Santa Barbara Symphony’s final concert of the 2017-18 season travelled through time from Vivaldi’s 1711 Concerto for 2 Violins in A minor to 1939 and Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, then circled back a bit to 1888 for Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Sheherazade.” SBSO Concertmaster Jessica Guideri and guest soloist Anne Akiko Meyers gave a rousing performance of Vivaldi’s piece which is one of 12 L’estero armonico (harmonically inspired) concerti for stringed instruments. Ms Meyer then gave an focussed but lovely performance of Samuel Barber’s lush Concerto including some highly original improvising. After intermission, the full orchestra launched Sinbad’s ship for Rimsky-Korsakov’s musical journey through “One Thousand and One Nights” with Ms. Guideri’s superb soloing and Maestro Kabaretti and the Orchestra sounding majestic, detailed and adventurous, in keeping with the original stories and wrapping up the season in fine style.
