SFS: Five Weeks of Guest Conductors

The month of May and the first week of June will feature five guest conductors leading the San Francisco Symphony (SFS). As was the case this month, there will be a mixture of familiar faces and debut performances by both conductors and soloists. Specifics are as follows in the usual chronological order with the Web page for purchasing tickets hyperlinked to each of the dates:

May 5, 7, and 8: Xian Zhang will make her debut as a conductor of subscription series concerts. Her soloist, pianist Aaron Diehl, will be making that same debut. He will be featured in the SFS premiere performance of of Florence Price’s single-movement piano concerto. This will be preceded by Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s “Primal Message,” which will also be receiving its SFS premiere. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 95 (ninth) symphony in E minor, best known as “From the New World.” The performances on May 5 and 8 will take place at 2 p.m., and the May 7 performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20 to $165 and may also be purchased by calling the SFS Box Office at 415-864-6000. The free pre-concert talk will be given by Sarah Cahill one hour prior to the beginning of the performance. Doors open fifteen minutes before the talk begins.

May 13–15: This week will see the welcome return of two familiar faces. Karina Canellakis will take the podium, and the soloist will be cellist Alisa Weilerstein. Weilerstein will be featured at the beginning of the program with a performance of Richard Strauss’ “Don Quixote” tone poem. This will be followed by the SFS premiere of “D’un soir triste” (of a sad evening), composed by Lili Boulanger near the end of her life. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Witold Lutosławski’s concerto for orchestra. The performances on May 13 and 14 will take place at 7:30 p.m., and the May 15 performance will begin at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20 to $165 and may also be purchased by calling the SFS Box Office at 415-864-6000. The free pre-concert talk will be given by Scott Foglesong one hour prior to the beginning of the performance. Doors open fifteen minutes before the talk begins.

May 20–22: [updated 5/10, 10:25 a.m.: Conductor Ton Koopman has withdrawn from this program due to difficulties with his visa for entry into the United States. Bernard Labadie will] lead an all-ensemble program of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn. He will begin with Mozart’s K. 239 serenade in D major, composed for two small orchestras. This will be followed by his K. 425 (“Linz”) symphony in D major. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to one Haydn symphony, [updated 5/10, 10:30 a.m.: Hoboken I/103 in E-flat major, instead of Hoboken I/80 in D minor.] The performances on May 20 and 21 will take place at 7:30 p.m., and the May 22 performance will begin at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20 to $165 and may also be purchased by calling the SFS Box Office at 415-864-6000. The free pre-concert talk will be given by Alexandra Amati one hour prior to the beginning of the performance. Doors open fifteen minutes before the talk begins.

May 26–28: Nathalie Stutzmann will make her debut as a conductor of subscription series concerts. While Koopman’s program paired two leading composers from the Classical period, Stutzmann will present a “pairing” of nineteenth-century composers, Johannes Brahms and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The first half of the program will include the SFS Chorus performing three Brahms compositions: “Nänie,” (Opus 82) “Gesang der Parzen” (song of the Fates, Opus 89), and “Schicksalslied” (song of destiny, Opus 54). The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Tchaikovsky’s Opus 74 (sixth) symphony, also known as the (“Pathétique”). All three performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $35 to $165 and may also be purchased by calling the SFS Box Office at 415-864-6000. The free pre-concert talk will be given by James Keller one hour prior to the beginning of the performance. Doors open fifteen minutes before the talk begins.

These performances will be preceded by the next Katherine Hanrahan Open Rehearsal. This special behind-the-scenes experience begins at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 26, with coffee and complimentary doughnuts, followed by a half-hour introductory talk by Keller at 9 a.m. The rehearsal itself begins at 10 a.m.; and, of course, the pieces rehearsed are at the conductor’s discretion. General admission is $30 with $40 for reserved seats in the Premier Orchestra section, Rear Boxes and Side Boxes, and the Loge. Tickets may be purchased online through a separate event page.

June 2–5: This program will feature the West Coast premiere of a piano concerto composed by Mason Bates on an SFS commission. The pianist will be Daniil Trifonov, and the conductor will be Ruth Reinhardt, making her debut. The program will begin with the SFS premiere performance of Lotta Wennäkoski’s “Helsinki Variations.” The second half of the program will see a return to Dvořák, this time his Opus 76 (fifth) symphony in F major. The performances on June 2 and 5 will take place at 2 p.m., and those on June 3 and 4 will begin at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20 to $165 and may also be purchased by calling the SFS Box Office at 415-864-6000. The free pre-concert talk will be given by Sarah Cahill one hour prior to the beginning of the performance. Doors open fifteen minutes before the talk begins.