San Francisco Symphony: American Mavericks at Carnegie Hall

By Amanda Keil, 31 March 2012

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Reviewed at Carnegie Hall: Stern Auditorium, New York City on 27 March 2012

Cowell, Synchrony

Adams, Absolute Jest, for string quartet and orchestra

Cage, Song Books (selections)

Varèse, Amériques

San Francisco Symphony

Michael Tilson Thomas, Conductor

St Lawrence String Quartet

Jessye Norman, Soprano

Meredith Monk, Vocals

Joan La Barbara, Vocals

Full symphonic grandeur from Salonen and the SF Symphony

Lois Silverstein, 6th October

Sayaka Shoji and Salonen remain in close dialogue in a riveting performance of Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto.

****1

Finnish footprints in San Francisco: Salonen conducts Sibelius

Lois Silverstein, 14th March

As the news breaks that Esa-Pekka Salonen will be leaving at the end of his San Francisco Symphony tenure, he conducts the music of his fellow Finn, Jean Sibelius.

****1

Hail and farewell: MTT’s last Mahler in San Francisco

Cameron Kelsall, 25th January

After 50 years of performances with the San Francisco Symphony, including a quarter-century tenure as Music Director, Michael Tilson Thomas chooses Mahler’s Fifth Symphony for his final subscription concert.

****1

Bach-inspired Mendelssohn in San Francisco

Edward Sava-Segal, 17th February

An exquisite rendition of Mendelssohn's Lobgesang makes one wonder why the work is not part of the regular repertoire.

****1

MTT offers familiar and unfamiliar Stravinsky in San Francisco

Edward Sava-Segal, 29th September

In a program including both modernist and neoclassical works, Michael Tilson Thomas and the SFO emphasized the common traits characterizing Stravinsky's entire ouevre.

****1

A phenomenally multi-layered Mahler 3 in San Francisco

Theodora Serbanescu-Martin, 29th June

Michael Tilson Thomas, Sasha Cooke, and choristers from the Pacific Boychoir and San Francisco Chorus come together in a phenomenal performance of Mahler's all-encompassing Third Symphony.

*****

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Amanda Keil

Amanda Keil is a native New Yorker who sings, teaches, writes about music and fundraises for the arts. Her broad musical interests have led her to perform music from ancient to modern times, and she is the founder of Musica Nuova, which stages Baroque songs in modern settings. She blogs at thousandfoldecho.