SF Symphony: Mozart and Bach

Friday night, thanks to the Opera Tattler, I heard the San Francisco Symphony for the 1st time in a while. The audience-friendly program consisted of orchestral & vocal pieces by Bach & Mozart. The opening Bach Orchestral Suite No. 3 had a reduced string section, & the trumpets & timpani seemed loud by comparison. For the famous Air, the string section used minimal vibrato & played open strings, sounding astringent. The trumpet solo in the 1st Gavotte was bright. Conductor Paul Goodwin led without a baton & strongly defined every phrase & accent, though I found the overall result a bit choppy. Maestro Goodwin is tall & did not require a podium.

Soprano Lydia Teuscher smilingly sang Susanna's alternate act 4 aria from Le nozze di Figaro. It's flashier than the standard version, & it was interesting to hear the bassett horn accompaniment. This was followed by a sweetly romantic aria from Mozart's Zaide, which I was completely unfamiliar with. It sounded like something Blondchen from Die Entführung might sing. Ms. Teuscher's voice is clean & pretty, & she has especially smooth, rich high notes. I liked hearing her fluffy rolled R's in the Zaide aria.

After intermission Ms. Teuscher sang a cheerful Bach Wedding Cantata. Oboist Mingjia Liu sat up front for the obbligato part. He sounded secure, solid & forthright & added rapid but discreet ornaments. Cellist Peter Wyrick played a vigorous obbligato in the 2nd aria, & concert master Alexander Barantschik provided a seamless accompaniment in the 3rd. The 4th aria was rollicking, & the bassist jazzily slapped & plucked his part. The final aria had an appropriately dance-like feel.

Mozart's Symphony No. 31 ended the program. Maestro Goodwin led dynamically, with pronounced cues & emphatic phrasing. The Andantino was assertive but elegant & the final movement tightly coiled. The concert was well-attended, though an audience member seated in the orchestra section exited noisily during the Bach cantata, as did 2 people in the terrace. The orchestra appeared appreciative of Maestro Goodwin & gave him a seated ovation when he gestured for them to stand at the end of the concert.

§ San Francisco Symphony: Mozart & Bach
Paul Goodwin, conductor
Lydia Teuscher, soprano
San Francisco Symphony

J.S. Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3
Mozart: Rondo, "Al desio, di chi t'adora," from The Marriage of Figaro
Mozart: "Ruhe sanft mein holdes Leben" from Zaide
J.S. Bach: Wedding Cantata, BWV 202
Mozart: Symphony No. 31, Paris

Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 8:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall

SFS Rehearsal with Blomstedt & Carey Bell

Last week, a friend who is a San Francisco Symphony subscriber took me along to a closed rehearsal for donors. We sat in the 1st row of the loge & watched conductor Herbert Blomstedt rehearse the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto with soloist Carey Bell, the Symphony's principal clarinetist. There was a reduced orchestra, grouped closely around Maestro Blomstedt, who stood on the stage floor instead of a podium. The arrangement had a cozy feeling. The violins were split, with the cellos next to the 1st violins. The piece's important snare drum was right behind the violas. Many of the musicians wore brightly-colored leis, which they had apparently received at a luncheon before the rehearsal. The youthful Mr. Bell, resembling a graduate student more than anything else, wore a t-shirt with a picture of Brahms on it. When my friend pointed out an elderly man with a cane onstage, it took me a while to recognize principal cellist Michael Grebanier.

There was constant starting & stopping, & Maestro Blomstedt gave a lot of instructions to the players. He sang the opening melody before giving them their 1st cue. He seemed to be making sure that everything had a light but clear articulation. Mr. Bell's playing was smooth, tidy & calm, though he got looser in the rehearsal's 2nd half. At one point the orchestra applauded his execution of a particularly tricky passage. Toward the end of the rehearsal, Maestro Blomstedt attempted a run-through without stopping, but just as they got into the home stretch, a union timekeeper appeared onstage, began stealthily approaching the conductor, like a cat stalking its prey, & cut the music off mid-stream.

For those who arrived early, there was a lecture by Alexandra Amati-Camperi of USF, who gave a detailed breakdown of the concerto. A woman seated next to me asked if I played the clarinet, because she saw me writing notes.

