Thursday, August 29, 2019

Choices for September 27, 2019

If the weekend of September 21–22 is now “on record” as the first weekend of choices in the new season, it will be followed by the need to make a choice on the following Friday. As of this writing, there are two events of interest on September 27, both of which will begin at 7:30 p.m. Both of these involve innovative approaches to chamber music, but the paths to novelty follow decidedly different directions. Specifics are as follows:

Zion Lutheran Church: This is the latest benefit concert to be produced by the church in partnership with the Interfaith Refugee Welcome group, which provides refugee support both in the Bay Area and abroad. Once again the proceeds will go directly to Dirty Girls of Lesvos, an on-the-ground NGO (non-governmental organization) that has pioneered the cleaning and redistribution of used and discarded clothing, bedding, and other materials for humanitarian relief. The featured work on the concert itself will be Stefan Cwik’s “American Troubadours.” This is a duo for violin and piano, which will be performed by Patrick Galvin and Jungeun Kim, respectively, having recently given the world premiere of this composition.

As the title suggests, the score is a reflection on a variety of influences from different American folk styles. The remainder of the program will be devoted to music from Johann Sebastian Bach to Béla Bartók, and each selection will be preceded by remarks about the influences for those particular compositions. The performers will also discuss the differences in work practices between dealing with a living composer and interpreting pieces by composers of the past.

All tickets for this concert will be sold for $20. They may be purchased in advance online through an Eventbrite event page. Zion Lutheran Church is located at 495 9th Avenue near the northwest corner of Anza Street.

Herbst Theatre: San Francisco Performances (SFP) will launch its 40th anniversary season with the first concert in the 2019–2020 Shenson Piano Series. This will be a unique approach to a duo recital to be presented by Natasha Paremski and Alfredo Rodriguez. While Paremski is an established recitalist with a keen taste for technically challenging compositions, Rodriguez is a Cuban jazz pianist, who is also proficient in the classical repertoire.

What will make the recital unique is that these two pianists will not perform as a duo. Rather, Paremski will perform three “historical” compositions, each of which will trigger improvisations by Rodriguez. The “source” pieces selected by Paremski will be Sergei Prokofiev’s Opus 22 collection Visions fugitives, Maurice Ravel’s suite Gaspard de la nuit, and Mily Balakirev’s finger-busting “Islamey.”

Because this is the first concert in the Piano Series, subscriptions for the entire series are still on sale. Prices are $390 for premium seating in the Orchestra and the front and center of the Dress Circle, $295 for the Side Boxes, the center rear of the Dress Circle, and the remainder of the Orchestra, and $200 for the remainder of the Dress Circle and the Balcony. Subscriptions may be purchased online in advance through a City Box Office event page. Orders may also be placed by calling the SFP subscriber hotline at 415-677-0325, which is open for receiving calls between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The corresponding prices for single tickets are $70, $55, and $45; and they may be purchased through a separate City Box Office event page.

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