Beijing Guitar Duo to Return to SFP

The Beijing Guitar Duo of Yameng Wang and Meng Su (courtesy of SFP)

Prior to the pandemic, the Beijing Guitar Duo of Meng Su and Yameng Wang were relatively frequent visitors to the San Francisco Performances (SFP) Guitar Series, presented in partnership with the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts. At the beginning of next month, they will make their sixth SFP appearance, the first being on a program with their teacher Manuel Barrueco in 2010. This was followed by their serving as SFP Guitarists-in-Residence between 2011 and 2015. My own fondest memory was when they gave a one-hour recital at the Hotel Rex in the SFP Salons series in March of 2012.

As is often the case, Su and Wang perform transcriptions of a prodigious span of piano music. I was particularly impressed by their performances of keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti; and, during my tenure with Examiner.com, I wrote enthusiastically about how they took on Claude Debussy’s Petite Suite (originally scored for piano four hands). The Duo will revisit that transcription when they return next month to perform the final SFP program of the fall season. The Debussy selection will serve as a “keystone” between two other French composers. The program will begin with César Franck’s Opus 18 set of a prelude, a fugue, and a set of variations. Petite Suite will then be followed by another suite, Gabriel Fauré’s Opus 56, given the title Dolly.

The second half of the program will then turn to Hispanic influences. They will begin with Enrique Granados’ set of 8 Valses Poéticos. This will be followed by two selections by Isaac Albéniz, “Sous le palmier” (under the palm tree) from the Opus 232 Chants d'Espagne and “Castilla” from Opus 47, the first of the Suite Española compositions. The geography will then shift to Argentina with Ástor Piazzolla’s three-movement “Tango Suite.”

This performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 2. The venue will be St. Mark’s Lutheran Church at 1111 O’Farrell Street, just west of the corner of Franklin Street. All tickets are being sold for $60, both on the main floor and in the balcony. They may be purchased through an SFP secure Web Page or by calling 415-392-2545.