Diverse Conclusion for SFS Chamber Music Series

Next month will begin with the final Chamber Music Series concert to be presented by the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) featuring performances by its members. The most familiar work on the program will be the final selection, Franz Schubert’s D. 898 (first) piano trio in B-flat major. Pianist Markus Pawlik will join violinist David Chernyavsky and Assistant Principal Cello Amos Yang. Both of Schubert’s piano trios were composed during the final year of his life and are representative of his prodigious creativity at that time.

Ironically, the program will begin with one of the last pieces composed by Max Bruch. As was the case with D. 898, Bruch’s string octet in B-flat major was not published until after his death. However, Bruch died in 1920 and the octet is basically an affectionate reflection of the music he had been composing back in the nineteenth century. The violinists for this performance will be Yun Chu, Amy Hiraga, Chen Zhao, and Raushan Akhmedyarova, the violists will be Nanci Severance and Gina Cooper, and they will be joined by Associate Principal Cello Peter Wyrick and Principal Bass Scott Pingel.

Autographed portrait photograph of Philippe Gaubert (photographer unknown, from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

More representative of the early twentieth century will be the middle selection on the program. Philippe Gaubert reflects the influences of César Franck, Claude Debussy, and Maurice Ravel. In fact he was the flutist in the first performance of Ravel’s “Introduction and Allegro,” scored for harp, flute, and string quartet. As might be guessed, the flute figures in much of his chamber music. Associate Principal Flute Robin McKee will honor Gaubert’s memory, taking the flute part in his “Médailles antiques” (ancient medals). She will be joined by her son, Britton Day, on piano and Mariko Smiley on violin.

This performance will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 2. The venue will be Davies Symphony Hall, located at 201 Van Ness Avenue. This building fills an entire city block with Van Ness on the east, Grove Street on the north, Hayes Street on the south, and Franklin Street on the west. The main entrance (which is also the entrance to the Box Office) is on Grove Street, roughly halfway down the block. All tickets for this recital will be sold for $45, and tickets will not be sold for the First Tier and Second Tier. Tickets may be purchased in advance online through a Web page on the SFS Web site. Flash must be enabled for online ticket transactions. Tickets may also be purchased by visiting the Box Office or calling 415-864-6000. 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 before the beginning of the concert on Sunday.