Review: ‘Pasadena Symphony Breathes With Barber, Bends With Brahms’

Pasadena Symphony Music Director Brett Mitchell | Credit: Roger Mastroianni

San Francisco Classical Voice has published a review of the inaugural program of the Pasadena Symphony’s 2026–27 season, Brett Mitchell’s third as Music Director.

If orchestras have personalities, then Pasadena Symphony Music Director Brett Mitchell has found his groove with the musicians. Beginning his third season on Oct. 24 at Ambassador Auditorium, he presided with his usual relaxed, avuncular manner over an attractive concert that the orchestra performed with enthusiastic gusto…

American composer Joan Tower, still very much alive and creative at age 88, wrote Made in America, based on the anthem “America the Beautiful”… To get the audience in the right mood for the piece, Mitchell coaxed them into singing this popular patriotic paean… Days before the midterm elections both Mitchell and the orchestra approached Tower’s piece with commitment and enthusiasm.

In typically ebullient fashion, Mitchell introduced Samuel Barber’s beloved Violin Concerto as “the most beautiful piece of music ever written.” Okay, maybe one of the most beautiful ever written. Initially overlooked, Barber’s concerto has become an audience favorite, with its soaring, lyrical themes and neoromantic passion.

American violinist Benjamin Beilman, 36 years old and the recipient of many awards and fellowships, played the solo part with clear, sweet tone and impressive poise. He penetrated to the concerto’s emotional core without indulging in sentimentality. His phrasing was beautiful, with well-placed pauses and rubato. Mitchell led the orchestra with subtlety and control, giving the soloist all the freedom he needed.

To read the complete review, please click here.

Violinist Benjamin Beilman | Credit: Courtesy of Benjamin Beilman