Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra is turning to the French and Russians to help celebrate its 40th anniversary.
The volunteer orchestra, under the baton of Music Director Linus Lerner, opens the season this weekend with “From Paris to Leningrad,” featuring French-German composer Jacques Offenbach’s Overture to “La belle Hélène” and Russian great Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony.
To spice things up, Italian cellist Giuliano de Angelis will join the symphony to perform Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1, regarded by composers including Shostakovich as one of the greatest cello concerti ever written. The A Minor concerto tests the technical prowess of the soloist, whose role also is to bring out the lyrical beauty while maintaining a balance with the orchestra.
SASO will perform the concert twice this weekend — in SaddleBrooke on Saturday, Oct. 19, and in Oro Valley on Sunday, Oct. 20.
This weekend marks de Angelis’s debut with SASO. He is principal cello for several Italian orchestras and recently completed a successful solo tour in China. He also has history with Lerner, with whom he has collaborated in the past.
SASO’s 40th anniversary season includes performances in November of Carl Orff’s choral masterpiece “Carmina Burana,” featuring collaborations with high school choirs. SASO last performed the piece for its 30th anniversary. Also on the lineup: a fully staged opera production of Mozart’s “Die Fledermaus” in January, and the season finale of Beethoven’s choral behemoth Ninth Symphony next April to commemorate the German composer’s 250th birthday.
