Lang performed at the Rady Shell in April and the immortal cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed in May. Yo-Yo Ma was initially scheduled to perform for the opening of The Jacobs Music Center but the completion date was delayed. It was at the Yo-Yo Ma concert on May 7, 2024, at the San Diego Civic Theatre that we found out about the passing of Joan Jacobs. Joan Jacobs was a beloved San Diego Symphony patron and philanthropist.
Also in May was a tidy production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at San Diego Opera. The production was perfect and the stage direction was well-executed. The singing was sufficient to allow the big dramatic moments to happen. On May 24, 2024, The San Diego Symphony presented the first act of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre. While the concert was outdoors and therefore the singers were mic’d, the concert was quite effective with projections at The Rady Shell.
Of course, June was all about The San Diego Mainly Mozart Festival. The best concert of the year was on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, at The Conrad Prebys Music Center in La Jolla. The performers were the string section of the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra. Mainly Mozart music director Michael Francis conducted. The music they performed was Pytor Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. This was a once-in-a-lifetime performance. To hear those string players play that piece was sublime.
The Jacobs Music Center had its long-delayed grand opening on Saturday, September 28, 2024. The concert showcased the improved acoustics of the concert hall and the orchestra flexed its sonic abilities.
October was all about Gustav Mahler and his Symphony No. 2: Resurrection. The concert set a new standard for choral singing in San Diego. The chorus was assembled from across the country and the quality of the singing matched the quality of the playing for the first time that I can remember at a San Diego Symphony concert.
In November, The San Diego Symphony presented the most brilliantly understated concert I’ve been to. Nothing about the programming of Mozart, Haydn, and early Beethoven suggested a concert of consequence and yet it was. Maestro Bernard Labadie conducted.
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