It’s close to becoming an annual tradition at Loma Linda University Health. For the second year in a row, members of the LLUH family and the community gathered for an afternoon of great symphonic music, accompanied by blue sky and cool breezes.
Titled “Master Works,” the afternoon concert on Sunday, May 4, featured works by Russians Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff, performed by the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra.
Under the direction of Frank Fetta, the orchestra shared the same music from its final ticketed performance the night before. The free Sunday afternoon concert drew an audience of close to 1,000, sitting in chairs or on blankets under canopies.
Tchaikovsy’s Symphony No. 5 has been compared to Ludwig van Beethoven’s fifth symphony, largely because both move from tragedy to triumph. The opening theme is heard in each of the four movements—beginning in the minor key and concluding in a major key. A memorable horn solo in the second “Andante Cantabile” is a recognizable theme even to the untrained ear.
Sergei Rachmaninoff is among the best-known performer-composers in musical history. His unusually large hands and dexterity allowed him to compose some of the most challenging works in piano literature. Arguably, his Piano Concerto No. 3 is the most difficult piano concerto ever written.
Nationally and internationally acclaimed piano soloist Norman Krieger joined the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra for the third concerto by Rachmaninoff, affectionately known in music circles as the “Rach 3” (pronounced rock).
Buffeted at times by cool afternoon breezes, the orchestra moved its audience with expertise and inspiration, supporting LLUH’s “Live It” theme of wholeness by adding music and relaxation to one’s life in order to live more fully.
The performance was dedicated to the memory of Nancy (Woods) Bricard and Duke Hill. Sponsors included San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, The James Irvine Foundation, Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation, Art Works, and the San Bernardino Symphony Guild.