Like Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony presents the listener with an emotional challenge: Receive a minor-mode meditation on life in this mortal coil, and resolve it into the major mode of transfiguration and rebirth. Tchaikovsky said of this symphony that it is “a complete resignation before fate, which is the same as the inscrutable predestination of fate.” And yet his optimism is evident throughout the delightful thematic material that has made his Fifth a world favorite. Dr. Arthur Barnes, in the closing concert of his golden season as conductor of the Symphony, skillfully weaves this marvelous work together with two of his own. One has its premiere at this concert: The “California Golden Suite” was composed especially for this occasion. Join luminaries from throughout the region for a night not to be missed, as the orchestra celebrates Barnes’ triumphal achievement as the elder statesman of Bay Area symphonic music!