“Metamorphosen” as Originally Planned

Among the late works composed by Richard Strauss, “Metamorphosen” tends to be the one that draws the most attention. The completed version requires 23 solo string performers, divided among ten violinists, five on viola, five cellists, and three on double bass. However, the composer first explored a more transparent ensemble in the form of a septet for pairs of violins, violas, and cellos joined by the bass.

LCCE musicians Michel Taddei, Tanya Tomkins, Leighton Fong, Phyllis Kamrin, and Anna Presler

At the beginning of February of next year, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble (LCCE) will present the second program in its 33rd season, and the title of that program will be Metamorphosen. The septet will be performed by violinists Anna Presler and Alisa Rose, Phyllis Kamrin and Kurt Rohde on viola, cellists Tanya Tomkins and Leighton Fong, and Michel Taddei on bass. Taddei will also give a solo performance of a composition that could not be more different than anything written by Strauss. He will play the “Sequenza XIVb,” which was originally composed by Luciano Berio for solo cello as “Sequenza XIV.” The program will then leap from the lower register into a solo flute composition by Hendel Almetus entitled “Tounen.” The final selection will be “Sonitudes” by Robert Hughes, who died in 2022 and had received commissions from both the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Ballet.

I must confess that I have a particular place in my heart (not to mention several different recordings) for “Metamorphosen.” Whether in the concert hall or the opera house, Strauss could be very good at “pulling out all the stops,” so to speak. Those familiar with his preferred rhetorical stance are likely to be surprised when encountering the (presumably sincere) intimacy of “Metamorphosen.” The work is seldom performed, probably because of the unconventional resources; but LCCE seldom (if at all) shies away from the unconventional!

The performance in San Francisco will not take place until 4 p.m. on Sunday, February 1. That will give readers ample time to become acquainted the “Metamorphosen” through the many available recordings. I am willing to confess a personal preference for a live recording made in 2014 for a two-CD album of the composer’s lesser-known works performed by the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of Christian Thielemann. (On Amazon.com, this is currently only available for MP3 download.) The performance will take place at the Noe Valley Ministry, which is located in Noe Valley (of course) at 1021 Sanchez Street, just south of 23rd Street. Admission will be $40 with a $15 rate for students and $5 for Arts Access. Tix has created a Web page for online purchases.