This weekend at San José’s National Theater, under the baton of principal conductor Chosei Komatsu, the National Symphony Orchestra will open its 2008 concert series with Tchaikovsky’s familiar Capriccio Italiano, followed by Dvorak’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, featuring acclaimed 15-year-old cellist Gabriel Cabezas.
Cabezas, whose father is Costa Rican, has performed in New York’s Carnegie Hall and with major symphonies in the United Sates. Last year he gave a recital in the Promising Young Artists series at the Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center in the eastern San José neighborhood of Barrio Dent.
Concluding this weekend’s concert will be a performance of Brahms’ First Symphony. Performances are tonight at 8 and Sunday morning at 10:30. Tickets cost ¢3,000-9,000 ($6-18) and are available at the theater’s box office (221-5341).
The season’s second concert is set for April 4 and 6, featuring the National Chorus and pianist Maria Asteriodou performing Beethoven’s Fantasy for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra, with Costa Rican conductor Alejandro Gutiérrez.
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