San Francisco Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, presents the U.S. Premiere of Danny Elfman's Cello Concerto, with Gautier Capuçon, featured guest cello soloist
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
2:00 PM, Sunday, November 13, 2022

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[2:05 PM] {lights down; pre-recorded announcements}
[2:06 PM] {MTT out; quick pre-performance talk about the genesis & revision of the first work}

Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971): Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920, revised 1947)

1. [2:13 PM] (Opus)
   [2:24 PM] {work ends}
   [2:25 PM] {pause to set the stage for the next piece: we end up with a weird configuration today - the 2nd violin & cello sections have swapped places, with the contrabass section then moved behind the cellos}

[2:28 PM] {concert tuning; enter MTT & GC}

Danny Elfman (b. 1953): Cello Concerto (2022) [SF Symphony Commission; U.S. Premiere]

1. [2:29 PM] Searching
   [2:33 PM] {MTT aborts things, quick apology: we're going to start all over}
2. [2:34 PM] Searching
3. [2:44 PM] Molto (almost) perpetuo
4. [2:52 PM] Meditation
5. [3:02 PM] Homecoming
   [3:11 PM] {set ends; applause for DE, GC, MTT, & SFS}
   [3:14 PM] {set break!}

[3:33 PM] {lights down; concert tuning; enter MTT}

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893): Serenade for Strings (1880)

1. [3:34 PM] Pezzo in forma di sonatina
2. [3:45 PM] Walzer
3. [3:50 PM] Elegie
4. [4:00 PM] Finale, Tema russo
   [4:08 PM] {set ends; applause}
   [4:11 PM] {all done}

San Francisco Symphony

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

• Gautier Capuçon: cello.

The Elfman Cello Concerto premiered in March 2022 in Vienna. This weekend was the first U.S. performance, today being the third and final show of the residency here. I thought it was OK, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the other two works on the program. Nothing about it turned me off, and my strongest complaint is that at times it sounded so busy that it was hard to follow individual elements of the sound. Could be something cured by listening to a careful recording, or perhaps by giving the symphony additional time to rehearse. I'll be curious to learn whether the work joins the active rotation of modern repertoire.

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Program Notes or program notes

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2022 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2022 event list! ☸ On to the next event!