40 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY APRIL 24-30, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com MUSIC Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s compositional prowess together with his prolific production—over 300 works in his short 35-year life—has cemented his place among the greats. But all of this was lost on a young Jayce Ogren. “I really didn’t care for Mozart when I first heard him in the ’90s,” says the Monterey Symphony’s music director and conductor. “The powder wigs, the uncomfortable clothing, and even the music—all of it was just plain irrelevant to me. I didn’t like it at all. Later, when I studied the scores, I realized what a great master he was. I’m a huge fan now. But in the beginning, I really had to learn to love Mozart.” Ogren’s eventual fandom will be on full display this weekend when the orchestra performs a program which begins and ends with two of Mozart’s most enduring pieces, “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” and the overture to the “Marriage of Figaro,” from the opera of the same name. “I feel like this program is an opportunity for us to hear these iconic, very familiar pieces and understand them in a new way,” Ogren says. Two equally iconic pieces are sandwiched between the Mozart compositions to complete the program. Following the opener, Ogren will welcome the orchestra’s assistant principal cellist, Adelle-Akiko Kearns, as soloist for the joyful “Cello Concerto in D major” by Joseph Haydn, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest works for cello of the classical era. After the break, Ogren’s program offers “Chamber Symphony” by Austrian Franz Schreker, an under- appreciated composer whose work straddles the end of the Romantic period with the beginning of the 20th century. “It’s a shame Schreker has been so overlooked,” Ogren says. “This piece in particular is like a mini-Mahler symphony, where he is kind of hanging on to the last gasp of the Romantic era. Often if the composer’s name is unknown, people think that it can’t be that good. This period is my favorite kind of music to conduct.” But it all comes back to Mozart. “What I love most about conducting Mozart is that there are very few tempo or volume marks,” Ogren says. “He leaves it up to the conductor to bring his works to life. I love that.” Monterey Symphony Orchestra 7:30pm Saturday, April 26; 3pm Sunday, April 27. Sunset Center, San Carlos and 9th, Carmel. $12-$88. 620-2040, sunsetcenter.org. RANDY TUNNELL Open and Shut The Monterey Symphony highlights four great works, beginning and ending with Mozart. By Paul Fried Monterey Symphony’s Jayce Ogren now has a fondness for Mozart’s body of work. But that wasn’t always the case. 8940 Carmel Valley Rd, Carmel 831-293-7500 SUNDAY, MAY 11TH Best of San Francisco Comedy Competition: Mother’s Day edition featuring headliner Kira Soltanovich from The Tonight Show WM ITW OS C U H T EI L NN H L E E S E A B R H , R U ’ A IA G S NN T H D E E T D A! E Y R,
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