SFS Chamber Music Series: Eshima and Debussy

This afternoon in Davies Symphony Hall, the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) presented the latest installment in its Chamber Music Series. The works performed accounted for three different centuries, but that account was a bit more unusual. The program began with the most recent selection, Shinji Eshima’s “Hymn for Her (Conversations I Wish I Had),” composed in 2022 on a commission celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Music at Kohl Mansion series of chamber music recitals. The remainder of the program accounted for both extremes of Claude Debussy’s life. The 1915 sonata for flute, viola, and harp was one of this last works, while the intermission was followed by the 1880 piano trio in G minor, written when the composer was eighteen years old.

Eshima’s contribution was scored for a decidedly non-standard quintet of instruments. The quintet included cellist Amos Yang and Charles Chandler on bass, for whom Eshima had composed the duo “Bariolage” in 2016. They were joined by Jerome Simas on clarinet, pianist Marc Shapiro, and, of particular interest, percussionist Jacob Nissly playing marimba. This amounted to a thoroughly upbeat rhetoric, allowing each of the instrumentalists to “strut his stuff” and concluding with what can only be called a whirlwind cadenza for the marimba given a fiery account by Nissly.

While the Debussy selections may not have lit any fires, the contrast of the two extremes made for the sort of listening experience that one rarely encounters. The fact is that both of these works are seldom encountered for different reasons. Where the 1880 trio is concerned, most listeners tend to shy away because “it doesn’t sound like Debussy.” Well, yes, it is the earliest piece of chamber music, number 5 in François Lesure’s catalog; but he wrote it for Nadezhda von Meck, who is best known for having supported Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Given that Debussy was only eighteen, the fact that he could write music for Meck that did not sound like Tchaikovsky can be credited as achievement enough!

The 1915 sonata, on the other hand, suffers from the problem of the need to assemble an unconventional trio of musicians. Fortunately, SFS was the perfect site for providing the necessary resources. Assistant Principal Viola Katie Kadarauch has been a frequent participant in Chamber Music Series programming. On the other hand, Associate Principal Flute Blair Francis Paponiu joined SFS at the beginning of this season; and I found it delightful that a “newcomer” could contribute to the Chamber Music Series repertoire. Pianist June Choi Oh, currently Chair of the Department of Music, Dance, and Performing Arts at Dominican University, was a “newcomer,” who fit perfectly well into the company of her two trio partners. Now, how long will I have to wait for my next opportunity to listen to this highly inventive approach to composing for an unconventional trio?