San Francisco Symphony - 2019-20 SEASON
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Celebrate
Michael Tilson Thomas
San Francisco
Symphony
2019-20 SEASON
Listen and 4
A Historic
Season
You’ll See 9
Join us as we celebrate the 25th Concert
and final season of Michael Tilson Series
Thomas’ extraordinary tenure as
Music Director of the SF Symphony! 22
Special
Concerts
One of the most remarkable and
meaningful creative partnerships
25
in the orchestral world, MTT’s Season
artistic vision has sparked radical Calendar
transformation—for the Orchestra,
for San Francisco, and for the 41
American and global soundscape. Discover Your
Symphony
Listen and you’ll see a season filled
with the unique artistic connections 42
forged during the MTT/SF Symphony How to
Subscribe
era, which continue to shape & Pricing
and illuminate the world of music.
44
Make a Gift
44
Education &
Community
Subscribe today
to experience this
historic season!
2019–20 Season 1
Be front and center for a landmark season celebrating
MTT’s incredible legacy with the SF Symphony.
Get ready to explore a season full of cherished
masterworks and the inspiring music that you love.
Subscribe today to experience this historic season!
BENEFITS OF SUBSCRIBING FREE TICKET OFFER**
Subscribe or renew your subscription by Friday, April 12
Best Seats, Best Value! to get free SF Symphony Orchestral Series concerts:
• Save more than 30% over full-priced single tickets*
• Reserved seats for the subscription concerts • 2 FREE concerts when you subscribe
• Prices may rise, subscriber prices remain the same to 6 or more concerts
• 3 FREE concerts when you subscribe
Join the
Premium Handling to 12 or more concerts
• Free seat upgrades • 3 FREE concerts, an additional one-time seat
• Easy ticket exchange upgrade, and 2 complimentary beverage vouchers
when you subscribe to 18 or more concerts
Convenient Pre-Paid Parking
Renewing subscribers, keep the seats
Exclusive Subscriber Offers you love! All seats will be released after
Celebration!
• Early access to special events and concerts Friday, April 12.
• 10% off at the Symphony Store
Enhance your Symphony experience and
support the music you love by becoming an
SF Symphony Donor.
see page 44 for more information.
BE A PART OF A SPECTACULAR KICK-OFF!
opening night gala in honor of
michael tilson thomas & joshua robison
Co-Chairs Rachael Bowman & Nicole Lacob
On September 4, MTT launches his final season as
Music Director with a magnificent party, the SF Symphony
Opening Night Gala, which combines the very best in music,
glamour, and giving.
Don’t miss MTT’s final Gala! As a subscriber, be one of the first
to access tickets to the party of the year!
Nick Platoff see special concerts on page 22.
Associate Principal
Trombone
2 2019-20 Season *Actual savings may vary based on seat location and prices. **Restrictions apply. See promotional insert for details. 3
A Historic Season
This season you’ll
experience the
staggering diversity MTT & Mahler
of music that MTT Under the baton of MTT, the SF Symphony’s
performances and recordings of Mahler have
and the SF Symphony
garnered international acclaim for unparalleled
have explored during excellence. Listen and you’ll see the SF Symphony’s
their groundbreaking heart, power, eloquence, and inimitable artistry
25-year partnership! in a season that showcases MTT’s visionary
Mahler interpretations.
SEP 12–15 MTT & Mahler 6
JAN 9–12 MTT: Love & Lyricism, MTT & the
featuring Mahler’s SF Symphony
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
MTT’s final season as
MAR 6 MTT: Mahler 6 & John Adams Music Director is filled with
JUN 25–28 MTT & Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand opportunities to witness
the breadth, adventure, and
collaboration that underpins
his remarkable tenure.
BEETHOVEN250 SEP 12–15
A Historic
MTT & Mahler 6
In 2020, MTT and the SF Symphony join the global
SEP 19–22
celebration of the 250th birthday of music’s most MTT & Trifonov:
iconic composer, Ludwig van Beethoven. Experience Rachmaninoff
an incredible line-up of artists, concerts, and events & John Adams
that lay bare the composer’s creative genius. SEP 26–28
MTT, Stravinsky, and Haydn
Season
JAN 16–18 MTT & Emanuel Ax:
JAN 9–12
Beethoven & Julia Wolfe MTT: Love & Lyricism
JAN 23–25 Beethoven 7 & Sibelius JAN 16–18
Violin Concerto MTT & Emanuel Ax:
Beethoven & Julia Wolfe
JAN 26 Violin Recital with
MAR 6
Anne-Sophie Mutter
MTT: Mahler 6 & John Adams
JAN 27 Chamber Music with MAR 12–14
Mutter, Choi, Babesko, MTT, Capuçon, Shostakovich,
& Mueller-Schott & Stravinsky
FEB 7–9 Blomstedt, Beethoven 2, MAY 14, 15, 17
MTT, Yuja, Sibelius, & Brahms
& Brahms 4
MAY 22–24
APR 5 Piano Recital with MTT & Brahms’
Yefim Bronfman A German Requiem
APR 30, MAY 1–2 Mirga & Beethoven 5 JUN 4–6
MTT & Anne-Sophie Mutter
MAY 24 Piano Recital
JUN 11, 13, 15
with Igor Levit
MTT & Wagner’s
JUN 4–6 MTT & Anne-Sophie Mutter The Flying Dutchman
JUN 18, 20, 21
MTT, Shaham, &
Shostakovich 5
JUN 25–28
MTT & Mahler’s Symphony of
a Thousand
4 2019–20 Season 5
A Historic Season
Throughout his remarkable 25 years
Artists-in-Residence
with the SF Symphony, MTT has built
meaningful relationships with today’s
great artists, mentored tomorrow’s
superstars, and supported the
virtuosity of our own musicians.
This season, three of music’s
biggest influencers join MTT and
the SF Symphony in special artist
residencies that encompass concerts
and community and educational
Emanuel Ax Nicola Benedetti James Gaffigan Gil Shaham
events throughout the city.
JAN 16–18 MAY 7–9 MAY 7–9 JUN 18, 20–21
Gabriela
Montero Jean-Yves Thibaudet Julia Bullock
MAY 29–31 FEB 14–16 FEB 20–22, APR 24–25
The World’s Greatest Artists
Top-tier artists from around the globe join our
celebration of MTT and the Orchestra’s triumphant
run. Not to be missed is the jaw-dropping virtuosity
of our SF Symphony musicians. Jacob Nissly Daniil Trifonov Sasha Cooke
OCT 17–19 SEP 19–22 FEB 20–22, MAY 31
Gabriela Montero
MAY 29-31
Alexander Barantschik Gautier Capuçon Antonio Pappano Yuja Wang Anne-Sophie Mutter
NOV 7–9 MAR 12–14 NOV 14–16 MAY 14–15, 17 JAN 26, JAN 27, & JUN 4–6
6 2019–20 Season Subscribe today! sfsymphony.org/ MTT25 7
A Historic Season
Choose from our Katie Kadarauch
Assistant Principal
specially curated Viola
Concert Series
full of cherished
masterworks, the
world’s premier
artists, and the
excitement of the
new American sound!
