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Olivier Latry at Davies Symphony Hall, October 21, 2018

San Francisco Symphony presents a solo Organ Series recital featuring Olivier Latry
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
3:00 PM, Sunday, October 21, 2018

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Set One

[3:00 PM lights down, announcements, OL out]

  1. [3:01 PM] François Couperin (1668–1733): Offertoire sur les Grands Jeux from Messe des paroisses (1690)
  2. [3:10 PM] Giovanni Battista Lulli AKA Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687): Menuet (transcribed by Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy 1633–1694)
  3. [3:14 PM] Giovanni Battista Lulli AKA Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687): Ouverture d'Isis, LWV 54 (1676) (transcribed by Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy 1633–1694)
  4. [3:17 PM] Giovanni Battista Lulli AKA Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687): Marche from Thésée, LWV 51 (transcribed by Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy 1633–1694)

[banter from OL]

  1. [3:20 PM] Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Chorale Prelude, Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 654 (1649)
  2. [3:28 PM] Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Fantasy in G minor, BWV 542 (ca. 1720, based on the 1868 version for piano by Franz Liszt)
  3. [3:35 PM] Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Fugue in G minor, BWV 542 (ca. 1720, based on the 1868 version for piano by Franz Liszt)

[set ends 3:41 PM]

Set Two

[4:02 PM lights down, OL out to play without a word]

  1. [4:03 PM] César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck (1822–1890): Chorale No. 3 in A minor from Three Chorales for Organ (1890)
  2. [4:17 PM] Johannes Brahms (1833–1897): Chorale Prelude, Es ist ein’ Ros' entsprungen, Opus 122, no.8, from Eleven Chorale Preludes (1896)
  3. [4:20 PM] Robert Schumann (1810–1856): Fugue No. 5 in F major from Six Fugues on the Name B.A.C.H. for organ or pedal-piano, Opus 60 (1845)
  4. [4:28 PM] Franz Liszt (1811–1886): Prelude and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H (1855, rev. 1870)

[banter from OL – preview of today's audience-submitted themes]

  1. [4:39 PM] Olivier Latry: Improvisation on Three Themes:
    I: George Gershwin: Summertime;
    II: Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Pantomime from Le Devin du Village AKA Rousseau's Dream AKA Greenville Hymn AKA Go Tell Aunt Rhody;
    III: John Williams: Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind
    [set ends 4:52 PM]

    Encore
  2. [4:53 PM] ? (unidentified)
    [show ends 4:58 PM]

Performers

Notes

More than 30 years into his career as organist of Notre-Dame de Paris, Olivier Latry certainly has the experience and chops to deliver a virtuouso recital. I was really happy to hear the older pieces of the first set – on average, I find early works to be far less bombastic than later pieces in the organ repertoire – as if “louder and faster” is the only possible direction for musical evolution. Not!

A good example of this is the sad and stately Chorale Prelude, Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, that came midway through the set. Perfect for turning thoughts inward for reverie!

To close the show, Latry set up a nice challenge for himself by taking audience suggestions – turned in at set break – and spinning out improvisations on those themes. While the tune selection is all over the map, Latry's treatment of these melodies was consistently respectful, and all three themes showed themselves as worthy vehicles for Latry's artistic expression.

Program Notes or program notes

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Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2018 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2018 event list! ☸ On to the next event!