San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall, March 31, 2016

San Francisco Symphony presents Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the San Francisco Symphony, with Inon Barnatan, featured piano soloist
2016-03-31
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA
8:00 PM, Thursday, March 31, 2016

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• Copland: Orchestral Variations
• Copland: Inscape
• Copland: Piano Concerto
• Schumann: Symphony No. 2

[7:59 PM lights down, announcements, comments from MTT]

1. [8:03 PM] Aaron Copland (1900-1990): Orchestral Variations (1957)
   [work ends 8:17 PM; pause until 8:19 PM]
    
2. [8:22 PM] Aaron Copland (1900-1990): Inscape (1967)
   [work ends 8:35 PM; pause until 8:43 PM]

Aaron Copland (1900-1990): Piano Concerto (1926)

1. [8:45 PM] Andante sostenuto
2. [8:52 PM] Molto moderato (molto rubato) — Allegro assai
   [set ends 9:02 PM]

[9:22 PM lights down]

Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61 (1846)

1. [9:24 PM] Sostenuto assai — Allegro, ma non troppo
2. [9:37 PM] Scherzo: Allegro vivace
3. [9:45 PM] Adagio espressivo
4. [9:56 PM] Allegro molto vivace
   [show ends 10:05 PM; all off after a few minutes of applause]

• Inon Barnatan: piano;
• Michael Tilson Thomas: conductor, music director;
• symphony members vary by program; see the current list.

It was good to hear a bit of Copeland's output beyond Appalachian Spring and Hoedown. Too many programs seem to rely on the same old same old instead of digging deeper into the available possibilities. I suppose the notion is that the safe bet makes the most money. I doubt there much chance of a better payoff on the risky program choices: you either sell out the house, or you don't. Thus we tend to get programming that appeals most to the least adventurous listener. Kudos to MTT for resisting that tendency!

I enjoyed each of the Copeland works in the first half tonight, and I liked that each piece seemed to evidence different aspects of Copeland's creativity. Inon Barnatan was great, performing the Piano Concerto from memory – it's always amazing to witness feats beyond the reach of the lazy masses.

I guess I'd argue that the second half programming was a retreat towards the status quo, but all in all it was thoroughly enjoyable and quite well performed. As Roger Waters once wrote, “You can't have your pudding if you don't eats your meat.”

Niels Swinkels posted a review of the show on SFCV.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2016 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2016 event list! ☸ On to the next event!