Julia Wolfe Jessie Montgomery
Concert
Wynton Marsalis John Adams
The New
WORLD PREMIERES
SEP 19–22 John Adams’ New Work
SFS Co-commission with Carnegie Hall PAGE 26
American
OCT 17–19 Adam Schoenberg’s Losing Earth
Series
SFS Commission PAGE 27 SF SYMPHONY
JAN 9–12 MTT’s Rilke Songs PAGE 30 ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Sound
APR 16–18 Mason Bates’ World’s Greatest Synth THURSDAYS 11
SFS Co-commission PAGE 35 FRIDAYS 12
SATURDAYS 14
SUNDAYS 15
Premieres &
US & WEST COAST PREMIERES
JAN 16–18 Julia Wolfe’s Fountain of Youth
Commissions FEB 14–16
SFS Co-commission PAGE 31
Aaron Zigman’s Tango Manos
GREAT
PERFORMERS 17
US Premiere PAGE 32 ORGAN 18
MTT and the SF Symphony’s 25-year
MAR 12–14 MTT’s Lope PAGE 34 OPEN
musical journey has brought fresh
REHEARSAL 18
expression and terrific beauty to the
CHAMBER
celebrated masterworks of the last FIRST SFS PERFORMANCES
MUSIC 19
century—and introduced us to the OCT 17–19 L. Boulanger’s D’un matin de Printemps PAGE 27
MUSIC FOR
masterworks of the next. Listen and NOV 7–9 Rebel’s Chaos from Les Élémens PAGE 28 FAMILIES 20
you’ll see MTT’s extraordinary insight Jörg Widmann’s Con brio
JAN 23–25 PAGE 31 YOUTH
on the new American sound through FEB 20–22 Stucky’s Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary ORCHESTRA 20
an exciting slate of premieres and & Ravel Three Poems of Stéphane Mallarmé FILM 21
specially commissioned works by PAGE 33
SPECIAL
trailblazing and established voices alike. APR 30–MAY 2 Raminta Šerkšnytė’s Fires PAGE 36 CONCERTS 22
MAY 7–9 Wynton Marsalis Violin Concerto
& Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst PAGE 37
8 2019–20 Season 9
W W
SF Symphony Orchestral Series
Thursdays
Subscribe by April 12 and get FREE SF Symphony
Orchestral Series concerts!
Radiant American
soprano Julia Bullock Purchase subscription package(s) including:
joins our season • 6 or more concerts and get 2 FREE concerts
celebration with an
artist residency that
• 12 or more concerts and get 3 FREE concerts
includes performances
of Britten and Ravel
(Feb 20–22), the
curation of an SFS
SoundBox program
(Apr 24–25), and more.
Thursday A Thursday Z
6 CONCERTS AT 8PM 12 CONCERTS AT 8PM
SEP 12 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6 SEP 12 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6
OCT 24 Prokofiev & Shostakovich’s Leningrad SEP 26 MTT, Stravinsky, & Haydn
JAN 9 MTT & MAHLER • Love & Lyricism OCT 24 Prokofiev & Shostakovich’s Leningrad
FEB 27 Leila Josefowicz Plays Salonen Violin Concerto NOV 14 Pappano Conducts Music from
MAY 7 Gaffigan Leads Marsalis & Dvořák’s New World Wagner’s Die Walküre
JUN 11 MTT & Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman JAN 9 MTT & MAHLER • Love & Lyricism
JAN 30 Blomstedt, Berwald, & Brahms
FEB 27 Leila Josefowicz Plays Salonen Violin Concerto
Thursday B MAR 12 MTT, Capuçon, Shostakovich, & Stravinsky
6 CONCERTS AT 8PM APR 16 Tchaik 5 & Mason Bates’ World’s Greatest Synth
MAY 7 Gaffigan Leads Marsalis & Dvořák’s New World
SEP 26 MTT, Stravinsky, & Haydn
JUN 11 MTT & Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman
NOV 14 Pappano Conducts Music from
JUN 18 MTT, Shaham, & Shostakovich 5
Wagner’s Die Walküre
JAN 30 Blomstedt, Berwald, & Brahms
MAR 12 MTT, Capuçon, Shostakovich, & Stravinsky
Thursday M
APR 16 Tchaik 5 & Mason Bates’ World’s Greatest Synth
RHODA GOLDMAN THURSDAY MATINEE
JUN 18 MTT, Shaham, & Shostakovich 5
6 CONCERTS AT 2PM
SEP 19 MTT, Trifonov, & Rachmaninoff
Thursday C OCT 3 Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
6 CONCERTS AT 8PM and Mozart’s Jupiter
NOV 7 Koopman Leads 18th-Century Delights
OCT 17 Pictures & Percussion
JAN 23 BEETHOVEN250 • Beethoven 7 & Sibelius
JAN 16 MTT & Emanuel Ax: Beethoven & Julia Wolfe
Violin Concerto
FEB 20 Salonen: Julia Bullock Sings Ravel & Britten
APR 23 Szeps-Znaider Plays & Conducts Mozart &
APR 30 BEETHOVEN250 • Mirga & Beethoven 5
Elgar’s Enigma
MAY 14 MTT, Yuja, Sibelius, & Brahms
JUN 4 BEETHOVEN250 • MTT & Anne-Sophie Mutter
JUN 25 MTT & MAHLER • Symphony of a Thousand
The Thursday Matinee concerts are endowed by a gift in memory
of Rhoda Goldman.
Thursday Open Rehearsal Thursday Matinee Bus Packages
Sit back, relax, and let us bring you to the Symphony! We offer several
8 CONCERTS AT 10AM
Bus Packages that make enjoying SF Symphony concerts easier than ever!
Our round-trip charter bus service will pick you up at a location close to your
OCT 17 Pictures & Percussion
home and drop you off at Davies Symphony Hall for the Rhoda Goldman
OCT 24 Prokofiev & Shostakovich’s Leningrad Thursday Matinee concerts.
JAN 16 MTT & Emanuel Ax: Beethoven & Julia Wolfe
Bus Package pickup is available in several surrounding communities:
JAN 30 Blomstedt, Berwald, & Brahms
Chico/Yuba City, Lodi, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Modesto, Sacramento/Davis,
FEB 27 Leila Josefowicz Plays Salonen Violin Concerto San Carlos, Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley, Santa Rosa, Walnut Creek/Orinda
APR 30 BEETHOVEN250 • Mirga & Beethoven 5
For Bus Package information, contact Mary Mercurio at 415.503.5488.
MAY 7 Gaffigan Leads Marsalis & Dvořák’s New World
JUN 18 MTT, Shaham, & Shostakovich 5
The Open Rehearsals are endowed by a bequest from the estate
of Katharine Hanrahan.
Open Rehearsals are working rehearsals. The pieces rehearsed are
at the conductor’s discretion.
10 2019–20 Season Subscribe today! sfsymphony.org/ MTT25 11
W W
SF Symphony Orchestral Series
Fridays
Subscribe by April 12 and get FREE SF Symphony
Orchestral Series concerts!
