Karen Gomyo Classical Concert Listings

Program: Claude Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun; Samuel Adams: Violin Concerto No. 2, “The Wheel”; Igor Stravinsky: Petrushka (1947) Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Elim Chan (conductor); Karen Gomyo (violin) Elim Chan leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in two enchanting and colorful orchestral favorites. Debussy’s hues in Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun are otherworldly if hazy and in watercolor. The Impressionistic atmosphere Debussy conjures exudes a fragile beauty that set off a revolution, which Pierre Boulez said “breathed new air into the art of music.” By contrast, Stravinsky paints with bold, contrasting blocks of sound. Petrushka ’s Picasso-esque approach to musical color and movement sets the stage for the story of a mischievous puppet, packed with Russian folklore and misadventure. In between, Karen Gomyo—who has been described as “a first-rate artist of real musical command, vitality, brilliance, and intensity” by the Chicago Tribune —gives the world premiere of Samuel Adams’ Violin Concerto. The two combined for the premiere of Adams’ “mesmerizing, soulful” ( The Independent ) Chamber Concerto in 2018. The son of LA Phil Creative Chair John Adams, Samuel Adams writes in a musical style that combines his own background as a jazz bassist with his interest in European modernism and acoustic-digital sounds.