Better Late than Never!

I just received a last-minute announcement that the Ives Collective will be performing in Noe Valley this afternoon. The performers will be pianist Gwendolyn Mok joined by a trio of string players: violinist Terrie Baune, Susan Freier on viola, and cellist Stephen Harrison. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Johannes Brahms’ Opus 26, the second of this three piano quartets, this one composed in the key of A major. The first half of the program will conclude with Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 47, “Maličkosti,” known in English as the five bagatelles for two violins, cello, and harmonium. The harmonium part will be taken by Mok on piano. She will open the program with Ludwig van Beethoven’s string trio in C minor, the last of the three trios collected as his Opus 9.

Poster for the event being discussed (note that the address is incorrect, as it is also on the Web site; the correct address is in the paragraph below)

The performance will take place this afternoon (Sunday, April 26) at 4 p.m. The venue will be the Noe Valley Ministry, which is located in Noe Valley (of course!) at 1021 Sanchez Street. Admission will be pay-what-you-can at the door. Both cash and checks will be expected.

Ébène Quartet Concludes SFP Chamber Series

Last night in Herbst Theatre, this season’s Chamber Series, presented by San Francisco Performances, concluded with the return of the Ébène Quartet. Membership has changed since the ensemble last visited San Francisco with the arrival of a new cellist, Yuya Okamoto. Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure are still the violinists; but the violist was Hélène Clément, substituting for Marie Chilemme for the current Spring United States tour. The program was framed by two of the “Three Bs,” both represented by a “second quartet,” with Claude Debussy’s only string quartet as the “middle” selection.

I must confess to a particular fondness for that quartet. For the better part of my youth, my exposure to his music was limited to orchestral works (due in no small part to a bias on the part of my parents). I would later get to know several of his piano compositions; but my “first encounter” with the quartet came relatively late. As a result, it struck me like a bolt of lightning.

Lightning struck again last night. Even with a substitution in membership, the ensemble could not have been more attuned to the rhetorical diversity mined from Debussy’s quartet. Mind you, I have had no shortage of opportunities to listen to this music on recording (such as last year’s Sony Masterworks anthology of the Guarneri Quartet); but the music is so nuanced that one can only really appreciate the details in a recital setting. It would be unfair to say that the Debussy selection rose above the quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, which flanked it on either side. Nevertheless, there is a uniqueness to Debussy’s rhetoric in his quartet that consistently seizes my attention, particularly when given a recital performance by an ensemble as skilled as Ébène.

Indeed, I found it interesting that Debussy was “approached” by the second in the first six Beethoven quartets to see publication, his Opus 18. The set is often called the “early quartets;” and there is very much a sense that Beethoven is looking back on Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart while looking forward at the same time. Personally, I find the Opus 18 set to be consistently refreshing across all six of its quartets. Last night began with the second of those quartets in the key of G major, which suited the high spirits of the Ébène musicians accordingly.

The program concluded with the second of the two string quartets in Johannes Brahms’ Opus 51. Brahms composed only three string quartets, the two in Opus 51 followed by Opus 67. It was clearly not his favorite genre, but I have come to appreciate all three of the quartets over the years. Last night served as a reminder for me that I should be paying more attention to all three of them! (Those that attended the latest performance of chamber music by members of the San Francisco Symphony this past Sunday may know that the piano quartets receive more attention.) Indeed, it may well be that my last encounter with the complete set of those string quartets took place back when I was living in Connecticut and making frequent visits to listen to the Guarneri Quartet at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan!

Ébène prepared an encore that also involved seldom encountered music. This was the second of the three Divertimenti that Benjamin Britten composed in 1933 (revised in 1936). The selection was an engaging waltz, which turned out to be a wistful way in which to wish the audience a good night. Perhaps for their next visit the Ébène musicians will play all three of them!

Three Centuries of Chamber Music at Davies

1872 photograph of Johannes Brahms (photographer unknown, public domain from Wikimedia Commons)

Yesterday afternoon Davies Symphony Hall hosted the latest performance of chamber music by members of the San Francisco Symphony. This was a “three centuries” program presenting music composed in the nineteenth, twentieth, and 21st centuries. The earliest work on the program was Johannes Brahms’ Opus 60, the last of his three piano quartets, composed in the key of C minor. The most recent was a performance of tracks from Last Leaf, an album of a diversity of Nordic selections (some traditional) recorded by the Danish String Quartet. The first half of the program present two twentieth-century works composed within a year of each other. The opening selection was Steve Reich’s 1973 “Music for Pieces of Wood,” followed by an octet composed by Jean Françaix in 1972.