Purchase subscription package(s) including:
• 6 or more concerts and get 2 FREE concerts
• 12 or more concerts and get 3 FREE concerts
• 18 or more concerts and get 3 FREE concerts
+ 2 complimentary beverage vouchers
+ An additional one-time seat upgrade
Esa-Pekka Salonen Karina Canellakis Daniil Trifonov
FEB 20–22 OCT 24–26 SEP 19–22
Friday C Friday F Friday A Combo Friday Z Combo
6 CONCERTS AT 8PM 6 CONCERTS AT 8PM 12 CONCERTS AT 8PM 24 CONCERTS AT 8PM
SEP 13 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6 OCT 4 Mendelssohn Violin Concerto SEP 13 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6 SEP 13 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6
OCT 25 Prokofiev & Shostakovich’s Leningrad and Mozart’s Jupiter SEP 27 MTT, Stravinsky, & Haydn SEP 20 MTT, Trifonov, & Rachmaninoff
JAN 10 MTT & MAHLER • Love & Lyricism NOV 22 Elegant Vienna: Honeck Conducts OCT 25 Prokofiev & Shostakovich’s Leningrad SEP 27 MTT, Stravinsky, & Haydn
FEB 28 Leila Josefowicz Plays Salonen Violin Concerto Mozart & Bruckner NOV 15 Pappano Conducts Music from OCT 4 Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and
APR 17 Tchaik 5 & Mason Bates’ World’s Greatest Synth JAN 31 Blomstedt, Berwald, & Brahms Wagner’s Die Walküre Mozart’s Jupiter
MAY 22 MTT & Brahms’ A German Requiem MAR 6 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6 & John Adams JAN 10 MTT & MAHLER • Love & Lyricism OCT 25 Prokofiev & Shostakovich’s Leningrad
MAY 8 Gaffigan Leads Marsalis & Dvořák’s New World JAN 24 BEETHOVEN250 • Beethoven 7 & Sibelius NOV 8 Koopman Leads 18th-Century Delights
JUN 5 BEETHOVEN250 • MTT & Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin Concerto NOV 15 Pappano Conducts Music from
Friday D FEB 14 French Masters: Thibaudet & Saint-Saëns’ Wagner’s Die Walküre
6 CONCERTS AT 8PM Organ Symphony NOV 22 Elegant Vienna: Honeck Conducts Mozart
Friday G FEB 28 Leila Josefowicz Plays Salonen Violin Concerto & Bruckner
SEP 20 MTT, Trifonov, & Rachmaninoff
6 CONCERTS AT 8PM APR 17 Tchaik 5 & Mason Bates’ World’s Greatest Synth JAN 10 MTT & MAHLER • Love & Lyricism
NOV 8 Koopman Leads 18th-Century Delights
MAY 1 BEETHOVEN250 • Mirga & Beethoven 5 JAN 17 MTT & Emanuel Ax: Beethoven & Julia Wolfe
JAN 17 MTT & Emanuel Ax: Beethoven & Julia Wolfe OCT 18 Pictures & Percussion
MAY 22 MTT & Brahms’ A German Requiem JAN 24 BEETHOVEN250 • Beethoven 7 & Sibelius
FEB 21 Salonen: Julia Bullock Sings Ravel & Britten DEC 13 Handel’s Messiah
JUN 26 MTT & MAHLER • Symphony of a Thousand Violin Concerto
APR 24 Szeps-Znaider Plays & Conducts Mozart & FEB 7 BEETHOVEN250 • Blomstedt, Beethoven 2,
JAN 31 Blomstedt, Berwald, & Brahms
Elgar’s Enigma & Brahms 4
FEB 14 French Masters: Thibaudet & Saint-Saëns’
JUN 15 MTT & Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman MAR 13 MTT, Capuçon, Shostakovich, & Stravinsky
Friday B Combo Organ Symphony
(The June 15th concert occurs on a Monday MAY 15 MTT, Yuja, Sibelius, & Brahms
12 CONCERTS AT 8PM FEB 21 Salonen: Julia Bullock Sings Ravel & Britten
due to artist availability.) MAY 29 Gardner & Montero: Tchaikovsky Piano
FEB 28 Leila Josefowicz Plays Salonen Violin Concerto
Concerto No. 1 SEP 20 MTT, Trifonov, & Rachmaninoff
MAR 6 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6 & John Adams
OCT 4 Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
APR 17 Tchaik 5 & Mason Bates’ World’s Greatest Synth
Friday E and Mozart’s Jupiter
APR 24 Szeps-Znaider Plays & Conducts Mozart
6 CONCERTS AT 8PM NOV 8 Koopman Leads 18th-Century Delights
& Elgar’s Enigma
NOV 22 Elegant Vienna: Honeck Conducts
SEP 27 MTT, Stravinsky, & Haydn MAY 1 BEETHOVEN250 • Mirga & Beethoven 5
Mozart & Bruckner
NOV 15 Pappano Conducts Music from Wagner’s MAY 8 Gaffigan Leads Marsalis & Dvořák’s New World
JAN 17 MTT & Emanuel Ax: Beethoven & Julia Wolfe
Die Walküre MAY 22 MTT & Brahms’ A German Requiem
JAN 31 Blomstedt, Berwald, & Brahms
JAN 24 BEETHOVEN250 • Beethoven 7 & Sibelius JUN 5 BEETHOVEN250 • MTT & Anne-Sophie Mutter
FEB 21 Salonen: Julia Bullock Sings Ravel & Britten
Violin Concerto JUN 15 MTT & Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman
MAR 6 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6 & John Adams
FEB 14 French Masters: Thibaudet & (The June 15th concert occurs on a Monday
APR 24 Szeps-Znaider Plays & Conducts Mozart
Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony due to artist availability.)
& Elgar’s Enigma
MAY 1 BEETHOVEN250 • Mirga & Beethoven 5 JUN 26 MTT & MAHLER • Symphony of a Thousand
MAY 8 Gaffigan Leads Marsalis & Dvořák’s New World
JUN 26 MTT & MAHLER • Symphony of a Thousand
JUN 5 BEETHOVEN250 • MTT & Anne-Sophie Mutter
JUN 15 MTT & Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman
(The June 15th concert occurs on a Monday
due to artist availability.)
12 2019–20 Season 13
W W
SF Symphony Orchestral Series SF Symphony Orchestral Series
Saturdays Sundays
Subscribe by April 12 and get FREE SF Symphony
Orchestral Series concerts!
Purchase subscription package(s) including:
• 6 or more concerts and get 2 FREE concerts
• 12 or more concerts and get 3 FREE concerts
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
APR 30, MAY 1–2
Saturday A Saturday D
7 CONCERTS AT 8PM 7 CONCERTS AT 8PM
SEP 14 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6 OCT 5 Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and
OCT 19 Pictures & Percussion Mozart’s Jupiter
NOV 23 Elegant Vienna: Honeck Conducts NOV 16 Pappano Conducts Music from
Mozart & Bruckner Wagner’s Die Walküre
JAN 25 BEETHOVEN250 • Beethoven 7 & Sibelius JAN 18 MTT & Emanuel Ax: Beethoven & Julia Wolfe
Violin Concerto FEB 29 Leila Josefowicz Plays Salonen Violin Concerto
FEB 22 Salonen: Julia Bullock Sings Ravel & Britten APR 25 Szeps-Znaider Plays & Conducts Mozart &
MAY 2 BEETHOVEN250 • Mirga & Beethoven 5 Elgar’s Enigma Steven Braunstein
JUN 6 BEETHOVEN250 • MTT & Anne-Sophie Mutter MAY 23 MTT & Brahms’ A German Requiem Contrabassoon
JUN 27 MTT & MAHLER • Symphony of a Thousand
Saturday B
7 CONCERTS AT 8PM Saturday Z Combo Sunday Matinee A Sunday Matinee Z
14 CONCERTS AT 8PM 6 CONCERTS AT 2PM 12 CONCERTS AT 2PM
SEP 21 MTT, Trifonov, & Rachmaninoff
OCT 26 Prokofiev & Shostakovich’s Leningrad SEP 14 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6 SEP 22 MTT, Trifonov, & Rachmaninoff SEP 15 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6
DEC 14 Handel’s Messiah SEP 21 MTT, Trifonov, & Rachmaninoff NOV 24 Elegant Vienna: Honeck Conducts SEP 22 MTT, Trifonov, & Rachmaninoff
FEB 15 French Masters: Thibaudet & Saint-Saëns‘ OCT 19 Pictures & Percussion Mozart & Bruckner NOV 24 Elegant Vienna: Honeck Conducts
Organ Symphony OCT 26 Prokofiev & Shostakovich’s Leningrad FEB 2 Blomstedt, Berwald, & Brahms Mozart & Bruckner
MAR 14 MTT, Capuçon, Shostakovich, & Stravinsky NOV 23 Elegant Vienna: Honeck Conducts FEB 16 French Masters: Thibaudet & Saint-Saëns’ JAN 12 MTT & MAHLER • Love & Lyricism
MAY 9 Gaffigan Leads Marsalis & Dvořák’s New World Mozart & Bruckner Organ Symphony FEB 2 Blomstedt, Berwald, & Brahms
JUN 13 MTT & Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman DEC 14 Handel’s Messiah MAY 24 MTT & Brahms’ A German Requiem FEB 9 BEETHOVEN250 • Blomstedt, Beethoven 2,
JAN 25 BEETHOVEN250 • Beethoven 7 & Sibelius JUN 21 MTT, Shaham, & Shostakovich 5 & Brahms 4
Violin Concerto FEB 16 French Masters: Thibaudet & Saint-Saëns’
Saturday C FEB 15 French Masters: Thibaudet & Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony
7 CONCERTS AT 8PM Organ Symphony Sunday Matinee B MAY 17 MTT, Yuja, Sibelius, & Brahms
FEB 22 Salonen: Julia Bullock Sings Ravel & Britten 6 CONCERTS AT 2PM MAY 24 MTT & Brahms’ A German Requiem
SEP 28 MTT, Stravinsky, & Haydn
MAR 14 MTT, Capuçon, Shostakovich, & Stravinsky MAY 31 Gardner & Montero: Tchaikovsky Piano
NOV 9 Koopman Leads 18th-Century Delights SEP 15 MTT & MAHLER • Mahler 6
MAY 2 BEETHOVEN250 • Mirga & Beethoven 5 Concerto No. 1
JAN 11 MTT & MAHLER • Love & Lyricism JAN 12 MTT & MAHLER • Love & Lyricism
MAY 9 Gaffigan Leads Marsalis & Dvořák’s New World JUN 21 MTT, Shaham, & Shostakovich 5
FEB 8 BEETHOVEN250 • Blomstedt, Beethoven 2, FEB 9 BEETHOVEN250 • Blomstedt,
JUN 6 BEETHOVEN250 • MTT & Anne-Sophie Mutter JUN 28 MTT & MAHLER • Symphony of a Thousand
& Brahms 4 Beethoven 2, & Brahms 4
JUN 13 MTT & Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman
APR 18 Tchaik 5 & Mason Bates’ World’s Greatest Synth MAY 17 MTT, Yuja, Sibelius, & Brahms
MAY 30 Gardner & Montero: Tchaikovsky Piano MAY 31 Gardner & Montero: Tchaikovsky Piano Subscribe by April 12 and get FREE SF Symphony
Concerto No. 1 Concerto No. 1 Orchestral Series concerts!