§ FRIENDS Private Rehearsal
San Francisco Symphony 
Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
Carey Bell, clarinet

Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto

Wednesday, April 2, 2014 12:30p
Davies Symphony Hall

SF Symphony 2014 - 15 Season Announcement

At a press conference Monday morning, the San Francisco Symphony announced its 2014 - 15 season, which will be MTT's 20th as Music Director. In his honor, the room was illuminated with blue lighting. The event began with a video of highlights of MTT's tenure, including a clip of Martha Stewart recommending the Symphony's website for kids. Attendees then heard an informal discussion between SFS President Sakurako Fisher, Executive Director Brent Assink, cellist Margaret Tait, Maestro MTT, composer Samuel Adams, & Director of Artistic Planning John Mangum.

The opening night gala on September 3rd will feature Bonnie Raitt & pianist Yuja Wang, as well as a video installation for Stravinsky's Circus Polka. A Beethoven festival in June 2015 is monumental. It will include a staged performance of the Missa Solmenis, a concert performance of Fidelio with Nina Stemme & Brandon Jovanovich, & a recreation of Beethoven's famous 1808 concert that gave public premieres of the 5th & 6th symphonies, the 4th piano concerto & the Choral Fantasy.

The Symphony's popular film series includes screenings of The Godfather & The Wizard of Oz, with the orchestra providing a live soundtrack. The organ will accompany Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde on Halloween, & the final program features movie scores by Tan Dun. The Great Performers series presents The English Baroque Soloists in a concert version of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo. MTT will lead a performance of John Cage's Renga incorporating video & dance.

In December, the Symphony launches an experimental series called SoundBox, aimed at new audiences & taking place in a black box rehearsal space, backstage at Davies Hall. Each event will be curated by a different personality & will be a mix of audio, video & audience interaction. The space will be equipped with Meyer Sound's Constellation, a high-tech audio system that can instantaneously alter a space's acoustics. I happened to witness a demo of it last year. These events are separate from the regular subscription series, & most have start times of 9p on a Friday & Saturday night. A bar will be available in the venue.

During the Q&A that concluded the press conference, one of the attendees amusingly pointed out the predilection of the season's visiting conductors for works by Russian composers.

§ San Francisco Symphony 2014 - 15 Season Highlights
§ Press Release 
§ Digital Brochure 

West Side Story in Concert

Last week I was lucky to attend the last of 5 San Francisco Symphony performances of Bernstein's West Side Story, in a concert version cast with youthful, mostly Broadway, voices. The singers were on a platform behind the orchestra & were miked. The audience applauded the entrance of Cheyenne Jackson as Tony, who has a big smile & a beaming stage presence. He sounded clean but somewhat constricted. Alexandra Silber as Maria had a strong, warbling voice. Jessica Vosk had a robust sound and sang emphatically as Anita. Julia Bullock, singing the solo for Somewhere, was a show-stopper. Her rich voice & dignified, heartfelt singing transported me. Her controlled decrescendo on the last note was stunning. Around 15 men & 15 women from the SF Symphony Chorus clearly had fun playing Sharks & Jets. The numbers were presented in the order of the stage show rather than the movie.

The orchestra was dominated by an enlarged percussion section, which was placed on a level higher than the singers. The brasses were prominent & bright. Many of the string players wore earplugs. Everyone on stage looked like they were having a great time, & MTT led a nicely loose, but not lax, performance. The dance numbers sounded especially fresh. The Blues drum kit solo in The Dance at the Gym was jazzy & mellow. The clarinet solo introducing One Hand, One Heart was beautifully suspended & even.

I have never seen Davies Hall so full & have never sat with a Symphony audience that was so absorbed & so quiet. My concert companion thought the orchestra made more extraneous noises than the audience. The audience laughed approvingly when the orchestra snapped its fingers during the Prologue, & the Tonight quintet received prolonged applause & cheers. Just before MTT's entrance for the 2nd half, someone sneezed loudly, causing the audience to laugh & then clap. MTT pretended to scan the hall for the culprit as he walked on. The audience rose to its feet at the end of concert, elated.

§ West Side Story in Concert
San Francisco Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

Bernstein: West Side Story

Cheyenne Jackson: Tony
Alexandra Silber: Maria
Jessica Vosk: Anita
Kevin Vortmann: Riff
Juliana Hansen: Rosalia
Cassie Simone: Francisca
Louise Cornillez: Consuelo
Justin Keyes: Action
Zachary Ford: Diesel
Chris Meissner: Baby John
Louis Pardo: A-rab
David Michael Laffey: Big Deal
Kelly Markgraf: Bernardo
Julia Bullock: A Girl

San Francisco Symphony Chorus: Jets, Sharks, Girls
Ragnor Bohlin, director

Tue, Jul 2, 2013 at 8:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall

Robertson Leads Ravel And Gershwin

Wednesday night I heard the San Francisco Symphony's buoyant concert featuring pianist Marc-André Hamelin in Ravel's Concerto for Left Hand & Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. I joined friends in the center terrace, where I'd never sat before. For me there was too much sound, & the orchestral balances were of course backwards, but I felt like part of the orchestra, & it was fun to watch the conductor. Maestro David Robertson looked happy & smiled a lot, & he was always well ahead of the orchestra.

