SF Symphony Centennial Season

This afternoon at Davies Hall, the SF Symphony gave an invited audience a teasing preview of the up-coming 2011-2012 centennial season. Symphony President John D. Goldman introduced Executive Director Brent Assink & Maestro Michael Tilson-Thomas, who discussed the highlights. Most impressive was the announcement that SFS will present an American Orchestra series featuring 6 major orchestras in Davies Hall in one season: Boston led by Levine, Chicago led by Muti, Cleveland led by Welser-Möst, NY Phil led by Gilbert, Philadelphia led by Dutoit & LA Phil led by Dudamel. Mr. Assink said it was like inviting your friends to your birthday party.

We will get the return of the much-praised American Mavericks Festival in 2012, featuring composers John Cage, Morton Feldman, Carl Ruggles, Edgar Varése & Charles Ives. The festival includes a John Adams commission, Absolute Jest, which the composer describes as "the world's longest scherzo." A choral work called Mass Transmission has also been commissioned from Mason Bates, who was present at the announcement.

Opening night, September 7, 2011, will feature Lang Lang & Itzhak Perlman. Lang Lang will also participate in a free concert in Civic Center Plaza the next day. There will be a week of concerts called Barbary Coast and Beyond: Music from the Gold Rush to the Birth of the Symphony. MTT said he wants to present music that defined particular historical moments in America & hopes to create a "San Francisco version of last night at the Proms."

The hour-long presentation included videos & a Q&A session but was maddeningly short on specifics. Poor MTT was suffering from a bad case of laryngitis & probably felt even worse than he sounded, but he gamely talked up the season & praised the "week to week brilliance" of the orchestra. Attendees included arts administrators, patrons & media. There was some competitive jostling around the table of light refreshments.

Full details of the 2011-2012 season will be available on March 1st.