concert review: San Francisco Symphony

To the City this afternoon for some Russian music, under asst. conductor James Gaffigan. First, Stravinsky's arrangement of a pas de deux from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty for a tiny pit orchestra. The arranger and the composer were of highly different musical types, to say the least, but this works. I've noticed before the distinct tinny sound of a theatrical pit orchestra, and this performance proves that dubious playing quality has little to do with it: it's the balance of winds and brass outnumbering strings in what is still basically string-based music.

Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1, with Vadim Gluzman as soloist, is mostly a subdued piece with long slow movements, that whipped up enough fire in the fast conclusion to rouse the matinee audience from torpor.

Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances had a somewhat dull opening movement, normally my favorite part, but made up for this with sinuous flexibility in the slow movement and a colorfully creepy finale.