The program opened with Variations for Orchestra by Elliott Carter. The music is complex, & I could not tell where the different variations began & ended. The orchestra's sections often play in opposition to one another, & there are a lot of solos. Maestro Robertson made the piece feel connected & gave it a gradually building momentum. Mr. Hamelin was a well-mannered soloist. His bass chords in the Ravel concerto were big & resonant. He sounded elegant in the Rhapsody in Blue after intermission. The opening clarinet solo was smooth, & I liked the jibing trumpet solos. The audience applauded Mr. Hamelin & the soloists appreciatively. The orchestra played cleanly all evening, & the program ended with a nicely flowing performance of Ravel's La Valse, which Maestro Robertson led without a score. The audience responded enthusiastically.

A women in our row ended her cellphone call just as the Ravel concerto started, & then her phone rang during the piece. A cellphone in the side terrace rang as well. My concert companion noticed Lisa Hirsch scurrying along the edge of the stage right before the second half, apparently trying to peek at the cellists' music.

§ Robertson Leads Ravel And Gershwin
San Francisco Symphony 
David Robertson, conductor
Marc-André Hamelin, piano

Elliott Carter
Variations for Orchestra

Ravel
Piano Concerto in D major for the Left Hand

Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue

Wed, May 22, 2013 at 8:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall 

Remembering William Bennett

Monday afternoon I attended the memorial service in Davies Hall for the San Francisco Symphony's principal oboist William Bennett. He passed away in February after suffering a brain hemorrhage & collapsing on stage while performing the Strauss Oboe Concerto. Those present looked like a typical subscription series audience & filled much of the orchestra & 1st tier seats. We saw a video of Mr. Bennett's life, which included his cartoons & paintings as well as pranks in which he filmed himself doing silly things like simultaneously brushing his teeth & playing the oboe.

Colleagues, friends, & family spoke, & members of the Symphony performed. Though they tried to keep the mood light, many speakers had to choke back tears. Mr. Bennett's son Daniel spoke, as did Mr. Bennett's sisters Nancy & Jean. A speaker who did not identify himself rushed onto the stage waving his arms over his head & described attending Mr. Bennett's performance of the Strauss Concerto the evening before he collapsed. MTT drew expressions of approval from the back of the auditorium when he stated that "c-natural is the worst note on the oboe."

The audience applauded each speaker & performance. A man ran up & down a center aisle looking for a seat during the 1st musical selection, & I heard someone's cellphone ring. Attendees signed a guest book for Mr. Bennett's family & received a CD containing Mr. Bennett's solo performances with the Symphony, including his February 22nd performance of the Strauss Concerto. His playing will be greatly missed.

§ Remembering William Bennett
Words and Music to Celebrate a Life
Monday, May 6, 2013 at 4:00
Davies Symphony Hall

Video: Remembering William Bennett
Videography by Nancy Bennett and Scott Altomare

Opening Remarks: Sakurako Fisher, SFS President

Mendelssohn: Andante con moto tranquillo,
    from Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Opus 49
Alexander Barantschik, violin
Amos Yang, cello
Robin Sutherland, piano

Remarks: Brent Assink, SFS Executive Director

Mozart: Larghetto, from Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, K.581
    Luis Baez, clarinet
    Alexander Barantschik, violin
    Amy Hiraga, violin
    Yun Jie Liu, viola
    Peter Wyrick, cello

Remarks: Rob Weir, SFS Bassoonist

Brass Quintet (arr. Robert King)
Praetorius: Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen
Brahms: Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen, Opus 122, nO.8
    Robert Ward, horn
    Mark Inouye, trumpet
    Guy Piddington, trumpet
    Timothy Higgins, trombone
    John Engelkes, bass trombone

Remarks: Roger Phelps, friend of the Bennett family
Members of the Bennett family

