Plans for SFP 40th Season Gala & Concert

SFP recitalist and pianist Richard Goode (photograph by Sreve Riskind, courtesy of SFP)

Traditionally, the annual gala held by San Francisco Performances (SFP) serves as a harbinger for the coming season. This year, however, the festivities will not take place until the end of this month. This may be attributed to the decision that the gala for the 40th season should be scheduled to accommodate a particularly distinguished visitor. That visitor will be the pianist Richard Goode, who has been giving SFP recitals since 1985 and will be making his thirteenth visit for this occasion.

He has prepared a program that will appeal to both the adventurous and those preferring the traditional. He will begin with Leoš Janáček’s four-movement piano cycle In the Mists. He will then shift for the more familiar Eastern European offerings of Frédéric Chopin, the second (in E-flat major) of the Opus 55 nocturnes and the three mazurkas collected in Opus 59. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Claude Debussy, beginning with the three pieces collected in the second book entitled Images. This will be followed by “La soirée dans Grenade” (evening in Granada), the second of the three pieces in the Estampes (prints) collection. He will then conclude with the wildly erotic “L'isle joyeuse” (the joyful island).

The concert will be preceded by cocktails one hour before the performance at 6 p.m. and a full-course post-concert dinner and fund-a-need drive. (Black tie will be optional.) These festivities will be held in The Green Room on the second floor of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue; and the concert will take place, as usual, in Herbst Theatre in the same building.

Participation in the full gala may be through the purchase of either individual tickets or sponsor packages that fill a table for ten. Entry level is $500 for an Individual Ticket, along with a Benefactor Ticket for $750, $150 of which is tax-deductible for both levels of purchase. Table Sponsors may choose among three alternatives. The Silver Sponsor level is $5000, the Gold Sponsor is $7500, and the Platinum Sponsor is $10,000. Gold level includes preferred seating, and Platinum includes premium seating. $1500 is tax-deductible for all table sponsorships. Tickets for all of the gala events, including the concert, are not being sold online. Those interested in attending can call 415-677-0326 or send electronic mail.

For those wishing to attend only the concert, tickets are currently available. Ticket prices will be $85 for preferred Orchestra and Dress Circle seating, $65 for the remainder of the Orchestra and center Dress Circle, as will as the side Boxes, and $45 for the Balcony and the remainder of the Dress Circle. There will be limited availability for Orchestra seating. Concert-only tickets may be purchased through a City Box Office event page. The entire event will take place on Tuesday, October 29.