Next month Davies Symphony Hall will see only two Orchestral Series programs presented by the San Francisco Symphony (SFS), each of which will be given three performances. However, there will also be two Great Performers Series events, as well as the first concerts of the season for chamber music and the SFS Youth Orchestra, respectively. As usual, this site will present the chronological ordering of the November events; and each of the dates will be provided with a hyperlink to facilitate ticket purchases. Tickets may also be purchased at the Davies Symphony Hall Box Office, which is at the entrance on the south side of Grove Street, between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street.
Tuesday, November 4, 7:30 p.m.: Violinist Itzhak Perlman is no stranger to Davies, and this season marks his 80th birthday. As in the past, he will be accompanied at the piano by Rohan De Silva. He will begin with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 301 sonata in G major. The remainder of the program will be situated in the nineteenth century, beginning with César Franck’s only violin sonata, composed in the key of A major, followed by Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 100, his sonatina in G major.
Thursday, November 6, Friday, November 7, and Saturday, November 8, 7:30 p.m.: The first Orchestral Series concert of the month will see the return of conductor Karina Canellakis, who made her last visit to the podium in April of last year. Some readers may recall that I described that program as “Two Richard Strauss/Maurice Ravel Pairings.” The concerto soloist will be pianist Alexandre Kantorow, making his Orchestral Series debut. His concerto selection will be Sergei Prokofiev’s Opus 26, his third piano concerto, composed in the key of C major and completed in 1921. (Fun fact: The concerto was first performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on December 16, 1921, with Frederick Stock conducting and Prokofiev at the keyboard.) The program will begin with Dvořák’s Opus 66 in D-flat major, given the title “Scherzo capriccioso.” The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Jean Sibelius’ Opus 22, assigned the Wikipedia page Lemminkäinen Suite, which begins with the disclaimer that the “correct” title is Four Legends from the Kalevala!
Sunday, November 9, 2 p.m.: The second half of the first Chamber Series program will be devoted entirely to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 20, the six-movement septet in E-flat major for clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. The first half will be devoted to two composers from the early years of the twentieth century. The program will begin with a concertino for flute, viola, and double bass by Erwin Schulhoff. This will be followed by Schulhoff’s more familiar contemporary, Maurice Ravel, with a performance of his only piano trio, composed in the key of A minor.
Sunday, November 16, 7 p.m.: The second Great Performers program of the month will be “something completely different.” Cellist Gautier Capuçon has prepared a program entitled Gaïa (named after “Mother Earth”). He will lead an ensemble consisting almost entirely of other cellists. Six of them are currently members of the SFS Youth Orchestra. Two others will be Quenton Blache and Ayanna Witter-Johnson, the second also providing vocal work. Pianist Jérôme Duros will be the only performer not playing a cello! Sixteen different composers will each contribute one of their works to the program, which will be performed without an intermission.
Thursday, November 20, 2 p.m., and Friday, November 21, and Saturday, November 22, 7:30 p.m.: Violinist Alexi Kenney will make his Orchestral Series debut leading a reduced ensemble. The second half of the program will be devoted to the four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi usually known as The Four Seasons. This will be “partnered” at the end of the first half with Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 1050 in D major, the fifth of the six “Brandenburg” concertos. Bach will be preceded by one of the selections from Arie a voce sola, the vocal compositions composed by Barbara Strozzi and collected in her Opus 8. This selection will be arranged by Kenney and will be receiving its first SFS performances. The program will begin with the second nonet for string orchestra composed by Olli Mustonen, the only living composer on the program. This will also be performed by SFS for the first time.
Radu Paponiu conducting a previous SFS Youth Orchestra concert (from the event page for next month’s performance)
Sunday, November 23, 2 p.m.: The first SFS Youth Orchestra program of the season will feature a solo performance by Aaron Ma, winner of the 2025 SFS Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. He will be the soloist in a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s E minor violin concerto. This will conclude the first half of the program, preceded by “Kayumari” by Gabriela Ortiz. The second half of the program will conclude with more Dvořák, his Opus 88 (eighth) symphony in G major. This will be preceded by Johannes Brahms’ Opus 80, the “Academic Festival Overture.” The conductor will be Radu Paponiu.
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