An SFS Memorial Program for MTT at Davies

Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) became the eleventh Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) in 1995, meaning that my wife and I made our move from Singapore to Palo Alto in time to enjoy his first full season with that orchestra. This week’s performances, beginning last night, were dedicated in his memory. As might be expected, one of his own works was on the program, “Agnegram,” which he composed in 1998, giving its world premiere with SFS. This was preceded by the music of another American composer from the other end of the twentieth century. MTT clearly showed a particular fondness for Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question,” which served as a “prelude” to “Agnegram.” The first half of the program began with the SFS Chorus, directed by Jenny Wong, singing the fourth of the seven movements in Johannes Brahms’ Opus 45, A German Requiem. The Chorus returned following the intermission for the performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 125 (ninth) symphony in D minor, whose final movement included both chorus and four vocal soloists: soprano Jessica Faselt, mezzo Kelley O’Connor, tenor Thomas Cooley, and bass Peixin Chen.

Conductor James Gaffigan (photograph by Miguel Lorenzo, courtesy of SFS)

Taken as a whole, this was a major undertaking to honor the memory of a conductor, who was never shy about major undertakings. Conductor James Gaffigan is no stranger to SFS, and he found just the right chemistry for approaching the contrasts of the different works on the program. The members of the orchestra (many of whom were familiar with MTT) followed Gaffigan every step of the way to give each of the offerings its own uniquely well-defined statement.

Both concert repertoires and their audiences tend to approach performance as an act of the present honoring the past. Between the twentieth century of MTT and Ives and the nineteenth century of two of the “three B’s,” Beethoven and Brahms, there was more than enough to honor. However, what was most important was that Gaffigan led the performers in the spirit of the immediate present, reflecting on the past but establishing a unique voice of its own.

This program will be given two more performances, tomorrow night (Saturday) at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday (June 21) at 2 p.m.; and the offering is definitely “one for the books!”

SFSYO Concludes with Two Iconic Offerings

Radu Paponiu conducting the SFSYO (from the Web page for last night’s performance)

Last night Davies Symphony Hall saw the performance of the final concert prepared for this season’s San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) program, led by Wattis Foundation Music Director, Radu Paponiu. Departing from the conventional overture-concerto-symphony structure, the program was structured around two significant symphonic achievements from two successive centuries. The very beginning of the nineteenth century saw Ludwig van Beethoven’s first symphony, his Opus 21 in C major. The second half of the program was devoted to one of the more iconic compositions of the twentieth century, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Opus 47, his fifth symphony in the key of D minor. The “overture” for the program was composed by the SFSYO keyboardist, Dylan Hall, who composed “Scherzo for Orchestra” in 2024.

The program notes by Alicia Mastromonaco make it a point to view Beethoven’s Opus 21 in the context of the “legacy” (my word, not hers) of the symphonies composed by Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. For the most part, Beethoven followed “the rules of the game” in working on his first symphony. Nevertheless, I think it would be fair to say that, while he identified the third movement as “Menuetto,” most listeners would agree that the music itself was a scherzo “in spirit;” and, in his later symphonies, Beethoven would mine that genre particularly inventively. Indeed, spirits are high throughout the entire symphony; and, under the leadership of Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu, the SFSYO ensemble soared through those spirits.

In the second half of the program, the spirits were much darker in the movement’s of the Shostakovich symphony. In his earlier years, Shostakovich was also a high-spirited composer with an abundance of wit. Unfortunately, Joseph Stalin put an end to all of that, viewing it as an offense to the Soviet spirit. One may say that, in composing his Opus 47, Shostakovich went to great lengths to honor that spirit. Even the slightest attempt to stray from that path could lead to serious (if not fatal) consequences. Thus, what comes across as high spirits in the final movement is shadowed by the need to glorify Stalin’s influence on the performing arts.

That shadow has now passed, but we do not have to look very far to see the ways in which the relationship between musical inventiveness and governmental perspectives can still be a tenuous one.

Better Late than Never!