I was particularly drawn to that octet. Françaix was one of Nadia Boulanger’s pupils; and, on the basis of the few performances I have heard of his compositions, I would say that he has a rhetorical upbeat. Given the experiences of my past visits to France, I would postulate that such an upbeat was conceived to reflect the devil-may-care disposition of a flâneur. That disposition was particularly reflected in the wind performances by clarinet (Carey Bell), bassoon (Joshua Elmore), and horn (Michael Stevens). The richness of that disposition made the perfect complement to the engaging abstraction of the opening selection, “Music for Pieces of Wood,” composed by Steve Reich and performed by five musicians, each with his own pair of claves.

In the second half I did not quite know what to make of Last Leaf; but the performance by the string quartet of violinists Chen Zhao and Polina Sedukh, Christina King on viola, and cellist Davis You definitely held my attention. Nevertheless, the Brahms quartet was high point of my afternoon; and the ensemble of violinist Jessie Fellows, Katie Kadarauch on viola, cellist Anne Richardson, and Yuhsin Galaxy Su at the piano could not have been more engaging. Brahms almost always has me leaving any performance with a bit of zip in my walk!

French and German Composers for Clarinet

Anthony McGill with his clarinet (photograph by Martin Romero, courtesy of San Francisco Performances)

Last night in Herbst Theatre San Francisco Performances presented the final program in The Shenson Great Artists and Ensembles Series. The “great artist” was clarinetist Anthony McGill. accompanied at the piano by Gloria Chen. McGill prepared a “two nationalities program.” He began the evening with an engaging diversity of French composers: Claude Debussy, André Messager, and Camille Saint-Saëns (the “order of appearance”). The second half was devoted to two German composers from either end of the nineteenth century, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms.

In the first half Messager could have won a prize for the abundance of notes in his “Solo de concours.” Actually, all those notes were conceived for the end-of-term examination of clarinet students at the Conservatoire de Paris (Paris Conservatory). This could not have been a better offering for McGill to unleash the full extent of his technical skills without devolving into banal “exercise music.” Messager was preceded by Debussy’s “Première rhapsodie” (first rhapsody), which he composed as an examination piece for students at the Conservatoire de Paris. The “French portion” then concluded with Saint-Saëns’ Opus 167 sonata in E-flat major for clarinet and piano. The third movement involved the lower register of the clarinet, which was my favorite area back when I played the instrument. (Sadly, I never had an opportunity to play bass clarinet.)

The second half of the program began with Schumann’s Opus 73, a three-movement duo entitled simply “Fantasiestücke.” This was followed by the second of the two Opus 120 clarinet sonatas composed by Brahms. Those sonatas were the composer’s final chamber music compositions, written about three years before his death. They were composed for Richard Mühlfeld, who had impressed Brahms with his performances of Carl Maria von Weber’s first clarinet concerto and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 581 clarinet quintet.

Taken as a whole, this was an impressive diversity of rhetorical approaches to chamber music. Fortunately, McGill captured the unique foundation for each of the five selections, providing the attentive listener with an engaging journey (which probably included at least one “way station” of discovery in Messager’s competition composition). McGill made his first SFP debut in November of 2021, and his most recent visit was in December of 2024. The clarinet is a rather sophisticated instrument with registers in three distinctively different sonorities, and McGill had no trouble making the most out of all of them.

Ébène Quartet to Conclude SFP Chamber Music

Ébène Quartet members Yuya Okamoto, Gabriel Le Magadure, Marie Chilemme, and Pierre Colombet (from the event page for their next SFP recital)

Having written about next month’s return by the Danish String Quartet to San Francisco Performances (SFP), it is not too early to announce that the 2025–2026 Chamber Series will conclude two days later with a performance by the Ébène Quartet. Cellist Yuya Okamoto recently joined the ensemble, giving the audience the first opportunity to experience his performance with the other more familiar members of the quartet: violinists Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure with Marie Chilemme on viola. When the ensemble last visited SFP, they prepared a program with string quartets in the first half and jazz in the second.

For their return, they will hold off on any jazz (unless it shows up in an encore). The entire program will be framed by two of the “Three Bs,” both represented by “second quartets.” The program will begin with the second of the six Opus 18 quartets, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in the key of G major. It will conclude with the second of the two Opus 51 quartets by Johannes Brahms, composed in the key of A minor. The “middle” work on the program will be Claude Debussy’s only string quartet, composed in 1893 in the key of G minor.

This performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 16. The venue will be Herbst Theatre, which many (most?) readers know is located in the heart of the Civic Center at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Ticket prices will be $80, $70, and $60. As those readers probably also know, SFP has created a Web page for purchasing those tickets.

SFS: Rustioni Conducts Dvořák and Brahms

Statue of Antonín Dvořák in Prague with the Rudolfinum behind (from a Wikimedia Commons Web page, photograph by Andrevruas, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license)

Last night in Davies Symphony Hall Daniele Rustioni made his debut as conductor of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS). He prepared a program of two major works, both composed in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. These were presented in reverse chronological order, beginning with Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 104 cello concerto in B minor. The intermission was then followed by Johannes Brahms’ Opus 73 (second) symphony in D major. The concerto soloist was cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, also making his SFS debut.

Brahms was instrumental in launching Dvořák’s career. However, it would be fair to say that the latter honored the legacy of the former by finding his own way of doing things. That “path” eventually led him to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, where, in 1892, he was appointed the directorship of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City. Opus 104 is one of the works he composed during his time in the United States, but it would be fair to say that his Bohemian rhetoric prevailed over any American influences.

The Opus 104 concerto has become an audience favorite, and it would be fair to say that most of the audience members had a personal favorite cellist in mind before Müller-Schott took the stage. Nevertheless, while his performance could not have done a better job in honoring the composer’s legacy, he brought a fresh gust of energy to the outer Allegro movements while finding just the right rhetoric for the middle Adagio movement. That full scope of dispositions emerged readily through the chemistry between soloist and conductor. It would not surprise me if I learned that the coupling of conductor and soloist was a meeting of old friends.

As might be expected, the audience was impressed enough to demand an encore from Müller-Schott. As many may have hoped, he turned to Johann Sebastian Bach for that encore. He performed the final Gigue movement from BWV 1009, the third of the six solo cello suites, this one composed in the key of C major.

The second half of the program was devoted entirely to Johannes Brahms’ Opus 73, his second symphony composed in the key of D major. My past listening experiences have led me to believe that this is the one of the four symphonies that tends to draw the most attention. There is an affability in all four of the movements that departs from much of the tension that plays out in the other symphonies.

However, there is also a cerebral side to Opus 73. Brahms structured it around a motif that could not be simpler: a half-step down followed by a half-step back. That three-note motif begins the symphony, and it surfaces in each of the four movements with decidedly different settings. I have to confess that Brahms’ capacity to make more and more with less and less (thank you, Buckminster Fuller) has made this my favorite of the composer’s four symphonies. Rustioni’s account last night could not have been more absorbing, making me wonder whether Opus 73 might also be his favorite!

McGill to Conclude SFP Shenson Series

Anthony McGill with his clarinet (from his SFP Web page)

Readers may recall that The Shenson Great Artists and Ensembles Series presented by San Francisco Performances (SFP) will conclude at the beginning of next month. The program will be the last in the three duo performances in the series. Clarinetist Anthony McGill will be accompanied at the piano by Gloria Chen.

The recital will be structured into two halves, each associated with a different nationality. The first half will present three French composers, beginning with Claude Debussy’s “Première rhapsodie” and concluding with Camiile Saint-Saëns’ Opus 167 sonata in E-flat major for clarinet and piano. Between these “bookends” will be a performance of the last piece of chamber music composed by André Messager, the “Solo de concours” composed for clarinet and piano in 1899.

The second half will present a coupling of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. The performance will begin with Fantasiestücke (fantasy pieces), Schumann’s Opus 73, a collection of three short pieces composed explicitly for clarinet and piano. This will be followed by Brahms’ take on the same instrumentation, the second of the two Opus 120 clarinet sonatas, both dedicated to the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld.

The performance will take place in Herbst Theatre at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. As usual, it will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 3. Tickets are being sold for $85 for premium seating in the Orchestra and the front and center of the Dress Circle, $75 for the Side Boxes, the center rear of the Dress Circle, and the remainder of the Orchestra, and $65 for the remainder of the Dress Circle and the Balcony. As usual, SFP has created a Web page for purchasing tickets online.

