Next month the diversity in San Francisco Symphony (SFS) performances will extend beyond Davies Symphony Hall. Fortunately, all of the dates and times will have hyperlinks to facilitate ticket purchases. As usual, tickets may also be acquired at the Box Office, which is at the entrance to Davies on the south side of Grove Street, between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street.
Thursday, April 9, Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, 7:30 p.m.: Canadian conductor Bernard Labadie will return to Davies. His last visit was in November of 2024, when he devoted his program entirely to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He will return with a program featuring two major choral compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. The program will begin with the BWV 249 Easter Oratorio and conclude with the BWV 243 setting of the Magnificat text in D major. The latter will be preceded by an “overture,” which was originally composed for the beginning of the BWV 29 cantata Wir danken dir, Gott. Both choral offerings will include the SFS Chorus, whose Director is Jenny Wong. The vocal soloists will be soprano Joélle Harvey, countertenor Hugh Cutting, tenor Andrew Haji, and baritone Joshua Hopkins.
Saturday, April 11, 2 p.m.: The first event that will depart from Davies will take place in the Visitacion Valley Branch of the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL). It will be an afternoon of chamber music performed by SFS musicians. Program details have not been finalized, and there will be no charge for admission.
Sunday, April 12, 2 p.m.: The venue for the second “remote” performance will be the Gunn Theater at the Legion of Honor. This is part of a series of performances to showcase the 1742 Guarneri del Gesù violin on loan to Alexander Barantschik and the San Francisco Symphony from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Barantschik will perform with cellist Peter Wyrick and Anton Nel on piano. The program will be “framed” by Joseph Haydn and Franz Schubert. The Haydn trio will be Hoboken XV/18 in A major; and the Schubert selection will be his first piano trio, D. 898 in B-flat major. The other works on the program will be Cécile Chaminade’s Opus 89, her “Thème Varié” composed in the key of A major. This will be followed by Carl Czerny’s Opus 33, “La Ricordanza, Variazioni sopra un Tema di Rode,” inspired by the French violinist and composer Pierre Rode.
Sunday, April 12, 2 p.m.: At exactly the same time there will also be a chamber music performance in Davies. The second half of the program will present Johannes Brahms’ Opus 60, his third piano quartet in C minor. The first half will be decidedly different, beginning with Steve Reich’s “Music for Pieces of Wood,” followed by the octet composed by Jean Françaix. The remaining work will be selections from the Danish String Quartet ECM New Series album Last Leaf.
Wednesday, April 15, 7:30 p.m.: The next Shenson Spotlight Series concert will be a recital by violinist Nathan Amaral. This accompanist at the piano will be Sophiko Simsive. This program will be framed by two duo sonatas, beginning with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 378 sonata in B-flat major and concluding with César Franck’s only violin sonata. The “middle” composer will be Francisco Mignone, represented by his second “Valsa de esquina” composition.
Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday April 19, 2 p.m.: Simone Young will return to the Davies podium, and cellist Gautier Capuçon will return as concerto soloist. The concerto will be Camille Saint-Saëns’ Opus 33, his first cello concerto in A minor. The “overture” will be the first performance of “The Space Between Stars,” composed by Ella Macens. The second half of the program will serve as a “nod across the street” to the San Francisco Opera House. Young has prepared her own compilation of excerpts from Richard Wagner’s four-opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen (the ring of the Nibelung).
Sunday, April 19, 7:30 p.m.: Violinist Joshua Bell will return to Davies. He has prepared a program of three sonatas: Franz Schubert’s D. 574 in A major, Edvard Grieg’s Opus 45 (his third) in C minor, and Sergei Prokofiev’s Opus 94b (his second) in D major. He will be accompanied at the piano by Shai Wosner.
Saturday, April 25, 2 p.m.: This will be another performance for SFPL. This one will take place at the Merced Branch. It will be another afternoon of chamber music performed by SFS musicians. Program details again have not been finalized, and there will be no charge for admission.
Pianist and conductor Yuja Wang (from the Web page for her SFS performance at the end of April)
Sunday, April 26, 7:30 p.m.: Pianist Yuja Wang will return to Davies. However, she will also serve as the Director of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. She will begin by leading the ensemble in a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s first (“Classical”) symphony. She will then take to the keyboard while conducting a performance of a suite for piano and orchestra by Alexander Tsfasman. Following the intermission, she will return to Prokofiev with a performance of his Opus 16 (second) piano concerto in G minor.
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