The San Francisco Symphony and music director Michael Tilson Thomas have covered a lot of ground since the start of the new season. From the Gala opening to concerts presented for inclusion as Global Climate Action Summit affiliate events, and the first part of a two-week Stravinsky Festival, September at Davies Symphony Hall has been amazing.
Audience response has ranged from surprise to exhilaration, and a significant theme has emerged. In his penultimate season, MTT has no intention of becoming a lame duck. His innovations have permeated the concerts, and instead of fretting over his successor, fans and the faithful can rest assured he has a clear eye on the future.
MTT has certainly been there and done that, and matured through his many personal relationships with composers like Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and Igor Stravinsky. Last season, Bernstein was thanked with an early centennial birthday celebration. Copland's iconic "Appalachian Spring" was the finale of the recent Global Action Summit program.
Stravinsky's influence is apparent in the current Festival, highlighted by the composer's three remarkable ballets written for Diaghilev's fabled Ballets Russes. The second half of last week's concert was devoted to a complete performance of "The Firebird."
The melodrama for voices, narrator, and orchestra "Persephone," with Nicholas Phan, the Pacific Boychoir (Andrew Brown, director), San Francisco Girls Chorus (Valerie Sainte-Agathe, director), SFS Chorus (Ragnar Bohlin, director), and Leslie Caron opened the Festival. It was a satisfying night that deserved the marketing title "Rebellious Beauty." The elegant "Persephone" (libretto by Andre Gide) proved an ideal counterweight to the thrilling sonorities of "The Firebird."
The luxury casting of renowned French actress and dancer Leslie Caron (the girl who charmed Gene Kelly in "An American in Paris," and indelibly played the title role in the Academy Award-winning "Gigi") as narrator in "Persephone" added idiomatic warmth to the timeless legend.
Resplendent in buttercup yellow couture, Caron still blended well with the ensemble. Her speaking voice has grown slightly tremulous, and she was the only performer with a mic, but after adjusting to the sound, her native French pronunciation and musically nuanced reading cast an appealing spell.
Tenor Nicholas Phan (Eumolpus) was strained in Part I, but quickly refreshed to offer a fine performance, sustained by the orchestra's sympathetic support. The choral forces interpreted the text with delicacy and unanimous response.
Performing "The Firebird" complete made a long night. Without dancers or graphics (there were a few supertitles) to fill in the blanks, the SFS relied on MTT's insight to make a compelling case. The glorious Finale, more powerful for being presented in context, brought the audience to its feet.
The previous week had all the visuals one could hope for, and then some. Presented as affiliate events of the Global Climate Action Summit, the four performances moved the ambience of SoundBox to DSH for a something-for-everyone jam that worked on every level.
The environmental crisis theme of the Summit framed the concert, but a Vegas-style presentation (with lots of mood lighting) by star pianist Yuja Wang of Ravel's Piano Concerto in D Major for the Left Hand was probably the biggest draw.
Ms. Wang has the talent and technique to satisfy even the grumpiest critics, and while her increasingly flamboyant costumes threaten a turn towards Liberace, she has the youth, good humor, and ability to make it work. The electric-magenta Cher-meets-Ariel number she wore on the last day of the conference drew whistles of admiration. They turned to whistles of appreciation after her stunning performance.
My seatmate was a visiting speaker at the Summit. She drily wondered if Wang would play some Schumann for an encore. We smiled when she chose a Rachmaninoff Prelude.
An unbilled appearance by singer Abigail Washburn started the night with some Appalachian coal-mining songs. The screens above the orchestra filled with images of international miners. Some were from the Coal + Ice Project at Fort Mason Center. Contributors videographer Clyde Scott and lighting designer Luke Kritzeck also supplied dramatic graphics for the first SFS performances of Niccolo Castiglioni's "Inverno in-ver."
The obscure score (1973/1978) is surprisingly pretty and a relatively simple listening experience. The modernist tone poem depicting winter takes on darker contemporary meaning with the new visuals. It was a fitting testament to MTT's commitment with the SFS to the relevance of arts institutions.
The concert closed with Copland's beloved ballet "Appalachian Spring." There were projections, but they were simpler. Our international visitor turned and asked, "Do they always do this?" I answered, "Only sometimes." She grinned and said, "It was a lovely concert, and you have a lovely city."
The Stravinsky Festival ends this week with two more groundbreaking ballets, "Petrushka" and "The Rite of Spring." Leonidas Kavakos will play the Violin Concerto in D.
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