Vienna, But Make It Fun: California Symphony Time-Travels To Classical Music’s Coolest Era

WALNUT CREEK, CA — A high point in the history of classical music is the theme of this weekend's California Symphony concerts in Walnut Creek.

Music Director Donato Cabrera leads "Schubert in Vienna," a genre-blending affair illustrating how Vienna became the musical capital of the world.

Cabrera, pointing to the popularity of wind instruments in the 19th century, has built a program centered around Schubert's Symphony No. 9, "The Great," in which the orchestra's "harmonie" section (winds and brass) introduces all of the themes, from the opening horn call to the closing melodies of the last movement.

The concert also features instrumental sections of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni," arranged for wind instruments of the period. Complementing those pieces is Friedrich Gulda's Cello Concerto, a quirky, iconoclastic piece in which the orchestra's harmonie instruments backup the "Hendrix-like" lines of the cello.

Nathan Chan, assistant principal cello of the Seattle Symphony, is the guest soloist.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Lesher Center for the Arts. Tickets are $25 (students) to $110 at californiasymphony.org.


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