We were in and out of Chongqing in less than 24 hours, arriving mid-afternoon Sunday and departing Monday morning for Beijing. The concert came in between. You’ll get no summing up of this mega-city from me. Fair to say, the
Mother’s Day in Chongqing
The mothers of Pacific Symphony pose backstage at our concert in Chongqing on Sunday night. Happy Mother’s Day!
Thursday and Friday in Hefei and Wuxi (continued)
We rolled into Wuxi (pronounced Woo-she) at a little after noon Friday, having left our hotel in Hefei at 8:30 a.m. Wuxi is on the way back to Shanghai on the train line; we had passed through it on our
Thursday and Friday in Hefei and Wuxi
Thursday and Friday were what orchestra tours are all about: Getting a boatload of musicians (or in this case a trainload) somewhere far away and giving a concert. Thursday morning found us in Shanghai. By the afternoon we were in
Wednesday in Shanghai
The first rehearsal of the tour — and last, I hear — in the afternoon, after an hour and twenty minute drive from the hotel to Shanghai Poly Grand Theatre. It’s a post-modern building, formidably austere to my eye, designed
Thursday: China itinerary
A day of travel and a concert for an orchestra on tour. (Click on photo to enlarge.) More about Wednesday as time permits.
Shanghai, Tuesday evening
Off last night (Tuesday) in a van, weaving through the streets into an older part of Shanghai, for a fan/media event. Violinist Pinchas Zukerman (our soloist on tour) and conductor Carl St.Clair chatted about the world of classical music and
Monday, wait, Tuesday in Shanghai
After a punishing 14-hour flight, the second and smaller portion (Group B) of Pacific Symphony arrived in the most populous city on Earth, in the most populous country on Earth — Shanghai, China — at approximately 6:30 a.m. local time,
André Watts, 16, debuts with New York Philharmonic
The 16-year-old André Watts debuts with the New York Philharmonic in a Young People’s Concert, nationally broadcast in prime time on CBS, Jan. 15, 1963. Leonard Bernstein introduces him with distinct references to Watts’ race. (His parents were Hungarian and
New subscription series: ‘Symphonic Voices’
Pacific Symphony has launched a new subscription series focused on the human voice. Dubbed “Symphonic Voices,” the four-concert package is centered on the annual semi-staged production of an opera, which next season will be Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” (Feb. 21, 23,