Tharaud to Replace Anderszewski on New Date

Pianist Alexandre Tharaud on the cover of his “Goldberg” album (from the Amazon.com Web page for this recording)

Yesterday, San Francisco Performances announced that, due to serious complications from flu, Polish-American pianist Piotr Anderszewski would be unable to come to San Francisco to present the final recital in the 2018–2019 Piano Series. Fortunately, a substitute performance has been announced, which will be given by French pianist Alexandre Tharaud. The program will consist entirely of a single composition, Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 988 set of (“Goldberg”) variations on an Aria theme (which happens to have the form of a saraband). Erato released a recording of Tharaud playing this composition in November of 2015; and, in spite of my preferences for historically-informed performances, I found myself very positively impressed with his approach to playing Bach. (Readers who recall the plan for Anderszewski’s recital will note that this means that this may be the first SFP Piano Series without any performances of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven!)

Tharaud’s schedule will necessitate a change of date for the recital. It will still begin at 7:30 p.m., but the date will now be Tuesday, April 23. The venue will still be Herbst Theatre, located on the ground floor of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue, at the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Tickets are on sale for $75 for premium seating in the Orchestra and the front of the Dress Circle, $60 for the remainder of the Orchestra, the remainder of the center Dress Circle, and the Boxes, and $45 for remaining seats in the Dress Circle and the Balcony. Tickets may be purchased online in advance through the City Box Office event page that was created for the Anderszewski concert. (As of this writing, information about date, time, and performer has not yet been updated; but this is the page linked to the data about tickets that have already been purchased.)