By Joel Casillas

Payare to Lead “Strauss’ A Hero’s Life” at San Diego’s Jacobs Music Center

As the San Diego Symphony’s 2026-27 season gets underway, Music and Artistic Director Rafael Payare will lead the orchestra in “Payare Leads Strauss’ A Hero’s Life” at the Jacobs Music Center.

The program will take audiences through different ways of telling stories through music, beginning with “Fairytale Poem” by Sofia Gubaidulina, a work inspired by the story of a small piece of chalk that comes to life and begins filling a blackboard with flowers, castles, and fantastical images.

The evening will continue with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, performed by acclaimed pianist Yefim Bronfman, who will return to the Jacobs Music Center for the performance.

The program will conclude with “A Hero’s Life” (Ein Heldenleben) by Richard Strauss, one of the composer’s most theatrical works, combining grandeur, drama, and irony to tell the journey of a hero.

The Saturday, October 3 performance will begin at 7:30 p.m., while the Sunday, October 4 performance will take place at 2:00 p.m. Both performances will be held at the Jacobs Music Center.

Event Information

• Name: Payare Leads Strauss’ A Hero’s Life

• Conductor: Rafael Payare

• Pianist: Yefim Bronfman

• Venue: Jacobs Music Center

• Date: October 3 and 4, 2026

• Times: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Sunday

• Program: Gubaidulina, Mozart, and Richard Strauss

• Tickets: San Diego Symphony