Old First Concerts: April, 2020

As of this writing, Old First Concerts (O1C) has announced the cancellation of only one of its events, this afternoon’s Akademie Gala concert, planned as part of the BEET250VEN series celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven. As of this writing there are five events on the April calendar, and orders for tickets for all of them are currently being taken. However, given that the likelihood of change will continue to loom, I shall use the shadow page for this site on Facebook to distribute any information about such changes.

All O1C events take place at the Old First Presbyterian Church, located at 1751 Sacramento Street on the southeast corner of Van Ness Avenue. If purchased in advance online from an O1C event page, general admission will be $23 with a discounted rate of $18 for seniors aged 65 or older. Hyperlinks for online purchase through specific event pages will be attached to the date-and-time information given below. Tickets for full-time students showing valid identification will be $5; and children aged twelve and under will be admitted for free. There is also a discount available for those parking at the Old First Parking Garage at 1725 Sacramento Street, just up the street from the church. Here are the specifics for the month of April:

[updated 3/19, 10:30 a.m.: The first concert in April has been cancelled:

Sunday, April 5, 4 p.m.: Readers may recall that one of the high points of SF Music Day 2019 was the opportunity to listen to the Heavy Roots Shakuhachi Ensemble, a group founded by Cornelius Boots and celebrating the low tones of the taimu (bass) shakuhachi. For O1C Boots has planned a duo recital with Kiku Day playing jinashi (natural) shakuhachi; and he will play instruments of both sizes. There will also be a guest appearance by Heavy Roots players Kevin Chen, Chris Adkins, and Darrell Hayden. The specific program has not been announced; but, as I observed at the SF Music Day performance, Boots’ approaches to performance combine traditional Japanese idioms with his experiences in the genres of both blues and gospel.]

Friday, April 17, 8 p.m.: The Italian Cultural Institute (Istituto Italiano de Cultura, IIC) will sponsor a visit by Italian pianist Gabriele Baldocci (travel permitting). Baldocci will offer a somewhat unconventional contribution to this year’s Beethoven festivities: He will play Franz Liszt’s solo piano transcription of Beethoven’s Opus 67 (fifth) symphony in C minor. This symphony was given its first performance at that aforementioned Akademie concert, which also included Beethoven improvising a solo piano fantasia. Thus, Baldocci’s program will also include his improvisations on Beethoven and well as his own original compositions. The program is likely to include several world premiere performances.

Sunday, April 19, 4 p.m.: Some readers may recall that a few days before cancellations due to COVID-19 began to be announced, mezzo Simone McIntosh gave a dynamite account of Olivier Messiaen’s Harawi song cycle as part of the Schwabacher Recital Series. At Old First McIntosh will appear as guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of San Francisco (CMSSF): violinists Jory Fankuchen and Natasha Makhijani, violist Clio Tilton, and cellist Samsun van Loon. In the first half of the program, the five of them will perform“Il tramonto,” Ottorino Respighi’s setting of the text of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “The Sunset,” translated into Italian by Roberto Ascoli. In the second half CMSSF will play Claude Debussy’s only string quartet, written in the key of G minor.

Friday, April 24, 8 p.m.: Slow Wave is a trio that favors the lower register. Pianist Naomi Stine performs with Justine Preston on viola and Kyle Beard, who alternates between clarinet and bass clarinet. Their program will include Brett Austin Eastman’s “Paraphrase,” which they premiered last year. They will also present world premiere performances of music by Bay Area composers Bryan Lin, Emma Logan, and Kyle Hovatter. On the more traditional side they will play selections from the eight pieces that Max Bruch composed for clarinet, viola, and piano.

Sunday, April 26, 3 p.m.: O1C will host the San Francisco Branch of the Music Teachers’ Association of California. MTAC-SF will present its students in a gala “Three B’s” concert, honoring the Beethoven anniversary by juxtaposing him with Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Brahms. Performers will be chosen by audition in the weeks before the concert, so the program has not yet been finalized. The concert will be followed by a reception.