Cellist Jay Campbell to Return to SFP

Cellist Jay Campbell and pianist Conor Hanick (courtesy of SFP)

Some readers may recall that the first program in the San Francisco Performances (SFP) Great Artists and Ensembles series will take place at the beginning of next month. The second program will be presented a little less than a week later. The recital will see the return of cellist Jay Campbell. He will be joined by pianist Conor Hanick, who will be making his SFP debut.

The program will begin with Eric Wubbels instrumental setting of “Gretchen am Spinnrade” (Gretchen at the spinning wheel), one of the songs incorporated in Part One of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust. This text is probably best known as the D. 118 song composed by Franz Schubert, but Campbell and Hanick will give it an instrumental treatment. On a more conventional side, they will conclude with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Opus 19 sonata for cello and piano in G minor.

Between these two “bookends” Hanick will offer several solo selections. He will begin with two of the impromptus from Schubert’s D. 899 set of four, those in the key of A-flat major and F minor, respectively. This will be followed by three of György Ligeti’s études, two from his first book (“Fanfares” and “Arc-en-ciel”) and one from the second (“L'escalier du diable”). (The English translations for the second and their études are “rainbow” and “the Devil’s staircase.”)

This recital will take place in Herbst Theater, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 8. The entrance to Herbst Theatre is on the ground floor of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. This venue is excellent for public transportation, since that corner has Muni bus stops for both north-south and east-west travel. Ticket prices are $70 (premium Orchestra and front and center Dress Circle), $60 (remainder of Orchestra, all Side Boxes, and center rear Dress Circle), and $50 (remaining Dress Circle and Balcony); and they may be purchased through an SFP secure Web page. As available, single tickets will be sold at the door with a 50% discount for students and a 20% discount for seniors. Single tickets may also be purchased by calling 415-392-2545.