SFS: Chamber Music Framed by Two Quintets

Yesterday afternoon Davies Symphony Hall hosted the latest performance of chamber music by San Francisco Symphony (SFS) musicians. The program was framed by two quintets separated by about 30 years. It began with the quintet for oboe and strings, composed by Arnold Bax in 1922, and concluded with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Opus 10, his F-sharp minor clarinet quintet. These selections served as a framework for a duet and a trio. The duet was Camille Saint-Saëns’ Opus 124, his “Fantasie” in the key of A minor scored for flute and harp. The trio players were violinist Dan Carlson, Leonid Plashinov-Johnson on viola, and pianist Marc Shaprio, performing “Two Pieces” by Benjamin Britten. These were “juvenilia” compositions written in the composer’s teens in 1929, which were not performed until 2003. Nevertheless, they did not “make the cut” for the Complete Works release by Decca in 2013; and yesterday afternoon’s performance suggested that Decca seems to have fumbled the ball in overlooking this music.

Still, the “primary substance” for yesterday afternoon was found in the quintets that began and concluded the program. Russ de Luna was the oboist for the Bax quintet, joined by violinists Carlson and Florin Parvulescu with Davis You on cello and Plashinov-Johnson again on viola. The music began with what seemed like evocations of Claude Debussy; but, by the time it progressed to the final movements, there was no mistaking the English influences! Bax is one of those composers that never seems to get the attention he deserves. In Davies he seems to be limited to chamber music, having made his last appearance a little over two years ago.

Coleridge-Taylor’s fate has not been much better. Nevertheless, I have encountered a fair amount of his music through recordings; and, as some readers may recall, clarinetist Anthony McGill performed his clarinet quintet when he made his debut with San Francisco Performances in November of 2021. Yesterday afternoon reminded me that this music definitely deserves more attention, and clarinetist Yuhsin Galaxy Su knew how to command that attention. Strings were provided by violinists Polina Sedukh and Olivia Chen, Katarzyna Bryla on viola, and cellist Sébastien Gingras.

Harpist Katherine Siochi (from her Meet the Musicians Web page on the SFS Web site)

For the most part, these performances were consistently engaging from beginning to end. I must confess that I found the Saint-Saëns selection to be a bit long-winded. Nevertheless, the interplay of Yubeen Kim on flute and harpist Katherine Siochi was so engaging that I never really felt that they overstayed their welcome! Once again, the SFS musicians provided an engaging journey of discovery for a Sunday afternoon!