I just received a last-minute announcement that the Ives Collective will be performing in Noe Valley this afternoon. The performers will be pianist Gwendolyn Mok joined by a trio of string players: violinist Terrie Baune, Susan Freier on viola, and cellist Stephen Harrison. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Johannes Brahms’ Opus 26, the second of this three piano quartets, this one composed in the key of A major. The first half of the program will conclude with Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 47, “Maličkosti,” known in English as the five bagatelles for two violins, cello, and harmonium. The harmonium part will be taken by Mok on piano. She will open the program with Ludwig van Beethoven’s string trio in C minor, the last of the three trios collected as his Opus 9.

Poster for the event being discussed (note that the address is incorrect, as it is also on the Web site; the correct address is in the paragraph below)

The performance will take place this afternoon (Sunday, April 26) at 4 p.m. The venue will be the Noe Valley Ministry, which is located in Noe Valley (of course!) at 1021 Sanchez Street. Admission will be pay-what-you-can at the door. Both cash and checks will be expected.

Shunske Sato Disappoints on PBO Podium

Shunske Sato with his violin (from the PBO event page for last night’s performance)

Last night in Herbst Theatre, violinist Shunske Sato led the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO) in the final program of its 2025/26 season. The title of that program was Kinks and Quirks and, over the course of the evening, it became apparent it was served with a rhetoric that was more annoying than engaging. Sato performed on his violin throughout the program, but his instrument never managed to yield satisfying intonation while the full ensemble was clearly taking care of themselves.

The selections accounted for a prodigious spread of music history with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach at one end the Felix Mendelssohn at the other. The latter was represented by his MWV O 3 concerto for violin and strings in D minor. The low number identifies this as a very early work, and the composer completed it at the age of thirteen. Unfortunately, Sato’s intonation never managed to fit in with the ensemble work, making the listening experience a frustrating one.

Indeed, frustration was the order of the evening. The excerpts of the K. 345 music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed for Baron Tobias Philipp von Gebler’s Masonic drama Thamos, König in Ägypten were given a brutal account under Sato’s leadership. Just as disappointing was the Bach selection, his H 665 (Wq 183:3), the first in a set of four symphonies given the collective title Orchester-Sinfonien mit zwölf obligaten Stimmen. At the other end of the evening, the program concluded with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 21, his first symphony composed in the key of C major. This was the clearest account of the evening, but the performance was still undermined by the liberties Sato took with tempo.

To be fair, the program was true to its name, almost warning the attentive listener not to expect a substantive listening experience.

Ébène Quartet Concludes SFP Chamber Series

Last night in Herbst Theatre, this season’s Chamber Series, presented by San Francisco Performances, concluded with the return of the Ébène Quartet. Membership has changed since the ensemble last visited San Francisco with the arrival of a new cellist, Yuya Okamoto. Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure are still the violinists; but the violist was Hélène Clément, substituting for Marie Chilemme for the current Spring United States tour. The program was framed by two of the “Three Bs,” both represented by a “second quartet,” with Claude Debussy’s only string quartet as the “middle” selection.

I must confess to a particular fondness for that quartet. For the better part of my youth, my exposure to his music was limited to orchestral works (due in no small part to a bias on the part of my parents). I would later get to know several of his piano compositions; but my “first encounter” with the quartet came relatively late. As a result, it struck me like a bolt of lightning.

Lightning struck again last night. Even with a substitution in membership, the ensemble could not have been more attuned to the rhetorical diversity mined from Debussy’s quartet. Mind you, I have had no shortage of opportunities to listen to this music on recording (such as last year’s Sony Masterworks anthology of the Guarneri Quartet); but the music is so nuanced that one can only really appreciate the details in a recital setting. It would be unfair to say that the Debussy selection rose above the quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, which flanked it on either side. Nevertheless, there is a uniqueness to Debussy’s rhetoric in his quartet that consistently seizes my attention, particularly when given a recital performance by an ensemble as skilled as Ébène.

Indeed, I found it interesting that Debussy was “approached” by the second in the first six Beethoven quartets to see publication, his Opus 18. The set is often called the “early quartets;” and there is very much a sense that Beethoven is looking back on Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart while looking forward at the same time. Personally, I find the Opus 18 set to be consistently refreshing across all six of its quartets. Last night began with the second of those quartets in the key of G major, which suited the high spirits of the Ébène musicians accordingly.

