Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

It's all about the femme

Overcoming, brooding, and human sacrifice at San Diego Symphony

karengomyo.com
karengomyo.com
Video:

Sarah Chang plays Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor (full)

A gentle snow falls at dusk in a pristine Finnish forest. The long arctic night is descending near the winter solstice and a solitary figure wanders the wood, lost in the trees.

And so the Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, as illuminated by violinist Karen Gomyo, began. However, before we get to Sibelius’ dark night of the violin-soul, there was Beethoven.

Of all Beethoven’s overtures, Leonore No. 3 overcomes the most. I’d say "triumphant" but I am sick to death of the word. Using the word “victorious” is an option but, like a triumph, victory comes after the struggle. This overture starts the struggle known as the opera Fidelio.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Fidelio is about political prisoners being oppressed and ultimately freed by the sacrifice and heroism of Leonore, who disguises herself as a character named Fidelio in order to enter the prison and set her husband free. That’s the "overcoming" part.

Here, again, is the German tradition of the redemptive feminine, which has roots in Goethe’s Faust, continues through Fidelio and peaks in Wagner’s Flying Dutchman, Tannhauser, and Lohengrin.

Speaking of the redemptive feminine, Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, conducted the San Diego Symphony as if it were the end of the world. Her energy while conducting the Leonore Overture ignited Symphony Hall and set the orchestra on fire.

Then came Sibelius and his Nordic brooding, full of sweet gloom and glorious depression. Gražinyte-Tyla’s fire didn’t quite turn to ice but the flame simmered while Karen Gomyo took us on a journey with a map only Sibelius could create.

There is a reluctant yearning in Sibelius’s music which might be left over from his teenage desire to be a virtuoso violinist, not a composer. That’s some hardcore pseudo-psychology but the opening movement is full of longing — and perhaps regret?

Karen Gomyo gave a singular performance. This violin concerto is, at times, introspective instead of spectacular and it gives the audience’s attention a chance to wander as Sibelius turns inward. The audience was locked on Ms. Gomyo from start to finish because her performance brought us into those dark woods into which Sibelius, and all of us, have wandered from time to time.

The first half of this concert was so phenomenal that the mutha-effing Rite of Spring almost felt like an afterthought — until it started. There is no holding back the behemoth.

The San Diego Symphony threw a saddle on that beast and rode it across the splintering ice of the Neva River and out onto the thawing steppe. Along the way a young woman is chosen as a sacrifice. Ahem — redemptive feminine.

The Rite of Spring is about a pagan ritual which involves an adoration of nature and the sacrifice of a female to the earth. Stravinsky wanted to capture the energy of the Russian landscape exploding out of the depths of winter in this spring ritual. It’s a tall order but the performance of Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla and the San Diego Symphony was up to the task.

The search for a new music director is turning into an embarrassment of riches. The guest conductors have been stellar and the orchestra has appeared to respond to all of them with top-notch performances across a broad spectrum of music.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024’s Best Bitcoin & Crypto Casinos – Play BTC Casino Games Online

Best Bitcoin Casinos (2024): Top 10 Crypto Casino Sites for BIG Payouts
karengomyo.com
karengomyo.com
Video:

Sarah Chang plays Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor (full)

A gentle snow falls at dusk in a pristine Finnish forest. The long arctic night is descending near the winter solstice and a solitary figure wanders the wood, lost in the trees.

And so the Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, as illuminated by violinist Karen Gomyo, began. However, before we get to Sibelius’ dark night of the violin-soul, there was Beethoven.

Of all Beethoven’s overtures, Leonore No. 3 overcomes the most. I’d say "triumphant" but I am sick to death of the word. Using the word “victorious” is an option but, like a triumph, victory comes after the struggle. This overture starts the struggle known as the opera Fidelio.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Fidelio is about political prisoners being oppressed and ultimately freed by the sacrifice and heroism of Leonore, who disguises herself as a character named Fidelio in order to enter the prison and set her husband free. That’s the "overcoming" part.

Here, again, is the German tradition of the redemptive feminine, which has roots in Goethe’s Faust, continues through Fidelio and peaks in Wagner’s Flying Dutchman, Tannhauser, and Lohengrin.

Speaking of the redemptive feminine, Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, conducted the San Diego Symphony as if it were the end of the world. Her energy while conducting the Leonore Overture ignited Symphony Hall and set the orchestra on fire.

Then came Sibelius and his Nordic brooding, full of sweet gloom and glorious depression. Gražinyte-Tyla’s fire didn’t quite turn to ice but the flame simmered while Karen Gomyo took us on a journey with a map only Sibelius could create.

There is a reluctant yearning in Sibelius’s music which might be left over from his teenage desire to be a virtuoso violinist, not a composer. That’s some hardcore pseudo-psychology but the opening movement is full of longing — and perhaps regret?

Karen Gomyo gave a singular performance. This violin concerto is, at times, introspective instead of spectacular and it gives the audience’s attention a chance to wander as Sibelius turns inward. The audience was locked on Ms. Gomyo from start to finish because her performance brought us into those dark woods into which Sibelius, and all of us, have wandered from time to time.

The first half of this concert was so phenomenal that the mutha-effing Rite of Spring almost felt like an afterthought — until it started. There is no holding back the behemoth.

The San Diego Symphony threw a saddle on that beast and rode it across the splintering ice of the Neva River and out onto the thawing steppe. Along the way a young woman is chosen as a sacrifice. Ahem — redemptive feminine.

The Rite of Spring is about a pagan ritual which involves an adoration of nature and the sacrifice of a female to the earth. Stravinsky wanted to capture the energy of the Russian landscape exploding out of the depths of winter in this spring ritual. It’s a tall order but the performance of Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla and the San Diego Symphony was up to the task.

The search for a new music director is turning into an embarrassment of riches. The guest conductors have been stellar and the orchestra has appeared to respond to all of them with top-notch performances across a broad spectrum of music.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Next Article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.