Hindemith and Muhly at the SF Symphony

It has been a weird September for the San Francisco Symphony this year. It began with the All San Francisco Concert dedicated to community nonprofits on September 12th, followed the next week with three performances of Verdi's Requiem that were canceled by management after the San Francisco Symphony Chorus voted to strike. Then there was the annual Opening Gala on September 25th featuring pianist Lang Lang that was not really the opening nor was it particularly gala, from most accounts. Finally, on Friday the 27th, regular symphonic concerts under departing Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen began with a fascinating program featuring four pieces that most people, including myself, had never heard before. (Pictured above are Glenn Lym and JD Wade, two devoted fans of the San Francisco Symphony for decades.)

There were a few musicians from the orchestra, including Acting Associate Concertmaster Wyatt Underhill above, who were chatting with patrons on the sidewalk outside of Davies Hall about their current situation. On the SFS Musicians website (click here), there is a recent comment by retired Principal Horn Robert Ward: "In my almost 5 decades in the orchestra world, I have observed over and over that when an organization flounders, it is most often due to a Board that is unclear on its mission, unskilled in raising the money necessary, and uneducated about what it is that they are supposed to be stewarding. When I was still playing, I watched my colleagues take incredible musical risks, soar to heights that I didn't think were possible and inspire the audiences who were raptly listening. It is long past time for the Board to take a hard look in the mirror, accept responsibility for how badly it's going, and do what is necessary to right this ship. The musicians leave it all on the stage every night with the utmost commitment. It's time for the Board to do the same."

Though all the works in Friday's concert were written in the first half of the 20th century, the thematic through-line was Baroque music, beginning with a loud, short, satirical curtain-raiser, Paul Hindemith's 1921 Ragtime (Well Tempered) with a theme taken from J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Also in 1921, Elgar wrote a huge Victorian orchestral arrangement of Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 53 to start the second half of the concert. The result sounded more like Elgar at his plushest rather than contrapuntal Bach but it was thoroughly enjoyable. (All the lovely stage photos are by Kristen Loken.)

The first half of the concert featured the world premiere of American composer Nico Muhly's first Piano Concerto, which was written for the French pianist Alexandre Tharaud.

The three-movement fast-slow-fast concerto looked back to the French Baroque of Couperin and Rameau, according to the composer. The music was all over the place, from minimalist chugging to "Wyndham Hill with an edge," as my concert companion put it. The orchestral sound throughout evoked a magical, shimmering quality and was a pleasure to hear. (In the photo above, from left to right, composer Nico Muhly, pianist Alexandre Tharaud, and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen.)

My only criticism is that the orchestration often overwhelmed pianist Tharaud in the two fast movements and there wasn't much he could do about it.

The final work of the evening was Paul Hindemith's 1934 Mathis der Maler (Mathis the Painter) Symphony, which was carved out of his opera of the same name. The subject matter of the opera involves an artist pitted against clerical authoritarians in the 16th century, which was the last straw for the Nazis who understood his point and Goebbels banned its performance. Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) was an interesting, prolific German composer whose life often mirrored that of the writer Thomas Mann. Both found early success and were the great German cultural hopes of music and literature until both quietly moved to Switzerland with their Jewish wives in the 1930s before crossing the Atlantic to the United States. Both of them landed at universities, with Hindemith at Yale and Mann at Princeton before both eventually returned to Switzerland for their final years after World War Two.

I listened to the Mathis der Maler Symphony on YouTube a couple of times before the concert and it didn't make much of an impression, but performed live by the San Francisco Symphony under the inspired conducting of Esa-Pekka Salonen felt like a revelation. The audience even burst into applause after the first movement, which felt right. It was yet another reminder of what we are about to lose in San Francisco

I Sing The Caltrain Electric

After many years of construction, weekend shutdowns, and political maneuvering, the Caltrain system servicing the Peninsula has finally been electrified.

To celebrate the accomplishment, free rides were offered to the public at all stations last weekend from San Francisco to Gilroy.

According to Philip Rohrbough: "This model is called KISS. I love the German language, and this acronym is a classic: Komfortabler Innovativer Spurtstarker S-Bahn-Zug. They were built by Stadler, a Swiss company, in Salt Lake City."

I miss the old-fashioned funk of the previous carbon-burning trains, but won't miss the slowness and bumpiness and constant breakdowns.

Brian Barneclo's 2011 System mural near the San Francisco station is still impressive, even covered in graffiti.

One thing that hasn't changed are the many passengers immersed in their virtual worlds...

...while ignoring natural wonders like the Brisbane Lagoon.

There was an afternoon celebration near the station in downtown San Mateo, with politicians making speeches...

...to huge crowds looking for giveaways at various booths.