The program concluded with the second of the two string quartets in Johannes Brahms’ Opus 51. Brahms composed only three string quartets, the two in Opus 51 followed by Opus 67. It was clearly not his favorite genre, but I have come to appreciate all three of the quartets over the years. Last night served as a reminder for me that I should be paying more attention to all three of them! (Those that attended the latest performance of chamber music by members of the San Francisco Symphony this past Sunday may know that the piano quartets receive more attention.) Indeed, it may well be that my last encounter with the complete set of those string quartets took place back when I was living in Connecticut and making frequent visits to listen to the Guarneri Quartet at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan!

Ébène prepared an encore that also involved seldom encountered music. This was the second of the three Divertimenti that Benjamin Britten composed in 1933 (revised in 1936). The selection was an engaging waltz, which turned out to be a wistful way in which to wish the audience a good night. Perhaps for their next visit the Ébène musicians will play all three of them!

PBO to Close Season with “Kinks and Quirks”

Conductor Shunske Sato (photograph by Elvira Demerdzhy, courtesy of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra)

The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra will conclude its 2025/26 season with a program entitled Kinks and Quirks. Violinist Shunske Sato will lead the ensemble, also serving as soloist in the performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s D minor concerto. Note that this is not the Opus 64 concerto in E minor, completed in 1844. The D minor concerto was composed in 1822 when the composer was thirteen years old!

The remaining works on the program will be more “mature.” It will begin with the third (in the key of F major) of four symphonies that Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach composed for the Baron Gottfried van Sweiten in the 1770s. This will be followed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 345, incidental music composed for Thamos, King of Egypt, a play by Tobias Philipp von Gebler. The program will conclude with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 21, his first symphony, composed in the key of C major following his study of Emanuel Bach’s An Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments.

As usual, the San Francisco performance will take place in Herbst Theater, located at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 23. Ticket prices range from $20 to $125. They may be purchased through a City Box Office Web page, which includes a diagram showing where seats are still available.

Engaging Coupling of Beethoven and Schubert

Richard Goode at the keyboard (photograph by Steve Riskind, courtesy of San Francisco Performances)

Yesterday evening pianist Richard Goode returned to Herbst Theatre to present his eighteenth recital for San Francisco Performances. (He made his first visit in October of 1985.) His program consisted of only two compositions, one on either side of the intermission. Both pieces were the products of First Viennese School composers. The first half of the program presented music from Ludwig van Beethoven’s late period, his Opus 120, entitled “33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli.” The intermission was followed by Franz Schubert’s final piano sonata, D. 960 in B-flat major.

I know from personal experience that D. 960 is a significant undertaking. I put a lot of effort into getting my hands around those four movements. It would be unfair to say that I eventually could do justice to Schubert’s score, but I definitely came away with significantly increased respect for the composer! The sonata is one of the composer’s longest works, and I did not feel short-changed when Goode decided not to enable the repeat sign in the sonata’s first movement. Even in the absence of that repetition, he delivered a thoroughly engaging account of the diverse and adventurous journey through the four movements of Schubert’s sonata.

The title of Beethoven’s Opus 120 also makes it clear that any performance involves a major journey. I suspect that there are many that have tried to establish an architectural framework for those 33 variations, but I am not one of them! Personally, I find that the variations unfold in what might be called a musical form of stream-of-consciousness. One step follows another, each as sure as the next; and the listener is left to revel in the diversity of it all. (That diversity includes a prankish nod to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, working in a motif from beginning of the opera Don Giovanni.)

Goode’s focus could not have been more attentive in interpreting these two “late works.” Indeed, his attention was so focused that he saw no need for an encore. Personally, I agree with his decision. After two such major undertakings, one does not need a “That’s all folks!” sign-off. Better to let the memories of Beethoven and Schubert reverberate as one leaves the auditorium to head back home.

Ébène Quartet to Conclude SFP Chamber Music

Ébène Quartet members Yuya Okamoto, Gabriel Le Magadure, Marie Chilemme, and Pierre Colombet (from the event page for their next SFP recital)

Having written about next month’s return by the Danish String Quartet to San Francisco Performances (SFP), it is not too early to announce that the 2025–2026 Chamber Series will conclude two days later with a performance by the Ébène Quartet. Cellist Yuya Okamoto recently joined the ensemble, giving the audience the first opportunity to experience his performance with the other more familiar members of the quartet: violinists Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure with Marie Chilemme on viola. When the ensemble last visited SFP, they prepared a program with string quartets in the first half and jazz in the second.