Closing Remarks: Michael Tilson Thomas, SFS Music Director

Goerne Sings Wagner

Thursday evening I heard baritone Matthias Goerne sings excerpts from Der Fliegende Holländer & Die Walküre with the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. Mr. Goerne makes a distinctive, beautifully dark, viscous sound. Even though he takes frequent breaths, he always maintains a long, connected line. "Die Frist is um" from Der Fliegende Holländer sounded ghoulish & brooding. His singing was velvety & tender in the quiet moments of Wotan's Farewell. His diction was mushy, & my concert companion joked that he only seems to be have 2 vowels. Mr. Goerne did not act his scenes. He makes circular swaying motions as if he is molding the sound inside his body before releasing it. The orchestra under Maestro Eschenbach played both very softly & very loudly. Mr. Goerne sang his selections from memory, & his voice merged with the overall texture rather than rising above it.

The 2nd half of the program was Dvořák's New World Symphony, which Maestro Eschenbach led without a score. His movements are eccentric, & he sometimes seems to be conducting along with the orchestra rather than directing it. The strings were shimmering, though the orchestral balances felt unstructured. Maestro Eschenbach lingered on one of the 1st movement's secondary themes played by the solo flute & then the violins. He elongated the famous second movement. The 3rd movement had a rhythmically off-kilter feel. The viola section played a nicely coordinated passage in the 4th movement.

The audience enjoyed Dvořák, applauding & even whistling after the 1st movement, then giving the concert a standing ovation. A patron in premier orchestra left quickly during the 4th movement. The gentleman next to me made involuntary throat-clearing noises frequently. He sounded like a dog having a bad dream, & many glanced in his direction throughout the evening.

§ Eschenbach Conducts Dvořák
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Matthias Goerne, baritone
San Francisco Symphony

Wagner
"Die Frist is um" from The Flying Dutchman

Wagner
Wotan’s Farewell from Die Walküre

Dvořák
Symphony No. 9, From the New World

Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 8:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall

SFS Musicians Strike Ends

A press release from the San Francisco Symphony announces that the musicians & administration have tentatively agreed on a new 26-month contract. This ends the strike that began 2 weeks ago & resulted in the cancellation of concerts here & at Carnegie Hall. All the SF Symphony's performances for this week will take place as originally scheduled. Details of the new agreement are not yet available.

Website of the Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony here.

SFS East Coast Tour Cancelled

The San Francisco Symphony's East Coast tour, including dates at Carnegie Hall, has been cancelled, due to the musicians' on-going work stoppage. The main issue is the musicians' compensation. Despite several days of long negotiations, it does not look like the strike is close to resolution.

Link to Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony, via SFMike.

SF Symphony on Strike

A notice on the San Francisco Symphony Website announces that the Thursday, March 14, 2:00pm performance of Mahler 9 has been cancelled due to a work stoppage. Patrons are advised to call the box office at (415) 864-6000 for the latest updates. So far only one performance has been cancelled. The Symphony administration's press release is here & on a special-purpose domain here.

SF Symphony 2013 - 2014 Season

The San Francisco Symphony has announced their 2013 - 2014 season calendar. In recognition of Benjamin Britten's 100th birthday, the season features the War Requiem with Christine Brewer, a semi-staged version of Peter Grimes with Stuart Skelton & Elza van den Heever, the Four Sea Interludes with a commissioned video, & excerpts from The Prince of the Pagodas on a program with a Gamelan ensemble.

Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt returns for 2 weeks & leads a Bruckner 4. The Great Performers series has recitals by pianist Evgeny Kissin & pianist András Schiff, who concludes his Bach keyboard cycle. Gustavo Dudamel will lead the LA Phil in 2 splashy concerts. In a new film series, the orchestra plays live accompaniment to classic movies, including Psycho, Vertigo, Fantasia & City Lights.

§ San Francisco Symphony Press Room

SF Symphony Oboist William Bennett Passes Away

Deeply saddened by announcement of the passing of San Francisco Symphony Principal Oboist William Bennett. I often came away from Symphony performances feeling that he was the best thing about the orchestra.

