In this Issue: Lorin Maazel conducts trubute to Arturo Toscanini Listen to an interview with Trisha Brown Theater in Song program update

Dear Friends:

As we start up our season again in earnest following a short winter break, I wanted to call your attention to several noteworthy events coming up very soon, as well as give you an update on programming for one of our spring Special Events.

Lorin Maazel to conduct Symphonica Toscanini
It has always been a dream of mine to bring Lorin Maazel, one of the greatest living conductors in the world today, to Zellerbach Hall. This January, that wish comes true as this legendary conductor of the New York Philharmonic (and formerly of the Vienna State Opera and Cleveland Orchestra) introduces his newest music ensemble to Bay Area audiences. One of Maazel's favorite special projects, the Symphonica Toscanini is comprised of over 100 of Europe's finest young musicians, each hand-selected by Maestro Maazel himself for this special tour undertaken in honor of another celebrated conductor—Arturo Toscanini. Maazel himself will conduct the orchestra in a program of Italian and Italian-themed music in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Toscanini's passing.

Trisha Brown Audio Interview now online
The first female choreographer to receive the coveted MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, Mills College graduate Trisha Brown is one of the most widely acclaimed and influential choreographers to emerge from the postmodern era. Since establishing her company in 1970, she has created a body of work that has changed modern dance forever and has also had great success as a director in the world of opera.

Our own Director of Public Relations, Christina Kellogg, had a chance to sit down and talk with Trisha Brown this very morning about last night's world premiere of I love my robots, a piece her company will also perform at Zellerbach next weekend. Created with Japanese artist, architect, and theorist Kenjiro Okazaki, the work also features music by Brown's longtime collaborator Laurie Anderson. Aside from having a very interesting discussion about the work itself, Ms. Kellogg learned an exciting piece of news about the company's Friday night performance on January 26th: Trisha Brown herself will join the company onstage to dance in the West Coast premiere of I love my robots at Cal Performances. I'm pleased to invite you to listen in on the conversation by downloading our brand new Audio Program Notes available right now on our web site!

Theater in Song: the Music of Jake Heggie and Ricky Ian Gordon
Do you ever wish you could have been present back in the day of Beethoven or Mozart when special patrons regularly gathered in small salons to hear these wonderful artists perform their own music in an intimate setting? I recently had a chance to hear a private performance of a new piece by acclaimed American composer Jake Heggie and the experience (and piece!) so captivated me that I immediately began looking for a way to allow our audiences to have the same privilege. And so I hope you'll join me this April in Hertz Hall for Theater in Song, a special event that will feature two great contemporary composers—Jake Heggie and Ricky Ian Gordon—performing their own compositions with the help of other acclaimed musical stars, including the Bay Area's own Frederica von Stade. The program will be highlighted by the very piece that so piqued my own interest: the West Coast premiere of "At the Statue of Venus," Heggie's latest collaboration with theatrical genius Terrence McNally, their first since the opera Dead Man Walking. A complete program of works and guest artists is now available online, as well as audio clips featuring both composers and information on a free accompanying Key Notes talk: The Composers Way, in which the two artists themselves talk about composing American art songs in the 21st century. This Key Notes talk will be held Thursday, April 26 at 7-8:30 pm in the Seaborg Room of the Men's Faculty Club on the UC Berkeley campus.

I look forward to seeing you all in the coming months as we experience together some of the most amazing dance, theater and music events happening in the world today.

Sincerely,

Robert Cole
Director, Cal Performances