For their return, they will hold off on any jazz (unless it shows up in an encore). The entire program will be framed by two of the “Three Bs,” both represented by “second quartets.” The program will begin with the second of the six Opus 18 quartets, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in the key of G major. It will conclude with the second of the two Opus 51 quartets by Johannes Brahms, composed in the key of A minor. The “middle” work on the program will be Claude Debussy’s only string quartet, composed in 1893 in the key of G minor.

This performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 16. The venue will be Herbst Theatre, which many (most?) readers know is located in the heart of the Civic Center at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Ticket prices will be $80, $70, and $60. As those readers probably also know, SFP has created a Web page for purchasing those tickets.

OFS: From the “Supernatural” to the “Mercurial”

Some readers may recall that the first One Found Sound (OFS) concert to take place this year was held of February 7 with the title Supernatural. The next concert will take place in about two and a half weeks with another stimulating title: Mercurial. This adjective is inspired by the god Mercury in the pantheon of Greek mythology. He is associated with both brilliant energy and unexpected twists, attributions to be found in the two symphonies that will conclude each half of the program.

Thomas Hardy’s 1791 portrait of Joseph Haydn (from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

The first of these will be Hoboken I:59, Joseph Haydn’s 59th (“Fire”) symphony composed in the key of A major. The program will then conclude with Haydn’s former pupil, the Opus 60 (fourth) symphony in B-flat major composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Each of these “classical” composers will be preceded by a contemporary one. Carlos Simon will begin the program with “Fate Now Conquers.” The second half of the program will begin with “When Cherry Blossoms Burned” by Aidan De Guzman, winner of the OFS 2025 Emerging Composer Award.

This concert will begin at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 11. The venue will be familiar to those who have attended past OFS concerts, Heron Arts, which is in SoMa, located at 7 Heron Street off of 8th Street on the block between Folsom Street and Harrison Street. All tickets are being sold for $30. They may be purchased online through a Ticket Tailor event page.

Richard Goode to Conclude SFP Piano Series

Pianist Richard Goode (from the event page for his next SFP recital)

Next month will see the last of the four recitals prepared by San Francisco Performances (SFP) for its Piano Series. The recitalist will be Richard Goode, who had last concluded the 2021–2022 Piano Series. Each half of the program will be devoted entirely to one major composition associated with what musicologist Charles Rosen has called “The Classical Style.”

As might be guessed, the composers will be Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert. The first half of the program will present Beethoven’s Opus 120, whose full title is “33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli.” The intermission will then be followed by Franz Schubert’s D. 960, his final piano sonata composed in the key of B-flat major.

The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 10. The venue will be Herbst Theatre, which many (most?) readers know is located in the heart of the Civic Center at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Ticket prices will be $85, $75, and $65. As those readers probably also know, SFP has created a Web page for purchasing those tickets.

Manfred Honeck Augments Performance of K. 626

Last night in Davies Symphony Hall, Manfred Honeck returned to the podium of the San Francisco Symphony, where he had made his debut in May of 2017. The second half of the program was devoted to a somewhat augmented approach to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 626 Requiem, described in the program book as “presented in the context of a funeral liturgy.” The “augmentation” included other Mozart compositions along with Gregorian chant and readings of texts delivered by Adrian Roberts.

Mozart’s autograph of the K. 618 motet (from  the Wikimedia Commons Web page, public domain)

All the chant performances took place off-stage, sung by the members of St. Dominic’s Schola Cantorum under the directorship of Simon Berry. Of far greater significance was the full force of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus directed by Jenny Wong. They were joined by four vocal soloists: Ying Fang (soprano), Sasha Cooke (mezzo), David Portillo (tenor), and Stephano Park (bass). Nevertheless, it was the choral work that consistently rose above both soloists and instrumentalists to seize listener attention. In that context the high point of the entire evening came with the a cappella delivery of the K. 618 motet “Ave verum corpus.”

I suspect that I was not the only one to come away with the feeling that this performances as “all over the map.” Nevertheless, I was impressed by Honeck’s strong command of a wide dynamic range. Indeed, I found the “what’s next” context of dynamic levels to be the primary factor in my own attentive listening. Still, I hope that my next encounter K. 626 will be free of interjections!

