SFS to Begin New Year with Two Fifth Symphonies

Conductor Jaap van Zweden (photograph by Dario Acosta, courtesy of SFS)

Once again conductor Jaap van Zweden will lead the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) in their first subscription program of the New Year. This will be the second time in which he has launched New Year’s programming in Davies Symphony Hall, the first having been in January of 2019, during his first season as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. The second half of that program was devoted entirely to Anton Bruckner’s fifth symphony.

For his return to Davies, he has prepared a program based on two other fifth symphonies. The first half of the program will be devoted entirely to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 67 in C minor, often acknowledged as the fifth symphony. The intermission will then be followed by Dmitri Shostakovich’s Opus 47, his return to the good graces of Stalinist authorities (particularly Joseph Stalin himself) as “a Soviet artist’s reply to just criticism.”

This concert will be given three performances, all at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 11, Friday, January 12, and Saturday, January 13. Ticket prices range from $25 to $225. They may be purchased online through the event page for this program on the SFS Web site, by calling 415-864-6000, or by visiting the Davies Box Office, whose entrance is on the south side of Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street (now officially renamed MTT Way in honor of Music Director Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas). The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

In addition, 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, January 11, with coffee and complimentary doughnuts, followed by a half-hour introductory talk by Scott Foglesong at 9 a.m. The rehearsal itself begins at 10 a.m.; and, of course, the pieces rehearsed are at the conductor’s discretion. Admission will be free for those holding tickets for one of the three concert performances. For others general admission is $35 with $45 for reserved seats in the Premiere Orchestra section, as well as all Boxes and the Loge. Tickets may be purchased online through a separate event page.