The San Francisco Symphony has offered four different Opening Nights this year, starting with a "Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga Concert Experience" on the first weekend in September. The following week featured conductor Jaap van Zweeden leading the orchestra in Adams, Tchaikovsky and Respighi at the All San Francisco Concert for nonprofits and the following night at the Opening Gala for donors.
The 2025-26 subscription season finally got underway on September 18th, where there was a sweet little party for what's left of the cultural press corp.
To add to the month's uncertainty, it looked like the orchestra would probably go on strike after performing for what felt like years without a contract, but a settlement was announced at the Opening Gala, and the relief on all sides feels palpable.
(All concert photos but one are by Stefan Cohen.)
On Thursday, what looked like a pops concert on paper turned out to be more interesting and substantial than expected. James Gaffigan conducted an All-American program, starting with a warm-up piece for large orchestra,
The Block. Composed in 2018 by Carlos Simon, the six-minute work is based on six paintings by Romare Bearden of buildings in New York's Harlem neighborhood. Loud and rambunctious, it was over before it seemed to get anywhere.
The longest work on the program was next, Gershwin's 1925
Piano Concerto in F, a remarkable piece of music which I had somehow never heard live before. French pianist Hélène Grimaud was the soloist, playing with her usual virtuosic mastery while looking glamorous and sparkly.
Grimaud is famous for her idiosyncratic choices of tempo and phrasing, and I have heard her be alternately amazing or misguided. On Thursday, she managed to hit all the notes in the difficult Gershwin concerto but she made it look like work while missing the jazzy playfulness that is sprinkled throughout the score.
The orchestra surrounding her had no such problem and they sounded superb under conductor Gaffigan. After intermission, they gave the best performance of Gershwin's 1928
An American in Paris that I have ever heard. Gaffigan and the orchestra took the music seriously rather than as a cute pops staple, while also keeping it lively fun. The final work was another city tour, Duke Ellington's 1950
Harlem suite, orchestrated by Luther Henderson. It rambled all over the place in 20 minutes, featuring everything from rhumbas to extended percussion solos, and it was fascinating.
The brass, percussion, and woodwinds had a real workout during this concert, with standout performances by trumpet principal Mark Inouye, who has his own jazz ensemble and understands how to play this music. All the principals made stellar conributions but it was a special pleasure to hear guest principal trombone Gracie Potter, both because women in brass sections are distressingly rare and and also because she sounded so good.
(Photo above by Michael Strickland.)
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