The first half of the program accounted for two other First Viennese School composers, one on “either side” of Mozart. The program began with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 62 concert overture “Coriolan.” This introduced me to Honeck’s command of dynamics that continued to impress me throughout the program. The music was familiar, but it was definitely a sit-up-and-take-notice experience.

The same could be said of Joseph Haydn’s Hoboken I/93 symphony in D major. Once again, dynamic range ruled over the entire performance. However, this was another Haydn “surprise” symphony, with the interruption of what can only be called a “bassoon fart” in the second movement! Honeck seemed to enjoy leading this symphony, and I could certainly see why!

March 8 Will be Even Busier than Expected!

Readers may recall that this site has already accounted for two events taking place on Sunday, March 8, which is now about a week and a half away. The earlier of those events is the next performance by the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, which will begin at 2 p.m., and the other will be a Chamber Music San Francisco program at the Presidio Theater, which will begin at 3 p.m. The latter of these will be a Groupmuse event. It will be “competing” with two other Groupmuse events, one of which is already sold out.

Photograph of a living room, presumably where Scarfe’s recital will be performed (from its Groupmuse Web page)

The full title of the other event is A Victorian Living Room Concert: Solo Piano with Ian Scarfe. The living room is in a historic Victorian home that even has its own name: “Agape.” Scarfe is no stranger to the venue, which is where he played his very first Groupmuse recital. Program details have not yet been finalized, but the composers he has selected are Philip Glass, Frédéric Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, and Manuel de Falla.

As readers will expect, Groupmuse has created a Web page for purchasing tickets, twelve of which are available as of this writing. Ticket prices will be $20 at the door, but reservations may be made for $5. The performance will begin at 2:30 p.m. after doors open at 2 p.m., and the performance will conclude at 4 p.m.

Another Dim Shenson Spotlight Performance

Pianist Mao Fujita (photograph by Doville Sermokas)

Yesterday evening saw the second performance of the fifth iteration of the Shenson Spotlight Series. Like the first performance, which took place about a month ago, this was a solo piano recital, performed this time by Mao Fujita. The “pillars” of the program were the first sonatas composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms. The Brahms selection was complemented by music of Richard Wagner, the most salient of which was Franz Liszt’s transcription of the “Liebestod” music from the opera Tristan und Isolde.

Once again, however, the promise of the program selections did not rise to a level of satisfying attentive listening. Indeed, where any dynamic levels from forte to above are concerned, Fujita’s motto seemed to come across as, “Nothing succeeds like excess.” Even in early Beethoven (Opus 2, Number 1 in F minor, the very first “numbered” sonata) Fujita deployed a wide dynamic range, which came across as little more than overwrought. All of the elegant gestures in this sonata, which are so evident when played on a period instrument, were lost in the muddle. Things were not much better in the Brahms sonata, which, for me at least, recalled Peter Schickele’s joke about having a black belt in piano. (I do not think Brahms would have appreciated that joke!)

Fujita concluded the evening with one encore, unannounced and unfamiliar.

Aris Quartet Launches New CMSF Season

The first chamber music recital in the 2026 Chamber Music San Francisco (CMSF) season took place yesterday afternoon in Herbst Theatre. The program was performed by the Aris Quartet, whose members currently are violinists Sophia Jaffé (substituting for the ensemble’s leader) and Noëmi Zipperling, Caspar Vinzens on viola, and cellist Lukas Sieber. The program was a straightforward one, framed by two of the three “B” composers.

The program began with Ludwig van Beethoven in a performance of the second of his six “early” string quartets, Opus 18, Number 2, composed in the key of G major. Johannes Brahms provided the conclusion with the second of his Opus 51 quartets, set in the key of A minor. The “middle ground” was taken by Dmitri Shostakovich with a performance of what is probably his best-known string quartet, Opus 110 (the eighth) in C minor.

There is much to enjoy in Beethoven’s Opus 18. One can appreciate his sense of humor during his early period, most evident in the G major quartet with the Allegro “disruption” of the second Adagio cantabile movement. Also, the third movement is a scherzo, making a significant departure from Joseph Haydn’s use of the minuet. (Haydn’s Opus 33 quartets originally had scherzi, but he replaced them with minuets!) The Brahms quartets, receive far less attention; so I was particularly glad to see the Aris Quartet compensating for that shortcoming. They were as attentive to Brahms as they were to Beethoven, and the journey was just as engaging.

