Long Beach Symphony’s Chock-Full 65th Season

The 1999-2000 season of the Long Beach Symphony, its 65th, will offer a seven-concert Classics series, a four-event Pops series and introduce Holiday Concerts, also in the Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.

Music Director JoAnn Falletta will conduct six of the seven Classics programs, beginning Oct. 16, when Andre-Michel Schub plays Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 on a program also listing John Luther Adams’ “The Time of Drumming” and Brahms’ First Symphony.

Harmonica player Robert Bonfiglio will play the Harmonica Concerto by Heitor Villa-Lobos on the Nov. 20 program, when Falletta conducts Janacek’s Sinfonietta and Respighi’s “Pines of Rome.” Mahler’s Sixth Symphony continues the orchestra’s Mahler cycle in Terrace Theater on Jan. 22.

Falletta will conduct Richard Strauss’ “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks” and Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony, the “Little Russian,” on Feb. 26, when the soloist is violinist Adele Anthony, who will play the Violin Concerto by Nielsen.

The veteran John Browning is soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on March 25. The premiere of a commissioned work by Behzad Ranjbaran and Roussel’s Suite No. 2, “Bacchus et Ariane,” fill out that program.

Guest conductor Gustav Meier leads Beethoven’s Second Symphony, Katherine Hoover’s “Stitch-te Naku” and Samuel Barber’s “Medea’s Meditation” and Dance of Vengeance at the April 29 concert, when cellist Sharon Robinson is soloist.

The season, Falletta’s 11th and final year as leader of the orchestra, closes June 10.

That final program lists works inspired by visual art: Respighi’s “Botticelli” Triptych, Martinu’s “Fescoes of Piero della Francsca” and Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

Conducted by Michael Krajewski, the four Pops concerts are scheduled in the Long Beach Arena on Sept. 25, Nov. 6, Feb. 12 and June 17.

In addition, Krajewski will lead twin performances of a holiday program, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 19 at 2 p.m., both in Terrace Theater.

For more information: (562) 436-3203.