Next month will be both busy and diverse for the San Francisco Symphony (SFS). Once again, performances will extend beyond Davies Symphony Hall, with particular attention to branches of the San Francisco Public Library. As usual, all of the dates and times will have hyperlinks to facilitate ticket purchases; and they may also be acquired at the Box Office, which is at the entrance to Davies on the south side of Grove Street, between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street.
Sunday, May 3, 2 p.m.: The next chamber music performance in Davies will be diverse not only in its performers but also in instrumentation. This will include Yuhsin Galaxy Su, Matthew Griffith, and Jerome Simas playing basset horns. The instrument is somewhat similar to an alto clarinet but with a lower register. The program will begin with an arrangement by the Apollo Chamber Players of two of the movements from Harry Burleigh’s Six Plantation Melodies Old and New: “Negro Lullaby” and “An Ante-Bellum Sermon.” This will be followed by Carl Nielsen’s “Serenata in vano,” a quintet for clarinet, bassoon, horn, cello, and double bass. This will be complemented by a string trio composed by one of Nielsen’s contemporaries, Jean Françaix. The remainder of the program will be devoted to two more familiar composers from two different centuries. The three basset horns will play movements from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 439b, the last in a set of five divertimentos in B-flat major. The program will then conclude with Sergei Prokofiev’s Opus 39, a quintet in G minor for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and double bass.
Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 10: The first visiting conductor of the month will be Dima Slobodeniouk. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Opus 36, his fourth symphony in F minor, often known for its “Fate” motif. The first half of the program will be shared by two twentieth-century French composers. The opening selection will be “Métaboles,” composed by Henri Dutilleux, followed by Jacques Ibert’s only flute concerto.
Saturday, May 9, 2 p.m.: The first free Community Chamber Concert will take place at the Library’s Portola Branch at 380 Bacon Street and will last one hour.
Thursday, May 14, 5:30 p.m.: The second Community Chamber Concert will be performed by violinist Anne Richardson and Dan Smith on bass. The venue will be the Marina Library Branch at 1890 Chestnut Street. This will also last one hour.
Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 17, 2 p.m.: Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt will return to the Davies podium. The entire program will be devoted to Gustav Mahler’s ninth symphony, the last symphony that he completed. As its Wikipedia page observes, a “typical performance” lasts between 75 and 90 minutes. In the past, I have experienced an extended pause following the extended duration of the first movement.
Sunday, May 17, 7:30 p.m.: The SFS Youth Orchestra will conclude its season with two significantly contrasting symphonies. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Dmitri Shostakovich’s Opus 47, his fifth symphony in D minor, composed in 1937. This tends to receive the most attention among the fifteen symphonies he composed between 1923 and 1971. By way of contrast, the first half of the program will conclude with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 21, his first symphony, composed in the key of C major. The “overture” for this program will be Dylan Hall’s “Scherzo for Orchestra.”
Friday, May 22, and Saturday, May 23, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 24, 2 p.m.: Cristian Măcelaru has made regular appearance on the Davies podium, the most recent having been in April of 2023. His concerto soloist will be Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski, performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s first piano concerto, the Opus 1 in F-sharp minor. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Antonín Dvořák’s ninth (and last) symphony, composed in the key of E minor during his tenure as the Director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City. The program will begin with the world premiere performance of “Embers,” composed by Tyler Taylor on an SFS commission.
Friday, May 29, and Saturday, May 30, 7:30 p.m.: The title of this program is Ravel & Music of the Americas, and it will conclude with Maurice Ravel’s “Rapsodie espagnole.” Ravel’s rhapsody will be complemented by its predecessor, the “Danzas fantásticas” by Spanish composer Joaquín Turina. The American side of the program will begin with dances from Alberto Ginastera’s Opus 8, his score for the ballet “Estancia,” commissioned for the American Ballet Caravan by Lincoln Kirstein. This will be followed by the United States premiere of “Shift,” composed by Peruvian composer Jimmy López on an SFS commission.
Sunday, May 30, 2 p.m.: The third Community Chamber Concert will be performed by violinist Jeein Kim and Davis You on cello. The venue will be the Anza Library Branch at 550 37th Avenue. Like the other library events, this will last one hour.
Sunday, May 31, 2 p.m.: This will be the next chamber music performance to take place in the Gunn Theater at the Legion of Honor. The performers will be the trio of violinist Alexander Barantschik, Peter Wyrick on cello, and pianist Anton Nel. The program will be framed by two major works in the piano trio repertoire. It will begin with Mozart’s K. 542 trio in E major and conclude with Robert Schumann’s Opus 63, his first piano trio, composed in the key of D minor. Between these two selections, Wyrick and Nel will perform Johannes Brahms’ Opus 38, his first cello sonata, composed in the key of E minor.
Members of the SFS Chorus (from the Web page for their performance at the end of next month)
Sunday, May 31, 2 p.m.: At exactly the same time, Davies will see a performance by the SFS Chorus led by Jenny Wong. Accompaniment will be provided by both John Wilson on piano and organist Jonathan Dimmock. The program will begin with the first of the four quartets in Brahms’ Opus 92, “O schöne Nacht!” This will be followed by Gabriel Fauré’s Opus 11, “Cantique de Jean Racine.” There will also be an arrangement of three traditional American songs by Shawn Kirchner. The other composers contributing to the program will be James Macmillan (“O Radiant Dawn”), Lili Boulanger (“Hymne au soleil”), Ola Gjeilo (“Across the Vast, Eternal Sky”), and Morten Lauridsen (“Lux Aeterna”).