JUN 20 MTT, Shaham, & Shostakovich 5 JUN 28 MTT & MAHLER • Symphony of a Thousand Purchase subscription package(s) including:
• 6 or more concerts and get 2 FREE concerts
• 12 or more concerts and get 3 FREE concerts
14 2019–20 Season Subscribe today! sfsymphony.org/ MTT25 15
Concert Series Concert Series
Yuja Wang Joshua Bell
FEB 23 MAR 1
MAY 14–17
Great
Performers
We welcome top-tier ensembles
and artists from across the globe
to the Davies Symphony Hall stage.
Great Performers A Great Performers Z Combo
6 EVENING CONCERTS 12 EVENING CONCERTS + 3 FREE SF SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRAL SERIES CONCERTS, AN ADDITIONAL
SUN NOV 3 Violin Recital with Ray Chen
ONE-TIME SEAT UPGRADE
SUN JAN 26 BEETHOVEN250 • Violin Recital with
Anne-Sophie Mutter SUN NOV 3 Violin Recital with Ray Chen
SUN FEB 23 Piano Recital with Yuja Wang SUN NOV 10 Piano Recital with Chick Corea:
TUE MAR 10 Piano Recital with Murray Perahia From Mozart to Monk
SUN APR 5 BEETHOVEN250 • Piano Recital with SUN JAN 26 BEETHOVEN250 • Violin Recital
Yefim Bronfman with Anne-Sophie Mutter
SUN MAY 31 Vocal Recital with Mezzo-soprano MON JAN 27 BEETHOVEN250 • Chamber Music with
Sasha Cooke Mutter, Choi, Babesko, & Mueller-Schott
SUN FEB 23 Piano Recital with Yuja Wang
The BEETHOVEN250 • Piano Recital with Yefim Bronfman on April 5, 2020 SUN MAR 1 Joshua Bell & the Academy of St Martin
is supported by the Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust.
in the Fields
Gautier Ray Chen TUE MAR 10 Piano Recital with Murray Perahia
Capuçon NOV 3 SUN MAR 22 Piano Recital with Hélène Grimaud
MAR 12–14 Great Performers B SUN APR 5 BEETHOVEN250 • Piano Recital with
APR 26 6 EVENING CONCERTS Yefim Bronfman
SUN APR 26 Cello Recital with Gautier Capuçon
SUN NOV 10 Piano Recital with Chick Corea:
SUN MAY 24 BEETHOVEN250 • Piano Recital with
From Mozart to Monk
Igor Levit
MON JAN 27 BEETHOVEN250 • Chamber Music with
SUN MAY 31 Vocal Recital with Mezzo-soprano
Mutter, Choi, Babesko, & Mueller-Schott
Sasha Cooke
SUN MAR 1 Joshua Bell & the Academy of St Martin
in the Fields The BEETHOVEN250 • Piano Recital with Yefim Bronfman on April 5, 2020
SUN MAR 22 Piano Recital with Hélène Grimaud is supported by the Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust.
SUN APR 26 Cello Recital with Gautier Capuçon
SUN MAY 24 BEETHOVEN250 • Piano Recital with
Igor Levit
Subscribe by April 12 and get FREE SF Symphony
Orchestral Series concerts!
Purchase subscription package(s) including:
• 6 or more concerts and get 2 FREE concerts
• 12 or more concerts and get 3 FREE concerts presenting
sponsor
16 2019–20 Season Subscribe: 415.864.6000 17Concert Series Concert Series
Chamber
Concerts
Experience music
curated and performed
by small ensembles
of San Francisco
Symphony musicians. Nadya Tichman
Associate
Concertmaster
CHAMBER MUSIC AT San Francisco Symphony
Foundation Chair
DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL
5 SUNDAY CONCERTS AT 2PM Amy Hiraga
Violin
SEP 29, NOV 3, DEC 1, FEB 23, APR 26
Nancy Ellis
Viola
Guy Piddington
Trumpet
CHAMBER MUSIC AT Peter Wyrick
Anne L. & Charles B. THE GUNN THEATER Associate Principal Cello
Peter & Jacqueline
Johnson Chair AT LEGION OF HONOR Hoefer Chair
4 SUNDAY CONCERTS AT 2PM
Organ Open
Daniel G. Smith
OCT 20, DEC 1, MAR 1, JUN 7 Associate Principal Bass
There’s nothing quite like being engulfed in the
immense power and beauty of sound. Discover
Rehearsal
Davies Symphony Hall’s gleaming, 8,264-pipe Take your seat at a San Francisco Symphony
Ruffatti organ—the largest of its kind in North open rehearsal for a behind-the-scenes look
America—through awe-inspiring performances at how conductors and musicians create eye-
by the instrument’s most celebrated players. opening, ear-stretching musical experiences.
Organ The experience begins at 8:30am with coffee
3 SUNDAY CONCERTS AT 3PM and free donuts, followed by an informational
OCT 20
pre-rehearsal talk at 9am.
JAN 5
MAR 22
Open Rehearsal
8 THURSDAY CONCERTS AT 10AM
OCT 17 Pictures & Percussion
OCT 24 Prokofiev & Shostakovich’s Leningrad
JAN 16 MTT & Emanuel Ax: Beethoven & Julia Wolfe
JAN 30 Blomstedt, Berwald, & Brahms
FEB 27 Leila Josefowicz Plays Salonen Violin Concerto
APR 30 BEETHOVEN250 • Mirga & Beethoven 5
MAY 7 Gaffigan Leads Marsalis & Dvořák’s New World
JUN 18 MTT, Shaham, & Shostakovich 5
The Open Rehearsals are endowed by a bequest from the estate
of Katharine Hanrahan.
Open Rehearsals are working rehearsals. The pieces rehearsed are at
the conductor’s discretion.
18 2019–20 Season Subscribe today! sfsymphony.org/ MTT25 19Concert Series Concert Series
Film FILM A
FOUR FILMS WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA
FRI NOV 1 7:30PM Coco
Enjoy the magic of cinema SAT NOV 30 7:30PM Ghostbusters
FRI DEC 6 7:30PM It’s a Wonderful Life
like never before—with the THU JUL 2 7:30PM Apollo 13
score performed live-to-
screen by the SF Symphony. FILM B
FOUR FILMS WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA
SAT NOV 2 7:30PMCoco
Add Get Out FRI NOV 29 7:30PMGhostbusters
to your package. TUE DEC 3 7:30PM It’s a Wonderful Life
See page 23. SUN JUL 5 2:00PM Apollo 13
© Disney/Pixar
Music for Youth Coco
This Academy Award™-winning smash hit (Best Original
Ghostbusters
Boasting an unforgettable theme song that topped
Families Orchestra Song, Best Animated Feature Film) stars a music-loving
boy who makes a dazzling journey to the Land of the
Dead to reunite with his great-great-grandfather.