Shostakovich was in Dresden when he composed his Opus 110 quartet, and it was inspired by those in Dresden that were victims of the firebombing in World War II. By the time he composed this music, he was not shy in working his initials (D-S-C-H) into the score. Also, those familiar with the “Leningrad” symphony (Opus 60 in C major) know that it included a shave-and-a-haircut motif, which returns in Opus 110, now in a minor key.

Bust of Erwin Schulhoff at the fortress Wülzburg near Weißenburg in Bavaria (photograph by Aarp65, from Wikimedia Commons Web page, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)

For the encores the ensemble turned to Czech composers. They began with the “Alla Czecha” movement from Erwin Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet. This was followed by Antonín Dvořák’s B. 152, his string quartet setting of Cypresses. The quartet played the penultimate movement, “Nature Lies Peaceful in Slumber and Dreaming.” This provided the perfectly polite and proper way to say farewell to an attentive audience!

Van Zweden Returns with Beethoven Coupling

Conductor Jaap van Zweden (photograph by Simon van Boxtel, courtesy of the San Francisco Symphony)

Once again, conductor Jaap van Zweden returned to Davies Symphony Hall. This time he prepared a program of two symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven separated by a decade. The first of these tends to receive relatively little attention (other than “marathon” events covering all nine of the symphonies). This was Opus 36, the second symphony in D major, composed in 1802. Ten years later Beethoven was up to his Opus 92 (seventh) symphony in A major, music that is far more familiar to most concert-goers.

As in the past, van Zweden gave his all to both of the selections. From my vantage point it seemed as if the San Francisco Symphony musicians could not have been more attentive to his baton work and the expressiveness he brought to the contrast between these two symphonies. Mind you, it is very likely that a large percentage of the audience had albums of all nine symphonies back at home; and some percentage of that percentage makes regular visits to all of those symphonies with their own listening gear. Nevertheless, van Zweden had his own in-the-moment approach to both symphonies, making it clear that he knew how to establish and maintain all of those listeners’ attention (including the ones with the record collections).

For my part, listening could not have been more engaged. That said, I spent less time watching van Zweden’s baton work and more time watching his results. Having spent more than a little time following the scores of these symphonies while listening to recordings, I seem to have arrived at a point at which I knew exactly where to look for every measure in the score. Van Zweden was clearly in charge, but my eyes were more interested in following the results of his leadership as they manifested from one section of the orchestra to another.

Perhaps that is why I have come to look forward to van Zweden’s visits. He is confident enough to recognize that the music is more about the performers themselves than about the conductor. Yes, the conductor is the “leader;” but van Zweden’s approach to leadership tends to cede the emphasis to the musicians, using his post on the podium to establish the path for that emphasis and let the players follow that course. He could also share his own insights into the factors that established the contrasts emerging from the decade separating the two symphonies. It seemed as if every member of the Symphony had internalized every one of those contrasts and knew exactly how to deliver them to the ears of the attentive listener.

Weilerstein Solos on Latest DSO Live-Stream

For the second year in a row, cellist Alisa Weilerstein appeared as concerto soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) in a performance that was live-streamed. Last year she performed Edward Elgar’s Opus 85 cello concerto in E minor. This year was, in the words of Monty Python, “something completely different.”

Alisa Weilerstein and Joan Tower taking bows after the performance of “A New Day” (from the YouTube live-stream of the concert being discussed)

The difference was that Weilerstein performed a concerto explicitly written for her, and DSO co-commissioned its composition. The composer was Joan Tower, who was present in Orchestra Hall for the occasion. The concerto, given the title “A New Day,” was structured in four movements, each of which had its own title:

1. Daybreak
2. Working Out
3. Mostly Alone
4. Into the Night

In the notes I jotted down during the performance, I suggested that the last movement implied a subtitle: “Farewell to Life.”

