András Schiff will Return to Davies as Conductor

András Schiff at the piano keyboard (photograph by Stefan Cohen, from the SFS event page for this concert)

Pianist András Schiff has been a regular visitor to Davies Symphony Hall as a recitalist. Less frequently his visits have included conducting the San Francisco Symphony (SFS). (According to my records, he was last on the SFS podium in October of 2015 for a program in which he was also the soloist in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 595 concerto in B-flat major.) This month Schiff will return to Davies, once again to lead SFS, this time in a program that will be divided between Johann Sebastian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn.

As might be expected, he will use the Bach portion of the program also to present his keyboard skills. The program will begin with Schiff conducting two of that composer’s keyboard concertos, BWV 1054 in D major and BWV 1055 in A minor, from the keyboard. He will then conclude the Bach portion with the BWV 1068 (third) orchestral suite in D major.

The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 52 Lobgesang (hymn of praise). The original title page (translated into English) described this piece as “A Symphony-Cantata on Words of the Holy Bible, for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra.” After Mendelssohn’s death it was published as his second symphony in B-flat major. The performance will include the SFS Chorus (Ragnar Bohlin, Director). The soloists will be soprano Jennifer Mitchell, mezzo Margaret (Peg) Lisi, and tenor Michael Jankosky.

This concert will be given three performances, at 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 14, and Sunday, February 17, and at 8 p.m. on Friday, February 15. There will be an Inside Music talk given by James M. Keller that will begin one hour before the performance. Doors to the Davies lobbies open fifteen minutes before the talk begins. Ticket prices range from $34 to $200. They may be purchased online through the event page for this program on the SFS Web site, by calling 415-864-6000, or by visiting the Davies Box Office, whose entrance is on the south side of Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and two hours prior to Sunday performances.

The event page also has sound clips from previous SFS performances of BWV 1068. KDFC’s Rik Malone has prepared a podcast about this Bach selection. It is not, as of this writing, on the event page; but it should appear on the Program Notes Podcasts Web page prior to the first performance of this program. Flash must be enabled for both streamed content and online ticket purchases.