I seem to have been more than a little remiss in previewing the different series that will be offered by San Francisco Performances (SFP) beginning next month. Consequently, it is more timely for me to account for coming performances on a month-by-month basis. Since I have already written about the 45th Season Gala, which will take place on Friday, October 4, and since this is preceded by only one performance at the end of September, I shall deal with that one concert and the remaining October events in this article. Curiously, all of those performances will take place on a Saturday evening, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The specific dates are as follows:
September 28, Presidio Theatre: The program will begin with a special performance to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Quintette du Hot Club de France. It was at this venue that violinist Stéphane Grappelli and guitarist Django Reinhardt launched their own pioneering approach to jazz. The Hot Club of San Francisco was formed as an homage to the Hot Club repertoire; and, appropriately enough, it is also a quintet. The “role” of Grappelli will be taken by violinist Evan Price, while Paul Mehling will serve as lead guitar. The quintet also has two rhythm guitarists, Jordan Samuels and Nelson Hutchison; and they are joined by Dexter Williams on bass.
Unless I am mistaken, this will be the first time that SFP will present a performance at the Presidio Theatre Performing Arts Center. This is located at 99 Moraga Avenue, in the southwest corner of the Presidio. Ticket prices are $60 and $45; and, because this is the first of three concerts in the Presidio Series, tickets for the entire series are available for $120 and $165. Web pages are available for purchase of both the entire series and the September performance.
Sean Shibe and Karim Sulayman (from the Web page for purchasing tickets)
October 12, Presidio Theatre: The second Presidio Series will be a duo performance of tenor Karim Sulayman and guitarist Sean Shibe. They describe their program as a “modern musical traversal of the Silk Road ranging from the Middle Ages to the present.” The full scope of the program can be found on the SFP event page. Note that the traditional sources will be both Sephardic and Arab Andalusian. The one major work to be performed in its entirety will be Benjamin Britten’s Songs from the Chinese cycle of setting of six poems, which Arthur Waley translated into English from the original Chinese. Since it was written for tenor Peter Pears and guitarist Julian Bream, it conforms perfectly to the skills of the two musicians. Single ticket prices will again be $60 and $45, and they will be available through the program’s event page.
October 26, Herbst Theatre: This will be the first program in the Chamber Series, one of the few series to be given a preview earlier this summer. As an alternative to following that hyperlink, I shall simply repeat the description: The performers will be the members of the Esmé Quartet, violinists Wonhee Bae and Yuna Ha, violist Dimitri Murrath, and cellist Ye-Eun Heo. The program will be framed by two “late” quartets from the Classical period. It will begin with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 575 in D major, the first in his Opus 18 collection of three quartets (not to be confused with the six Opus 18 quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven), often known as the “Prussian” quartets. The conclusion will be Franz Schubert’s final quartet, his D. 887 in G major. These two “bookends” will serve as “monuments” overlooking the first string quartet composed by György Ligeti.
Also previously reported is that the entrance to Herbst is the main entrance to the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue, located on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. The venue is excellent for public transportation, since that corner has Muni bus stops for both north-south and east-west travel. Single ticket prices will be $70 for premium seating in the Orchestra, the Side Boxes, and the front and center of the Dress Circle, $60 for the center rear of the Dress Circle and the remainder of the Orchestra, and $50 for the remainder of the Dress Circle and the Balcony, and they will be available through the program’s event page. In addition, because this is the first Chamber Series concert, tickets are the entire series are available for $275, $235, and $195. Subscriptions may be purchased online in advance through an SFP Web page.
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