The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: San Francisco Symphony
-
* Notes * Jeffrey Kahane is in town to conduct San Francisco Symphony in a program of Mozart and Mendelssohn. Kahane replaces Bernard Labadie, who withdrew due to a scheduling conflict. The evening began with Mozart's Haffner, which was played with a sprightly charm. This was followed with Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, with…
-
* Notes * The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra came to San Francisco for two performances at Davies Hall, the first of which occurred yesterday evening. David Robertson had the musicians well in hand, they seemed entirely together and produced a gorgeous, clear sound. The performance started with Christopher Rouse's Rapture, which has an apt title and…
-
* Notes * Edwin Outwater is conducting San Francisco Symphony in a program of Gounod, Duncan Sheik, Claude Vivier, and Poulenc this week. Gounod's rather swirly Ballet Music from Faust sounded lovely, especially the woodwinds during the Danse antique (Allegretto). Duncan Sheik's Song Suite from Whisper House, arranged by Simon Hale, involved two amplified vocalists (including…
-
* Notes * San Francisco Symphony just finished 4 performances a program that included a world premiere of Kissine's Post-scriptum and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with Christian Tetzlaff. The musicians seemed quite focused during the Kissine, they were clearly paying a good deal of attention to Michael Tilson Thomas on the podium. The result was a diaphanous…
-
September 7 2010: Gala with Jessye Norman September 22-25 2010: Harrison, Copland, Tchaikovsky September 29- October 3 2010: Ravel, Debussy, Berlioz October 7-9 2010: Revueltas, Villa-Lobos, Varèse, Beethoven October 14-17 2010: Bychkov conducts Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Walton October 21-24 2010: Conlon conducts Wagner, Bruch, Dvořák; Joshua Bell, violin October 24 2010: Dresden Staatskapelle plays Beethoven and…
-
* Notes * Last night Herbert Blomstedt conducted Mozart's Symphony No. 36 and Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 at San Francisco Symphony. The former sounded rather jolly, the dynamics were clear and the tempi restrained. The oboe sounded particularly good in the first and third movements. The brass was hazy in the second movement, but the following…
-
* Notes * Last night Osmo Vänskä lead San Francisco Symphony in a program of Sallinen, Sibelius, and Beethoven. Aulis Sallinen's Symphony No. 1 was rather oceanic, filled with waves and swells. The viola solo, played by Yun-Jie Liu, was particularly lovely, as was the duet between the viola and second violin. Sibelius' Concerto in D…
-
* Notes * Last night Osmo Vänskä lead San Francisco Symphony in a program of John Adams' Slonimsky's Earbox, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, and Dvořák's Symphony No. 7. Slonimsky's Earbox was quite cute, a sort of jaunty circus music. The orchestra crackled under Vänskä, and it was a good opportunity to hear the new principal…
-
* Notes * Yesterday evening mezzo-soprano Susan Graham opened San Francisco Symphony's latest Mahler Festival with the Rückert Lieder. Graham sang with a gorgeous ease, her voice sounds both pure and lush. Michael Tilson Thomas conducted the orchestra in a straightforward manner. Some of the brass entrances were harsh, but the playing was fairly clear. The…
-
* Notes * The semi-staged production of Iolanthe at San Francisco Symphony was disappointing aurally, but not because of the musicians, singers, or Gilbert & Sullivan. Frustratingly enough, it was the amplification system that was the problem, and last night's performance was dogged by balance problems and feedback from the microphones. The voices were painfully loud at…
The Opera Tattler 