Violinist Perlman Returns to Davies to Lead SFS

Itzhak Perlman with his violin (from the SFS Web page for last night’s program)

Last night violinist Itzhak Perlman returned to Davies Symphony Hall for the third consecutive season. However, while he may well have been the most popular recitalist in the last two Great Performers Series seasons, last night he assumed the podium of the San Francisco Symphony. In his role as conductor, he led the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) in performances of Johannes Brahms’ Opus 80 “Academic Festival Overture” before the intermission and Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 88 (eighth) symphony in G major in the second half of the program. On the other hand, he began the evening with Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 1041 violin concerto in A minor, conducting while playing the solo violin part. In other words, a modest offering of music from the early eighteenth century gave way to a major journey through the late nineteenth.

The Brahms-Dvořák connection is an interesting one. The latter was an early success in Prague but did not receive broader attention until winning a prize at the Austrian State Competition, where Brahms was one of the members of the jury. It was through that “Brahms connection” that Fritz Simrock became Dvořák’s publisher. It was therefore interesting to see that the Brahms and Dvořák selections were composed at both ends of the same decade. The overture was composed in 1880 and the symphony in 1889.

Both works were given thoroughly engaging accounts under Perlman’s baton. His chemistry with the ensemble could not have been better. The same can be said for the beginning of the program, where he doubled as both soloist and leader. The selection was Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 1041, his first violin concerto composed in the key of A minor. This was performed with a reduced string ensemble, taking a “historically appropriate” approach. The instruments were, of course, more “contemporary;” but the way in which they were deployed under Perlman’s leadership made for an engaging account, regardless of any historical issues!

As always, the audience gave Perlman a generous reception for his return to San Francisco; and, given the overall quality of the full evening’s performance, they had every right to do so!

Another Dim Shenson Spotlight Performance

Pianist Mao Fujita (photograph by Doville Sermokas)

Yesterday evening saw the second performance of the fifth iteration of the Shenson Spotlight Series. Like the first performance, which took place about a month ago, this was a solo piano recital, performed this time by Mao Fujita. The “pillars” of the program were the first sonatas composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms. The Brahms selection was complemented by music of Richard Wagner, the most salient of which was Franz Liszt’s transcription of the “Liebestod” music from the opera Tristan und Isolde.

Once again, however, the promise of the program selections did not rise to a level of satisfying attentive listening. Indeed, where any dynamic levels from forte to above are concerned, Fujita’s motto seemed to come across as, “Nothing succeeds like excess.” Even in early Beethoven (Opus 2, Number 1 in F minor, the very first “numbered” sonata) Fujita deployed a wide dynamic range, which came across as little more than overwrought. All of the elegant gestures in this sonata, which are so evident when played on a period instrument, were lost in the muddle. Things were not much better in the Brahms sonata, which, for me at least, recalled Peter Schickele’s joke about having a black belt in piano. (I do not think Brahms would have appreciated that joke!)

Fujita concluded the evening with one encore, unannounced and unfamiliar.

Aris Quartet Launches New CMSF Season

The first chamber music recital in the 2026 Chamber Music San Francisco (CMSF) season took place yesterday afternoon in Herbst Theatre. The program was performed by the Aris Quartet, whose members currently are violinists Sophia Jaffé (substituting for the ensemble’s leader) and Noëmi Zipperling, Caspar Vinzens on viola, and cellist Lukas Sieber. The program was a straightforward one, framed by two of the three “B” composers.

The program began with Ludwig van Beethoven in a performance of the second of his six “early” string quartets, Opus 18, Number 2, composed in the key of G major. Johannes Brahms provided the conclusion with the second of his Opus 51 quartets, set in the key of A minor. The “middle ground” was taken by Dmitri Shostakovich with a performance of what is probably his best-known string quartet, Opus 110 (the eighth) in C minor.

There is much to enjoy in Beethoven’s Opus 18. One can appreciate his sense of humor during his early period, most evident in the G major quartet with the Allegro “disruption” of the second Adagio cantabile movement. Also, the third movement is a scherzo, making a significant departure from Joseph Haydn’s use of the minuet. (Haydn’s Opus 33 quartets originally had scherzi, but he replaced them with minuets!) The Brahms quartets, receive far less attention; so I was particularly glad to see the Aris Quartet compensating for that shortcoming. They were as attentive to Brahms as they were to Beethoven, and the journey was just as engaging.

Shostakovich was in Dresden when he composed his Opus 110 quartet, and it was inspired by those in Dresden that were victims of the firebombing in World War II. By the time he composed this music, he was not shy in working his initials (D-S-C-H) into the score. Also, those familiar with the “Leningrad” symphony (Opus 60 in C major) know that it included a shave-and-a-haircut motif, which returns in Opus 110, now in a minor key.

