Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco, CA)
Immerse yourself in the ardent pathos of this trio of Russian classics. Captivating 26-year-old pianist Orion Weiss takes center stage in Rachmaninoff's fiery "Second Piano Concerto," bookended by Mussorgsky's "A Night on Bald Mountain" and the intoxicating strains of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade."
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
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The last date listed for My Classic Russian Composers was Thursday July 23, 2009 / 8:00pm. (view all dates)
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Another grand night for the SF Symphony - the solists, especially the bassoonist, flutist and first violinist, were exceptional. The pianist did credit to the Rach 2 with style. Gafigan is an utterly endearing and lovable conductor
Popular, crowd pleasing program. The sound of the piano was dominated by the orchestra on most of the louder passages, the sound engineer should have done a better job balancing.
I attended chiefly to hear the Rachmoninoff which is one of my favorite pieces of music--- and one I rarely have the occasion to hear live. I was thinking of the other two pieces as merely window-dressing--- was I wrong!
Particular standouts for the evening were the flute and violin soloists for Night on Bald Mountain and Sheherazade. After a frenetic opening and middle section, the still, clear and lyrical flute beautifully captured the sense of dawn and new life which closes the piece. The horns were at times too loud, but all in all, nicely done. The same for Sheherezade where the first chair beautifully offered lilting sounds of suggestion and passion as the voice of the story-teller. It was clear this last piece was the orchestra's favorite, hanging on the conductor's baton yet also pushing him on to new heights of emotion.
The concerto, though? Deeply disappointing. Weiss played notes faithfully, but generally without art. No high places, no arc of emotion. I actually found myself bored at times! The friend who accompanied me had been listening to my build-up all week and look at me quite puzzled after the event: he found the concerto dull. With piano concerti the soloist really needs to *own* the piece and the stage and for most of the performance Weiss seemed background music at best.
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Completed in September, 1980 after more than two years of construction, Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall is the home of the San Francisco Symphony.
During the summer of 1992, Davies Symphony Hall underwent a major renovation, enhancing its acoustics to ensure an even better musical experience, and making an already stunning interior more beautiful still.
The San Francisco Symphony's home owes its
Website: http://www.sfsymphony.org/season/Event.aspx?eventid=38088
Artists
James Gaffigan, conductor
Orion Weiss, piano
Program
Mussorgsky: A Night on Bald Mountain
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
The San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas present more than 220 concerts each year from September through July in a variety of genres, with SFS musicians performing classical concerts, holiday favorites, summer pops events, free outdoor concerts, special series for families and children, plus presentations of visiting guest artists and orchestras from around the globe. The San Francisco Symphony also takes its unique style to audiences world-wide, touring nationally and internationally every year. The SFS is currently recording all the Mahler symphonies on its own media label and has recently launched Keeping Score, a national, multi-year, multi-media project bringing classical music to millions of Americans via TV, radio, the Internet and more.