Regular readers probably know that August is the month of the San Francisco International Piano Festival. Last year was “a celebration of French keyboard music across the centuries.” This year will also be French, but with a much tighter focus. The Festival will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Maurice Ravel, one of the giants in the repertoire of twentieth-century keyboard music.
The Festival will begin on Friday, August 22, and run through Sunday, August 31. All programs have been planned to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Maurice Ravel. Dates and times are as follows:
Festival Director Jeffrey LaDeur
- Friday, August 22, 8 p.m.: The program will recreate a performance that Ravel gave when he visited San Francisco in 1928. It will conclude with selections from “Le Tombeau de Couperin.” This will be preceded by “Shéhérazade,” Histoires naturelles, “Pavane pour une infante défunte,” “Habanera,” the violin sonata, and Cinq Mélodies populaires greques. The pianists will be Gwendolyn Mok and Festival Director Jeffrey LaDeur. They will be joined by mezzo Kindra Scharich and Chili Ekman on violin.
- Sunday, August 24, 4 p.m.: This will be a “deep dive” into Ravel’s Miroirs with the exploration shared by Mok and LaDeur.
- Friday, August 29, 8 p.m.: Asiya Korepanova will present a program organized around Ravel’s suite Gaspard de la nuit.
- Saturday, August 30, 8 p.m.: Stephen Prutsman will return with a program of Ravel and jazz, which will include a screening of the silent Buster Keaton film One Week.
- Sunday, August 31, 4 p.m.: The title of this final program will be Maurizio, and it will reflect Ravel’s Basque heritage.
Most readers probably know by now that Old First Concerts events take place at Old First Presbyterian Church. This is located at 1751 Sacramento Street on the southeast corner of Van Ness Avenue. Tickets will be available for purchase through the above hyperlinks, which are also available for live stream viewing.
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