Latest news with #SanFranciscoSymphony
San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
From Iceland to the Bay Area, Anna Thorvaldsdottir maps the music of a changing world
Icelandic composer Anna Thordvaldsdottir's music rumbled through Davies Symphony Hall in May when the San Francisco Symphony presented the world premiere of her explosive cello concerto 'Before we fall.' Bay Area audiences will have another chance to hear Thordvaldsdottir's mighty sonic world brought to life at the Cabrillo Festival when 'Catamorphosis' receives its West Coast premiere from the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra under the baton of Music Director Cristian Măcelaru on Aug. 9. On the same program is Lou Harrison's Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra and the world premiere of Brooklyn-based composer Darian Donovan Thomas' 'Flowercloud.' 'Catamorphosis' (2020), is a dramatic, existential work that explores our relationship with the world around us. According to program notes on her website, the piece is 'characterized by the orbiting vortex of emotions and the intensity that comes with the fact that if things do not change it is going to be too late, risking utter destruction – catastrophe.' Thordvaldsdottir has been commissioned by many of the world's top orchestras, including the Berlin, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, but her work was once seldom played on Bay Area stages. That changed when conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen brought her 'Metacosmos ' to San Francisco in 2019—after conducting its world premiere in New York the year before—as part of his first concert with the San Francisco Symphony after being named its music director designate. Thorvaldsdottir's musical training began as a cellist. Later, she studied composition at the Iceland Academy for the Arts then moved out to California for four years to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of San Diego. 'It was a wonderful place to be and a very creative environment,' she said. 'And I've always loved coming back. California was so different from Iceland—that was the only place I'd lived before I moved—so it was spectacular.' Q: You've written that the inspiration behind 'Catamorphosis' was the fragile relationship we have to the Earth. Since you first wrote it, has your perspective changed? A: I don't usually talk so explicitly about direct inspirations. But in this case, it was just such a big part of the overall aura and the urgency of the piece. How it moves and the battles it fights and also the hope that it attempts to show. I also just wanted to say, "Hey, this is what I was thinking about." A: (But) inspiration is only the beginning and then it's a lot of technical work about the music. So nobody needs to know anything. And they find something for themselves, ideally. Q: A few years ago, you said in an interview that you literally draw out the music before you put it into notation. How does that help with your process? A: This is really a mnemonic device for me, because when the mind is starting to find the ideas and the aura and the atmosphere for each piece—lyricism, harmony, all these things that come together to be the music. It's so quick for me to draw it out. Sometimes it's words, sometimes it's very graphic, always very textual because it really depicts what it is that I'm hearing to remember the music. Q: Do you ever forget a compositional idea prior to writing it down? A: Well, probably, but never so that I've missed it. But the thing is, it's so magical. The mind keeps working and I believe that then you just turn it into something better, in a way. You may not lose it, but you may kind of change it without even knowing. Q: Does writing come to you in bursts of inspiration, or do you write until you've reached a goal for the day? A: With the actual music making you go from nothing to the idea of a piece. A lot of that happens in my mind and with the sketching, because I never sit down with a paper and pencil and the notation paper unless I know exactly what I'm writing. So much of it happens with myself living with the music in real time in my head and singing, because you can't be doing a million different other things when you're finding the music. I never use an instrument because I usually am writing for a lot of different instruments and I can listen to them in my mind.' I'm obsessed with structure and I always need to be checking myself. So this is what I do in my head and with the sketches — for me it's a map. Q: Do you prefer pencil and paper or computer? A: I'm still on paper, always, first. But that's also because it has so much freedom. You can have big, big pieces of paper, whereas a computer screen can only be [so] big. And [I don't want] a program telling [me], "no, this is not possible." In the end, when I put [the music] into the computer, I find ways to communicate some things that are not so straightforward in the notation. A: As you said, I was not a part of the production or making the film at all, but I got sent part of the script a year and a half before the movie came out. I was very curious, so I just asked a couple of questions and then, and because they were asking if it was okay to use my piece, I learned [that it] was one of the first scenes that he wrote [for] the movie. I thought, yeah 'that's incredible like using my art and myself, perhaps, to make your own art.' So I wasn't involved, but I really liked the movie. I saw it.
