San Francisco Symphony presents a cello recital featuring Gabriel Martins
accompanied by Victor Santiago Asunciön
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
7:30 PM, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

[7:31 PM] {lights down, announcements, performers out}

Robert Schumann (1810–1856): Fantasiestücke, Opus 73 (1849)

1. [7:33 PM] Zart und mit Ausdruck (Tender and with expression)
2. [7:37 PM] Lebhaft, leicht (Lively, light)
3. [7:41 PM] Rasch und mit Feuer (Quick and with fire)
   [7:45 PM] {work ends; performers off briefly}

[7:46 PM] {performers back out; tuning}

Achille-Claude Debussy (1862–1918): Cello Sonata No. 1 in D minor (1915)

1. [7:46 PM] Prologue
2. [7:52 PM] Sérénade–
3. [7:56 PM] Finale
   [7:59 PM] {work ends; performers off briefly}

[8:00 PM] {performers back out}

Anton Webern (1883–1945): Drei kleine Stücke, Opus 11 (1914)

1. [8:00 PM] Mässige Achtel (Moderately)
2. [8:01 PM] Sehr bewegt (Moving a lot)
3. [8:02 PM] Äusserst ruhig (Extremely calm)
   [8:03 PM] {work ends; performers off briefly}

[8:04 PM] {performers back out}

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897): Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Opus 99 (1886)

1. [8:04 PM] Allegro vivace
2. [8:15 PM] Adagio affettuoso
3. [8:23 PM] Allegro passionate–Trio
4. [8:30 PM] Allegro molto
   [8:35 PM] {set ends; performers off briefly}

[8:37 PM] {Greetings from GN; introduction of the encore}

Robert Schumann: Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), Opus 15 (1838), Mvt VII Träumerei (Dreaming)

1. [8:38 PM] Träumerei (Dreaming)
   [8:41 PM] {applause; show ends}

• Gabriel Martins: cello;
• Victor Santiago Asunciön: piano.

Tonight's entertainment began with a comedy of errors as we tried various ways of fitting three adults into a pair of assigned seats, overflowing one way and then the other. Happily, everything got sorted out prior to the start of the performance, whew!

I felt like the show began with a sort of tentative vibe from GM, but it's certainly possible that was something written into the opening work from Schumann. While I'm not not familiar enough with it to know for sure, by the end, I was a happy listener!

I thought the Debussy piece was performed with much more gusto and conviction, but it's not one of my favorites, and I found my mind wandering about more than once during this part of the performance.

The Webern trifles are so short that you can blink and they're done. I'm not a big fan of his style. Good thing for me, that part of the show was over quickly!

I'm generally not a fan of Brahms, but repeated exposure to his Cello Sonata No. 2 has trained me well: I like it, and enjoyed tonight's rendition.

The encore for this show was another short piece, the floaty Träumerei from Schumann's Kinderszenen. I would have liked to hear a few more sections of that work (tonight's program was awful spare), but that will have to wait for another night!

Program Notes

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