San Francisco Chamber Orchestra: MainStage 2

Jory Fankuchen conducting the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra (from an SFCO Web page)

Last night the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra (SFCO), led by its Principal Conductor Jory Fankuchen, presented the second program in its MainStage Concerts series in the Taube Atrium Theatre on the top floor of the Veterans Building in the Civic Center. The title of the event was Celebration and Hope, which seemed appropriate for the season but had little, if anything, to do with the music being performed. Nevertheless, the program that had been prepared was both diverse and engaging.

The second half of the program was devoted entirely to Joseph Haydn’s Hoboken I/103 (“Drumroll”) symphony in E-flat major. The first half broke with the “usual drill” by beginning with the concerto. Mind you, the music itself was somewhat of a departure from convention, since it was Grażyna Bacewicz’ “Concerto for String Orchestra.” As a result, the very idea of an “overture” was rejected; and the “concerto spirit” continued with two shorter selections for violin and orchestra by Camille Saint-Saëns. These were presented in reverse chronological order, beginning with the Opus 83 “Havanaise” in E major, followed by the Opus 28 “Introduction et rondo capriccioso” in the key of A minor. Both of these selections involved solo violin performances by Debut Artist Hiro Yoshimura. The evening concluded with an encore, which had been selected through a straw poll of the audience. This was the second (“Air”) movement from Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 1068 (third) orchestra suite in D major.

Following the retirement of Music Director Benjamin Simon on January 1, 2023, Fankuchen gave his first performance with SFCO the following May, following up on fifteen years of playing both violin and viola. That was my first encounter with his conducting efforts, and I could not have been more satisfied. That satisfaction sustained through last night’s performance.

I first encountered Bacewicz when I was building up my online writing chops. At that time I found myself accounting for a generous number of recordings of her music. However, by the time of my departure from Examiner.com, I realized that I had added little to the generous number of articles I had previously written. She only “returned to my radar” this past May, when the San Francisco Symphony performed her “Overture” under the baton of Gemma New. I quickly warmed up to the SFCO performance, finding this latest encounter to be a particularly refreshing one. Both Saint-Saëns selections, on the other hand, were “war horses;” but Yoshimura’s command of them definitely seized and maintained my attention. Haydn was, of course, in high spirits; and Fankuchen was never shy in letting those spirits take flight. The Bach encore, on the other hand, served as an affectionate bidding of adieu to the audience.

Two more programs remain in the MainStage series; and, with any luck, I shall be able to work at least one of them into my schedule for next year!