Sunday, February 26, 2023

SFCM Highlights: April, 2023

Since next month’s account of highlighted events at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) was relatively limited, this is as good a time as any to look forward to the events in April. This will again be a modest offering, with at least one change in plans since the Calendar was first announced. As of this writing, there will be four events, three of which are planned for live-streamed viewing through a Vimeo Web page.

As usual, the Performance Calendar Web page will provide the most up-to-date information about the many concerts and recitals that will be presented to the general public. Each of the dates below will include a hyperlink to the appropriate event page, which, in turn, will include a hyperlink for reserving tickets. If the performance will be live-streamed, there will also be a hyperlink to the necessary Vimeo Web page. As usual, this article will focus on key highlights; and those seeking more thorough information can consult the Performance Calendar.

Saturday, April 1, 7:30 p.m., Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall: This program was originally planned for a guest conductor to lead the SFCM Chamber Orchestra in the North American premiere of a symphony by Turkish composer Fazil Say. However, this event has been cancelled, probably due to current conditions in the Republic of Türkiye. Instead, Edwin Outwater will lead the full ensemble. The soloist will be Emmanuel Ceysson in a performance of the concerto for harp and orchestra by Henriette Renié. The “overture” will be “Variaciones concertantes,” Alberto Ginastera’s Opus 23. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Opus 36 (fourth) symphony in F minor.

Tuesday, April 4, 7:30 p.m., Barbro Osher Recital Hall: The April installment of Chamber Music Tuesday will feature the Telegraph Quartet, which is SFCM’s ensemble-in-residence. The quartet still consists of its founding members: violinists Eric Chin and Joseph Maile, violist Pei-Ling Lin, and cellist Jeremiah Shaw. They will perform quartets from two decidedly different centuries. The program will begin with Joseph Haydn’s Hoboken III/48, the fifth of the six Opus 50 “Prussian” quartets, written in the key of F major and given the programmatic title “The Dream.” This will be followed by Gabriela Lena Frank’s six-movement suite Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout. The program will conclude with Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 20 octet in E-flat major. The additional players are students selected through a competition paneled by Telegraph members: violinists Archie Brown and Po-Yu Lee, violist Zoe Yost, and cellist Calvin Kung.

Saturday, April 8, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 9, 2 p.m., Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall: This will be a concert performance of one of the lesser known operas by George Frideric Handel, his HWV 16 Flavio, re de' Longobardi (“Flavio, King of the Lombards”). This opera is somewhat unique in the ways in which tragedy is juxtaposed with comedy. (Francesco Cavalli was a master of this technique, but it is unlikely that Handel was aware of his work.) The performance will feature both vocal and instrumental students currently in the Baroque Ensemble of the Historical Performance Department.

Friday, April 28, 7:30 p.m., Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall: This will be the second concert of the month and the final concert of the season by the SFCM Orchestra. Student Conductor David Baker will lead the opening selection, Tchaikovsky’s “Overture-Fantasy” Romeo and Juliet. The program will conclude with Zodiac Suite, twelve compositions by jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams accounting for the astrological signs of the zodiac. The Orchestra will be joined by a jazz trio led by pianist Aaron Diehl. The middle portion of the program will be taken by Richard Strauss’ Opus 30 tone poem “Also sprach Zarathustra.”

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