Savior for the Symphony?

By David Gregson

Photo by Marc Tule

THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY has had many fresh starts in its 92-year history. Several fine conductors have come and gone, management has spun through a revolving door, and a humiliating bankruptcy several years ago brought everything to what many feared was a fatal close. But October 2 marks the brightest of new beginnings. That’s when Jahja Ling mounts the podium in Copley Symphony Hall to conduct the overture to an era of tremendous promise. As the symphony’s new music director, Maestro Ling just may be the musical savior we’ve been waiting for.

There will, of course, be the inevitable gala benefit, including concert, dinner and dancing (for the trifling sum of $750), but normal mortals may pay from $25 to $50 to hear the world’s most famous flautist, Sir James Galway, along with his spouse, Lady Jeanne, play orchestral concerti by Domenico Cimarosa and Saverio Mercadante. Cimarosa? Mercadante? Yep, the programming is going to be considerably more sophisticated now that Ling is in charge. That steady diet of the historic “three B’s” (really “two B’s,” since Bach rarely joins Beethoven and Brahms on orchestral programs) is going to be dramatically augmented to include wonderful composers, old and new, many of whom are relatively—if not totally—unfamiliar to local audiences. Ling brings programming savvy from his extensive experience abroad and in America, including several years with the Cleveland Orchestra, an organization beloved by musical connoisseurs.

Through May next year, San Diegans can expect top guest artists: violin soloists the likes of William Preucil, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Jennifer Koh, Elmar Oliveira and Jeff Thayer; pianists Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Soyeon Lee, Emanuel Ax and Naida Cole; as well as cellist Jian Wang and French horn player Eric Ruske. Many programs will be spiced by tantalizing items that stray from the tried, tired and true: John Corigliano’s The Mannheim Rocket, Peter Maxwell Davies’ An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise, Marc-Andre Dalbavie’s Rocks Under the Water and Hugo Alfven’s Midsommarvaka. But died-in-the-wool conservatives need not fear. Also on board are some healthy warhorses, including Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”), Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 and Verdi’s mighty Messa da Requiem, featuring guest soloists with the San Diego Master Chorale.

Not all will be heavy sledding. As usual, several series are available that envision radically different tastes and needs. In addition to the Jacobs’ Masterworks Series and Jacobs’ Masterwork Aficionado Series, there’s a Winter Pops Series for the Broadway-salsa-Severinsen set; a Family Festival Series including magic, space flights and a Halloween Spooktacular for parents and kids who cherish togetherness; and a Light Bulb Series, definitely not just “for dummies.” Now for the pep talk. San Diegans really need to get behind their symphony, one of our greatest and most enjoyable cultural resources. Even the generous philanthropy of the Jacobs family cannot save an orchestra from empty auditoriums. (Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B Street, downtown, 619-235-0804; sandiegosymphony.com.)

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