SF Symphony presents a Friends Private Rehearsal featuring San Francisco Symphony
2014-06-19
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA
10:00 AM, Thursday, June 19, 2014

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Copland: Danzón Cubano
Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15

[9:10 AM Pre-show talk by Scott Fogelsong]
[talk ends 9:34 AM; off for coffee and donuts!]

[9:57 AM ready to go!]
[9:58 AM lights down, welcome and announcements from Scott Pingel]

1. [10:06 AM] Aaron Copland (1900-1990): _Danzón Cubano_ (1942)
   [work ends 10:13 AM]
   [extra practice, ends 10:20 AM]

[pause, ready to go at 10:22]

Edward Benjamin Britten (1913-1976): Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Op. 31 (1943) (ca. 25 minutes)
Lyrics

1. [10:25 AM] Prologue (horn solo)
2. [10:m AM] Pastoral, a setting of The Evening Quatrains by Charles Cotton (1630–1687)
3. [10:m AM] Nocturne, a setting of Blow, bugle, blow by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892)
4. [10:m AM] Elegy, a setting of The Sick Rose by William Blake (1757–1827)
5. [10:m AM] Dirge, a setting of the anonymous Lyke-Wake Dirge (fifteenth century).
6. [10:m AM] Hymn, a setting of Hymn to Diana by Ben Jonson (1572–1637)
7. [10:m AM] Sonnet, a setting of To Sleep by John Keats (1795–1821)
8. [10:m AM] Epilogue (horn solo; reprise of Prologue, played offstage)
   [set ends 11:03 AM – multiple takes of each movement? most had two]

[11:20 AM, back for the 15th!]
[11:24 AM lights down, announcements from MTT]

Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich (1906-1975): Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141 (1971) (ca. 42 minutes)

1. [11:27 AM] Allegretto
2. [11:43 AM] Adagio - Largo - Adagio - Allegretto
3. [12:03 AM] Allegretto
4. [12:m PM] Adagio - Allegretto - Adagio - Allegretto
   [rehearsal ends 12:21 PM]

• Toby Spence: tenor vox;
• Michael Tilson Thomas: conductor, music director;
• Robert Ward: French horn;
• symphony members vary by program, see the current list.

GA Rehearsal for Symphony Friends (donors)

Being an open rehearsal rather than a formal concert, this morning's event was notable in any number of areas. First off, the front five rows were tarped over – presumably to push the distraction of the audience further away than usual. Secondly, the only piece that received a straight, continuous performance was the Copeland opener. In the other cases, MTT would typically call for small changes or additional practice after concluding a movement. Without having the Britten text to follow, that made this work a bit difficult to track, and lacking words entirely, it made it darn near impossible for me to grasp the flow of the closing Shostakovich, particularly as it seemed that some of the movements were connected without a break, while other breaks were inserted as MTT saw fit. It was interesting to find out that assistant conductor Edwin Outwater was stationed in the audience with us, listening to the ensemble sound, and offering feedback on the overall sonic blend as called upon (“a little less violin, more cowbell”).

While the rehearsals aren't something I enjoy enough to make a practice of signing up for, it's nice to attend one every now and then to get a peek behind the scenes on some of the hard work that goes into creating this musical artistry. And being engaged in observing that work, I did a particularly crappy job of keeping track of the timing of the portions of today's practice. Consider anything listed as having only the barest connection to what actually occurred!

Stephen Smoliar posted a warm review for the Examiner.

Back to the previous event ☸ Back to the 2014 yearbox ☸ Back to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!