Ironically, I have had little exposure to Tower’s music. However, the real irony is that my last encounter with that music took place less than a year ago, when Marin Alsop conducted the San Francisco Symphony in a performance of Tower’s “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman.” As a result, I am finally beginning to get my head around her music; and my efforts were reinforced by Weilerstein’s encore selection, Tower’s “Six Variations” for solo cello.

Fortunately, I was able to enjoy a bit more familiarity on either side of the program. The opening selection was “Three Latin American Dances” by Gabriela Lena Frank. However, my awareness of her music goes back at least as early as my Examiner.com days in November of 2012 when the 2012–2013 BluePrint season of the New Music Ensemble at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music presented her “Manchay Tiempo” (time of fear). In that context I was glad to see that, under Bignamini’s baton, the DSO ensemble served up a stimulating account of Frank’s Latin-based rhetoric.

All of this “recent” music was sharply contrasted by the final selection on the program: Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 60 (fourth) symphony in B-flat major. This symphony tends to be overshadowed by its two “monumental neighbors,” Opus 55, the third (“Eroica”) symphony in E-flat major and Opus 67, the (say no more) fifth symphony in C minor. What amuses me most about Opus 60 is the possibility that Beethoven may have known a thing or two about Henry Purcell. The trio section of the third movement scans perfectly with a bawdy catch set to music by Purcell:

     Tis women makes us love,
     'tis love that makes us sad,
     'tis sadness makes us drink,
     and drinking makes us mad.

Given that there is a fair amount of humor in the rest of Opus 60, I have to believe that other lovers of this symphony have also encountered this “Purcell connection!”

Bronfman Returns to SFS Great Performers

Pianist Yefim Bronfman (from the Web page for his SFS Great Performers Series recital)

Last night pianist Yefim Bronfman returned to Davies Symphony Hall to present another recital in the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) Great Performers Series. His last visit was in April of 2024, when he presented a “usual suspects” program of solo piano compositions by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and Frédéric Chopin. However, he also added Esa-Pekka Salonen’s “Sisar” for a departure from the nineteenth century.

Last night’s departure was far less radical. The most recent work on the program was the second of the two “books” that Claude Debussy composed under the title Images. There are only three pieces in this collection, the first depicting the sound of bells, the second evoking the setting of the moon, and the last entitled simple “Poissons d’or” (goldfish). Each of these pieces presents the composer’s command of the evocative at its best. Sadly, while Bronfman gave a dutiful account of all the notes, any of the evocations of the “images” in the movement titles was not particularly compelling. That failure to seize and maintain attentive listening was equally evident at the beginning of the program with a performance of Robert Schumann’s Opus 18, the “Arabesque” in C major, which rambled on with an uneven sense of the overall structure.

Each half of the program concluded with a sonata by one of the “three B’s,” Johannes Brahms prior to the intermission and Ludwig van Beethoven at the conclusion. The Brahms selection was an early one, his Opus 5, the third piano sonata in F minor. There was no shortage of expressiveness in the composer’s early compositions, but Bronfman seemed to do little more than ramp up that expressiveness with little sense of the overall content. The dynamics in the first movement were particularly extreme. The Beethoven selection was about half a century earlier (not in 1853 as printed in the program book). Opus 57, known as the “Appassionata,” was completed in 1805; and, like its recent predecessor, the Opus 53 “Waldstein,” it has received a generous amount of attention. Sadly, Bronfman did not invoke the attention it deserved with too much “hammering” in the first movement and too much blurring in the last.

There were two encores, neither announced and neither particularly compelling. I have come away from past Bronfman recitals with an abundance of satisfaction. This one left me with disappointment.

“Something Completely Different” at Davies

Violinist Aleksey Igudesman and actor John Malkovich (courtesy of SFS)

Those old enough to remember Monty Python’s Flying Circus may be pleased to learn that the genre of off-beat comedy will be coming to Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony (SFS) will host violinist Aleksey Igudesman; but the ensemble will also have to contend with another guest artist seldom appearing in a concert hall, John Malkovich. I first encountered him when I was living in Stamford, Connecticut in 1982, making regular train rides into Grand Central Station.

While much of my time was spent in Lincoln Center, I also made regular visits to plays performed both on and off Broadway. It is probably fair to say that, even to this day, the most memorable of those plays was Sam Shepard’s True West. As the Wikipedia page puts it, the narrative involved a “volatile relationship between two brothers,” making for an uncanny mix of nostalgia and disaster. The role of one of those brothers was taken by Malkovich; and, after having seen him on the stage for the first time, I have done my best to keep track of every step in the advancement of his career.