Up-coming

Ainadamar (Photographer: Steve Di Bartolomeo)

A ridiculous amount of classical music goodness this week. I might even get to hear some of it. Young hot-shot Pablo Heras-Casado conducts the SF Symphony in a splashy program including Lizst Piano Concerto No. 2 & Prokofiev 5. Opera Parallèle presents 3 performances of Golijov's Ainadamar at YBCA this weekend. I've heard mixed reactions to Golijov's music, but this will be my 1st major exposure to him. If you like the violin, Christian Tetzlaff gives a solo recital in Berkeley on Tuesday, then on Sunday Leonidas Kavakos gives an all-Beethoven recital in Hertz Hall in the afternoon & Itzhak Perlman performs a recital in Davies Hall in the evening. Baritone Jesse Blumberg & the Del Sol Quartet will give one performance of Ricky Ian Gordon's chamber opera Green Sneakers at Fort Mason next Tuesday. I was lucky enough to hear a bit of it at a house concert last year. SF Silent Film Festival puts on some of my favorite film events in the City. They present a one-day event at the Castro on Saturday, including films of Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford & Murnau, all with live musical accompaniment. I'll definitely be at this one.

§ Heras-Casado Conducts Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor
Stephen Hough, piano

Magnus Lindberg: EXPO (West Coast Premiere)
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Thu, Feb 14, 2013 at 2:00pm
Fri, Feb 15, 2013 at 8:00pm
Sat, Feb 16, 2013 at 8:00pm
Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 2:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall


§ AINADAMAR by Osvaldo Golijov
Opera Parallèle
Conducted by Nicole Paiement
Directed by Brian Staufenbiel

Fri 2/15/13 8:00PM
Sat 2/16/13 8:00PM
Sun 2/17/13 2:00PM
Lam Research Theater @ YBCA


§ Christian Tetzlaff, solo violin
YSAŸE, E.Sonata for Violin in G minor
BACH, J.S.Sonata for Violin in C major
KURTÁG, G."a choice" out of Signs, Games and Messages
BARTÓK, B.Sonata for Violin

Tue, Feb 12, 8 pm
First Congregational Church


§ Leonidas Kavakos, violin
BEETHOVEN
Violin Sonata No. 1 in D major, Op. 12, No.1 • Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24, "Spring" • Sonata No. 9 in A major, "Kreutzer"

Sun, Feb 17, 3 pm
Hertz Hall


§ Itzhak Perlman in Recital
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Rohan de Silva, piano

Works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms

Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 7:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall


§ Green Sneakers
by Ricky Ian Gordon
West Coast Premiere

Jesse Blumberg, baritone
Del Sol Quartet

Southside Theater, Fort Mason, Bldg D
Tuesday, February 19, 7:00 p.m. (pre-concert talk); 7:30 p.m. (performance)


§ Silent Winter Program
San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Snow White (1916)
10:00 am
Musical Accompaniment Donald Sosin on grand piano

Think Slow, Act Fast: Buster Keaton Shorts (1920 - 1921)
12 noon
Musical Accompaniment Donald Sosin on grand piano

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
2:30 pm
Musical Accompaniment Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra

My Best Girl (1927)
7:00 pm
Musical Accompaniment Donald Sosin on grand piano

Faust (1926)
9:00 pm
Musical Accompaniment by Christian Elliott on the Mighty Wurlitzer

February 16, 2013 • Castro Theatre

Dutoit Leads Berlioz's Te Deum

Thursday night I heard Charles Dutoit lead the San Francisco Symphony & Chorus in Poulenc's Stabat Mater & Berlioz's tectonic Te Deum, both pieces I had never heard before. The Stabat Mater is in a dozen short movements, many of them surprisingly breezy, even though the text is about grieving. The performance felt patchy, or perhaps it is the piece itself. The orchestra seemed independent of the chorus, & each section of the chorus sounded disparate, with the low male voices predominating. The cushy orchestration requires 2 harps. The trumpets & flutes often popped out, but I enjoyed the smooth clarinet sound. Maestro Dutoit led with unhurried tempos. Soprano Erin Wall was soloist for 3 of the movements. She had a steady, open sound & was very engaged in the music, though her voice did not always penetrate well. The audience was especially quiet when the chorus sang unaccompanied. A gentleman seated behind me repeatedly yelled "Bravo" for them during the bows.

Berlioz's Te Deum, requiring an organ, 3 choruses & a beefed-up wind section including 2 tubas, must have frightened its first audiences. I thoroughly enjoyed its theatricality, its massive, layered climaxes & its over-the-top Beethoven-like coda that has at least 5 endings. I don't know why I haven't heard this more often. The Pacific Boychoir, around 60 strong, were split into 2 groups on either side of the terrace. They have a prominent role which they performed confidently from memory. I liked their bold entrances. Tenor Paul Groves sang his one solo with a baritonal heft while still sounding flexible. The woodwind opening of Te ergo quaesumus that includes a bass clarinet was striking, & I liked Timothy Day's distinctive flute sound. Maestro Dutoit was an unruffled & modest presence. The audience applauded the 2 choruses especially, & some gave them a standing ovation. Organist Jonathan Dimmock took a bow alongside the soloists.

