The 2007/2008 Seattle Symphony subscription season at a glance
Every year, I put together a little pocket guide to the
Seattle Symphony subscription season
for my symphony friends to help them decide which
ticket package they want.
As before, you might find it helpful, you might not, but here it is anyway.
| Weekend |
Program |
Comments |
18 |
12 |
9A |
9B |
6A |
6B |
6C |
6D |
6E |
4A |
4B |
MS |
MM |
PC |
| 09/27/2007 |
Bright Sheng: Tibetan Love Songs
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto #1
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #4 |
Nervous?
Good
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10/04/2007 |
Stravinsky: Pulcinella
Bartók: Violin Concerto #1
Schumann: Symphony #2 |
Excellent
Okay
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10/12/2007 |
Mozart: Requiem |
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10/25/2007 |
Beethoven: Creatures of Prometheus Overture
Mozart: Piano Concerto #23
Beethoven: Coriolan Overture
Schubert: Symphony #2 |
Good
Awesome
Excellent
Awesome |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 11/01/2007 |
Stravinsky: Jeu de cartes
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande
Debussy: Ibéria (Images) |
Okay?
Excellent
Good
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 11/08/2007 |
Brahms: Piano Concerto #1
Brahms: Symphony #2 |
Awesome
Awesome |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 11/10/2007 |
Brahms: Piano Concerto #2
Brahms: Symphony #4 |
Awesome
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 11/15/2007 |
Britten: Russian Funeral
Liszt: Piano Concerto #2
Shostakovich: Symphony #11 "The Year 1905" |
Nervous?
Excellent
Polarizing? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 11/29/2007 |
Corelli: "Christmas" Concerto
Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Cellos
Granger: Molly on the Shore
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker (excerpts) |
Good
Good
Excellent
Awesome |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 01/03/1008 |
Beethoven: Leonore Overture #2
Mozart: Piano Concerto #20
Beethoven: Symphony #5 |
Excellent
Awesome
Awesome |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 01/17/2008 |
Mozart: Symphony #1
Mozart: Concertone for Two Violins
Mozart: Violin Concerto #3
Haydn: Symphony #102 |
Excellent
Good
Excellent
Awesome |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 01/31/2008 |
Brahms: Tragic Overture
Schönberg: Pelléas und Mélisande
Brahms: Symphony #1 |
Excellent
Nervous
Awesome |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 02/07/2008 |
Varèse: Intégrales
Herbert: Cello Concerto #2
Rachmaninov: Symphony #3 |
Nervous
Good
Okay |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 02/14/2008 |
Wagner: Die Meistersinger (Excerpts)
Samuel Jones: Horn Concerto†
Dvořák: Symphony #9 "New World" |
Good
Nervous?
Awesome |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 02/28/2008 |
Mozart: Symphony #38
J. C. Bach: Flute Concerto
Beethoven: Symphony #4 |
Awesome
Good?
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 03/13/2008 |
Kernis: World Premiere
Glazunov: Violin Concerto
R. Strauss: Symphonia domestica |
Wildcard?
Excellent
Polarizing |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 03/20/2008 |
Bach: Mass in b minor |
Good |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 03/27/2008 |
Liszt: Prometheus
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto #1
Saint-Saëns: Symphony #3 "Organ" |
Okay
Awesome
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 04/03/2008 |
Bruch: Violin Concerto #1
Bruckner: Symphony #5 |
Excellent
Nervous |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 04/17/2008 |
Mozart: Don Giovanni Overture
Mozart: Piano Concerto #27
Schubert: Symphony #9 "The Great" |
Excellent
Awesome
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 04/24/2008 |
Mendelssohn: Sinfonia #10 in b minor
Dvořák: Cello Concerto
Sibelius: Symphony #1 |
Excellent?
Awesome
Good |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 05/04/2008 |
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons |
Awesome |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 05/29/2008 |
Martinú: Symphony #3
Korngold: Violin Concerto
Various: Genesis Suite (Chihuly visuals) |
Nervous?
Okay
Nervous? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 06/05/2008 |
Weill: The Little Mahagonny
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra |
Good
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 06/12/2008 |
Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky |
Polarizing? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 06/19/2008 |
Hindemith: Concert Music for Strings and Brass
Bloch: Schelomo, Hebraic Rhapsody
Franck: Symphony in d minor |
Nervous
Nervous?
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 06/26/2008 |
Wagner: Prelude and Liebestod (Tristan and Isolde)
Mahler: Symphony #6 |
Polarizing
Polarizing |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
18 |
12 |
9A |
9B |
6A |
6B |
6C |
6D |
6E |
4A |
4B |
MS |
MM |
PC |
| † | Premiere |
| MS | Musically Speaking |
| MM | Mainly Mozart |
| PC | Popular Classics |
Notes:
This chart doesn't include "one-off" concert series such
as the Visiting Orchestras or Distinguished Artists series.
Explanations for the partial blocks:
The 18A series gets the 11/8 program; 18B gets 11/10.
The Musically Speaking concerts typically omit one of the pieces
from the evening program, substituting on-stage commentary.
The comments column very crudely categorizes the works
to assist my less-classically-aware friends.
This is, of course, a highly subjective rating system,
but I tried to view each piece from the ears of somebody new.
Thus, I rated downward pieces that I personally like
but which others might not and rated up pieces that I may not
find musically satisfying but which nevertheless tend to be
crowd-pleasers.
These predictions have, of course, proven wrong in the past.
For example,
this season, my rating of "Okay" for Copland's Music for the Theatre
was too optimistic.
Here's what the comments mean.
Note that they do not indicate whether the piece is significant in
a musicological sense; they're just my guess as to whether my friends
are going to like it.
- Awesome: Guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
- Excellent: You will definitely like this piece.
- Good: You will probably like this piece.
- Okay: You may like this piece.
- Nervous: I have a bad feeling about this one.
- Polarizing: Some people will love it; others will hate it.
- Wildcard: I have no idea what will happen.
A question mark means that I am not familiar with the piece
and am basing my evaluation on what I know about the composer
(or am just guessing).
