Maestro Picks – Jung-Ho Pak’s Music Selections

Artistic Director and Conductor for the Cape Symphony Jung-Ho Pak has worked with world class artists like Yo-Yo Ma and James Taylor, and has conducted orchestras around the world.

He thinks that every person deserves a chance at experiencing beauty and joy. He thinks that a symphony can be as loved as a pennant winning baseball team, as customer oriented as a first class hotel, as fun as a giant amusement park, and as entrepreneurial as a high tech, start-up company.  And he thinks that audiences want one thing: to experience something unforgettable.

Have you ever wondered what a Maestro listens to to prepare for upcoming performances?  Jung-Ho Pak has shared some of his picks for his upcoming performances!

Maestro Pick:

Symphony no. 5 by Sergei Prokofiev.

Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan 

Prokofiev was a master musical storyteller, and that was obvious with his great ballet and film music.  Though his symphonies aren’t narrative, they’re full of tremendous personality.  The most energetic and tuneful is his fifth symphony.  This performance has all the muscular energy necessary, especially for the demonic and hysterical ending.

Meet me at the Cape Symphony’s first concert of the season,Two, featuring two world class soloists, a world premiere and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 on September 19 & 20.

Maestro Pick:

Take 5 by Paul Desmond

Some think this iconic jazz standard was written by Dave Brubeck, but it was by his genius collaborator and sax soloist, Paul Desmond.  This live video is a gift.  This work is written in a fast 5 beat pattern and seems effortless.   It was one of the first complex metered jazz pieces to enter into the pantheon of masterpieces.

Maestro Pick:

Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss

Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan

This is the recording used by Stanley Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The opening is extremely famous, but the rest of the piece is mind-blowing.  The orchestra was at its height and plays with incredible sensuousness.  Karajan’s sense of architecture is uncanny.

For More Information on the Cape Symphony

For more information, please visit the Cape Symphony’s page for upcoming performances, tickets and additional information!