Esa-Pekka Salonen, Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS), will conduct the final two subscription programs of the 2021–22 season. The first of these will feature a visit from pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard to perform piano concertos by Béla Bartók. The following week will see two SFS premiere performances of music by Steven Stucky and John Adams, respectively, as well as a debut performance by pianist Víkingur Ólafsson.
Those wondering about the use of the plural in the second sentence of the above paragraph should be informed that this is not a typographical error! Aimard will perform Bartók’s first concerto on Thursday and Friday and then shift to the third concerto for the remaining two performances. All four performances will continue with Jessie Montgomery’s string orchestra version of “Strum” and Ottorino Respighi’s tone poem “Pines of Rome.” The program will begin with Luciano Berio’s “Quattro versioni originali della ‘Ritirata notturna di Madrid,’” (four original versions from Luigi Boccherini's “Withdrawal by Night in Madrid”). This amounts to four arrangements of one of the movements from “Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid” (night music of the streets of Madrid), originally performed by two violins, one viola, and two cellos, which Boccherini composed (probably around 1780) during his service to the Spanish Court.
The performances on Thursday, June 16, Friday, June 17, and Saturday, June 18 will take place at 7:30 p.m., and the Sunday, June 19 performance will begin at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20 to $165 and may be purchased by calling the SFS Box Office at 415-864-6000. The pre-concert talks will be presented in partnership with the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism. The speaker on June 16 will be Classical Music Critic of The New York Times, Zachary Woolfe. The speaker for the remaining three performances will be John Platoff. As usual, these talks will take place one hour prior to the beginning of the performance. Doors open fifteen minutes before the talk begins. Tickets may also be purchased online through the Web page for this program.
The first SFS premiere on the final subscription program of the season will be “Radical Light” by Steven Stucky. This single-movement composition was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with contributions from Lenore and Bernard Greenberg. The premiere performance took place in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on October 18, 2007. Salonen conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the occasion. The second SFS premiere was also performed for the first time by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This was John Adams’ three-movement piano concerto, “Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?,” named after words attributed to Martin Luther. The piano soloist was Yuja Wang, and the conductor was Gustavo Dudamel. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Jean Sibelius’ fifth symphony.
This program will be given three performances, all at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, Friday, June 24, and Saturday, June 25. Ticket prices again range from $20 to $165 and may 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. Tickets may also be purchased online through the Web page for this program.
These performances will be preceded by the final Katherine Hanrahan Open Rehearsal. This special behind-the-scenes experience begins at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 23, with coffee and complimentary doughnuts, followed by a half-hour introductory talk by Cahill 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.
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