UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 2026

UC Berkeley Department of Music

Orchestre de Paris / Klaus Mäkelä

Philharmonie de Paris

Klangforum Wien Orchestra · Cambreling

House for Mozart

Contributing to the homage à Pierre Boulez, the Klangforum Wien Orchestra commemorates the 100th birthday of the composer and conductor by performing works by Maurice Ravel, Pierre Boulez and Edgard Varèse. Featuring soprano Sarah Aristidou, the concert at the Haus für Mozart is lead by Sylvain Cambreling.

Salzburger Festspiele – Guest Orchestras/À Pierre: Klangforum Wien Orchestra

Haus für Mozart, Salzburg

Feel the beat. From the primal, hypnotic dances of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring to the sensual throb of Ravel’s Boléro and the edgy thrum and twitch of Varèse’s Intégrales, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Eva Ollikainen get the musical pulse racing. They’re joined by ‘stupendous’ German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser for the UK premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Before we fall – a work that teeters on the edge of ‘a multitude of opposites’, torn between lyricism and distorted energy.

EPSG:4326

Boléro and The Rite of Spring

Royal Albert Hall

Festival of Contemporary Music: Mexico, Cuba, the U.S., and one hundred years of percussion

Tanglewood Music Center

The ASO’s first concert at the new David Geffen Hall focuses on music of composers who came of age in the 1920s. Chief among them was Edgard Varèse.

Varèse’s symphonic poem Arcana (1925-27) explores the mysterious and powerful nature of the constellations above. Varèse took his inspiration for the work from topics of alchemy and astrology—in particular, from writings by 16th-century physician and practicing astrologer Paracelsus. Upon opening the printed score, inscribed is a quote that muses, and then concludes as follows:

Tapping into the Twenties

Lincoln Center

Beethoven’s “Pastoral” exuberantly celebrates the beauty of country life – with birdsong, babbling brooks and dancing peasants. But the idyll turns out to be deceptive ... A perfect prelude to our biennial Paradise lost? On the threat to nature. The rest of the programme also picks up on the Biennale theme: Varèse’s Arcana recalls the alchemist Paracelsus and his search for the healing powers of nature, while Srnka’s Superorganisms explores life forms that can only exist in community. Stepping in for the unwell Kirill Petrenko is American conductor David Robertson, who previously led the European premiere of Srnka’s work.

Biennale Opening with Beethoven’s “Pastoral”

Berliner Philharmonie

Departmental Recitals showcase performance departments through its students. Featuring various students and repertoire, and curated by the faculty, performances in this recital highlight SFCM programs and the wide range of study.

Percussion Ensemble Recital

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Directed by long-time AMFS faculty member Jonathan Haas, the annual Percussion Ensemble recital offers an electrifying showcase featuring a dazzling array of instruments. Join the adventure as talented students and faculty members take you to a variety of sound-worlds.

A Recital by the Percussion Ensemble

Aspen Meadows Resort

Despite a reputation as a musical maverick, Ives had tastes that one might consider conservative. He was a big fan of Beethoven and Franck, but had a distaste for the important modernist composer Edgard Varèse.

Charles Ives & the American Tradition: Ives: Likes & Dislikes

Yale School of Music

Anna Murphy, Flute – Doctoral Solo Recital

University of Arizona

Recital: Wind Orchestra

SPCO concertmaster Steven Copes takes audiences on a deep dive into masterworks by four early 20th century composers, each distilling late-Romantic musical traditions into something fresh and modern. Arnold Schoenberg’s dramatic Chamber Symphony No. 1 for fifteen musicians condenses the symphonic language of Richard Wagner and Gustav Mahler into a colorful, action-packed thrill-ride. Maurice Ravel’s celebrated String Quartet in F Major and Richard Strauss’s Capriccio for string sextet, though no less modern, are lush and sentimental in contrast to Edgard Varèse’s Density 21.5 for solo flute played by SPCO flutist Alicia McQuerrey.

Edgard Varèse

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 20 - May 9, 2026

UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 2026 · UC Berkeley Department of Music

Past events

Feb 20 - May 9, 2026

UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 2026 · UC Berkeley Department of Music

10 - 11 Sep, 2025

Orchestre de Paris / Klaus Mäkelä · Orchestre de Paris

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