Santa Barbara Symphony Music Director Nir Kabaretti’s Classical Playlist

On Monday’s (4/8) “Classical Californians” feature on KUSC (Southern California), Santa Barbara Symphony Music and Artistic Director Nir Kabaretti served as host, sharing anecdotes and playing clips of some of his favorite recordings: “This week’s Classical Californian is Nir Kabaretti, Music and Artistic Director of the Santa Barbara Symphony. His musical selections are performances by some of the great conductors he was able to meet and work with as a student, as well as a few memorable moments from his Southern Californian experiences. There are works by Brahms, Dvořák, Debussy, Kevin Puts, as well as music commissioned for the Santa Barbara Symphony’s 60th anniversary. He begins with a movement from the Symphony No. 2 of Brahms, led by Zubin Mehta, who gave him an opportunity to conduct part of a rehearsal of the piece when he was a student.” Other recordings include the Dvořák Cello Concerto with soloist Mischa Maisky and the Israel Philharmonic, “a movement of the Concerto Grosso that composer Jonathan Leshnoff was commissioned to write to celebrate the players of the Santa Barbara Symphony in its 60th anniversary year … and string ensemble Time for 3 with a movement from a concerto that was written for them by Kevin Puts.”