Robert Thies shot to fame in 1995 when he became the first American in four decades—since Van Cliburn’s Cold War win in 1958—to win a Russian piano competition, but things didn’t quite work out as planned… Robert talks with us ending up at zero after his feted win, diving into Clara Schumann’s diaries, and looking forward to performing Clara Schumann’s piano concerto at 2023/24 season finale concert BRAHMS OBSESSIONS. First things first, how is your name pronounced? I know people can be intimidated by this. It is pronounced like “Theece”—rhymes with peace. Tell us a little about yourself. I ..read more

Saad Haddad (b. 1992) Mishwar (World Premiere, 2024) Saad Haddad, the California Symphony’s current Resident Composer, is acclaimed for his distinctive blend of Western art music and Middle Eastern idioms. Haddad has drawn Mishwar (Arabic مشوار(, meaning “A Trip,” out of his own memories. He tells us that: Saad Haddad, photo by Matt Dine “Throughout my childhood, my family and I made frequent trips up the coast of California, from the San Fernando Valley up to the Bay Area. Awaiting us there was the paternal, Jordanian side of my rambunctious, extended family, who we always look ..read more

A 19th century basset horn (left) and a modern basset horn (right). A member of the clarinet family, the basset horn has a lower range and darker sound than the Bb clarinet. It’s rare that a concert is stopped midway through a piece, but that’s exactly what happened during Sunday’s MOZART SERENADES concert when part of an instrument broke off mid-performance. The heroic actions and incredible sight-reading talents of one California Symphony musician saved the day. Rarely played today, the basset horn is featured in a number of Mozart’s orchestral works, operas, and concertos, including his ico ..read more

Richard Strauss (1864–1949) Serenade in E-flat Major, Op. 7 (1881) Richard Strauss may have been a mere puppy when he wrote his Serenade for wind ensemble, but he was a frisky puppy indeed, already the author of a handful of compositions including a string quartet, a piano sonata, and even an unpublished symphony. He was raised in an intensely musical home, thanks to his father’s position as principal horn of the Munich Court Orchestra. Papa Strauss held deeply conservative musical beliefs. He worshipped Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven as archangels and condemned Richard Wagner as hellspawn. It ..read more

Richard Strauss (1864–1949) Serenade in E-flat Major, Op. 7 (1881) Richard Strauss may have been a mere puppy when he wrote his Serenade for wind ensemble, but he was a frisky puppy indeed, already the author of a handful of compositions including a string quartet, a piano sonata, and even an unpublished symphony. He was raised in an intensely musical home, thanks to his father’s position as principal horn of the Munich Court Orchestra. Papa Strauss held deeply conservative musical beliefs. He worshipped Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven as archangels and condemned Richard Wagner as hellspawn. It ..read more

Pictured: Allen Biggs, Principal Percussion; Jennifer Cho, Concertmaster. Photos by Kristen Loken.Six flowerpots, dustbins, plumbing pipe, tin cans… You could be forgiven for mistaking the instrumentation for Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin with Five Percussionists for a shopping list for ACE Hardware. This month in MOZART SERENADES, sandwiched between two giants of the wind repertoire—Strauss’ Serenade and Mozart’s Gran Partita—comes a quirky and rhythmic concerto by American maverick composer Lou Harrison. Concertmaster Jennifer Cho becomes the sole strings player on the program, featured ..read more

He’s been called “the genius of the modern piano” and has the honors to show for it—he’s a recipient of the Helen Keller Award for Personal Achievement, his Portraits in Blue album was nominated for a Grammy, and he regularly performs with top orchestras around the world. We talked with Marcus Roberts about his three decade-long exploration of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, which his trio brings direct from Carnegie Hall to GERSHWIN IN NEW YORK—January 27 and 28, 2024 at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek. Welcome, Marcus! Please tell us a little about yourself. I was born and raised in Jackso ..read more

New York Times music critic Olin Downes described the opening passage of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue as “an outrageous cadenza of the clarinet” after the piece’s premiere in 1924. 100 years later, this passage is considered an iconic orchestral excerpt for professional and amateur clarinetists alike. We talked to California Symphony principal clarinetist Cory Tiffin about his history with the piece ahead of his solo in GERSHWIN IN NEW YORK. Tell us a little about yourself. I grew up in the Greater Chicago area and attended DePaul University. Before moving to the Bay Area with my family ..read more

Samuel Barber (1910­–1981) Symphony No. 1, in One Movement, Op. 9 (1936, rev. 1942) It must have been lonely to be Samuel Barber there for a while. Almost alone of mid-twentieth-century American composers he eschewed the era’s prevailing bleak modernism in favor of a rich musical language that emphasized melody, opulent harmonies, and traditional structures. The critics weren’t always kind. Neither were the cerebral types who signed on to conductor-composer Pierre Boulez’s dictat that musicians not riding the ultra-modernist bandwagon were “irrelevant.” From left to right, Aaron Copland, S ..read more

Allen has been performing with the California Symphony since the very first concert back in 1986. He’s survived exploding canons and thrives on physical challenges like open water swimming in the Bay. Meet Principal Percussionist—and triathlete—Allen Biggs! Name: Allen Biggs Position: Principal Percussion Section: The best one—Percussion! Joined California Symphony: At the very first concert at the Rheem Theatre! Been playing with the group ever since. Hometown: The Richmond District of San Francisco College: San Francisco State University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music F ..read more