San Francisco Chronicle
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Your guide to the best summer classical music in the Bay Area, from opera to experimental sound
History-making budgetary constraints — due in great measure to funding cuts — for many classical arts organizations have created a challenging environment for local arts communities. Despite these setbacks, the Bay Area remains a creative hotbed, and this summer's live music offerings are proof, with a worthy lineup of opera, orchestral, world and chamber music events. Enjoy the diverse curation of the popular Yerba Buena Gardens Festival performance series and the San Francisco Symphony's stellar summer programming. And be sure to seek out noteworthy productions that may be flying under the radar, with publicity options diminished by slashed operational budgets. San Francisco Merola Opera Program Each summer a fresh group of pre-professional opera students get an opportunity to participate in the San Francisco Opera's well-established training program. This year's performances are scheduled to include showcase concerts with orchestral accompaniment, a production of Rossini's 'Le Comte Ory' and a grand finale. Schwabacher Summer Concert: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 10; 2 p.m. Saturday, July 12. $10-$35 • 'Le Comte Ory': 7:30 p.m. July 31; 2 p.m. Aug. 2. $10-$65, reservations required. San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak St., S.F. • S.F. Merola Grand Finale: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16. War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., S.F. $10-$85. 415-864-3330. Philharmonia Baroque: Coffee Concerts Take a coffee break with Philharmonia Baroque musicians as they present live classical music — as heard in 18th century salons and coffeehouses —performed on period instruments. Upcoming programs are 'Back to the Baroque,' 'Freshly Brewed Baroque' and 'Bach Before Noon.' 11 a.m.-noon Tuesday, July 15, Aug. 12 and Sept. 16. Free. The Conservatory, 1 Sansome St., S.F. 415-252-1288. Noontime Concerts: Redwood Virtuosi The historic San Francisco cathedral hosts a live chamber music program featuring violinist Alicia Yang, violist Caroline Lee and cellist Joyce Yang performing works by Mozart, Strauss and Dohnányi. 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 15. Free, donations encouraged. Old Saint Mary's Cathedral, 660 California St., S.F. 415-777-3211. San Francisco Early Music Society: 'Secret Byrd' Attend a theatrical live concert experience honoring the 400-year legacy of English composer William Byrd. It is set to feature live performances from English vocal ensemble, the Gesualdo Six and Bay Area-based early string ensemble, Wildcat Viols set with dramatic, candlelit stagecraft by Concert Theatre Works. 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, July 17-18. $60-$75. Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St., S.F. 510-831-3077. Sunset Music and Arts This year, the local concert series housed in a cozy Sunset district venue celebrates its 11-year anniversary. Upcoming performers scheduled include pianist Matt Mangels, mezzo-soprano Nicole Takesono and guitarist Sharon Wayne. 6 p.m. Saturday, July 19; 3 p.m. Aug. 2. Free-$25. Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 1750 29th Ave., S.F. 415-564-2324. Grand Feature Film Orchestra: 'The Hitch-Hiker' Attend a screening of the classic 1953 Ida Lupino film noir crime drama with live orchestral accompaniment. 2 p.m. Sunday, July 20. $15-$45. Marina Theatre, 2149 Chestnut St., S.F. Shenson Faculty Concert Series A summer performance series spotlights the talents of the Community Music Center's faculty. Upcoming performers scheduled include cellist Ben Snellings, Michael Spiro and Juan Carlos Entrambasaguas. 7 p.m. Thursday, July 24, Aug. 7 and 14. Free. Community Music Center, 544 Capp St., S.F. 415-647-6015. Grace Cathedral Organ Recital Series Spend an hour enjoying a performance on the cathedral's historic Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ. Concerts scheduled include Stefan Madrak and Lauma Akmene. 3 p.m. Aug. 3 and Sept. 7. Free. Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St., S.F. 415-749-6300. American Bach Soloists: S.F. Bach Festival The festival begins with a series of lectures and master classes Aug. 4-8. The main programming begins on Aug. 6, with daily performance programs featuring works by Bach, Handel, Telemann, Purcell, Vivaldi and others. Featured artists include violinists Elizabeth Blumenstock, harpsichordist Corey Jamason, cellist Joseph Howe and others. The final program will feature members of the 2025 American Bach Academy and the entire American Bach Soloists ensemble. Master classes: 4:30 p.m. Aug. 4-8. Free • Concerts: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 4-9. 4 p.m. Aug. 10. $20-$65. S.F. Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak St., S.F. 415-621 7900. San Francisco International Piano Festival: 'Ravel 150' Join San Francisco International Piano Festival founder Jeffrey LaDeur in celebration of the event's eighth year as well as the 150th birthday of Maurice Ravel. Featuring hidden gems and better known works from the composer, it is set to include seven concerts featuring pianists LaDeur, Gwendolyn Mok, Stephen Prutsman, Asiya Korepanova, Paul Sánchez, Sandra Wright Shen and Ariel Chien. The festival offers solo piano as well as small ensemble performances — with sopranos Esther Rayo and Heidi Moss Erickson, mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich, baritone Simon Barrad, violinist Chili Ekman and the Aveta Trio — over the festival's 10 days. Piano master classes from Mok, LaDuer and Sanchez are scheduled at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's grand 11th floor recital hall atop its newest Bowes Center building. Performances: 7 p.m. Aug. 21. $75. Maybeck Studio, 1537 Euclid Ave., Berkeley • 8 p.m. Aug. 22, 29 and 30; 4 p.m. Aug. 24 and 31. Free-$30. Old First Concerts, 1751 Sacramento St., S.F. • 12:30 p.m. Aug. 26. Free. Old St. Mary's Cathedral, 660 California St., S.F. Master classes: 3 p.m. Aug. 26, 28-29. Free. Barbro Osher Recital Hall, Bowes Center, 200 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 877-497-4266. East Bay Pocket Opera: 'La Vie Parisienne' The small-scale opera troupe — founded by Donald Pippin over 45 years ago — has been under the direction of Nicolas Aliaga Garcia since Pippin's death at 95 in 2021. Catch one of the final performances in this year's summer season, Offenbach's 'La Vie Parisienne.' 2 p.m. Sunday, July 13, at Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Berkeley • 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 20, at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View • 2 p.m. July 27, at Legion of Honor, 100 34th Ave., S.F. 415-972-8934. West Oakland Sound Series New Performance Traditions and sfSound present a new music and experimental sound series. Upcoming concerts include Lisa Mezzacappa 5(ish), George Rogers - Lorin Benedict Duo, Ernst Karel, the Glitch Bloom, Karl Evangelista, Francis Wong, Jordon Glenn and others. 7 p.m. Sunday, July 13, 27 and Aug. 3. $10-$25, reservations recommended. Dresher Ensemble Studio, 2201 Poplar St., Oakland. Rootstock Arts Music Series Wyldflowr Arts hosts a weekly live performance series with an emphasis on Indian classical music. Upcoming performances include violinist Arun Ramamurthy, electronics artist Steve McQuarry, percussionist Sameer Gupta, vocalist Jaya Vidyasagar, saxophonist Prasant Radhakrishnan, vocalist Swati Javeri and others. 7 p.m. Thursday, July 17, 24 and July 31-Aug. 2. Ongoing. $10-$20. Wyldflower, 809 37th St., Oakland. 510-842-5055. Midsummer Mozart Festival Orchestra Celebrate the life and music of Mozart with a program of orchestral works by the prolific composer conducted by Ryan Murray. A Bay Area institution founded in 1974, the festival presents its summer season, featuring piano soloist John Wilson along with other distinguished local artists. 7:30 p.m. July 25. $25-$50. Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley • 6:45 p.m. July 26. $70-$85. Buena Vista Winery, 18000 Old Winery Road, Sonoma • 6:30 p.m. July 27. $40-$90. Mountain Winery Amphitheater, Saratoga. 510-219-0798. Outsound New Music Summit The creation of experimental music, avant-garde musical composition and improvisation are the focus of a three-day new music event that's set to include a genre-bending program, electronics and intermedia works. 7:30 p.m. July 25 and July 27; 6:30 p.m. July 26. $17-$25. Finnish Hall, 1970 Chestnut St., Berkeley. 510-845-5352. Calliope: East Bay Music & Art The East Bay series is scheduled to include performances from Destiny Muhammad Trio, Erica and Friends in a program of 'Songs of the British Isles and Ireland.' Singer-songwriters Judi Jaeger and Bob Reid offer ukulele and guitar-driven original pieces. 4 p.m. July 27, Aug. 17 and Sept. 14. $15-$45. Saint Alban's Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington Ave., Berkeley. Festival Opera Salon Series: 'Baroque Queens' The company will present three salon productions. The first, focused on baroque works, will feature mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz, cellist Joshua Mikus-Mahoney, baroque guitarist Jon Mendle and harpsichordist Zachary Gordin performing works by Monteverdi, Handel, Purcell and others. The second, 'American Song Cycles' features pianist Daniel Lockert and soprano Carrie Hennessey performing works by Jake Heggie and Julia Seeholzer. Program three, 'Bel Canto Forever: Famous Duets for Virtuosic Voices' presents soprano Shawnette Sulker, contralto Sara Couden and pianist Zachary Gordin in a program of works from Rossini, Bellini, Delibes and Meyerbeer. 