Regular readers will probably know by now that the annual Chinese New Year Concert, presented by the San Francisco Symphony (SFS), will take place on the first Saturday of next month, February 5. This year, however, that celebratory offering will be followed by a subscription concert that will focus on both Chinese repertoire and the pipa, sometimes called the “Chinese lute.” The conductor will be Perry So, who was mentored by Esa-Pekka Salonen and will be making his SFS subscription series debut. The pipa soloist will be Wu Man, who has previously performed with the Kronos Quartet and will also be making her SFS subscription series debut.
1997 photograph of Wu Man with Lou Harrison (courtesy of Shuman Associates)
For that matter all five of the compositions on the program will be given SFS premiere performances. “First among these equals,” so to speak, will be Wu’s appearance as soloist in Lou Harrison’s concerto for pipa and string orchestra. All of the other composers on the program are Asian as follows:
- Texu Kim: Bounce!!
- Younghi Pagh-Paan: NIM
- Takashi Yoshimatsu: The Age of Birds
- Zhou Long: The Rhyme of Taigu
Some readers may recall that Kim’s “Spin-Flip” will be performed the previous Saturday at the Chinese New Year Concert.
This concert will be given only two performances, both at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 11, and Saturday, February 12. A single Web page has been created with hyperlinks for purchasing tickets for each of those dates. Tickets are priced between $20 and $125. There will be an Inside Music talk, free to all concert ticket holders, given by Laura Stanfield Prichard one hour prior to each concert. Doors will open fifteen minutes before the talk begins.
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