§ Dutoit Leads Berlioz's Te Deum
San Francisco Symphony
Charles Dutoit, conductor

San Francisco Symphony Chorus
Ragnar Bohlin, director

Poulenc: Stabat Mater
Erin Wall, soprano

Berlioz: Te Deum
Paul Groves, tenor
Pacific Boychoir, Kevin Fox, director

Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 8:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall

MTT Conducts Mahler's Fifth Symphony

To get to Davies Hall on Friday night, my concert companions & I had to walk through a sea of bicycles that stopped traffic on Market Street. When MTT showed up on the podium at 8:10p, he congratulated everyone for having arrived. He also told us to listen for the electronic & metal-on-metal sounds of the Samuel Adams piece that opened the program. Adams's Drift and Providence uses a large orchestra with extra percussion. It lasts about 20 minutes & is in 5 continuous movements, though I did not discern the different sections. The piece is atmospheric & built on various rolling orchestral textures. The slow-moving climaxes reminded me of Debussy's La Mer. The ending seemed to come out of nowhere, during a series of descending scales. MTT peered out into the auditorium looking for the composer, & after a bit of a delay the young Mr. Adams emerged from the stage door to take a fast bow.

MTT led the Mahler 5 without a score, often swaying & making big swinging gestures. He seemed to be conducting along with the orchestra, or even a little behind it. Tempos were moderate. The violins were split, & the strings had a shimmering sound. I enjoyed the violas' articulated & assertive playing. Principle viola Jonathan Vinocour wailed on his pizzicatos in the Scherzo. The orchestra's texture was somewhat shivery & brittle. The brasses played out brashly & were piercingly loud in the climaxes. The audience was chatty, especially between movements, but did not seem bored or inattentive. They gave the performance an immediate standing ovation & cheered especially for trumpeter Mark Inouye & the brass section.

§ MTT Conducts Mahler's Fifth Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Samuel Carl Adams, electronica
San Francisco Symphony

Samuel Carl Adams: Drift and Providence (West Coast Premiere)
Mahler: Symphony No. 5

Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 8:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall

Free SF Symphony Concert

The San Francisco Symphony seems to change the time & location of their season-opening free concert every year. This year's pleasing, all-French program felt appropriate for the late afternoon time, & the weather remained sunny & almost balmy. The orchestra's playing was trim & slightly reserved. Violinist Alina Pogostkina was soloist for the Saint-Saëns Introduction and Rondo capriccioso. She is a youthful & genial performer with a warm, connected sound & a dexterous bow arm. MTT introduced each piece, & the audience applauded when he announced the Ravel Boléro. The turn-out was excellent, & the people sitting in the middle of the plaza were an attentive audience. PG&E, the concert sponsor, handed out free stainless steel water bottles to visitors at their booth.

§ FREE San Francisco Symphony Concert
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Alina Pogostkina, violin
San Francisco Symphony

Key: The Star-Spangled Banner
Berlioz: Festivity at the Capulets' from Roméo et Juliette
Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo capriccioso
Ravel: Boléro

Encore:
Bizet: Farandole from L'Arlésienne

Justin Herman Plaza
Fri Sep 21 5pm

MTT Conducts Bartók’s Bluebeard's Castle

The short 1st half of Friday night's San Francisco Symphony concert was Liszt's Piano Concerto No 1. with Jeremy Denk as soloist. Mr. Denk had a loose & spontaneous approach, & he plopped deep into the keys, even if he did not hit all the notes. The music had an episodic feel, & I liked the clean, simple sound of the clarinet solos.

The main event was a semi-staged version of Bartók's opera Bluebeard's Castle. Tall angled walls surrounded the orchestra, & a sculpture of irregular polygons with sharp corners hung over the stage. The performance began with actor Ken Ruta delivering a spoken prologue from the side terrace. The singers then appeared on a platform behind the orchestra & gave full acting performances. Mezzo Michelle DeYoung has a powerful, earthy & thrilling voice. She was a brave & mature Judith. Bass-baritone Alan Held was a stern & authoritarian Bluebeard, &, up until the end, it could have been a battle of equals.

