San Francisco Performances presents Sol Gabetta, with Alessio Bax
2016-11-15
Herbst Theatre
401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-4522 USA
7:30 PM, Tuesday, November 15, 2016

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

• Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
• Brahms: Sonata No. 1
• Prokofiev: Adagio from Cinderella, Op. 97 bis
• Prokofiev: Sonata in C Major, Op. 119

[7:38 PM lights down, announcements]

Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 (1849)

1. [7:40 PM] Zart und mit Ausdruck
2. [7:43 PM] Lebhaft, leicht
3. [7:46 PM] Rasch und mit Feuer
   [work ends 7:50 PM … back in a minute or two]

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano in E minor, Op. 38 (1865)

1. [7:52 PM] Allegro non troppo
2. [8:06 PM] Allegretto quasi Menuetto
3. [8:12 PM] Allegro
   [set ends 8:19 PM; off after after applause, bows and a curtain call or two]

[8:43 PM lights down, announcements, band out]

1. [8:44 PM] Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): Adagio from Cinderella, Op. 97 bis (1944)
   [work ends 8:48 PM; continues without applause almost immediately into the next work]

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 119 (1949)

1. [8:48 PM] Andante grave; Moderato animato; Allegro moderato
2. [9:00 PM] Moderato; Andante dolce
3. [9:04 PM] Allegro ma non troppo; Andantino
   [set ends 9:12 PM; off after after applause, bows and a curtain call or two; back in a minute or two]

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849): Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 25, No. 7, (1834), arr. Glazunov (date unknown)

1. [9:15 PM] Lento
   [show ends 9:20 PM; more bows & applause, then it's a wrap!]

• Alessio Bax: piano;
• Sol Gabetta: cello.

Tonight was fun, though I have mixed feelings about sitting up in the fron box seat (good views!) versus down front and center (more enveloping sound). I suppose that if money were no object, I'd opt for the better sound up front, but given that I must necessarily make concessions to what I can afford, the box seat is an excellent compromise!

As for the program, I enjoyed the short Schumann opener, and the final Prokofiev sonata best. Brahms in the middle? Well, it wasn't bad, but I fin that his tendency to rely on dark thick sounds leads me to listen less carefully … why fight the murk? … and so I have little to say about that piece.

It would have been nice for Sol or Alessio to introduce the brief encore piece, but I can accept that information via other channels; thanks Mr. Kosman!

Joshua Kosman posted a review of the show for SF Gate – he seemed quite taken with the experience; in his own words, “gobsmacked”. I dunno. I agree that it was good, but gobsmacked? That expression is a little extreme!

This unattributed article from the Strad asserts that the sumptuous sound referenced by Kosman wasn't just hyperbole…

Program notes

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