Almost 45 years have elapsed; and, once again, I shall have the opportunity to see Malkovich on the stage. This time, however, the venue will be Davies. The title of his performance with Igudesman is The Music Critic. The violinist will perform works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Antonín Dvořák, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Sergei Rachmaninoff with SFS. However, he will also share the stage with Malkovich assuming the “title role.” Once again, Malkovich will be performing a “volatile relationship,” this time unloading (in the words of the advance material) “a frivolous potpourri of musical insults” on Igudesman’s performance.

As most readers probably already know, this performance will take place in Davies Symphony Hall. It will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 6. The address is 201 Van Ness Avenue; but it occupies the entire block with Van Ness to the west, Franklin Street to the east, Hayes Street to the south, and Grove Street to the north. The entrance is on the Grove Street side, which is also where tickets may be purchased at the Box Office. Tickets are currently available at prices from $75 in the Second Tier to $275 in the Orchestra. Seats will not available in the Terraces above the stage. A Web page has been created for online purchases. Tickets may also be purchased by calling the SFS Box Office at 415-864-6000.

Junction Trio Couples Past and Present (again)

Junction Trio musicians Conrad Tao, Stefan Jackiw, and Jay Campbell (photograph by Shervin Lainez, courtesy of Noe Music)

According to my records, the Junction Trio was formed in 2015. All three of the musicians have also presented recitals for San Francisco Performances (SFP). Violinist Stefan Jackiw made his SFP debut in April of 2014 and cellist Jay Campbell made his debut in January of 2020 performing with violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Pianist Conrad Tao made his first live performance with SFP towards the end of 2022. For the trio’s first performance, Tao composed what amounted to a tone poem entitled “Eventide,” which he regarded as his “Opus 1.”

In a little less than a month’s time, Noe Music will welcome this trio to the Noe Valley Ministry. The “pillars” of the program will be two piano trios from that period of music history known as the First Viennese School. The first half of the program will conclude with the first of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 70 trios, given the title “Ghost” and composed in the key of D major. The second half will conclude with Franz Schubert’s D. 898, the first of his two piano trios, this one composed in the key of B-flat major. Each of these compositions will be preceded by three of the six pieces for violin and keyboard instrument by John Cage, given the collective title Six Melodies. In addition, John Zorn’s “Ghosts” will be interjected in to the Beethoven trio, following the Largo assai movement, which inspired the “Ghost” title of the trio.

This will be the next Noe Music event of the season, taking place at the Noe Valley Ministry, which is located at 1021 Sanchez Street, between 23rd Street and Elizabeth Street. The concert will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, February 22. General admission will be $45 with a $15 rate for students. They may be purchased online through a Noe Music Web page.

Sam Weiser to Join Ian Scarfe at Century Club

Poster for the event being described, showing the two performers (screenshot from the Groupmuse Web page)

Some readers may recall that this afternoon pianist Ian Scarfe will begin the new year with his next visit to the Century Club of California. This may turn out to be a regular event, because, a little less than two weeks ago, I learned that Scarfe will return to the Century Club almost exactly one month later. However, while he will be performing with cellist James Joffe this afternoon, next month his duo partner will be violinist Sam Weiser, who, according to my records, last performed with Scarfe this past June for his Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, performed at Monument SF.

Next month’s program will be framed by two significant compositions in the sonata repertoire. The program will begin with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 304 two-movement violin sonata, which will be coupled with the last of Ludwig van Beethoven’s three Opus 30 violin sonatas, composed in the key of G major. The second half of the program will begin with Rebecca Clarke’s “Midsummer Moon,” followed by Amy Beach’s Opus 23 “Romance,” her first chamber music composition.

For those that do not already know, the Century Club is located at 1355 Franklin Street, between Post Street and Sutter Street. However, all arrangements must be made through a Groupmuse Web page. Ticket prices begin at $25, with $5 to hold a reservation. As of this writing, 73 of 75 spots are still available. The performance will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 22. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. Drinks will be provided at the intermission (both with and without alcohol). However, the club itself is not wheelchair accessible.