Moving images were projected onto multiple planes of the set & the overhead sculpture, which turned out to be in 4 parts that moved. The bold but simple imagery included closeups of water drops, flowers, rope, gears & of course many blood stains. Bluebeard's former wives appeared on film as billowy silhouettes. In the opera's biggest climax, the entire hall was lit up, & the blaring pipes of the Ruffatti organ were brightly illuminated. Supertitles were projected on either side of the stage.

MTT was kept very busy directing the constant ebb & flow of orchestral colors. Even though there were a lot of brass players, they made a controlled, soft-edged sound & never overwhelmed the singers or the rest of the orchestra. Bartók's eerie music plus the cinematic staging gave the event the feel of a classic horror film. The opera ends in an unearthly silence, but someone wrecked that by immediately whistling in appreciation. The audience gave the singers a standing ovation, & 2 members of the production team also took bows.


§ MTT Conducts Bartók’s Bluebeard's Castle
San Francisco Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor


Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major
Jeremy Denk, piano


Bartók: Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, Opus 11
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
Alan Held, bass-baritone
Ken Ruta, speaker


Nick Hillel, director
Nick Corrigan, co-director, video & visual design
Jose Maria Condemi, staging
Richard Slaney, producer
David Holmes, lighting design
Adam Wiltshire, set design


Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 8:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall

Hilary Hahn plays Prokofiev

Friday night's program at the San Francisco Symphony, led by Osmo Vänskä, began with a big orchestra on stage for Minea by Finnish composer Kalevi Aho. The 20 minute tone poem began with a startling burst from the percussion & brass & continued loudly. In the 1st half something made a whooshing, surf-like sound, & a percussionist made a sound by dropping a heavy chain. The contrabassoon had a prominent solo, & I liked William Bennett's twisty oboe solo, played with a dense tone. The 2nd half was a continuous crescendo led by drumming from the percussion section, which included bongos. The orchestra played blazingly throughout. I noticed a couple of violinists with earplugs. The audience cheered for the noisy finale, & some people stood.

Violinist Hilary Hahn was soloist for Prokofiev's 1st Violin Concerto. She has a cool demeanor & sounded consistently graceful & pretty, even when tackling aggressive passages. In the 2nd movement she made a striking effect with her truly glassy ponticello tone. The concerto's unusual soft ending was controlled & airy, & the audience responded with a standing ovation. Ms. Hahn gave us an encore by Tina Davidson, which begins with the violinist making sounds by pressing down forcefully on the strings with just the left fingers. The piece was lovely, & its use of multiple voices evoked Bach. When Ms. Hahn returned for another bow, she told us, "I got permission to play one more" & gave us a fluid & ringing movement from Bach which complemented the Davidson piece nicely.

After intermission, Maestro Vänskä led a brilliant Shostakovich 6. He does a lot of knee bends & cues everything. His left hand is often up in the air.  I agreed with a friend who described the sound Maestro Vänskä got as "bright & sparkly." The drawn-out 1st movement maintained tension, & Timothy Day's flute solos were intense & forlorn. The following shorter movements had a manic energy. Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik dug in for his 3rd movement solo & sounded very Russian. The evening's final seconds were like a train about to run off the rails, both frightening & thrilling. The audience coughed demonstratively between movements & gave the concert a rousing standing ovation. After the performance, I saw Ms. Hahn signing CDs in the lobby.

§ Hilary Hahn plays Prokofiev
San Francisco Symphony
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Hilary Hahn, violin

Kalevi Aho: Minea
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.1
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6

Encores:
Tina Davidson: Blue Curve of the Earth
Bach: Allegro from Sonata No. 2 in a minor, BWV 1003

Fri, May 25, 2012 8:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall

American Mavericks: Chamber Music featuring Meredith Monk

I was at the last American Mavericks concert Sunday afternoon. The program opened with Steve Reich's Music for Pieces of Wood, performed by 5 percussionists, each playing a pair of claves. They executed 3 cycles of layered, clicking patterns without a score. The 15 minute rendition sounded bright. Someone in the back of the orchestra spoke up loudly several times, & the lady in front of me exclaimed "dreadful" out loud.

Meredith Monk gave the premiere of her Realm Variations, for 7 singers & 7 instrumentalists. The piece features a long piccolo melody, played by Catherine Payne with a solid & seamless tone. The voices are used like instruments & sing nonsense syllables instead of words. The 20 minute piece has a drowsy, aimless mood. All the singers were very still, & it was fun to see The Standing Room on stage.

