Introducing the 2020/21 Season
I am excited to present the Victoria Symphony 20/21 season, which I see as the most dynamic and vigorous season so far during my time as Music Director. Since the beginning of my tenure, it has been wonderful to experience our audiences embracing adventurous directions in programming and sharing our enthusiasm in exploring new ways to communicate great symphonic music to everyone in our community. It is beyond any doubt that the Victoria Symphony is an orchestra in rapid development, and we remain committed to always giving you the highest level of music making.
This season we focus on telling a unique musical story in every concert. We open with The Big Picture featuring Canadian star violinist Timothy Chooi in Korngold’s Violin Concerto alongside Mussorgsky’s showpiece Pictures at an Exhibition. Naked Classics returns with Paul Rissmann presenting Stravinsky’s Petrushka and later in the season treasured guest conductor David Danzmayr brings us one of the greatest Scandinavian masterpieces: Stenhammar’s Symphony No. 2.
In our Classics Series, we shall encounter some true Austrian Schwung! With our own Brian Yoon playing Gulda’s frantically swinging Concerto for Cello and Wind Band and we end the series with a personal highlight for me this season: Brahms’ A German Requiem.
Our Explorations Series continues to break the borders for symphonic storytelling and we are thrilled to present Canadian composer John Estacio’s Aurora Triptych with live video by Emmy nominated astronomer/visual artist Dr. Jose Salgado.
Finally, I couldn’t resist it anymore, and simply had to share with you, music of the composer that is closest to my heart: Richard Strauss. His epic tone poem A Hero’s Life will stand as the ultimate conclusion to a season that truly dares to move, inspire and innovate.
Welcome!
Christian Kluxen, Music Director
Browse by series:
Masterworks Saturday
Naked Classics: Stravinsky’s Petrushka
Saturday, October 3 , 8:00 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Paul Rissmann, presenter
Stravinsky, Petrushka (1947 version)
Thunderous Passions: Sibelius Symphony No. 1
Saturday, November 28, 8:00 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Ingrid Fliter, piano
Janáček, The Fiddler’s Child
Ravel, Piano Concerto in G Major
Sibelius, Symphony No. 1 in E Minor
Horizons: Musical Vistas to Delight
Saturday, March 20, 8:00 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Kari Postma, soprano
Barber, Horizon
Ligeti, Romanian Concerto
Barber, Knoxville, Summer of 1915
Copland, Quiet City
Grieg & Sibelius, Orchestral Songs
Kodály, Dances of Galánta
Bellincampi is Back: Mendelssohn, Schubert & Bruch
Saturday, April 24, 8:00 pm
Giordano Bellincampi, conductor
Chloë Hanslip, violin
Schubert, Overture in C Major (In the Italian style)
Bruch, Violin Concerto No.3 in D Minor
Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 5 (Reformation)
Kluxen Conducts A Hero’s Life
Saturday, May 15, 8:00 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Liszt, Les Préludes, Symphonic Poem No. 3
Khachaturian, Suite No. 1 from Spartacus
Strauss, Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life)
Masterworks Sunday
The Big Picture: Chooi Plays Korngold
Sunday, September 20, 2:30 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Timothy Chooi, violin
Hatzis, The Isle is Full of Noises
Korngold, Violin Concerto
Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel), Pictures at an Exhibition
Scheherazade: 1001 Nights
Sunday, November 8, 2:30 pm / Royal Theatre
Daniel Raiskin, conductor
Alexei Volodin, piano
Borodin, Polovtsian Dances
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Major
Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade
Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto
Sunday, January 31, 2:30 pm
David Danzmayr, conductor
Alexandra Soumm, violin
Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D Major
Stenhammar, Symphony No. 2 in G Minor
Horizons: Musical Vistas to Delight
Sunday, March 21, 2:30 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Kari Postma, soprano
Barber, Horizon
Ligeti, Romanian Concerto
Barber, Knoxville, Summer of 1915
Copland, Quiet City
Grieg & Sibelius, Orchestral Songs
Kodály, Dances of Galánta
Kluxen Conducts A Hero’s Life
Sunday, May 16, 2:30 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Liszt, Les Préludes, Symphonic Poem No. 3
Khachaturian, Suite No. 1 from Spartacus
Strauss, Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life)
Masterworks Monday
The Big Picture: Chooi Plays Korngold
Monday, September 21, 8:00 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Timothy Chooi, violin
Hatzis, The Isle is Full of Noises
Korngold, Violin Concerto
Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel), Pictures at an Exhibition
Scheherazade: 1001 Nights
Monday, November 9, 8:00 pm
Daniel Raiskin, conductor
Alexei Volodin, piano
Borodin, Polovtsian Dances
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Major
Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade
Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto
Monday, February 1, 8:00 pm
David Danzmayr, conductor
Alexandra Soumm, violin
Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D Major
Stenhammar, Symphony No. 2 in G Minor
Reveries: French Masters and American Minimalism
Monday, March 1, 8:00 pm
Jean-Claude Picard, conductor
Simone Dinnerstein, piano
Roussel, Symphonic Fragments from The Spider’s Feast
Glass, Piano Concerto No. 3
Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un Faune (The Afternoon of a Faun)
Ravel, Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose)
Tam Plays Brahms
Monday, April 19, 8:00 pm
Jean-Michel Malouf, conductor
Terence Tam, violin
Sokolovic, Uvertira
Brahms, Violin Concerto in D Major
Dvořák, Symphony No. 8 in G Major
Pops
Movies Meet the Masters
Saturday, September 26, 8:00 pm
Sunday, September 27, 2:00 pm
Sean O’Loughlin, conductor
Lisa Dondlinger, violin and voice
Music That Goes Bump in the Night
Saturday, October 31, 8:00 pm
Sunday, November 1, 2:00 pm
Giuseppe Pietraroia, conductor
Christmas Pops
Saturday, December 12, 8:00 pm
Sunday, December 13, 2:00 pm
Sean O’Loughlin, conductor
David Curry, tenor
Members of the Pacific Opera Chorus
Classical Mystery Tour: Best of the Beatles
Saturday, January 23, 8:00 pm
Sunday, January 24, 2:00 pm
Giuseppe Pietraroia, conductor
Classical Mystery Tour, performers
Symphonic Sci-Fi!
