{"id":2428,"date":"2025-10-13T22:16:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T22:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/2428\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T22:16:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T22:16:19","slug":"masks-and-nakamatsu-add-up-to-a-fun-symphony-san-jose-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/2428\/","title":{"rendered":"Masks and Nakamatsu add up to a fun Symphony San Jose opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

The California Theatre was the right elegant setting for Symphony San Jose\u2019s opening night \u201cMasquerade\u201d gala last Saturday.<\/p>\n

Symphony supporters glammed it up for a pre-concert reception that had a touch of added mystery as most of the VIP crowd wore masks for the occasion. There were Venetian masks, Mardi Gras masks, and a few black lace masks \u2014 with feathers, beads, colors and the occasional beak adding to the fun.<\/p>\n

\"Mask-wearingMask-wearing guests mingled during a pre-concert gala reception at Symphony San Jose\u2019s opening night, \u201cMasquerade,\u201d at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

But the one person who would have been recognizable even if he\u2019d covered his face was star piano soloist Jon Nakamatsu, who was welcomed by the Symphony San Jose audience like the national treasure that he is. Under the direction of conductor Nathan Aspinall, the San Jose native and Van Cliburn award winner played Rachmaninoff\u2019s \u201cRhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,\u201d and sat down at the bench again, after several rounds of ovations, for an encore of that piece\u2019s most well-known section.<\/p>\n

Robert Massey, Symphony San Jose\u2019s executive and artistic director, wasn\u2019t sure if this was Nakamatsu\u2019s 15th or 16th appearance with the orchestra. When it comes to Nakamatsu, it doesn\u2019t matter \u2014 just keep him coming back.<\/p>\n

The program also included the appropriately titled \u201cMasquerade,\u201d a 2013 piece with a lot of pomp from English composer Anna Clyne, and Berlioz\u2019s \u201cSymphonie Fantastique.\u201d Massey said he loves to program the Berlioz piece in October because of its haunting themes, especially in its final movement, \u201cDream of a Witches\u2019 Sabbath.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SymphonySymphony San Jose Executive and Artist Director Robert Massey, left, poses with pianist Jon Nakamatsu, center, and conductor Nathan Aspinall at the post-concert reception for Symphony San Jose\u2019s opening night program, \u201cMasquerade,\u201d at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Sounds like it would have fit well with the symphony program ending this month, \u201cSymphony Spooktacular,\u201d on Oct. 25-26, which will mark the return of fan favorite maestro Peter Jaffe.<\/p>\n

PROHIBITION TALES: A speakeasy taproom like Clandestine Brewing in San Jose is the perfect spot for the San Jose Public Library Foundation to cap off its Banned Books Week activities. On Saturday, the foundation will be taking over the taproom at 980 S. First St. from noon to 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cBanned Books & Brews\u201d is an all-ages event that will include storytimes, an art show, trivia on banned books and tours of the brewery. There also will be a book fair of banned books, and while you could guess the usual suspects like George Orwell\u2019s \u201c1984,\u201d you might be surprised at some of the reading material that\u2019s also been taken off shelves. How about \u201cCharlotte\u2019s Web\u201d or \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird\u201d? Even Khaled Husseini\u2019s award winning \u201cThe Kite Runner\u201d has been banned.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s enough to drive a guy to drink. Fortunately, there\u2019ll be some good beer around Saturday.<\/p>\n

By the way, if you want to find out more about Banned Books Week and the San Jose Public Library\u2019s other events surrounding it, you can head to www.sjpl.org\/banned-books-week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FALL FEAST: More than 230 people packed in the San Jose Police Officers Association hall for Shop With A Cop Foundation Silicon Valley\u2019s Badges and BBQ fundraiser, which raised more than $65,000 to support this year\u2019s holiday shopping spree for underserved youth.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to say they all were there because of Shop With a Cop Executive Director Darrell Cortez\u2019s charm, but it may have had more to do with the dinner grilled up by Bay Area barbecue chef Chuck Matto, who appeared on season four of Food Network\u2019s BBQ Brawl.<\/p>\n

Matto\u2019s food, including a 16-hour smoked brisket, was so popular that his featured auction item \u2014 a 40-person barbecue party \u2014 ended up selling twice. With 80 potential spots out there, I\u2019ll be checking my mailbox for an invitation.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: October 7, 2025 at 4:00 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The California Theatre was the right elegant setting for Symphony San Jose\u2019s opening night \u201cMasquerade\u201d gala last Saturday.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[7,967,23,100,88,90,89,420],"class_list":{"0":"post-2428","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-san-jose","13":"tag-san-jose-headlines","14":"tag-san-jose-news","15":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}