At least it was heartening to see Brian Barneclo's mural from 2017 has fared better at its San Mateo location.

San Francisco Symphony Requiem

The San Francisco scheduled Verdi's massive Requiem, conducted by departing Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, for the opening of its 2024-25 season. Concurrently, management had been negotiating for months with the AGMA (American Guild of Musical Artists) union over its demeaning and insulting initial proposal to cut the Chorus budget by 80%.

The result was a management decision to cancel the three Requiem performances altogether, even though the orchestra, vocal soloists, and the chorus had rehearsed with Salonen all week.

On Saturday, which was to have been the final performance, the chorus and its supporters sang, chanted, and walked with signage in front of Davies Hall.

Starting the season with a chorus-heavy work seemed somewhat grotesque after the belligerent manner in which symphony management has been treating the vocal ensemble and its union.

It felt rather like those awful scenes in films where somebody is forced to dig their own grave before being murdered.

There has been some great writing about the self-inflicted mess the Board of Directors under President Priscilla Geeslin has created. Emily Hogstad at the Song of the Lark blog (click here) writes after seeing an ABC-TV interview with Geeslin and CEO Matthew Spivey: "A few things jumped out that I wanted to point out, because it feels like things are really starting to accelerate here. Without a change in course, it’s pretty clear that the S.S. SFS is headed straight toward an iceberg. When it comes to the SFS meltdown, the media seems to smell metaphorical blood in the bay. I continue to be struck by the fact that the current leadership of the San Francisco Symphony really has no defenders in any press: local, national, or international."

Janos Gereben has a detailed, well-researched look at San Francisco Classical Voice (click here). He quotes AGMA President Ned Hanlon: “Nothing has significantly changed in the Symphony’s financial position from previous years besides the attitude of management toward its core artistic labor. I cannot recall the last time AGMA went on strike, but management has repeatedly failed to show how targeting the Symphony’s internationally acclaimed Choristers will solve their alleged financial issues. We urge management to immediately return to the bargaining table and work toward a real solution that honors the work of these dedicated artists and gets everyone back to creating beautiful music.”

It was bad enough that the Board of Directors so alienated their superstar Music Director, Esa-Pekka Salonen, that he refused to extend his contract beyond this year, but how does the organization expect to attract world-class musicians with their ugly disregard for their own artists?

To add ironic insult to injury, social media has been plastered for the last week with the ad above extolling the glories of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus.

Management seems to have forgotten that the reason anybody goes through the Davies Hall doors in the first place is because of the musicians.

A new contract for the orchestra is due by November of this year, and management seems to be more concerned with a cosmetic updating of Davies Hall that will cost tens of millions of dollars rather than keeping their artists content. As chorister Chung-Wai Soong explained to a well-wisher on the picket line: "The chorus is just the canary in the coal mine here."

Un Ballo in Maschera at SF Opera

San Francisco Opera started their 2024-25 season with one of my favorite Verdi operas, Un Ballo in Maschera. Written in 1857, it shows off the composer at his best, with challenging, exquisite music for five principal singers. Tenor Michael Fabbiano sang the role of Gustavus III, the King of Sweden who was assassinated in 1792 at a masked ball in the lobby of Sweden's Royal Opera House. Fabiano's loud, bright tenor was up to the challenge all night. In the photo above, Gustavus is accompanied by his young male page, Oscar, a trouser role that can be one of the most annoying in all of opera, but soprano Mei Gui Zhang was an absolute delight as she continually interrupted serious scenes with silly trills. (All production photos are by Cory Weaver.)

There are a number of smaller male roles in the opera, and every one of them were strongly cast, with baritone Samuel Kidd excelling as Christiano the Sailor who comes to a fortuneteller named Ulrica, complaining about the king doing nothing for him.

Ulrica was portrayed by mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi as a scary witch with a kind streak, who does everything she can to warn Gustavus of the assassination plot against him. She did a fine job in a difficult vocal role that requires a very deep bottom along with a very high top.

Soprano Lianna Haroutounian played Amelia, the wife of Renato who has long been Gustavus's most faithful friend. Haroutounian has a gorgeous voice that navigated most of the role's many vocal challenges with ease. Haroutounian and Fabiano, unfortunately, did not have much chemistry so it was hard to believe in the non-consummated throuple at the story's heart.

A big-voiced debut by Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat as Renato was something of a sensation. It's a deeper, more bass sound than is usual with a Verdi baritone role but it was even and forceful. In the scene above, he has just found out about Amelia's love for Gustavus, has assumed the worst, and tells her to prepare to die. After a heartbroken aria he changes his mind that it's not Amelia who is to blame, it's King Gustavus.

To that end, he sets up an assassination plot for the masked ball with two rebel plotters, Adam Lau as Samuel and Jongwoon Han as Tom, who were a welcome vocal highlight in all their scenes.

