For classical music lovers living on a small Virgin island, opportunities to hear several symphony orchestras perform — other than on CD's, tapes, old 33 1/3's and Puerto Rico's WPIR- FM — are few, far between and far from home. The one exception is San Juan's annual Casals Festival, which this year runs from Saturday, June 3, through Tuesday, June 20.
In a departure from previous years, all performances take place this year in the Luis A. Ferre Sala de Bellas Artes — either in the cavernous Festival Hall or the smaller Drama Hall — except for the one "off-island" event, which just happens to be on St. Thomas.
The superstars this time are violinist Pinchas Zukerman, soloist for the Opening Night Gala Saturday, and pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy, who will both perform and conduct the Czech Symphony Orchestra at the closing performance on June 20. This 44th festival (called, of course, Festival Casals 2000) is a bit abbreviated from those of recent years, but the offerings are solid.
In addition to the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, which is always showcased, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra are taking part, along with the U.S.-based Rossini Quartet. Choral-orchestral performances will be of Wagner's "Riezi" and Bach's Mass in B Minor.
Here's the line-up:
8 p.m. Saturday, June 3 — violinist Pichas Zukerman performing with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Lawrence Foster; works by Beethoven, Bruch, Dukas, Satie and Ravel.
4 p.m. Sunday, June 4 — the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Foster, with guest artists Josep Colom, pianist, and Patricia Cay, mezzo soprano; works by A. Marquez, X. Montsalvage and M. de Falla.
8 p.m. Tuesday, June 6 — the Rossini Quartet (Konstanty Andrzej Kulka and Piotr Plawner on violin; Rafal Kwiatkowski on cello, Andrzej Mysinski on bass); Rossini's Six Sonatas for Two Violins, Cello and Double Bass.
8 p.m. Wednesday, June 7 — the Rossini Quartet performing the same program, but on St. Thomas at the Reichhold Center for the Arts in a Birch Forum presentation.
8 p.m. Thursday, June 8 — the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Helmuth Rilling, and the San Juan Philharmonic Choir, directed by Carmen Acevedo Lucio; the Bach Mass in B Minor.
8 p.m. Friday, June 9 — recital by cellist Arto Noras accompanied by pianist Jose Ramos Santana; works by Bach, Debussy, Penderecki and Brahms.
8 p.m. Saturday, June 10 — the Warsaw Symphony, under the baton of Krzysztof Penderecki, longtime Festival Casals music director, with guest artist Arto Noras on cello; works by Haydn, Shostakovich and Mendelssohn.
8 p.m. Monday, June 11 — the Warsaw Symphony, conducted by Jan Krenz, with guest artist Konstanty Andrzej Kulka on violin; works by Bach/Fitelberg, Brahms and Beethoven.
8 p.m. Saturday, June 17 — the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gerd Albrecht, and the San Juan Philharmonic Choir, conducted by Carmen Acevedo Lucio; the concert version of Wagner's "Rienzi." Soloists are tenor Glenn Winslade (Cola Rienzi), soprano Susan Anthony (Irene), bass David Pittsinger (Steffano Colonna), mezzo-soprano Iris Vermillion (Adriano), bass Bent Norup (Paolo Orsini), bass Arthur Korn (Raimondo Orvietto), tenor Peter Galliard (Baroncelli), bass Michael Burt (Cecco del Vecchio) and mezzo-soprano Patricia Cay (Messenger of peace).
4 p.m. Sunday, June 18 — concert by the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Americas, directed by Luis Biava, and the San Juan Children's Chorus, Evy Lucio Cordova, artistic director.
8 p.m. Monday, June 19 — the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of renowned pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy, with guest artist Dimitry Ashkenazy on clarinet; works by Mendelssohn, Mozart and Dvorak.
8 p.m. Tuesday, June 20 — pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy performing with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, which he also will conduct; the Mozart Concerto No. 20 in D Minor for Piano and Orchestra, K. 466, and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100.
Ticket information
For the major Puerto Rico concerts, single ticket prices are $35 for the orchestra (lower level) and $23 for mezzanine (upper level) seating. All sorts of packages and discounts are available, and purchases may be made by telephone using major charge cards. So far as could be determined, there is, curiously, no web site.
A four-concert package (one by a guest orchestra, one by the Puerto Rico Symphony, one chamber music and one recital — your choice so long as seats are available) is $130 for orchestra seating and $87 for mezzanine seats. This is "Series A."
A seven-concert package (three by guest orchestras, two by the Puerto Rico Symphony, one chamber music and one recital — again, your choice as seats are available) is $208 for the orchestra and $136 for the mezzine. This is "Series B."
A 10-concert package (eight orchestra concerts, one chamber music and one recital — this would be all but one of the offerings, excluding the St. Thomas performance) is $248 in orchestra and $186 on the mezzanine. This is "Series C."
A $1 service charge is added for each ticket purchased.
All individual performance tickets are half-price for students and those over 60 years of age with I.D. And seating in the last three rows of the mezzanine is available to students with I.D. for $3, subject to space availability at the time of concert (those waiting for such seats are well advised to bring along binoculars).
Adults accompanying children under 12 years of age are entitled to one free child's ticket with the purchase of each regular admission ticket.
There's a 20 percent discount on the purchase of 10 or more tickets to any one concert.
To purchase tickets by charge card and have them held for you for pickup at the Sala de Bellas Artes, call the Festival Casals office Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at (787) 268-0657. English-speaking personnel should be available at most times. Outside of business hours, there's an answering machine with a message in both Spanish and English.
Note: Several affordable hotels are located within easy walking distance of the Sala de Bellas Artes. Check with your travel agent for recommendations.
Tickets for the Reichhold Center performance on Wednesday, June 7, are $25, with seating in the covered section only. For charge card purchases and outlets, call 693-1559.