4 p.m. July 27; Aug. 24 and Sept. 28. $45-$90. Piedmont Center for the Arts, 801 Magnolia Ave., Piedmont. West Edge Opera: Festival 2025 The venerable local opera company's annual summer programming offers Nicolás Lell Benavides' civil rights-focused contemporary work 'Dolores' — including an opening night dinner honoring midcentury labor leader-activist Dolores Huerta. The season continues with Marc-Antoine Charpentier's 1688 Baroque opera, 'David and Jonathan' and Alban Berg's 1922 modern masterwork, 'Wozzeck.' 2 p.m. Aug. 2-3, 9-10 and 16-17; 8 p.m. Aug. 9, 14 and 16. $22-$172. Scottish Rite Center, 1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland. 510-841-1903. Cal Performances: Angélique Kidjo and Yo-Yo Ma Vocalist Kidjo and cellist Ma present 'Sarabande Africaine,' with Thierry Vaton, David Donatien and special guest Sinkane, as part of Cal Performances' Illuminations: 'Exile & Sanctuary' programming. 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30. $65–$285. Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Road, UC Berkeley. 510-642-9988. North Bay Kitka Trio Community Sing Enjoy singing with a trio of Kitka vocalists during a free community program. Singers featured include Kelly Atkins, Kristine Barrett, Janet Kutulas, Maclovia Quintana, Charlotte Finegold and Stacey Barnett. 2 p.m. Saturday, July 12. Rincon Valley Library, 6959 Montecito Blvd., Santa Rosa • 2 p.m. July 26. Roseland Library, 70 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa • 2 p.m. Aug. 9. Sonoma Valley Library, 755 W. Napa St., Sonoma. 510-444-0323. Valley of the Moon Music Festival: 'Liaisons' This esteemed music festival, founded and run by cellist Tanya Tomkins and pianist Eric Zivian, is devoted to chamber music performed on period instruments. Set over three weekends, its 11th season celebrates artistic and personal connections across centuries. An intergenerational lineup of musicians is set to perform works by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Nadia Boulanger and others. 2:30 p.m. Saturday, July 12, 19; 4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 12-13, 19-20 and 26-27; 6 p.m. July 25; 11 a.m. July 27. See website for details. $15-$48. Hanna Boys Center, 17000 Arnold Drive, Sonoma. PianoSonoma The Sonoma County summer concert series' 15th season takes place over four evenings and offers wine tastings before each performance. This year's programming includes works by Bach, Piazzolla, world premieres by composer Peter Dugan and a program of works by Ravel in celebration of the composer's 150th birthday. 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, July 15, 17, 22 and 24. $31. Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. 707-664-4246. Festival Napa Valley The annual summer festival of music, wine and food returns with events at the Culinary Institute of America, Jarvis Conservatory and the Meritage Resort in Napa, Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena, Nickel & Nickel in Oakville, and other locations. Scheduled highlights include the Royal Opera of Versailles performing Donizetti's 'La Fille du Régiment,' a documentary film screening of 'Flicka,' followed by a Q&A with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, appearances by Jon Batiste, pianist Forrest Eimold performing works by Gordon Getty and more. Through Sept. 1. Individual tickets free-$35; festival passes $3,750-$12,000. Various Napa Valley venues. 707-346-5052. Music in the Vineyards The three-week classical chamber music performance series, set in vineyards and venues around Napa, will kick off with a program titled 'Poetry in Music,' featuring chamber works by Haydn, Schoenberg and Schubert. The Borromeo, Pavone, Ariel and Pacifica string quartets are set to perform weekly evening performances. And its annual interactive concert will feature a program with music by Handel, Mendelssohn with the audience encouraged to play-along with Pachelbel's famous 'Canon.' Various times Aug. 1-24. $10-$400, reservations required. Multiple locations in Napa. 707-258-5559. Music and Minds: Zsigmond Gerlóczy The virtuosic 29-year-old Hungarian pianist will perform a solo concert featuring original works and interpretations of jazz standards in an intimate music salon setting. 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16. $85-$92.55. Music and Minds, Kehoe Way, Inverness. South Bay Stanford Live's Summer@Live Formerly known as the Stanford Live Arts Festival, the annual concert series showcases a wide range of musical styles. This year's programming includes the San Francisco Symphony on Thursday, July 10, and July 17, 'Tamasha: An Extravaganza of Desi Fusion' featuring Bollywood performer Raja Kumari on Saturday, July 12, and the 'Imua Hawaii Festival' with Jake Shimabukuro on Saturday, July 19. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 10 and 17; 5 p.m. Saturday, July 12, and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 19. $35-$105. Frost Amphitheater, Stanford University. 