LA MER

Eckart Preu, Music Director Rachel Barton-Pine, violin PROGRAM Gabriela Lena Frank | Haillí-Serenata Malek Jandali | Violin concerto Debussy | La Mer How does where we come from shape who we are—as people, as artists, and as storytellers? Violinist Rachel Barton Pine—praised by The New York Times as “striking and charismatic”—makes her debut with the PSO to perform Malek Jandali’s Violin Concerto. Dedicated to “all women who thrive with courage,” Jandali’s concerto is full of striking beauty, emotional depth, and moments of surprise, weaving together traditional Syrian melodies and rhythmic idioms with Western orchestral form. At the heart of the program is La Mer, one of the most influential orchestral works of the 20th century. Vividly portraying the waves he loved so dearly, Debussy paints a sound picture of the vastness—and volatility—of the sea. Impressionistic and poignant, this work invites listeners to lose themselves in the evanescence of the sea: always the same but always changing. The program opens with Gabriela Lena Frank’s Haillí-Serenata, a brief but evocative work for strings. Lyrical, songful, and richly tuneful, the piece unfolds as a gentle serenade to the past. RUN TIME: approximately 2 hrs including intermission