Friday, September 16, 2016

San Francisco Symphony will Tour Asia in November

San Francisco Symphony has announced the program schedule for the ten concerts in six cities that will be performed during a tour of Asia that will run from November 9 through November 22. The conductor for all performances will be Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas. Pianist Yuja Wang will join SFS for the entire tour. Concerts will be performed in South Korea (Seoul), Taiwan (Tainan and Taipei), China (Shanghai and Beijing), and Japan (Osaka and Tokyo). Wang will be the concerto soloist in all performances, except for the second concert in Seoul, at which the soloist will be pianist Dong-Hyek Lim. Programming will include the first performances of Bright Sheng’s overture based on themes from his opera Dream of the Red Chamber, whose world premiere will be given by SFS at the end of this month. MTT will also take one of his own compositions, “Agnegram,” on the tour.

For those who are interested, here are the programs planned for each concert on the tour:

November 9, Seoul

Bright Sheng Dream of the Red Chamber Overture
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Opus 35
Stravinsky Le Chant du rossignol
Stravinsky The Firebird Suite (1919 revision)

November 10, Seoul

Michael Tilson Thomas Agnegram
Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Opus 21
Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major

November 12, Tainan

Michael Tilson Thomas Agnegram
Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Opus 21
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Opus 67

November 13, Taipei

Michael Tilson Thomas Agnegram
Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Opus 21
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Opus 67

November 15, Shanghai

Bright Sheng Dream of the Red Chamber Overture
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Opus 35
Stravinsky Le Chant du rossignol
Stravinsky The Firebird Suite (1919 revision)

November 17, Shanghai

Michael Tilson Thomas Agnegram
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Opus 35
Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E major

November 18, Beijing

Bright Sheng Dream of the Red Chamber Overture
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Opus 35
Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E major

November 20, Osaka

Michael Tilson Thomas Agnegram
Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Opus 21
Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major

November 21, Tokyo

Bright Sheng Dream of the Red Chamber Overture
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Opus 35
Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major

November 22, Tokyo

Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Opus 21
Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E major

Readers will recognize most of the selections on these programs. The Beethoven symphony is being performed this week. The Shostakovich and Stravinsky selections, along with Sheng’s overture, constitute the Russian program that will take place at the end of this month. At the beginning of November, Wang will return to Davies Symphony Hall for a second “tour preview” concert, when she will perform the Chopin concerto. The program will also include “Agnegram” and the Bruckner symphony. Further details about this concert will be announced at a later date.

No comments: