Fragrant Festivities
Huntington’s Summer Festival uses music to spotlight its new Chinese Garden
By Carl Kozlowski 07/24/2008
There are few more beautiful places in California than the Huntington Gardens, and the planners behind those luscious grounds unveiled an impressive addition in May with the new Liu Fang Yuan Chinese Garden.
But this weekend offers an even better opportunity to explore when the Huntington offers an exquisite array of music as part of its 2008 Summer Festival.
The three-acre garden, which is also known as the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, offers pavilions, terraces, halls and a tearoom surrounding a man-made lake filled with colorful koi, traversed by carved graystone bridges. Visitors can also wander the rose garden and see markers that identify special roses of historical significance.
The Grammy Award-winning Southwest Chamber Music ensemble will perform “Impressions of Suzhou” by Chinese American composer Joan Huang, while also adding music by 18th-century composers C.F. Abel and J.C. Bach. The night’s excitement will conclude with performances of “Fantasy Piece for Clarinet & Piano” by Schumann and “Trio No. 7 for Piano, Clarinet & Cello” by Beethoven.
Pre-concert dinners are also available at the Huntington Tea Room, so call (626) 405-2249 for dinner reservations.
The 2008 Summer Festival will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with gates opening at 5:30 p.m. at the Huntington Garden and Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Tickets are $38 for loggia and $28 for lawn seating. Call (626) 405-2100 or visit www.huntington.org.
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