concert revew: San Francisco Symphony

[calimac]

My first concert of the calendar year, and almost a month since the last one.

The first time I heard Edward Gardner guest conduct SFS, I thought he led hot and sizzling performances. Half of that Edward Gardner showed up this time.

The half that didn't led the Bruch G-minor Violin Concerto. Soloist Randall Goosby had a remarkably light and smooth tone, and drove his part forward pretty well, but as an orchestral piece this was bland and dull. I wasn't too excited by the rendition of Vaughan Williams's Overture to The Wasps either, though the sound of the orchestra was unusually broad and shiny, especially in the winds.

This sound quality reappeared in places like the flute choir passages of Holst's "Saturn," and yes, The Planets was the good half of the concert. Hot and sizzling it was when the score called for it, but the most remarkable movement was the quietest, "Neptune," a most crisp and clear but delicate performance of an often-fuzzy piece. I left stripped of the forebodings I'd felt during intermission.

Comments

[athenais]

I'm looking through the symphony's calendar trying to decide what to hear. I'm leaning towards a chamber music concert on February 1st, also maybe a performance of Mozart's Requiem, and there's Beethoven's 7th in February as well.

[calimac]

I'd recommend both the chamber music program and the Mozart Requiem. The former has a lot of rare stuff, and I've heard the Enescu Octet before, at Menlo: it's full of lyric melody and really interesting harmonies. The Mozart Requiem is apparently a theatrical adaptation, with a narrator and dramatic readings, so it should be quite unusual as well. Also one of the soloists is Sasha Cooke, so you can't go wrong.