Billboard′s Hot 100, this infectiously fun comedy classic
follows an eccentric band of paranormal investigators
as they wage a spectacular battle with the supernatural
Share the joy of music with all your loved The superstars of tomorrow are on in New York City.
ones. Discover how music speaks to young your doorstep! Experience the phenomenal
listeners ages 5–12 and longtime fans alike, SF Symphony Youth Orchestra—featuring
through enriching, interactive performances more than 100 of the Bay Area’s brightest
and fun-filled pre-concert activities. young talent—in exhilarating showcases of
music’s most virtuosic repertoire.
Music for Families SF Symphony Youth Orchestra alumni
3 SATURDAY CONCERTS AT 2PM Oliver Herbert and Teddy Abrams take
center stage in SF Symphony Orchestral
DEC 14
Series concerts, Sep 26–28 and Apr 16–18.
FEB 29 TM & © Universal Studios
APR 4
It’s a Wonderful Life Apollo 13
Youth Orchestra This film comes to life with Dimitri Timokin’s timeless score Featuring an epic, gripping score by acclaimed film
3 SUNDAY CONCERTS AT 2PM
performed by a live symphony orchestra while the full film is composer James Horner, director Ron Howard’s
NOV 17 shown on the big screen. Jimmy Stewart portrays the Academy Award™-winning drama (Best Sound, Best Film
MAR 15 down-and-out George, a lovable “failure” with so many Editing) recounts the harrowing true story of the aborted
MAY 10
problems that he is thinking about ending it all—and it’s Apollo 13 lunar mission and NASA’s effort to return the
Supported by Christmas! Clarence, his guardian angel, shows George what jeopardized astronauts (Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill
his town would be like if it hadn’t been for all of his good Paxton) to Earth safely.
Supported by
deeds. Experience the most beloved holiday movie of all time
transformed into an unforgettable live film concert event!
20 2019–20 Season 21Special Concerts
Special
Concerts
Get Out Deck the Hall
Get Out Deck the Hall
FEATURE FILM WITH THE SF SYMPHONY SUN DEC 8 11AM & 3PM
WED OCT 30 7:30PM President, Junior Committee Antonia Cohen
When a young African-American man visits his white Event Chair Amy Christodoulo
girlfriend’s family estate, he becomes ensnared in a more Deck the Hall is the perfect way to make your family’s
sinister, real reason for the invitation. As the weekend holiday season merry and bright. Enjoy a concert of
progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries festive favorites and sing-alongs with members of the
Be one of the first to lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined. SF Symphony, guest artists, and special appearances
purchase advance tickets to by beloved holiday characters. Tickets include post-
concert festivities with entertainment, arts and crafts,
these in-demand concerts in and refreshments.
addition to your Subscription To make the experience even more memorable, order
Package, and snag the best a VIP package that includes premium concert seating
plus an exclusive, fun-filled pre-concert party. Call the
seats at the best price! SF Symphony Volunteer Council at 415.503.5500 or visit
sfsymphony.org/deck for further details.
Opening Night Gala
Chinese New Year
OPENING NIGHT GALA Concert & Banquet
IN HONOR OF MICHAEL TILSON SAT FEB 1 5PM
THOMAS & JOSHUA ROBISON Event Chairs Gorretti & Lawrence Lui
WED SEP 4 8PM
Día de los Muertos Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Chinese New Year
Co-Chairs Rachael Bowman Concert and Banquet is an elegant, colorful celebration
& Nicole Lacob of the Lunar New Year with the SF Symphony. Drawing
This spectacular celebration of Michael Día de los Muertos upon vibrant Asian traditions, past and present, guests
Tilson Thomas’ 25th and final season as Community Concert enjoy the Festival Reception’s host of activities followed
Music Director of the San Francisco SAT NOV 2 2PM by a performance of Eastern and Western repertoire by
Symphony will be one for the ages. the Symphony and notable guest artists.
Join us at Davies Symphony Hall for a vibrant celebration
From the pre-concert sparkling wine
of Latin American music and culture at our annual Day of Continue the festivities after the concert by purchasing
promenade, to the one-of-a-kind Michael Tilson Thomas the Dead celebration! Arrive early for live music, dancing, a ticket to the dramatic and exciting Banquet. Call the
concert, to the exciting after-party, you & Joshua Robison colorful altars, and folk art in the lobby. SF Symphony Volunteer Council at 415.503.5500 for
will be a part of San Francisco history
further details.
while toasting the arts in style. For an elevated experience, upgrade to a pre-concert
The Chinese New Year Concert & Banquet is made possible through the
lunch package. Call the SF Symphony Volunteer Council at
For an elevated experience, upgrade to generous support of Presenting Sponsors Gorretti & Lawrence Lui.
415.503.5500 for more information.
one of four unique VIP dinner packages.
Call the Volunteer Council for more
information at 415.503.5500.
22 2019–20 Season Subscribe today! sfsymphony.org/ MTT25 23Special Concerts
SFS Listen and you’ll
DEBUT! see why this is a
season 25 years
in the making!
Exclusive Free
Ticket Offer!
Subscribe by
APRIL 12.
(Details p. 3)
Siberian State
Symphony Orchestra
MAR 15
Calendar
Season
Lang Lang James Galway
OCT 21 MAR 17
Lang Lang with the SF Symphony Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra
MON OCT 21 8PM Featuring Randy Newman
WED MAR 23 • THU MAR 24
Experience the musical fireworks of superstar virtuoso Lang
Lang, who takes center stage Beethoven’s breakthrough Legendary songwriter Randy Newman joins the Boston
Piano Concerto No. 2. Pops Esplanade Orchestra in a program featuring hits from
his catalog of unforgettable film scores and pop songs.
Siberian State Symphony Orchestra
SUN MAR 15 7:30PM Chineke! Orchestra
with Sheko Kanneh-Mason
Direct from Russia, the Siberian State Symphony
SUN APR 19 2PM
Orchestra makes its SF Symphony debut playing
the great Russian classics under the baton of Music Europe’s first black and minority professional orchestra
Director Vladimir Lande. makes its SF Symphony debut in a concert featuring
cellist Sheko Kanneh-Mason, winner of the 2016 BBC
Young Musician Award and soloist at the wedding
Flute Recital with James Galway of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
TUE MAR 17 8PM
Experience one of the great masters of the flute Melissa Kleinbart
repertoire in recital, when the internationally acclaimed Violin
James Galway takes the Davies Symphony Hall stage Katharine
for the first time in nearly two decades. Hanrahan Chair
24 2019–20 Season 25Season Calendar / SEPTEMBER Season Calendar / OCTOBER
THU (A) SEP 12 8PM MTT & MAHLER THU (O) SEP 26 10AM MTT, Stravinsky, & Haydn THU (M) OCT 3 2PM Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
FRI (C) SEP 13 8PM THU (B) SEP 26 8PM FRI (F) OCT 4 8PM
MTT & Mahler 6 FRI (E) SEP 27 8PM Stravinsky Canticum sacrum and Mozart’s Jupiter
SAT (A) SEP 14 8PM SAT (D) OCT 5 8PM
SUN (B) SEP 15 2PM Mahler Symphony No. 6 SAT (C) SEP 28 8PM Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms Hindemith Concert Music for String
(1948 rev.) Orchestra and Brass
Michael Tilson Thomas conductor
Haydn Cello Concerto No. 1 Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
MTT opens his final subscription season Stravinsky Symphony in Three Mozart Symphony No. 41, Jupiter
as Music Director with the piece that Movements
Marek Janowski conductor
began our love affair with Mahler.
