San Francisco Symphony presents a concert featuring Mark Inouye and Yuja Wang
2016-09-28
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
8:00 PM, Wednesday, September 28, 2016

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• Bright Sheng: “Overture” to Dream of the Red Chamber (SFS Commission)
• Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1
• Stravinsky: Le Chant du rossignol
• Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite (1919 version)

[8:00 PM lights down, announcements, tuning]

Bright Sheng (b. 1955): Dream of the Red Chamber Overture (2016; World premiere, SFS Commission)

1. [8:03 PM] (Opus)
   [work ends 8:12 PM; pause to reset some of the stage hardware; ready to go again by 8:15 PM]

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35 (1933), featuring Yuja Wang and Mark Inouye

1. [8:16 PM] Allegretto
2. [8:22 PM] Lento
3. [8:29 PM] Moderato – Allegro con brio
   [work ends 8:38 PM; applause and bows; offstage and back a few times]
    
   Yuja solo Encore
4. [8:40 PM] _?_
   [set ends 8:44 PM; off after another minute or two for applause]

[9:04 PM lights down, tuning]

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): Le Chant du rossignol (1917)

1. [9:m PM] (opus)
   [work ends 9:27 PM]

[9:28 PM tuning]

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): The Firebird Suite (1919 version)

1. [9:30 PM] Introduction
2. [9:32 PM] The Firebird and Her Dance
3. [9:34 PM] Round Dance of the Princesses
4. [9:39 PM] King Kaschei's Infernal Dance
5. [9:44 PM] Lullaby
6. [9:48 PM] Finale
   [show ends 9:50 PM; applause and bows for a few minutes, then all off]

San Francisco Symphony

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

• Mark Inouye: trumpet;
• Yuja Wang: piano.

Hearing Bright Sheng's opening Overture suggested to me that perhaps I should have tried harder to see his opera too, which premiered across the street at the War Memorial Opera House earlier this month (and had a final performance on 9/29). Hard to say. Although it's certain that seeing the opera would have been expensive! Anyways, I enjoyed hearing the work, with it's exotic tinge of Chinese modalities and percussion effects, and it disposes me to look forward to hearing more of his works on future SFS programs.

Yuja Wang was brilliant in her performance of Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1 in C minor, and luckily, we got an encore from her afterwards. Maybe someday I'll even find out what it was!

I really enjoyed the second half of the concert – all Stravinsky – though as with other pieces by Stravinsky, I got kind of distracted trying to keep my place (and thereby spot the movement changes) when I really should have just leaned back and listened. Anyways, the Infernal Dance was great fun, with the magnificently galumphing brass and woodwinds, and the finale was a thrilling this time as every other performance I've heard … it makes me want to leap to my feet and shout for joy at the end! Fortunately for the other audience members, I usually manage to restrain myself to simply clapping.

Janos Gereben posted an enthusiastic review of the following night's performance at SFCV, as did Joshua Kosman, posting for SFGATE. I guess everyone loves Yuja!

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