Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 shine alongside Ravel’s “Alborada del gracioso” and Ticheli’s “Shooting Stars”

Opening Night Red-Carpet invites audiences to an immersive, interactive lobby experience featuring a historical timeline, social media selfie-stations, and signature cocktails and mocktails

Pacific Symphony and Music Director Carl St.Clair kick off a blockbuster concert season filled with inspired pieces from St.Clair’s 35-year legacy, starting with “Rachmaninoff and Beethoven,” featuring works that St.Clair conducted during his first concert as music director in 1990. This includes Ravel’s “Alborada del gracioso,” a celebration of Spain’s sunny spirit that dances with lively energy from start to finish. Then, Chinese American pianist Claire Huangci, winner of the 2018 Geza Anda Competition, takes center stage with Rachmaninoff’s 24 variations on Paganini’s theme. The program opens with Frank Ticheli’s “Shooting Stars,” which the symphony’s first composer in residence wrote for St.Clair’s 25th anniversary. Taking the finale spot is Beethoven’s joyous and exuberant Symphony No. 7, which 35 years ago, marked a celebratory milestone for St.Clair, who’s lifelong goal was to lead a major orchestra, and which the composer himself cherished as “one of my best works.”

The Symphony’s opening concerts take place Thursday – Saturday, Sept. 26-28, at 8 p.m., in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Season ticket packages are still available starting at $300 while single tickets start at $27. A preview talk with Alan Chapman begins at 7 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call (714) 755-5799 or visit PacificSymphony.org.

“We’re opening the 2024-25 season with a reminiscent look back on my very first concert leading Pacific Symphony, when we first performed Beethoven’s ambitious Seventh Symphony together,” said Maestro St.Clair. “This joyful and thrilling work is the perfect way to open our season, as we celebrate the music we’ve cherished over the years, welcoming exceptional guest artists and debuting exciting works from both the old world and the new.”

First commissioned and premiered by the Pacific Symphony in its 25th anniversary season, Composer Ticheli’s “Shooting Stars” features variations of celestial light—shooting stars, the moon, and the sun—in its three movements. While Ticheli’s music often contains no strings, Shooting Stars demonstrates his astonishing mastery of color and texture through brass, wind and strings. Ticheli’s work has been described as “powerful, deeply felt, crafted with an impressive ear for striking instrumental colors.”

Sprightly and a bit mysterious, the second piece is Ravel’s intoxicating “Alborada del gracioso”—usually translated as “Morning Song of the Jester”—which sparkles with the early light of a summer morning. It is the fourth movement of Miroirs, a five-movement suite that Ravel originally scored for solo piano and later orchestrated. It is also a remarkable example of imitative writing, evoking the staccato spray of Flamenco guitar technique as the orchestra buzzes with energy and lilts with the soft breezes of morning.

Before intermission, the audience is treated to Sergei Rachimaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, featuring Claire Huangci, an American pianist of Chinese descent who is known for continuously captivating audiences with her “radiant virtuosity, artistic sensitivity, keen interactive sense, and subtle auditory dramaturgy.” For the finale, Carl St.Clair leads Pacific Symphony in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. The “fun” shines through in this work with the exuberance of its joyful first movements and exciting climaxes.  

“This season is filled with extraordinary excitement and deep meaning as we honor the remarkable leadership of our beloved music director, Carl St.Clair,” adds Pacific Symphony President and CEO John Forsyte. “For 35 years, Carl has poured his heart, imagination, and passionate commitment into building one of the most revered orchestras of our time. His visionary leadership has not only elevated Pacific Symphony to new heights but has also forged deep connections within our community, enriching the cultural fabric of Orange County.”

Pacific Symphony’s Classical Series is made possible by the Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation, with additional support from The Park Club, PBS SoCal, Classical California KUSC and LAist. “Beethoven and Rachmaninoff” is sponsored by The Michelle F. Rohé Fund.

About Claire Huangci, piano

Claire Huangci, an American pianist of Chinese descent, was a winner of the 2018 Geza Anda Competition. She continuously captivates audiences with her “radiant virtuosity, artistic sensitivity, keen interactive sense, and subtle auditory dramaturgy” (Salzburger Nachrichten). With an irrepressible curiosity and penchant for unusual repertoire, she proves her versatility with a wide range of repertoire spanning from Bach and Scarlatti via German and Russian romanticism to Bernstein, Gulda, and Corigliano.

Huangci began her international career at the age of nine with concert performances and competition victories. After studying with Eleanor Sokoloff and Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, she moved to Germany in 2007 for further studies with Arie Vardi at the Hannover Musikhochschule, graduating with honors in 2016 and assisting him. Early in her artistic career, she stood out as an expressive interpreter of Chopin, winning first prizes at the European Chopin competition and US National Chopin competition in 2009 and 2010. She was also the youngest participant to receive second prize at the International ARD Music Competition in 2011. In 2019, Huangci was awarded the grand prize at the Chambre Orchestre de Paris Play-Direct academy.


About Pacific Symphony
Pacific Symphony, under the dynamic leadership of Music Director Carl St.Clair since 1990, has been the resident orchestra of Orange County’s Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall for over 15 years. Founded in 1978, the Symphony is the largest orchestra formed in the U.S. in the last 50 years and is not only a fixture of musical life in Southern California but is also recognized as an outstanding ensemble making strides on both the national and international scenes. The orchestra presents more than 100 concerts and events each year and a rich array of education and community engagement programs, reaching more than 300,000 residents of all ages.

Pacific Symphony made its debut at Carnegie Hall in 2018, where it was invited to perform as part of a yearlong celebration of composer Philip Glass' 80th birthday. The Symphony made its first-ever tour to China the same year, with performances in five cities, including Shanghai and Beijing. The Symphony has been recognized with multiple ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming and included among the country’s five most innovative orchestras by the League of American Orchestras.

Pacific Symphony’s discography comprises 15 recordings, mostly of 20th- and 21st-century music by such American composers as William Bolcom, John Corigliano and Richard Danielpour. In 2012 for Naxos, St.Clair and the orchestra recorded Philip Glass’s The Passion of Ramakrishna, a Pacific Symphony commission that appeared on the Carnegie Hall program. The Symphony has also recorded for Harmonia Mundi, Koch International Classics, Reference Recordings, and Sony Classical, among other labels. The Symphony has been recognized with multiple ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming and included among the country’s five most innovative orchestras by the League of American Orchestras. The Symphony’s education and community engagement activities have also been recognized by the League, as well as the National Endowment for the Arts.