Bust of Erwin Schulhoff at the fortress Wülzburg near Weißenburg in Bavaria (photograph by Aarp65, from Wikimedia Commons Web page, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)

For the encores the ensemble turned to Czech composers. They began with the “Alla Czecha” movement from Erwin Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet. This was followed by Antonín Dvořák’s B. 152, his string quartet setting of Cypresses. The quartet played the penultimate movement, “Nature Lies Peaceful in Slumber and Dreaming.” This provided the perfectly polite and proper way to say farewell to an attentive audience!

Bronfman Returns to SFS Great Performers

Pianist Yefim Bronfman (from the Web page for his SFS Great Performers Series recital)

Last night pianist Yefim Bronfman returned to Davies Symphony Hall to present another recital in the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) Great Performers Series. His last visit was in April of 2024, when he presented a “usual suspects” program of solo piano compositions by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and Frédéric Chopin. However, he also added Esa-Pekka Salonen’s “Sisar” for a departure from the nineteenth century.

Last night’s departure was far less radical. The most recent work on the program was the second of the two “books” that Claude Debussy composed under the title Images. There are only three pieces in this collection, the first depicting the sound of bells, the second evoking the setting of the moon, and the last entitled simple “Poissons d’or” (goldfish). Each of these pieces presents the composer’s command of the evocative at its best. Sadly, while Bronfman gave a dutiful account of all the notes, any of the evocations of the “images” in the movement titles was not particularly compelling. That failure to seize and maintain attentive listening was equally evident at the beginning of the program with a performance of Robert Schumann’s Opus 18, the “Arabesque” in C major, which rambled on with an uneven sense of the overall structure.

Each half of the program concluded with a sonata by one of the “three B’s,” Johannes Brahms prior to the intermission and Ludwig van Beethoven at the conclusion. The Brahms selection was an early one, his Opus 5, the third piano sonata in F minor. There was no shortage of expressiveness in the composer’s early compositions, but Bronfman seemed to do little more than ramp up that expressiveness with little sense of the overall content. The dynamics in the first movement were particularly extreme. The Beethoven selection was about half a century earlier (not in 1853 as printed in the program book). Opus 57, known as the “Appassionata,” was completed in 1805; and, like its recent predecessor, the Opus 53 “Waldstein,” it has received a generous amount of attention. Sadly, Bronfman did not invoke the attention it deserved with too much “hammering” in the first movement and too much blurring in the last.

There were two encores, neither announced and neither particularly compelling. I have come away from past Bronfman recitals with an abundance of satisfaction. This one left me with disappointment.

“Something Completely Different” at Davies

Violinist Aleksey Igudesman and actor John Malkovich (courtesy of SFS)

Those old enough to remember Monty Python’s Flying Circus may be pleased to learn that the genre of off-beat comedy will be coming to Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony (SFS) will host violinist Aleksey Igudesman; but the ensemble will also have to contend with another guest artist seldom appearing in a concert hall, John Malkovich. I first encountered him when I was living in Stamford, Connecticut in 1982, making regular train rides into Grand Central Station.

While much of my time was spent in Lincoln Center, I also made regular visits to plays performed both on and off Broadway. It is probably fair to say that, even to this day, the most memorable of those plays was Sam Shepard’s True West. As the Wikipedia page puts it, the narrative involved a “volatile relationship between two brothers,” making for an uncanny mix of nostalgia and disaster. The role of one of those brothers was taken by Malkovich; and, after having seen him on the stage for the first time, I have done my best to keep track of every step in the advancement of his career.

Almost 45 years have elapsed; and, once again, I shall have the opportunity to see Malkovich on the stage. This time, however, the venue will be Davies. The title of his performance with Igudesman is The Music Critic. The violinist will perform works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Antonín Dvořák, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Sergei Rachmaninoff with SFS. However, he will also share the stage with Malkovich assuming the “title role.” Once again, Malkovich will be performing a “volatile relationship,” this time unloading (in the words of the advance material) “a frivolous potpourri of musical insults” on Igudesman’s performance.