650-724-2464. Schola Cantorum Sing-In Series Learn to sing choral masterworks by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Mozart and Beethoven in a series of summer choir workshops set to be led by local conductors. 7:30 p.m. Monday July 14, 21, 28, Aug. 4 and 11. $25, reservations recommended. Los Altos United Methodist Church, 655 Magdalena Ave., Los Altos. 650-254-1700. Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival: 'Constellations: Ensemble Magic' Take a deep dive into the world of chamber music with world-class artists set to perform as part of the nearly monthlong series. Programming will include a variety of concert formats with featured musicians, collaborative programming with rising artists, master classes, lectures and more. Performers scheduled include pianists Gilbert Kalish and Wu Han, cellist David Finckel, violinists Kristin Lee and Benjamin Beilman, violist Masumi Rostad, tenor Nicholas Phan, the Viano String Quartet, and others. Begins Friday, July 18. Through Aug. 9. Free-$90. Menlo School, 50 Valparaiso Ave., Atherton. 650-330-2030. Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: 'Colorful and Courageous' For more than 50 years, this annual celebration of contemporary orchestral music in Santa Cruz has been the place to be for new music fans. This summer's lineup, led by Music Director Cristian Macelaru and guest conductor Daniela Candillari, presents new and recent work by composers-in-residence Jake Heggie, John Corigliano, Stacy Garrop, Jennifer Higdon, Rene Orth, Aleksandra Vrebalov and others.
Forbes
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Metallica Returns To A Chart That Seems A Strange Fit For The Band
Metallica returns to Billboard's Classical Albums chart at No. 24 with S&M, a 25-year-old live set ... More with the San Francisco Symphony. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 06: James Hetfield (L) and Kirk Hammett of Metallica perform with the San Francisco Symphony during the "S&M2" concerts at the opening night at Chase Center on September 06, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by) Metallica lives on Billboard's hard rock charts, where the group never completely disappears. Sometimes the band remains present with just one album, while in other instances, the rockers claim a successful project and one or even several popular songs. At the moment, Metallica finds space not just on the hard rock-focused lists, but also on those focused on more general rock music, as well as some rankings that don't stick to only one style, but rather, a single form of consumption. The legends even managed to return to one tally in America that has nothing to do with rock music. Metallica Returns to the Classical Albums Chart Metallica finds its way back to the Classical Albums chart this week. The group reappears at No. 24 with S&M, a live recording that flips many of the band's tunes on their head and makes them sound completely different from how most fans know them. The project is credited not only to Metallica but also to Michael Kamen, conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. S&M Peaked Inside the Top 10 S&M debuted on the Classical Albums tally in March 2020, and the set reached its high point of No. 8 in September of that year. Including this latest stay, the project has now spent 27 weeks among the most successful classical recordings in the United States. Its follow-up, S&M2, was even more successful. In the same week S&M reached its peak in September 2020, S&M2 debuted at No. 1, where it would go on to spend 10 weeks. That full-length has now racked up exactly a year on the Classical Albums ranking. Metallica's S&M Recently Turned 25 Metallica released S&M in November 1999, and the album recently turned 25 years old. The masterpiece, which is widely regarded as one of the most impressive live albums of all time, sees the band performing some of its most familiar singles — such as 'Master of Puppets,' 'Nothing Else Matters,' and 'Enter Sandman' — with the backing of the San Francisco Symphony, whose performance adds a new element to the heavy metal group's catalog. Metallica, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets Hit the Sales Chart Metallica scores a number of hit albums in America this week. In addition to S&M, the group's self-titled effort appears on four rankings, including the Billboard 200, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, and Top Hard Rock Albums, where it holds at No. 8. Both Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets join Metallica on the Top Album Sales chart, where all three dip from their positions the previous frame. The group also sees 'Enter Sandman' continue to chart inside the top 10 on both the Hard Rock Streaming Songs and Hard Rock Digital Song Sales tallies at the same time.