Michael Tilson Thomas conductor María Dueñas violin
Experience the fury and relentless
Nicholas Phan tenor
searching of Mahler’s high-stakes Acclaimed Polish-born, German-
TBD baritone
Sixth Symphony, a work imbued with based conductor Marek Janowski
Oliver Herbert cello
impassioned expression, inspired and the Orchestra welcome
SF Symphony Chorus
melodies, and tragic vision. MTT and astonishing 16-year-old Spanish
Ragnar Bohlin director
the Orchestra’s 2001 recording of the violinist María Dueñas, who makes
Sixth launched the wildly successful Igor Stravinsky is a giant among her SF Symphony debut in one of
SFS Media label, and its release composers. He broke his own rules, the most popular concertos of all time,
garnered the first of seven Grammy shocking modern music lovers with Mendelssohn’s effervescent Violin
wins for the historic Mahler Project. an inspired return to the delicate Concerto. The revelry continues with
elegance of 18th-century melodies, an Mozart’s final symphony. The Jupiter
Sponsored by
era in which Haydn reigned supreme. is filled with such radiance and majesty,
Experience a captivating program someone named it after the king
of masterpieces by two inextricably of the gods—and it stuck.
intertwined composer greats as only
Stravinsky friend and disciple Michael The Thursday Matinee concerts are endowed
THU (M) SEP 19 2PM MTT & Trifonov: by a gift in memory of Rhoda Goldman.
FRI (D) SEP 20 8PM Tilson Thomas can present. The superb
SAT (B) SEP 21 8PM
Rachmaninoff & John Adams
SF Symphony Chorus joins the
SUN (A) SEP 22 2PM John Adams New Work
Orchestra in Stravinsky’s kaleidoscopic THU (O) OCT 17 10AM Pictures & Percussion
SFS Co-commission with Carnegie THU (C) OCT 17 8PM
three-movement choral masterpiece, L. Boulanger D’un matin de Printemps
Hall, World Premiere FRI (G) OCT 18 8PM
Symphony of Psalms. SAT (A) OCT 19 8PM Adam Schoenberg Losing Earth
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 4
SFS Commission, World Premiere
Schumann Symphony No. 3, Rhenish Oliver Herbert’s appearance is
Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel)
generously supported by the
Michael Tilson Thomas conductor Shenson Young Artist Debut Fund. Pictures at an Exhibition
Daniil Trifonov piano The Open Rehearsals are endowed
Cristian Măcelaru conductor
by a bequest from the estate
Experience the coming together of Katharine Hanrahan. Jacob Nissly percussion
of extraordinary artists. MTT leads
Featuring a parade of famous solos,
the Orchestra in the world premiere
Ravel’s ingenious orchestration
of a new work by one of America’s
transformed Mussorgsky’s Pictures
most celebrated and oft-performed
at an Exhibition into one of the most
living composers, John Adams.
radiantly hued and popular works of
Then, fiery Russian pianist Daniil
all time. The artistry continues when
Trifonov tackles Rachmaninoff’s
Cristian Măcelaru and the SF Symphony
athletic Fourth Piano Concerto, which
present the world premiere of
blends American jazz, Russian folksong,
Grammy-nominated American
and Orthodox chant. The concert
composer Adam Schoenberg’s Losing
concludes with Schumann’s five-
Earth, expressly written for dynamic
movement Symphony No. 3, an
SFS Principal Percussion Jacob Nissly.
optimistic and buoyant vision of the
Jacob Nissly Setting the tone is a spritely work by
Rhine river. Principal Percussion
Jacob is soloist in Losing Lili Boulanger, who in 1913 became the
Sponsored by Earth on Oct 17–19, and first woman to win the prestigious Prix
says “Adam Schoenberg’s
de Rome.
mastery of both the
traditional and modern The Open Rehearsals are endowed
soundscape makes him by a bequest from the estate
These concerts, a part of The Barbro the perfect composer
of Katharine Hanrahan.
and Bernard Osher Masterworks Series, for a project involving
instruments known
are made possible by a generous gift
and unknown.”
from Barbro and Bernard Osher.
The Thursday Matinee concerts are endowed
by a gift in memory of Rhoda Goldman.
26 2019–20 Season Subscribe today! sfsymphony.org/ MTT25 27Season Calendar / OCTOBER–NOVEMBER Season Calendar / NOVEMBER–DECEMBER
SFS
DEBUT!
SFS
DEBUT!
Alexander Barantschik
Concertmaster
Karina Canellakis Naoum Blinder Chair Antonio Pappano Leif Ove Andsnes
THU (A) OCT 24 8PM Prokofiev & THU (M) NOV 7 2PM Koopman Leads THU (B) NOV 14 8PM Pappano Conducts Music FRI (F) NOV 22 8PM Elegant Vienna: Honeck
FRI (C) OCT 25 8PM Shostakovich’s Leningrad FRI (E) NOV 8 8PM 18th-Century Delights FRI (E) NOV 15 8PM from Wagner’s Die Walküre SAT (A) NOV 23 8PM Conducts Mozart & Bruckner
SAT (B) OCT 26 8PM SAT (D) NOV 9 8PM SAT (D) NOV 16 8PM SUN (B) NOV 24 2PM
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 J.S. Bach Violin Concerto No. 1 R. Strauss Metamorphosen Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22
Shostakovich Symphony No. 7, J.S. Bach Orchestral Suite No. 4 Wagner Act I from Die Walküre Bruckner Symphony No. 4, Romantic
Alexander Gavrylyuk Antonio Pappano Manfred Honeck
Leningrad Rebel Chaos from Les Élémens
Antonio Pappano conductor Manfred Honeck conductor
Haydn Symphony No. 100, Military
Karina Canellakis conductor Emily Magee soprano Leif Ove Andsnes piano
Alexander Gavrylyuk piano Ton Koopman conductor Stuart Skelton tenor
Vienna-born Manfred Honeck, Music
Alexander Barantschik violin Ain Anger bass
Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony
Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Karina World-renowned early music specialist Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Orchestra, returns to lead a program
Canellakis makes her SF Symphony Ton Koopman brings a feast of Music Director Antonio Pappano of works written in Vienna, “the capital
debut leading the Orchestra in the 18th-century delights, including two makes his SF Symphony debut leading of classical music.” Fan favorite Leif
music of two Russian heavyweights. exalted works by J.S. Bach. SFS a monumental and operatic program. Ove Andsnes brings signature poise
Dynamic Ukranian pianist Alexander Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik The concert opens with R. Strauss’ to a gorgeous Mozart piano concerto.
Gavrylyuk, also making his debut here, takes center stage in Bach’s lyrical Metamorphosen, an ensemble work Crowning the performance is Bruck-
delivers young Prokofiev’s ravishingly Violin Concerto No. 1, before the with 23 solo parts that showcase the ner’s towering Symphony No. 4,
colorful and percussive Concerto No. 1. Orchestra dives in to Chaos, a vivid virtuosity of our brilliant string players. a work whose soaring and seemingly
Then, a powerful statement from the work by one of Bach’s most inventive The evening concludes with Act I of limitless harmonic landscape reveals
Russia of a different time: Shostakov- Baroque contemporaries, Rebel. The Wagner’s masterful Die Walküre, his lush Romantic voice.
ich’s defiant 1941 bombshell, the wild program concludes with a radiant work featuring three of the world’s leading
and sprawling Leningrad Symphony. by the “father of the symphony,” Haydn. Wagnerian singers.
The Thursday Matinee concerts are endowed These concerts, a part of The Barbro FRI (G) DEC 13 8PM Handel’s Messiah
by a gift in memory of Rhoda Goldman. and Bernard Osher Masterworks Series, SAT (B) DEC 14 8PM Handel Messiah
are made possible by a generous gift
from Barbro and Bernard Osher. Ragnar Bohlin conductor
TBD vocal soloists
SF Symphony Chorus
Experience the glorious majesty of
Handel’s Messiah performed by the
joined forces of the SF Symphony,
Chorus, and renowned soloists.
Featuring the famous “Hallelujah”
Chorus, the magnificent power of 100
voices in harmony demonstrates why
this celebrated masterpiece is a holiday
favorite—and one of the most loved
works of all time.
28 2019–20 Season 29Season Calendar / JANUARY Season Calendar / JANUARY
THU (A) JAN 9 8PM MTT & MAHLER
FRI (C) JAN 10 8PM MTT: Love & Lyricism
SAT (C) JAN 11 8PM
Berlioz Overture to Benvenuto Cellini
SFS
SUN (B) JAN 12 2PM
Michael Tilson Thomas Rilke Songs
DEBUT!