As most readers probably already know, this performance will take place in Davies Symphony Hall. It will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 6. The address is 201 Van Ness Avenue; but it occupies the entire block with Van Ness to the west, Franklin Street to the east, Hayes Street to the south, and Grove Street to the north. The entrance is on the Grove Street side, which is also where tickets may be purchased at the Box Office. Tickets are currently available at prices from $75 in the Second Tier to $275 in the Orchestra. Seats will not available in the Terraces above the stage. A Web page has been created for online purchases. Tickets may also be purchased by calling the SFS Box Office at 415-864-6000.

A LIEDER ALIVE! Birthday Celebration Recital

Jeffrey LaDeur accompanying Kindra Scharich yesterday afternoon at Old First Presbyterian Church (from the YouTube video of the performance)

Late yesterday afternoon at the Old First Presbyterian Church LIEDER ALIVE! presented a program to celebrate the 75th birthday of its founder and director, Maxine Bernstein. Pianist Jeffrey LaDeur, who has provided accompaniment for many of the LIEDER ALIVE! recitals, performed with mezzo Kindra Scharich. The program consisted of vocal works by two major composers from the nineteenth century: Robert Schumann in the first half and Johannes Brahms (whose work was encouraged by Schumann) in the second.

The first half of the program was devoted entirely to Schumann’s Opus 39, his Liederkreis cycle of twelve songs, setting twelve poems from Joseph von Eichendorff's collection entitled Intermezzo. The second half drew upon several collections by Johannes Brahms, drawing upon Opera 3, 33, 43, 47, 63, 72, 86, and 105. (Opus 43 was the only one to account for more than one song.) This assortment may have run the risk of coming across as “one thing after another;” but I have found that each of the texts that Brahms selected has its own unique perspective. Scharich seemed to grasp the diversity of those perspectives, making the “journey” as engaging as the narrative behind Schumann’s song cycle.

Many readers probably know that Schumann encouraged Brahms during the early stages of the latter’s career. Indeed, he was so close to both Robert and Clara Schumann that he took it upon himself to look after the welfare of the latter after the former’s relatively early death. That encouragement led to an engaging diversity of subject matter in Brahms’ approach to composing his songs. Scharich clearly appreciated that diversity, ordering her individual selections in such as way that unfolded as a journey as convincing as Schumann’s narrative.

LIEDER ALIVE! is, indeed, “alive and well;” and here is hoping that it will continue to thrive through the talents of vocalists such as Scharich.

Davies Hosts Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival

Once again, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO), led by Radu Paponiu, hosted the annual Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival in Davies Symphony Hall. They shared the stage with four other Bay Area ensembles:

1. Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra with Music Director Jim Stopher
2. Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Orchestra with Music Director Jaco Wong
3. Young People’s Symphony Orchestra with Music Director David Ramadanoff
4. California Youth Symphony with Music Director Leo Eylar

Newscaster Wendy Tokuda served as Master of Ceremonies.

Marin began the program with the overture to Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Nabucco. This could not have been a better opening, putting the full ensemble to good use. Stopher conducted without a score, keeping his full attention focused on all of the performers.

Wong took a smooth segue from Gabriela Lena Frank (the “Pinkillo Serrano” movement from Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra) to Sergei Prokofiev, his Opus 100 (fifth) symphony in B-flat major. The latter was limited to its last (Allegro giocoso) movement. This involved a fair amount of cello work, which came across as weak. This may have been just as well since there were major problems with the overall balance of the ensemble. Far more confident was the SFSYO approach to Johannes Brahms’ Opus 80, his “Academic Festival” overture with an “encore” of Martin Schmeling’s orchestration of the fifth of the Brahms “Hungarian Dance” compositions.

Antonín Dvořák’s summer residence, where he composed his Opus 88 (photographer not identified, from Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)

The second half of the program began with David Ramadanoff leading the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra in the first movement of Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 88 (eighth) symphony in G major. Sadly, the conductor did not appear to be particularly connected to his score, but the ensemble seemed quite capable of maintaining the necessary inertia. More problematic was Leo Eylar’s approach to Paul Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” which never seemed to find the right balance across the composer’s engaging instrumental diversity. The program then concluded with an “all hands on deck” performance of the final movement of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Opus 93 (tenth) symphony in E minor.

Since I made my move to the Bay Area, I have tried to keep up with this annual gathering of youth orchestras. I like to think of them as forecasting what to expect in future concert performances. As can be seen from the above account, this year’s forecast was a mixed one. On the other hand, forecasts can only be speculative; so all I can do is wait to see if I ever encounter any of yesterday afternoon’s performers in the future!