The only problem I had was with the traditional, lackluster production by director Leo Muscato, first produced for the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in 2016. Odd details abounded. Why was one section of the male chorus in Scene 1 bouncing up and down to the oom-pah music on occasion like they were in a Gilbert & Sullivan opera? Why does everybody seem to have the same wallpaper in their homes? Why does Act II's gallow field for hanging look like a Euro disco, complete with fog cannons shooting upwards with changing colored lights? And even employing a turntable, why was it taking so long to get from one scene to another?

The masked ball scene, however, was fabulous, with colorful costumes from Sylvia Aymonino and my favorite Verdi finale ever, with the dying king forgiving everyone, and the other principals and the full chorus weaving in and out of each other. The orchestra, conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim, was a constant treat and the SF Opera Chorus is sounding superb. This would be a good opera to hear from the top of the balcony. Tickets here.

SF Dems Debate Watch

I wasn't going to watch the Harris v. Trump debate on ABC television last night because I can't listen to him without feeling ill.

I did finally screw up the courage to jump on a Muni bus and go to the new election headquarters for the San Francisco Democratic Party at Fifth and Market.

By 5:30 PM there was a good crowd listening to various local political celebrities bragging about what good friends they have been with Kamala Harris over the decades while urging people to volunteer and get involved in the November election.

California State Senator Scott Weiner gave a speech...

...as did California State Treasurer Fiona Ma.

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu recounted how he was told early in his career to watch then-District Attorney Kamala Harris in court because she was a master.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has the sole endorsement of the San Francisco Democratic Party for another term, so she was the only candidate for that office that I spotted working the room.

In fact, it was odd not seeing other Democratic candidates for various offices present, but this was very much a "City Family" event.

Shortly before the debate began, the crowd was instructed to cheer and wave signs for a national television clip of San Franciscans at a watch party.

The hardworking audio-visual crew helped cue the assembly and joined right in.

I could only endure 30 minutes of the malignant, delusional Trump but was cheered by Harris's extraordinary performance. At home, I watched the last 30 minutes of Harris carving up the gaseous old wind bag, and it was a tonic. Hearing the news of the Taylor Swift endorsement soon after felt very much like a fairy tale ending.

San Francisco Opera Opening 2024

The high society event known as the opening of the San Francisco Opera season took place Friday night and it was a kick.

For those who purchased the whole package, the marathon celebration began at 5PM across the street at a sit-down dinner in San Francisco City Hall.

Then they picked up their tresses and walked across Van Ness Avenue for an 8 PM curtain time for the opening of a production of Verdi's tragic opera, Un Ballo in Maschera.

The crowd was actually not fully seated until about 8:30 PM.

We were then presented with a video with clips of successful recent productions at the opera along with a testimonial to Cynthia and John Gunn who have given many millions of dollars to the company while serving on the Board.

It seems that one of the Gunn's favorite pieces of music is Bernstein's Overture to Candide, so the SF Opera Orchestra under Music Director Eun Sun Kim performed that first.

Then we all stood for a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, which traditionally opens the opera season just like a Giants or 49ers game, and then the delicate opening of the overture to Un Ballo in Maschera finally began.

Rather like some of the partygoers I was only attending for the festivities rather than the opera itself, which I will be seeing next Wednesday, so I bought an inexpensive standing room ticket and wished a happy opening day to backstage friends like Michael Mohammed above...

...and Andrew Korniej (above right), a longtime supernumerary with the company, and his spouse.

Since the recent retirement of Joshua Kosman, San Francisco's only full-time music critic for a daily newspaper, arts freelancers are having to step up. Pictured above is the extraordinarily competent Public Relations Director Jeffery McMillan in the Press Room with a writer from SF/ARTS Monthly

Also attending was KALW radio host David Latulippe and his companion...

...along with Steven Winn, one of the best arts writers in the country whose reviews I tend to wholeheartedly agree with more often than not.

Accompanied by her friend Terence Shek, Charlise Tiee has already published her review online (click here for The Opera Tattler).

Writing under a tight deadline, Lisa Hirsch (above left) has had her review published in the San Francisco Chronicle (click here). Posing next to her is West Edge Opera Board Member Terri Stuart.

Watching the parade go by from a solitary pillar with an amused observer's eye was the supremely talented arts writer Georgia Rowe. "There's a lot of kids here tonight," she said, and I was confused because there weren't any children. "I mean there are a lot of younger people than usual," Georgia explained, and she was right.

This was a good thing because the opera performance wasn't finished until close to midnight, and there was still an Opera Ball scheduled for City Hall afterwards. I lasted through the first two acts before heading home, and am looking forward to seeing the whole opera at an earlier hour with a less distracted audience.