San Francisco Chronicle
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Breakout moment': S.F. Symphony marks a first in 88th visit to Stern Grove Festival
Of all the antiquated and exotic stringed instruments that have been performed in the San Francisco Symphony, it had never had a ukulele on its stage backed by a full orchestra until Sunday afternoon at Stern Grove. The performance was by Taimane, a Hawaiian virtuoso who was discovered busking on the streets of Waikiki by none other than Don Ho, who brought her onto his show at age 13. Back then she called him 'Uncle Don.' Now she is 36 and tours the world with her own stringed quartet, but never before this weekend had she played with a major orchestra on the mainland, and she put it through the test by using elements of Led Zeppelin and Jefferson Airplane along with Bach. Her mission was to 'provide perspective for people who only know the ukulele as a toy or a souvenir,' Taimane said before the show as she huddled in her dressing room with her band, drinking hot tea and trying to stay warm in the summer fog. 'The ukulele is kind of an underdog, but it can be as serious as a violin.' Audiences love underdogs, and 50,000 people signed up in advance for Sunday's annual performance by the San Francisco Symphony, which has performed at the grove for 88 years. Performers wear their summer white coats to blend in with the fog and the program can be counted on to push the boundaries, though never as far as an electric ukulele. 'It's all about introducing people to classical music,' said Carissa Casaldo, who programs the summer show and recruited Taimane after hearing her perform on an NPR program called 'Tiny Desk.' She then flew to Hawaii in April to see her perform with the Hawaiian Orchestra. 'I wanted someone upbeat and relevant and trend-forward,' said Casaldo, who came to San Francisco a year ago from the Seattle Symphony. 'It's all about introducing people to classical music. The Stern Grove audience is not the same as the audience at Davies Hall.' For one thing tickets are free with a reservation, and with a lottery system inaugurated this year, there were 10,000 winners from 50,000 applicants. The free show is supported by donors who get a table in front of the hillside. On Sunday, for the first time since the COVID-19 shutdown, table donors were also invited into the historic Trocadero Clubhouse for a pre-show interview with a KALW radio host and Symphony conductor, Edwin Outwater, who is also director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. A standing-room-only crowd piled in to see the old wooden barn with a bullet hole in the front door for the first time since a tree fell on the roof and put it out of commission in 2022. It has now been rebuilt. 'It's a grand reopening of a unique part of Stern Grove that we haven't been able to use for years, since a tree smashed it to smithereens,' said Bob Fiedler, executive director of the Stern Grove Festival. It was Taimane's second show with the San Francisco Symphony, having opened the weekend with a July Fourth fireworks show at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. 'They were great to watch, to listen to, and to escape to a tranquil state of mind,' associate principal bass player Daniel Smith said before Sunday's show. 'In other words, they were sick.' Taimane had never before played San Francisco and personalized it by having the band wear traditional lei po'o wreaths that the band's dancer had scrounged from Stern Grove vegetation. It was a big moment for the ukulele, and the band played in the dressing room for half an hour before taking the stage so the players' fingers would be warm in the fog. They also stretched and had a glass of wine. 'It's a breakout moment for the ukulele and for the Symphony, too,' she said beforehand, 'to trust us to make something new.'
San Francisco Chronicle
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Lyle Lovett to join San Francisco Symphony for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass celebration
Country singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett will join the San Francisco Symphony and conductor Edwin Outwater for a special concert at Davies Symphony Hall this fall, marking the 25th anniversary of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. The performance, set to take place Sept. 13, will feature Lovett and his Acoustic Group alongside the Symphony in a tribute to the free Golden Gate Park music festival that has become a San Francisco institution since its 2001 inception. 'Hardly Strictly Bluegrass has been an important part of the cultural soul of San Francisco,' said San Francisco Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey in a statement. 'It has been a joyful celebration of music, community and the spirit.' Lovett, a four-time Grammy winner and genre-defying performer, has long blurred the boundaries of country, jazz, swing, gospel and folk. Known for his lyrical storytelling and wry stage presence, he has released 14 albums since his 1986 debut. His collaboration with the Symphony is expected to blend the intimacy of his acoustic sound with orchestral arrangements, offering a unique musical experience that honors both the spirit of bluegrass and the sophistication of symphonic performance. The evening will also honor Nancy Hellman Bechtle, the late arts patron and sister of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass founder Warren Hellman. Bechtle, who led the Symphony from 1987 to 2001, was a frequent performer at the festival and a passionate supporter of the city's cultural life. 'This first-ever collaboration brings the meadows of Golden Gate Park to the stage of Davies Symphony Hall,' said Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Executive Director John Caldon in a statement. 'It's a beautiful way to honor the legacy of our dear friend Nancy Hellman Bechtle — and an uplifting reminder that music, in all its forms, brings us together.'
