Philharmonic Society Emphasizes Latin Works

The West Coast premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s “La Pasion Segun San Marcos” (The Passion According to St. Mark) and the U.S. debut of the Orquestra de Sao Paulo, Brazil, will be among the highlights of the 2002-03 season presented by the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.

Golijov was one of four contemporary composers invited by Bach scholar Helmuth Rilling to participate in a “Passions 2000” project, creating new music for the gospel accounts of the final days of Christ.

Golijov’s 90-minute work will be presented Oct. 18 and 19 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center under the direction of Maria Guinand, who led the world premiere in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2000.

The Sao Paulo Orchestra, led by music director John Neschling, will play a program of Brazilian music Oct. 25 at the center. Sergio and Odair Assad will be guitar soloists.

The emphasis on Latin American music and musicians will also be reflected in the engagements of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico led by Enrique Arturo Diemecke (also artistic director of the Long Beach Symphony) at the Performing Arts Center on Oct. 23; in the U.S. debut of Banda Matiqueira from Sao Paulo, and in appearances by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano and the Brazilian Guitar Quartet on different dates on separate series.

Other visiting orchestras will include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta (Jan. 12, 2003), the BBC Symphony led by Leonard Slatkin (March 7 and 9), and the Bavarian Radio Symphony in a Brahms cycle led by Lorin Maazel (May 14 and 15).

Chamber music highlights will include Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini playing a Chopin recital in Segerstrom Hall on May 2, 2003, and a return to St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine, where the Hilliard Ensemble and the John Alexander Singers will perform Arvo Part’s “Passion” on Nov. 9.

The Philharmonic Society and the Laguna Chamber Music Society will again co-sponsor a series to run Oct. 13 through Feb. 2, 2003, at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

The four-week run of the equestrian ballet Theatre Zingaro has already been announced.

For more information and a complete schedule, call the Philharmonic Society at (949) 553-2422 or view its Web site at www.philharmonicsociety.org.