SAN JUAN SYMPHONY 2009-2010 SEASON

It’s no surprise that music is good at telling stories. Fairy tales, folk tales, myths and fables, tall tales and short stories – all have inspired composers to write their most engaging and colorful music. Rimsky-Korsakov did his best work with a story in mind, while Gustav Mahler rarely wrote to a story but had his own psychological drama surging behind the music. Chopin wrote not a single piece titled after a story, but his music elicits a perfect aura of fantasy.

Our season opens with an orchestral sneeze, which in Hungary warns listeners that the tale which follows may not entirely be true. The stories come from all across Europe, Russia and the Far East. In Scheherazade and the 1001 Arabian Nights, the imagination has one of its greatest moments, and inventive storytelling literally saves lives.

As in any good story, our journey leads back home, with American music and beloved American tales. Far more than entertainment, these pieces remind us how stories are woven through our culture, how they define and sustain it, and how music itself is an essential storyteller. Join us on our jaunt this season . . . we’ll show you the way back to Kansas.