World Premiere
Mahler Songs from Des Knaben
Wunderhorn
Ravel La Valse
Michael Tilson Thomas conductor
Sasha Cooke mezzo-soprano
Ryan McKinny bass-baritone
MTT, magnetic mezzo-soprano Sasha
Cooke (in residence this season),
elegant bass-baritone Ryan McKinny,
and the SF Symphony bring their
signature extraordinary depth of
Emanuel Ax Dima Slobodeniouk
emotion to Mahler’s storied and exqui-
sitely textured song cycle, Des Knaben
THU (O) JAN 16 10AM BEETHOVEN250 THU (M) JAN 23 2PM BEETHOVEN250
Wunderhorn. The program opens with a THU (C) JAN 16 8PM MTT & Emanuel Ax: FRI (E) JAN 24 8PM Beethoven 7 & Sibelius
spirited orchestral mini-drama by FRI (D) JAN 17 8PM SAT (A) JAN 25 8PM
SAT (D) JAN 18 8PM
Beethoven & Julia Wolfe Violin Concerto
Berlioz: his overture to the opera
Julia Wolfe Fountain of Youth Jörg Widmann Con brio
Benvenuto Cellini. At the core of this
SFS Co-commission, Sibelius Violin Concerto
luxuriant program is the world premiere
West Coast Premiere Beethoven Symphony No. 7
of Rilke Songs, MTT’s imaginative
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2
musical setting of lyric poems by Dima Slobodeniouk conductor
Wagner Siegfried Idyll
modernist Rainer Maria Rilke. La Valse, Sergey Khachatryan violin
Berg Three Pieces for Orchestra
Ravel’s whirling portrayal of Gilded Age
Finland-based conductor Dima
excess, brings this evocative program Michael Tilson Thomas conductor
Slobodeniouk makes his SF Symphony
to a close. Emanuel Ax piano
debut leading the Orchestra in
These concerts, a part of The Barbro and A program of legends! Audience Beethoven’s Seventh—a symphony
Bernard Osher Masterworks Series, are
made possible by a generous gift from favorite Emanuel Ax performs so arresting, so charged with fervor,
Barbro and Bernard Osher. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2, that music has never been the same.
a wondrous work that is equal parts Jörg Widmann’s spectacular Con brio,
muscle and effervescence. Then, a remarkable contemporary lens
Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll (a work the through which to gaze at Beethoven’s
composer gifted his wife for her musical monument, uniquely resounds
birthday), and Berg’s spellbinding with the German master’s orchestral
Three Pieces for Orchestra, a revival color. Armenian virtuoso Sergey
of recent performances issued on Khachatryan, the youngest-ever
our acclaimed SFS Media label. winner of the International Jean
Opening the program is the West Sibelius Violin Competition, brings
Coast premiere of Fountain of Youth, his insight to Sibelius’ urgent and
an SFS co-commission by Pulitzer utterly bewitching concerto.
Sasha Cooke
Mezzo-soprano
Prize-winning American composer The Thursday Matinee concerts are endowed
This season Julia Wolfe, famed for her melding by a gift in memory of Rhoda Goldman.
marks the 10-year
of folk, rock, and classical idioms.
anniversary of
Sasha’s close musical The Open Rehearsals are endowed
collaboration with by a bequest from the estate
MTT and the SF
of Katharine Hanrahan.
Symphony, with
highlights including
tours, recordings, and
critically acclaimed
performances of
Berlioz, Debussy,
and Mahler.
30 2019–20 Season Subscribe today! sfsymphony.org/ MTT25 31Season Calendar / JANUARY–FEBRUARY Season Calendar / FEBRUARY
Herbert Blomstedt Jean-Yves Thibaudet Esa-Pekka Salonen Leila Josefowicz
THU (O) JAN 30 10AM Blomstedt, Berwald, & Brahms FRI (E) FEB 14 8PM French Masters: Thibaudet & THU (C) FEB 20 8PM Salonen: Julia Bullock THU (O) FEB 27 10AM Leila Josefowicz Plays
THU (B) JAN 30 8PM Berwald Symphony No. 1 SAT (B) FEB 15 8PM Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony FRI (D) FEB 21 8PM Sings Ravel & Britten THU (A) FEB 27 8PM Salonen Violin Concerto
FRI (F) JAN 31 8PM SUN (A) FEB 16 2PM SAT (A) FEB 22 8PM FRI (C) FEB 28 8PM
SUN (A) FEB 2 2PM Brahms Symphony No. 3 Dukas La Péri Stucky Music for the Funeral of SAT (A) FEB 29 8PM Beethoven Overture to King Stephen
Aaron Zigman Tango Manos Queen Mary Esa-Pekka Salonen Violin Concerto
Herbert Blomstedt conductor
US Premiere Britten Les Illuminations Nielsen Symphony No. 5
SFS Conductor Laureate
Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3, Organ Ravel Three Poems of Stéphane
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor
Herbert Blomstedt leads the Orchestra Mallarmé
Fabien Gabel conductor SFS Music Director Designate
in a program bursting with contrasts. Ravel Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose)
Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano Leila Josefowicz violin
Experience the power, tenderness,
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor
vigor, and lyricism of Brahms’ dramatic French pièces de résistance! Astonishing virtuoso Leila Josefowicz
SFS Music Director Designate
Third Symphony, written when the Québec Symphony Orchestra Music teams up with Esa-Pekka Salonen for
Julia Bullock soprano
established composer was at his zenith. Director Fabien Gabel makes his debut a fiery performance of his Violin
Countering this fundamental work is leading the SF Symphony in the Esa-Pekka Salonen conjures up an Concerto, a tour de force written
a distinctively inventive first symphony alluring, heady ardor of Dukas’ La Péri, evocative and inspired program. especially for her. The SF Symphony
by 19th-century Romantic master one of the great neglected masterpieces Ravel’s enchanting Mother Goose, brings fresh perspective to Beethoven’s
Berwald, whose colorful music of the early 20th century. Then, wildly based on a collection of folktales, is innovative and finely crafted Overture
Blomstedt has long championed. virtuosic pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet a work of imaginative musical abandon. to King Stephen. Our program closes
The Open Rehearsals are endowed brings his customary joie de vivre to Radiant soprano Julia Bullock, in with Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s
by a bequest from the estate of Katharine award-winning film composer Aaron residence this season, sings Britten’s passionate postwar lament, his
Hanrahan. Zigman’s piano concerto Tango Manos, Les Illuminations (based on hallucinatory Symphony No. 5—one of the most
in its US premiere performances. verses by Rimbaud) and Ravel’s Three sonorous and affirmative works in
FRI (G) FEB 7 8PM BEETHOVEN250 Saint-Saëns’ cutting-edge, gloriously Poems of Stéphane Mallarmé, which the repertoire.
SAT (C) FEB 8 8PM Blomstedt, Beethoven 2, tuneful Symphony No. 3—the composer’s evoke the Symbolist writer’s “mystery These concerts, a part of The Barbro
SUN (B) FEB 9 2PM
& Brahms 4 most famous instrumental work— of somber abstractions.” The evening and Bernard Osher Masterworks Series,
Beethoven Symphony No. 2 closes this program with panache. begins with a work written after a are made possible by a generous gift
from Barbro and Bernard Osher.
Brahms Symphony No. 4 suggestion by Salonen to Pulitzer
The Open Rehearsals are endowed
Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky: by a bequest from the estate of
Herbert Blomstedt conductor
the haunting, freely conceived Music Katharine Hanrahan.
SFS Conductor Laureate
for the Funeral of Queen Mary, an
Herbert Blomstedt brings special adaptation of a stately march by the
insight to Beethoven’s invigorating great English composer Henry Purcell.
Second Symphony. Already troubled These concerts, a part of The Barbro
by hearing loss, we hear Beethoven and Bernard Osher Masterworks Series,
leaning into his inner strength, writing are made possible by a generous gift
from Barbro and Bernard Osher.
music filled with humor and good cheer.