After intermission pianist Jeremy Denk joined 3 members of the SF Symphony for Echoi by Lukas Foss. The piece is sort of an evil jazz suite. The 4 musician seem to play sometimes with each other & sometimes in disregard of each other. The performance felt intelligent.  Mr. Denk played alertly, with his characteristically flamboyant releases. Cellist Peter Wyrick produced sounds by pressing down very hard on the strings with the fingers of his left hand. Clarinetist Carey Bell played beautifully pure & connected melodies & then made his instrument bark & squeal. In the 3rd movement he played directly into the piano & into the drumhead of the timpani. Jack Van Geem was an ambidextrous percussionist. The audience laughed when he threw a tantrum in the 4th movement & angrily struck the piano with mallets. He also played a garbage can lid.

There was a long break to rearrange the stage, then MTT led a chamber orchestra of about 20 in 2 settings of James Joyce poems by David Del Tredici. His music is harsh. The clashing high & low dissonances of Ecce Puer hurt my stomach. Soprano Kiera Duffy has a high, solid & steely voice, & she maintains a feeling of balance even when jumping between the extremes of her range. Some passages of Nightpiece had her sounding like a squeaky toy. I did not like the amplification of her voice. The other soloist was French horn player Nicole Cash, who played her quieter part with a mellow, rounded tone. The concert ran overtime, & my concert companion & left immediately after the piece was over & began jogging up Franklin Street to our next engagement.

§ American Mavericks: Chamber Music featuring Meredith Monk and members of the SFS
Members of the San Francisco Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Meredith Monk and Vocal Ensemble
Jeremy Denk, piano
Kiera Duffy, soprano

Steve Reich: Music for Pieces of Wood
Meredith Monk: Realm Variations (World Premiere; San Francisco Symphony commission)
Foss: Echoi
David del Tredici: Syzygy

Sun, Mar 18, 2012 2:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall

 § Photo Credit: Jesse Frohman

American Mavericks: MTT, Emanuel Ax, and John Adams

It was a full house at Saturday night's big American Mavericks concert featuring premieres by Mason Bates & John Adams. Mr. Bates is an earnest composer. His Mass Transmission is a 25 minute choral piece with a text about an early radio link between The Netherlands & its East Indies colonies. The chorus was in the terrace, accompanied by organist Paul Jacobs at a console on stage, next to conductor Donato Cabrera. Mr. Bates sat at a laptop at the back of stage. The choral writing is simple, solemn & chordal. Recorded sound effects frame the piece, which drifts off into silence at the end. Gamelan & jungle sounds are evoked in the middle section. The piece received warm applause & a scattered standing ovation.

A full orchestra, led by MTT, premiered the cheeky Absolute Jest by John Adams. It's fast & furious, noisily riffing on motifs from Beethoven, most notably from the 9th Sympony & the late string quartets. It reminded me of those PDQ Bach pieces made entirely of quotes from other pieces, & Mr. Adams obviously had fun writing it. The St. Lawrence String Quartet were an aggressive concertino of soloists, the 2 violinists playing like they were sawing their instruments in half. The piece received enthusiastic applause & a standing ovation. Mr. Adams was present to take a bow with the performers.

MTT addressed the audience before the Feldman Piano & Orchestra piece, mainly to warn us to be very quiet. Even though the piece requires a large orchestra, it is near silent. It has a spatial feel, with small events scattered over an empty expanse. Soloist Emanuel Ax was intent & focused. He makes no wasted motions. The audience was quiet for the piece's 25 minute duration, & Mr. Ax received warm applause.

There were so many musicians on stage for Edgar Varèse's Amériques that I worried someone would fall off. There were over a dozen percussionists, 8 horns, 5 trumpets & 2 harps. The piece is loud & extroverted & has a stomping vitality. A siren wails periodically. MTT led without a baton & sometimes hopped into the air. He gave us an ear-splitting finale, & the audience cheered. Because the stage had to be rearranged between every piece, the concert ran overtime. A gentleman in the row in front of me misled me as to the identity of the heckelphone.

§ American Mavericks: MTT, Emanuel Ax, and John Adams 
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Donato Cabrera, conductor
San Francisco Symphony Chorus
San Francisco Symphony
Paul Jacobs, organ
Mason Bates, electronica
St. Lawrence String Quartet
Emanuel Ax, piano

Mason Bates: Mass Transmission (San Francisco Symphony Commission)
John Adams: Absolute Jest (San Francisco Symphony Co-Commission)
Feldman: Piano and Orchestra
Varèse: Amériques

Sat, Mar 17, 2012 8:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall

Photo credit: Mike Minehan