Watts, Stern to Play in Chamber Season

While local governments worry about drought-related water shortages, the La Jolla Chamber Music Society is facing a shortage of visiting orchestras next season. According to society executive director Neale Perl, the number of major orchestras touring the West Coast for the 1991-92 season has dried up to a single symphony--the Cleveland Orchestra--which caused the society to dissolve its 3-year-old downtown International Orchestra series.

“This past year we experienced a bumper crop of visiting orchestras,” Perl said, announcing his 1991-92 season earlier this week. “But next year we have only Cleveland. It now looks like orchestras will be making a Western swing every other year.”

During 1990-91, the La Jolla society is presenting four orchestras at Copley Symphony Hall and an additional orchestra at Civic Theatre on the primarily soloist, five-concert Celebrity series. In the upcoming season, the number of concerts in downtown San Diego sponsored by the society will drop from nine to six. The Cleveland Orchestra will open the six-concert 1991-92 Celebrity Series at Civic Theatre on Oct. 25. To keep orchestra lovers happy, Perl also promised to include at least one orchestra in each upcoming Celebrity Series season.

“If we have the opportunity to present great orchestras, we will. But we will not be starting another orchestra series again,” Perl explained.

For the Celebrity Series’ second offering, American pianist Andre Watts will appear in a solo recital Dec. 7. He will be followed by Isaac Stern on Jan. 22, 1992. According to Perl, the legendary violinist will play only eight other solo recitals in the United States next season.

Also in 1992, Chopin specialist Garrick Ohlsson will give a piano recital Feb. 22, followed by a duo-recital featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Jeffrey Kahane on April 9. Ma performed at Civic Theatre earlier this year, and Kahane soloed with the San Diego Symphony last week.

The Celebrity Series will conclude with an all-Beethoven recital by Korean violinist Kyung-Wha Chung on April 29. Chung will by accompanied by pianist Stephen Bishop Kovacevich.

No vocalists will be included in the Celebrity Series next season. “We made soprano Jessye Norman a generous offer that she declined without so much as a counteroffer,” Perl stated.

Celebrity Series’ subscriptions run from $50 to $350.