Another DSO Coupling: Bruch and Brahms

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider playing Bruch’s first violin concerto while leading DSO (screenshot from the livestream being discussed)

Early yesterday evening my wife and I had our latest encounter with a livestream of a performance by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). The guest conductor was Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, who also served as violin soloist in a performance of Max Bruch’s Opus 26 (first) violin concerto in G minor. The intermission was followed by a performance of Johannes Brahms’ Opus 73, his second symphony in D major. Szeps-Znaider’s encore selection following the Bruch concerto was Jascha Heifetz’ arrangement of Manuel Ponce’s “Estrellita.”

Taken as a whole, it would be fair to say that the entire performance was an engaging “snapshot” of the second half of the nineteenth century. What I appreciated was the contrast of these two compositions from the same period in music history. I have to confess that Opus 73 is my favorite of the four Brahms symphonies with just the right balance of a meticulous structure with an engagingly expressive rhetoric. A sense of kvell always seems to arise during the final measures of that composition. Even on the “small screen,” that disposition, as invoked by Szeps-Znaider’s conducting, could not be suppressed. Sitting in front of the television, I felt the same enthusiasm as those in the audience!

The Bruch concerto, on the other hand, was primarily “about” virtuosity. However, what draws me to this music is that, unlike the dazzling spectacle that one encounters in the concertos of Niccolò Paganini, Bruch gave more attention to the interplay between soloist and ensemble. The virtuosity is still there, but Bruch knew how to allow the orchestral performers have their say. (As usual, this could be appreciated in the camera work.) As a result, the entire program was a model of perfect balance, presenting a thoroughly engaging violinist whose command of the entire ensemble could not have been more convincing.

Violinist Nancy Zhou will Begin New Year at SFCM

Violinist Nancy Zhou and pianist Jeffrey Kahane (from the SFCM Web page for their recital)

The first recitalist to begin the new year with the next Faculty Artist Series at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) will be violinist Nancy Zhou. She will be accompanied at the piano by Jeffrey Kahane. She has prepared an imaginative program reflecting on two different aspects of music history.

The first half of the program will be a Brahms-Schumann coupling, but not the one that most readers will expect! The opening selection will be Johannes Brahms’ Opus 78, his first violin sonata in G major. This will be followed by the second of the three romances (Allegretto) for violin and piano collected by Clara Schumann for her Opus 22. The second half of the program may amount to a “call and response” program. It will begin with the BWV 1016 sonata in E major for violin with keyboard accompaniment by Johann Sebastian Bach. This will be followed by Ferruccio Busoni’s Opus 36a, his second violin sonata in E minor.

This performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, January 26. The venue will be the Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall, located near the entrance to the SFCM building at 50 Oak Street, a short walk from the Van Ness Muni station. Tickets may be reserved from the event page for this concert. That Web page also includes a hyperlink for live-stream viewing (and listening).

SFS Youth Orchestra Off to an Engaging Start

Yesterday afternoon Davies Symphony Hall saw the beginning of the 2025–26 season of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) Youth Orchestra led by Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu. The program followed the traditional overture-concerto-symphony structure, with the exception that, for this particular program, each half had its own overture: one for the concerto and one for the symphony. These latter major works were both composed in the nineteenth century, Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 64 violin concerto in E minor prior to the intermission and Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 88 (eighth) symphony as the final offering.

That symphony, completed in 1889, was preceded by its own overture, Johannes Brahms’ Opus 80, the “Academic Festival Overture” composed in the summer of 1880. In the first half of the program, the concerto was preceded by the most recent work on the program, “Kayumari,” completed in 2021 by Gabriela Ortiz. I have to confess that my first impression of the recent work was somewhat mixed. There was an abundance of both energy and fun in Ortiz’ rhetoric, but those high spirits tended to be undermined by too much repetition. At the risk of sounding too old-fashioned, I have to confess that, when it comes to preparing the audience for the music that is to follow, Brahms gave a far more satisfying account than Ortiz did.

On the other hand, all of the nineteenth-century selections were thoroughly engaging. Aaron Ma was the soloist for the Mendelssohn concerto, and his command of the score could not have been better. The same can be said of his interplay with the ensemble passage.

However, the coupling of Brahms with Dvořák was definitely the high point of the afternoon. In that context it is worth recalling that Brahms first became aware of Dvořák when the former served on the jury of an Austrian State Competition in 1874. Brahms was so impressed with Dvořák’s skills as a composer that he recommend Dvořák to his publisher, Nikolaus Simrock, who gave Dvořák a commission that resulted in the Opus 46 Slavonic Dances collection.

