sound stories

Past and present intertwine as Kazem Abdullah, one of the most exciting American conductors on the scene today, makes his SMF conducting debut with a program filled with brilliant orchestral color. Art and music meld in Ottorino Respighi’s enchanting Botticelli Triptych, a marvelous musical rendering of three iconic paintings by the Renaissance artist. Longtime SMF faculty cellist Desmond Hoebig is featured in Tchaikovsky’s elegant “Rococo” Variations, the Russian composer’s loving homage to Mozart. The concert concludes with Mozart’s final symphony, “Jupiter”, a masterpiece of impeccable clarity and compositional virtuosity.