Little Russian
Saturday 8:00 pm September 30, 2006
Sunday 2:30 pm October 1, 2006

The season opens with an exciting mix of tradition and the cutting-edge. Already acclaimed a 21st century masterpiece, Jennifer Higdon's dazzling Concerto for Orchestra showcases each of the orchestra's sections in turn -- 'a grand workout for a virtuoso band.'  Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony, titled 'Little Russian' for its singing Ukrainian folk melodies, brings us back to an exuberantly romantic work of great beauty.  Maestro de Cou begins the program with Borodin's lyrical symphonic poem, written to conjure up the Russian Empire's exotic Asian frontier for Tsar Alexander II's silver jubilee, and later beloved from the Broadway musical Kismet.

Shostakovich Centennial
Thursday 7:30 pm October 26, 2006
Saturday 8:00 pm October 28, 2006
Sunday 2:30 pm October 29, 2006

One of the great cellists of our time, Gary Hoffman makes a rare American appearance to celebrate Shostakovich's 100th birthday with Symphony Silicon Valley. Hoffman was the first North American winner of the Rostopovich International Competition in Paris, where he now lives. He will perform Shostakovich's extraordinary First Concerto, one of two the composer wrote for Rostopovich to perform when the West finally opened to the legendary cellist following Stalin's death.  As bookends, Maestro Martin West has programmed two French classics:  Fauré's haunting and rarely heard Pelléas & Mélisande Suite, and Bizet's charming Symphony in C, composed when Bizet was only 17, but already filled with anticipations of Carmen.

Starring...
Saturday 8:00 pm December 9, 2006
Sunday 2:30 pm December 10, 2006

To celebrate the holidays, we introduce the sought-after young Hungarian conductor Gregory Vajda in a program of concertos that spans three centuries.   International favorite Jon Nakamatsu returns to play Beethoven's last and best-loved piano concerto, the revolutionary Emperor, first performed in 1811 Leipzig.  To open, the oboe takes the lead in Ravel's orchestral suite of dances, written during the tumult of WWI in tribute to the grace and refinement of 18th century French culture.  Three actual 18th century chamber concertos follow, created by the flamboyant Venetian priest Antonio Vivaldi and showcasing four of the Symphony's gifted principals.  Savor an evening of brilliant individual performances in rich orchestral settings.

Mark O'Connor's Old Brass
Thursday 7:30 pm January 18, 2007
Saturday 8:00 pm January 20, 2007
Sunday 2:30 pm January 21, 2007

Mark O'Connor, one of the brightest musical talents of this generation, performs his own Old Brass fiddle concerto, melding spectacular Texas fiddlin' and jazz violin with the classical tradition.  Praising O'Connor, the New York Times writes "... if Dvorak had spent his American leisure time in Nashville instead of Spillville, Iowa, 'New World Symphony' would have sounded like this." Under Maestro Joseph Silverstein, longtime Boston Symphony concertmaster and revered artistic advisor to orchestras throughout North America, the concert opens with Beethoven's heroic Leonore Overture and ends with Dvorak's Seventh Symphony, filled with drama and glorious melody -- one of the pinnacles of Romantic music.

Bolero!
Saturday 8:00 pm March 17, 2007
Sunday 2:30 pm March 18, 2007

Maestro Dunner returns to our podium to lead a full-bodied program that demmands a huge orchestra and a wealth of unexpected instrumentation.  It lifts off with Ravel's driving, propulsive Bolero, a breathtaking test of orchestral precision and power.  Kodaly's enchanting Hary Janos Suite then catches us up in old Janos' tales of an adventurous life, from a musical sneeze to city clocks chiming, from the single-handed defeat of Napoleon to love songs played on the Hungarian dulcimer – modern musical story-telling of the highest order.  Copland's landmark Third Symphony, built around his stirring Fanfare for the Common Man, has been called the quintessential American symphony. It closes the concert on a note of warmth and broad humanity.

Verdi's Requiem
Thursday 7:30 pm March 29, 2007
Saturday 8:00 pm March 31, 2007
Sunday 2:30 pm April 1, 2007

Symphony Silicon Valley's presentation of Verdi's dramatic oratorio Requiem will quite simply glow in the beautiful, resonant California Theatre. Conceived on a grand operatic scale, the Requiem moves from the awe and majesty of Judgment Day to the tenderness of a prayer for peace, in one of the richest and most moving works by the great Italian master of vocal magic. The 100-voice Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale and soloists will join the Symphony players under Maestro William Boughton, in his third appearance with the orchestra.

Double Concerto, Triple Threat
Thursday 7:30 pm May 10, 2007
Saturday 8:00 pm May 12, 2007
Sunday 2:30 pm May 13, 2007

Maestro Silverstein returns to lead Symphony Silicon Valley in a magnificent program of three late, great works, showcasing two eminent young guest artists. Haydn's brief, witty Symphony No. 102 opens, a miracle of compact expression, full of both deep feeling and playfulness. One of Stravinsky's last works for full orchestra, his Symphony in Three Movements, then leads us into Brahms' extraordinary Double Concerto. This mature masterpiece demands the utmost virtuosity from both its soloists; it's been said that it should sound as if it is played on a single 8-string instrument, a perfect marriage of cello and violin. We are delighted to welcome rising international stars Axel Strauss and Mark Kosower, to close our 2006-07 season with this unforgettable work.