Brahms produced some of the most Julia Bullock’s appearance is
generously supported by the
popular symphonies of the Romantic Shenson Young Artist Debut Fund.
age—including his Fourth, which cuts
as close to the heart as music can.
32 2019–20 Season 33Season Calendar / MARCH Season Calendar / APRIL
Mason Bates Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider
FRI (F) MAR 6 8PM MTT & MAHLER THU (O) MAR 12 10AM MTT, Capuçon, THU (B) APR 16 8PM Tchaik 5 & Mason Bates’ THU (M) APR 23 2PM Szeps-Znaider Plays & Conducts
THU (B) MAR 12 8 PM FRI (C) APR 17 8PM FRI (D) APR 24 8PM
MTT: Mahler 6 & John Adams Shostakovich, & Stravinsky World’s Greatest Synth Mozart & Elgar’s Enigma
FRI (G) MAR 13 8 PM SAT (C) APR 18 8PM SAT (D) APR 25 8PM
John Adams New Work SAT (B) MAR 14 8 PM Michael Tilson Thomas Lope Barber Second Essay for Orchestra Mozart Violin Concerto No. 2
SFS Co-commission with West Coast Premiere Mason Bates World’s Greatest Synth R. Strauss Death and Transfiguration
Carnegie Hall Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 2 SFS Co-commission, Elgar Enigma Variations
Mahler Symphony No. 6 Stravinsky The Firebird West Coast Premiere
Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5
Michael Tilson Thomas conductor Michael Tilson Thomas conductor conductor and violin
Gautier Capuçon cello Teddy Abrams conductor
During their 25-year partnership, Discover the glorious vividness
Michael Tilson Thomas and the MTT, the SF Symphony, and MTT protégé Teddy Abrams conducts of young R. Strauss’ Death and
SF Symphony forged a new identity for audience favorite Gautier Capuçon the West Coast premiere of World’s Transfiguration and the expressive
the Orchestra, one that won international journey into the turbulent soundscape Greatest Synth, an SFS co-commission. beauty of Elgar’s popular Enigma
acclaim for their interpretations of the of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2, A vivid concerto for orchestra and Variations. The brilliant Szeps-Znaider
masterworks and explorations of the a profound, percussive, and potent animated film by Mason Bates, Musical takes the podium for these wondrous
new American sound. This artistic legacy showpiece. Also on the program, America’s 2018 Composer of the Year orchestral works, and takes center
is represented in this meaningful MTT pairs Lope, his whimsical piece and 2019 Grammy Award winner, this stage as soloist and conductor in
program: Opening the evening is a about walking the dog—from the imaginative, multi-sensory experience Mozart’s captivating Violin Concerto
new work by an elder statesman of dog’s perspective—with Stravinsky’s blends music, visual art, and sound No. 2.
American music, former SFS landmark work about another magical design, and zooms inside instruments The Thursday Matinee concerts are endowed
composer-in-residence John Adams, creature: The Firebird. to explore the age-old connection by a gift in memory of Rhoda Goldman.
followed by a profound performance The Open Rehearsals are endowed between creativity and technology.
of Mahler’s tragic Sixth Symphony. by a bequest from the estate of Experience a spectacular musical
Experience the SF Symphony playing Katharine Hanrahan. illustration of “unity from diversity” as
these works paired together for the first the orchestra’s various families over-
time, ahead of the Orchestra’s 2020 come tribal differences and synthesize
European Tour. as one.
The World’s Greatest Synth experience
is the brainchild of composer and
DJ Mason Bates; seven-time Academy
Award-winning sound designer and
director Gary Rydstrom; and Academy
Award-nominated animator Jim Capobianco.
34 2019–20 Season Subscribe today! sfsymphony.org/ MTT25 35Season Calendar / APRIL–MAY Season Calendar / MAY
THU (O) MAY 7 10AM Gaffigan Leads Marsalis FRI (C) MAY 22 8PM MTT & Brahms’
THU (A) MAY 7 8 PM & Dvořák’s New World SAT (D) MAY 23 8PM A German Requiem
FRI (F) MAY 8 8 PM SUN (A) MAY 24 2PM
THU (C) APR 30 8PM BEETHOVEN250 SAT (B) MAY 9 8 PM Jessie Montgomery Starburst Ruggles Angels
FRI (E) MAY 1 8PM Mirga & Beethoven 5 Wynton Marsalis Violin Concerto Ruggles Sun-treader
SAT (A) MAY 2 8PM
Raminta Šerkšnytė Fires Dvořák Symphony No. 9, Brahms A German Requiem
Weinberg Violin Concerto From the New World
Michael Tilson Thomas conductor
Beethoven Symphony No. 5
James Gaffigan conductor Joélle Harvey soprano
SFS Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla conductor Nicola Benedetti violin TBD baritone
DEBUT! Gidon Kremer violin SF Symphony Chorus
The SF Symphony celebrates the
Ragnar Bohlin director
The electrifying Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, staggering diversity of the American
music director of the City of Sound. Former SFS resident conductor Enthralling, intimate, spacious,
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and current Chief Conductor of the human. In A German Requiem, Brahms
makes her SF Symphony debut at Lucerne Symphony Orchestra James crafts an exquisite hymn of consolation.
these performances of Beethoven’s Gaffigan brings a spirited program of MTT and the SF Symphony join forces
iconic Symphony No. 5, a work whose three radically different works—jazz with our majestic Chorus and superstar
opening four notes are among the icon Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto vocalists in this revelatory masterpiece,
most recognizable in all of music. (with sizzling virtuoso Nicola Benedetti); which ballasts an ambitious program
Mirga begins the program with a the multi-layered Starburst, by stylish of visionaries past and present.
thunderous and bluesy overture New York composer Jessie Montgom- Devoted to the discovery of America’s
by Lithuanian composer Raminta ery; and Dvořák’s quintessential vision musical voice, MTT pairs Brahms’
Šerkšnytė (who ingeniously slips in of the American frontier, the Symphony masterwork with two magically
a punchline that quotes Beethoven’s No. 9, From the New World. sonorous 20th-century pieces—Angels
Fifth), while leading violinist Gidon The Open Rehearsals are endowed and Sun-treader—both by pioneering
Kremer promises to enrapture by a bequest from the estate of composer Carl Ruggles, whose music
in Weinberg’s angular and lyric Katharine Hanrahan. MTT has esteemed for decades.
concerto, a composer championed
by both Mirga and Gidon.
THU (C) MAY 14 8PM MTT, Yuja, Sibelius, & Brahms
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla’s appearance
FRI (G) MAY 15 8PM
FRI (G) MAY 29 8PM Gardner & Montero: Tchaikovsky
is generously supported by the Sibelius Symphony No. 5 SAT (C) MAY 30 8PM
Shenson Young Artist Debut Fund.
SUN (B) MAY 17 2PM
SUN (B) MAY 31 2PM
Piano Concerto No. 1
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Michael Tilson Thomas conductor Stravinsky Fireworks
Yuja Wang piano Bartók Dance Suite
Prokofiev Scenes from Romeo
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Gidon The SF Symphony welcomes the return
and Juliet
Kremer, and the SF Symphony of piano superstar and MTT protégé
celebrate the 60th anniversary
of Weinberg’s imaginative Violin
Yuja Wang, who pours ferocious Edward Gardner conductor
Concerto in a year that follows technique into Brahms’ breakout piece, Gabriela Montero piano
the centennial of his birth. the Piano Concerto No. 1. MTT and the
Venezuelan Gabriela Montero injects
Orchestra open the program with the
her larger-than-life personality into
ebullient Fifth Symphony of iconic
Tchaikovsky’s scintillating thrill ride, the
Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, who
beloved and blistering Piano Concerto
conducted the work’s world premiere
No. 1. Edward Gardner, Chief Conductor
on his 50th birthday in a show of his
of the Bergen Philharmonic, leads the
vitality and vigor.
Orchestra in Bartók’s boisterous Dance
Suite, and in Prokofiev’s gorgeous and
lyrical Scenes from Romeo and Juliet.
36 2019–20 Season 37You can also read
