End of February: SFS and Alternatives

The final weekend of February has turned out to be more complicated than previously assumed. Initially, the focus of attention was the world premiere performance of Allen Shearer’s opera Howards End, America, based on a libretto provided by Claudia Stevens. However, it seemed fair to point out that SoundBox would overlap the Friday and Saturday performances; and, on the day after these alternatives were reported, it turned out that Sunday was also going to be a busy day. Alas, both of these articles overlooked the fact that the weekly San Francisco Symphony (SFS) subscription concerts would be held only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. As a result, this article will focus on what will be presented at those concerts while also trying to account for the alternatives on each of the three dates.

The SFS conductor planned for that weekend was Daniel Harding. However, Harding has had to withdraw due to injury; and he will be replaced by Manfred Honeck, who has already enjoyed a few successful visits to the SFS podium, the most recent being this past October. The concerto soloist will still be pianist Lars Vogt, playing Robert Schumann’s Opus 54 piano concerto in A minor. The rest of the program will be devoted to much lighter fare. Most of the second half of the program will consist of music by Johann Strauss II, beginning with the overture to his operetta Die Fledermaus and then continuing with an assortment of polkas and the Opus 410 “Frühlingsstimmen” (voices of spring) waltz. There will also be a performance of “Die Libelle” (the dragonfly), the Opus 204 of Strauss’ younger brother Josef; and the Schumann concerto will be preceded by the overture to Franz von Suppé’s operetta Dichter und Bauer (poet and peasant).

This concert will be given three performances, at 8 p.m. on Friday, February 22, and Saturday, February 23, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 24. There will be an Inside Music talk given by Laura Stansfield Prichard that will begin one hour before the performance. Doors to the Davies lobbies open fifteen minutes before the talk begins. Ticket prices range from $20 to $156. 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 the Schumann concerto. Flash must be enabled for both streamed content and online ticket purchases. The next step will be to take stock of what else is happening on each of these three dates.

[added 2/10, 8:50 a.m.:

It was probably too much to assume that yesterday would account for the last word on alternatives to the final weekend in February. There is now an earlier event to add for Friday evening, and it may well be more adventurous than SoundBox. The Curio Bar will host a program entitled Expect the Unexpected. The performers will be the duo of Lila Sklar on violin and Dan Cantrell on accordion. They specialize in the unconventional rhythms of Balkan music; but, as the title of the program suggests, they are likely to venture beyond Balkan boundaries. The advance material suggested that musical saws may be involved.

The Curio Bar is located in the Mission at 775 Valencia Street. The performance will begin at 7 p.m. Most important is that this concert will be free; so be prepared for a you-get-what-you-pay-for event!]

As has already been reported, Friday evening will see both the opening night of Howards End, America and the first SoundBox concert of the weekend. However, in the immortal words of Ron Popeil, “But wait, there’s more!” The Lab will present another two-set evening directed at adventurous listeners. The first set will be taken by Lucrecia Dalt, formerly a geotechnical engineer. She will showcase her latest album, given the geologically-inspired title Anticlines. She describes the performances on that album as “a volume of bodily and geological substrates within poetic theory and sound.” She will be followed by Aaron Dilloway, who is currently working on his next album, The Gag File. A former member of the noise troupe Wolf Eyes, Dilloway is now putting his time primarily into solo performance.

The Lab is located in the Mission at 2948 16th Street. This is a short walk from the corner of Mission Street. This is particularly good for those using public transportation, since that corner provides bus stops for both north-south and east-west travel as well as a BART station. This performance will begin at 9 p.m. on Friday, February 22. Doors open half an hour before each concert begins, and it is usually the case that a long line has accumulated before then. Admission will be $15 and $10 for members. Seats may be reserved through a login Web page for members and a guest registration Web page for others.

Options for Saturday will again include both Howards End, America and SoundBox. However, this will also be the evening of the next Piano Talks performance presented by the Ross McKee Foundation. Performance and discussion will be by Adam Tendler, visiting from New York. The title of his program will be Role Playing, and he will explore the topics of presence, personality, and the varied roles pianists must inhabit from piece to piece and performance to performance. These ideas will be explored through performances of compositions that will include selected short pieces by Béla Bartók, John Cage’s ground-breaking 4’33”, Frederic Rzewski’s “De Profundis,” and “Imaginary Husband,” by Elodie Lauten.

This concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 23. The venue will be the Recital Hall of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, which is located at 50 Oak Street, between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street and a short walk from the Van Ness Muni station. All tickets are being sold for $20, and they may be purchased in advance online at an Eventbrite event page.

Finally, the alternatives for Sunday remain as previously reported.