Saturday, March 27, 8:00 pm
Sunday, March 28, 2:00 pm
Sean O’Loughlin, conductor
Doo Wop Project
Saturday, May 1, 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 2, 2:00 pm
Sean O’Loughlin, conductor
Doo Wop Project, performers
Classics
Mozart in Paris
Mozart Symphony No. 31
Sunday, October 25, 2:30 pm
Giuseppe Pietraroia, conductor
Valerie Muzzolini, harp
Fauré, Masques et bergamasques
Pierné, Concert Piece for Harp and Orchestra
Debussy, Danses sacrée et profane
Mozart, Symphony No. 31 (Paris)
Lisiecki Plays Mendelssohn
Sunday, November 22, 2:30 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Jan Lisiecki, piano
Richter, Symphony No. 53 in D Major (Trumpet)
Mendelssohn, Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Major
Schnittke, Moz-Art à la Haydn
Weber, Symphony No. 2 in C Major
Min Plays Beethoven
Sunday, February 14, 2:30 pm
Mélanie Léonard, conductor
Lorraine Min, piano
Svendsen, Romeo and Juliet
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor
Schumann, Symphony No. 4 in D Minor
Austrian Schwung: Kluxen Conducts Mozart
Sunday, March 14, 2:30 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Brian Yoon, cello
Beethoven, Yorckscher Marsch
Gulda, Concerto for Cello and Wind Band
Strauss, Perpetuum mobile (A Musical Joke)
Strauss/Gruber, Charivari
Mozart, Symphony No. 35 (Haffner)
Brahms Requiem
Sunday, May 9, 2:30 pm
Christian Kluxen, conductor
Tracy Cantin, soprano
Peter Barrett, baritone
Victoria Choral Society and Members of the Pacific Opera Chorus
Brahms, Ein deutches Requiem (German Requiem)
Concerts for Kids
Orchestra from Planet X
Sunday, November 15, 2:30 pm
Maestro Joey, conductor
Magic Circle Mime Co., performers
The Composer is Dead
Sunday, February 7, 2:30 pm
Maestro Joey, conductor
Bach to the Future
Sunday, April 11, 2:30 pm
Maestro Joey, conductor
Platypus Theatre, performers
Holiday Concerts
Christmas Pops
Saturday, December 12, 8:00 pm
Sunday, December 13, 2:00 pm
Royal Theatre
Sean O’Loughlin, conductor
David Curry, tenor
Members of the Pacific Opera Chorus
Handel’s Messiah
Friday, December 18, 8 PM & Sunday, December 20, 2:30 PM / Farquhar @ UVic
Alex Weimann, conductor
Yulia Doren, soprano
Krisztina Szabo, mezzo soprano
Isaiah Bell, tenor
Andrew Mahon, bass-baritone
Vox Humana Chamber Choir and Members of the Pacific Opera Chorus
Christmas with Heather Rankin
Saturday, December 20, 8 PM / Farquhar @ UVic
Giuseppe Pietraroia, conductor
Heather Rankin & Friends
Vox Humana Chamber Choir
A Viennese New Years
Friday, January 1, 2:30 PM / Farquhar @ UVic
Giuseppe Pietraroia, conductor
Lara Ciekiewicz, soprano
Owen McCausland, tenor
Ballet Victoria
Explorations
Aurora Triptych
Saturday, November 14, 8:00 pm
Dave Dunnet Community Theatre
Gordon Gerard, conductor
Dr. Jose Salgado, KV 265 “Science through Art”, performers
Missy Mazzoli, Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
Dinuk Wijerante, First Winter
John Estacio, Aurora Triptych for orchestra and video
Perxploitation
Saturday, March 6, 8:00 pm
Alex Goolden Performance Hall
Giuseppe Pietraroia, conductor
Vern Griffiths, soloist, percussion
Marcus Goddard, Live Wire (premiere)
Farangis Nurulla-Khoja, Gusto
Nicole Lizée, Perxploitation