As was announced about a month ago, today’s concert was the first of five. The next one will be the annual performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” at 2 p.m. on December 14. The remaining events will take place next year as follows:

• January 18, 3 p.m.: Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival
• March 8, 2 p.m.: Gustav Mahler’s fourth symphony in G major with soprano Hanna Cho as vocalist for the final movement
• May 17, 7:30 p.m.: Two major symphonies: Beethoven’s first (Opus 21 in C major) and Dmitri Shostakovich’s fifth (Opus 47 in D minor)

CBS: Christmas Music from Three Centuries

Design by David Lance Goins used for the California Bach Society poster

As expected, California Bach Society (CBS) has prepared its next program for the holiday season. The full title of the program will be Laudate Coeli: Songs of Light in Winter’s Deep. (Note that, like the first program of the season last month, the title couples Latin and English!) Artistic Director Nate Widelitz will conduct. The vocal soloists will be soprano Rita Lilly, mezzo Mindy Ella Chu, tenor Corey Head, and bass Chung-Wai Soong. Instrumental accompaniment by strings, organ, and harp will be provided by members of the Jubilate Baroque Orchestra.

The program will be based on three centuries, but they will not be consecutive. The earliest composers will be from the seventeenth century: Dietrich Buxtehude (the BuxWV 13 for mixed chorus, strings, and continuo, “Das neugeborne Kindelein”) and two selections by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, “In nativitatem Domini canticum” (H.314) and one of the ten settings of the Magnificat canticle. The seventeenth century is then elided with two nineteenth-century compositions: the Oratorio de Noël by Camille Saint-Saëns and “O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf,” the second of the two Opus 74 sacred motets for unaccompanied mixed choir composed by Johannes Brahms. Finally, the twentieth-century composer will be Hugo Distler, whose oratorio Die Weihnachtsgeschichte (the Christmas story) is based on the hymn, “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen”(a rose has sprung up).

The San Francisco performance of this program will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 5. The venue will be the Trinity+St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, which is located 1620 Gough Street. Individual tickets are available for general admission at $40 with discounted rates for seniors and students. A Web page has been created for such tickets, as well as for three-concert subscriptions, which will also include the February and May performance at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Doors will open at 7 p.m.

Brahms’ Legacy?

Johannes Brahms definitely deserves to be remembered for the prodigious diversity of genres in his catalog of compositions. That said, many of us also remember him for this remark:

If there is anyone I have not offended in this room, I beg their pardon.

President Donald Trump addressing the United Nations General Assembly (photograph by Timothy A. Clary, Agence France-Presse, from Al Jazeera Media Network article)

It was hard for me to ignore this memory while reading Al Jazeera’s account of the speech that Donald Trump gave to the United Nations yesterday. The good news is that I continue to enjoy listening to Brahms (which is definitely more satisfying than keeping up with reports of international relations).

SFCS: Brahms’ Opus 45 at Davies

Johannes Brahms in 1866, when he was working on his Opus 45 (photographer unknown, from Die berümten Musiker by Lucien Mazendo and Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

Last night Davies Symphony Hall hosted the fourth annual performance by the Summer Festival Chorus presented by the San Francisco Choral Society (SFCS). Artistic Director Robert Geary conducted a performance of Johannes Brahms’ Opus 45, A German Requiem. As in the past, instrumental accompaniment was provided by the California Chamber Symphony. The vocal soloists were soprano Cara Gabrielson and baritone Andrew Pardini, both making SFCS debuts. However, there is only one solo opportunity for the soprano and two for the baritone.

According my archives, I have not encountered this music in performance since February of 2015. That was when Herbert Blomstedt returned to Davies in his capacity as Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony. His soloists were soprano Ruth Ziesak and baritone Christian Gerhaher, and the SFS Chorus was prepared by Director Ragnar Bohlin. Geary’s chorus was significantly larger, so much so that it made a significant visual impact. Nevertheless, he had a firm command in balancing that massive ensemble against the same instrumentation that Blomstedt had led.

What is most important, however, is that Brahms knew exactly how to balance his instrumental resources with a full chorus. Geary clearly appreciated Brahms’ wisdom in his interpretation of the score. Thus, while one could appreciate the rich delivery of both music and diction by SFCS, what mattered most to the attentive listener was the interplay of choral work with the diversity of instrumental sonorities. The result was a thoroughly engaging account of Opus 45 with never a dull moment.