A Premiere and Two Warhorses at Davies

Conductor Gustavo Gimeno (photograph © Marco Borggreve, courtesy of SFS)

Last night conductor Gustavo Gimeno returned to Davies Symphony Hall for the first of this week’s three subscription concerts performed by the San Francisco Symphony (SFS). Also returning was the concerto soloist, pianist Javier Perianes, who made his SFS debut in June of 2015. On that occasion he played Manuel de Falla’s “Night in the Gardens of Spain” under the baton of Charles Dutoit. Last night his selection was Edvard Grieg’s Opus 16 piano concerto in A minor.

Familiar Grieg was coupled with one of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s most familiar symphonies, his Opus 64 (fifth) in E minor. These two warhorses were preceded by the world premiere of “Market Street, 1920s,” composed on an SFS commission by Principal Trombone Timothy Higgins. Those that have followed this site for some time may recall that I have taken a generous interest in Higgins’ efforts as a composer. His last effort performed in Davies, “Concert Music for Brass, Percussion and Timpani,” was composed for the brass players in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was first performed here in March of 2024. As is almost always the case, “first impressions” do not always sustain; and I wish that things would unfold in such a way that last night’s encounter with Higgins’ latest effort will not be my last! [added 10/5, 8:30 a.m.: According to Steven Winn’s account of this performance in the San Francisco Chronicle, Higgins will be moving to the Chicago Symphony this coming fall; so it is unclear when (if ever) I shall have another encounter with his compositions!]

One thing is certain: “Market Street” was the freshest offering on the program. The remainder of the program consisted of what are sometimes politely called “chestnuts.” To be perfectly honest, I was already listening to too many performances of the Grieg concerto when I was in high school! Those are not the fondest of memories, and concerto soloist Javier Perianes’ delivery was so heavy-handed that I thought I was back in high school again! His encore of one of the plethora of the composer’s Lyric Pieces compositions was equally over-emoted, so I did not care very much which of the Opus collections was the one that supplied it.

Fortunately, things improved after the intermission. Tchaikovsky’s Opus 64 may be a warhorse, but every one of the clarinet passages delivered by Carey Bell made me sit up and take notice. (Some readers may know that the clarinet was my instrument in my high school days.) To be fair, this is one of those symphonies that gives the entire orchestra a generous workout; and Gimeno had no qualms in “pulling out all the stops” for the second (Andante cantabile) movement. Thus, while Bell’s clarinet work may have seized my attention, Gimeno’s conducting sustained it through to the conclusion of the final movement.