The San Luis Obispo Symphony proudly presents “Mozart & More” sponsored by Jeff and Melodee Brady, for audiences to view from the comfort of their own homes. This virtual concert will be released on Saturday, February 6. The program includes (among other works) Mendelssohn’s Octet for strings, Mozart’s Serenade No. 12, and a featured performance of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 4 by guest soloist Amit Peled.
The Bach Cello Suites are among the most recognizable and beloved works in classical music, although Bach never achieved fame during his lifetime. Made popular in the early twentieth century by cellist Pablo Casals, the mysterious suites bear no markings indicating how the work should be played. This opens a door to creative interpretation and, some would say, because of this no two performances of the Bach cello suites are ever identical.
Praised by the The New York Times, internationally-renowned cellist Amit Peled is acclaimed as one of the most exciting and virtuosic instrumentalists on the concert stage today. Having performed on many of the world’s most prestigious stages including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., Salle Gaveau in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, and the Konzerthaus Berlin, Peled has released over a dozen recordings on the Naxos, Centaur, Delos, and CTM Classics labels.
A professor since 2003 at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, he has performed and presented master classes around the world including the Marlboro and Newport Music Festivals and the Heifetz International Music Summer Institute in the US, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany, International Musicians Seminar Prussia Cove in England, and Keshet Eilon in Israel.
Mr. Peled plays Pablo Casals’s 1733 Matteo Goffriller cello. Two critically acclaimed CDs “The Jewish Soul” and “Cellobration” were released under the Centaur Records label. He is represented worldwide by CTM Classics. For more information, visit amitpeled.com.
While unable to hold traditional concerts in the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo, SLO Symphony adapted its offerings for the 2020-21 season to accommodate socially-distanced virtual concerts and, weather permitting, pop-up Drive-In screenings in the meadow at Madonna Inn. Audience members may purchase the virtual season for $75 and view the concerts on or after their release date on Vimeo at vimeo.com/ondemand/slosymphony.
Season sponsors include Madonna Inn, Harvey’s Honey Huts, Pacific Western Bank, FPAC Clifton Swanson Community Access Fund, Gordon Floral Design, CalSafe Movers, Henry W. Bull Foundation, Community Foundation of San Luis Obispo County, and the City of San Luis Obispo. Pre-concert “Symphonic Foray” talks are sponsored by Ursula and Mike Fitzgerald. SLO Symphony relies heavily on generous support from community members in order to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABOUT SLO SYMPHONY
For nearly 60 years, the San Luis Obispo Symphony has enhanced the cultural landscape of the Central Coast. During the 2020-21 season, SLO Symphony adapted its traditional performances into safe, socially distanced events as drive-in and virtual concerts. Its Music Education programs provide beginning, intermediate, and advanced student musicians with opportunities to learn, expand their musical skills, and perform with ensembles of their peers. For more, visit slosymphony.org.