San Francisco Symphony Podcasts

Rachmaninoff 3rd Piano Concerto

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:33:31 PDT

Rachmaninoff was already an admired conductor and pianist when he wrote his Piano Concerto No. 3 to bring along on his first tour of the United States. On that tour, he performed the concerto with the New York Philharmonic under their conductor Gustav Mahler.

Dvořák's Symphony No. 7

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:47:13 PDT

Considered at first to be a composer of popular music and not a great symphonist, it was Brahms who believed in Dvořák enough to set him up with an important publisher. Written for the London Symphony, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 is a personal catharsis and a masterpiece in tragedy.

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:41:35 PDT

Following the conventional success of his Symphony No. 5, written to pacify the Soviet leaders scandalized by his opera Lady Macbeth, Shostakovich composed the Symphony No. 6. Characterized by its unusual Largo opening and scherzo-like finish, the work exhibits Mahler’s influence on Shostakovich’s sound worlds.

From the Archives: Comparisons

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:40:57 PDT

The sheer scope of the Symphony's recorded legacy allows us to hear the same piece performed over the years. Differences are fascinating, but sometimes the similarities are just as remarkable. As the conclusion of the series, this episode takes the broadest approach yet, sweeping freely over the Symphony's history from 1925 onwards as it illustrates the change, growth, and evolution of this wonderful orchestra down the years.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 6

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:01:20 PDT

To escape the city of Vienna, Beethoven often spent his summers in the rural counties surrounding it—a love reflected in his Symphony No. 6, Pastoral. With movements titled Awakening of joyful sentiments upon arriving in the country and Scene by the brook, the work depicts life in the country.

From the Archives: First-Chair Soloists

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:41:32 PDT

This episode brings us the playing of the San Francisco Symphony musicians down the years, from Henry Hadley's own choice for principal horn Walter Hornig, through long-serving stalwarts such as oboist Merrill Remington and flutist Paul Renzi, to concertmasters such as Louis Persinger, Michel Piastro, Naoum Blinder, and their present-day successor Alexander Barantschik. We'll hear the profound differences that can arise from changes of personnel in key positions, and how individual players changed their styles and techniques over the years.

Bach's "Brandenburg" Concertos

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:40:18 PDT

After becoming disenchanted with his position of Capellmeister to Leopold, Prince of Anhalt Cöthen, Bach prepared a special copy of six concertos to send to the Margrave of Brandenburg in hopes of employment. Now known as the Brandenburg concertos, the six works represent Bach’s musical resume.

From the Archives: Guest Conductors

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:22:26 PDT

Some of the Symphony's guest conductors have bequeathed recordings to posterity. Hear giants such as Leopold Stokowski and his two RCA Victor albums with the SFS, local 1940s favorite and future Broadway legend Meredith Willson (shown above left), or famed figures such as William Steinberg, Jean Martinon, Charles Munch, Sixten Ehrling, James Conlon, and others at the helm of the Symphony.

Sibelius's Symphony No. 1

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:16:17 PDT

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) witnessed in his lifetime the complete transformation of Western music. Written during his young party-animal days (a boozy brawl forced a break in its composition), Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1 was influenced by the symphonies of Tchaikovsky.

Stravinsky’s "Firebird"

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:33:23 PDT

Serge Diaghilev was turned down by four composers before turning to Igor Stravinsky to write the music for a new production by the Ballet Russe. Luckily, Stravinsky, eager to try his hand at a ballet, had already been working on the music for a month, and their artistic relationship went on to produce Petrushka and The Rite of Spring.

From the Archives: The MTT Era

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:36:44 PDT

Under Michael Tilson Thomas (1944–) the San Francisco Symphony has risen to unprecedented heights of renown and artistic achievement. After a series of award-winning releases on RCA Red Seal, the Symphony created the in-house SFS Media label, under which it has been garnering numerous international awards and plaudits. We'll trace MTT's long association with the SFS, from his first guest appearance in 1974 to the Symphony's most recent releases.

From the Archives: The Blomstedt Era

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:32:14 PDT

Herbert Blomstedt (1927–) stepped up to the Symphony podium in 1985 and brought the orchestra to the Decca label, in which capacity the orchestra produced a distinguished series of recordings covering the repertory from Beethoven to Bartók and beyond. Grammy and other such international awards followed, reflecting the Symphony's new prominence on the world stage and its enviably high performance standards. Via broadcasts, in-house archives, and commercial recordings we relive the impressive music-making of a memorable era.

Varèse's "Amériques"

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:56:22 PDT

A complete departure from the mainstream European tradition, Amériques marks Varèse’s explosive breakout into modernism. Amériques calls for 125 musicians and a battery of unusual percussion, and according to Varèse, is meant to be understood “as symbolic of discoveries—new worlds on earth, in the sky, or in the minds of men.”

Ruggle's "Sun-treader"

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 09:11:20 PST

Carl Ruggles, one of the most original voices in 20^th century American music, was a curmudgeonly man whose musical output totals just ten works, which he endlessly re-wrote and edited as close to perfection as he could. His works, including Sun-treader, exhibit a freely evolving nontonal polyphony, through which he expressed his wish for freedom from the past.

Cowell's Piano Concerto

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:26:59 PST

A native of Menlo Park, California, Henry Cowell is accredited with coining the term tone cluster, an effect he uses frequently in his Piano Concerto. Cowell specifies that the performer use the forearm or specially cut wooden sticks to play many adjacent notes at once, creating a dissonant cluster of sound.

Ives/Brant "A Concord Symphony"

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:54:32 PST

Could the Great American Symphony, in fact, be a piano sonata by the great maverick composer Charles Ives? The composer Henry Brant, who also orchestrated music for Copland, spent most of his life orchestrating Ives’ great Concord Sonata into A Concord Symphony.

From the Archives: The de Waart Era

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:12:23 PST

Edo de Waart (1941–) became the Symphony's music director in 1977 and saw the orchestra through two important transitions: the move to Davies Symphony Hall and the change from analog to digital recording technology. De Waart's tenure at the SFS is exhaustively documented via commercial recordings, broadcasts, and in-house archives. We'll hear the San Francisco Symphony undergo one of its most sweeping transformations, as it inaugurated Davies Symphony Hall with more than 20 new players.

Harrison Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:02:33 PST

Long-time Bay Area resident Lou Harrison was influenced by Eastern musical traditions. He and partner Bill Colvig built many of their own instruments, including an Indonesian gamelan. For his Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra, musicians perform on some of Harrison’s own specially created percussion instruments, most notably bells made out of oxygen tanks.

Mozart's Symphony No. 39

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:09:13 PST

In the space of nine weeks in summer 1788, Mozart produced the last three of his symphonies, including Symphony No. 39. Started within a month after his opera Don Giovanni opened to a less than enthusiastic audience in Vienna, the symphony opens with a reflection on the opera’s overture.

From the Archives: The Ozawa Era

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:18:07 PST

The Symphony returned to the recording studio in 1971 with Seiji Ozawa (1935–), first on Deutsche Grammophon, then on Philips. The Symphony began keeping recorded archives of its performances during Ozawa's tenure, thus preserving the sound of the Symphony in its day-to-day performances. We'll be hearing examples from those archives, together with commercial recordings and radio broadcasts.

Saint-Saens's "Organ" Symphony

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:14:36 PST

A child prodigy, Saint-Saëns was not only a gifted composer but an accomplished pianist who could perform all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas from memory by the age of ten. Composed for the Philharmonic Society of London, his Symphony No. 3, Organ, is dedicated to his friend Franz Liszt.

From the Archives: The Krips Era

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:16:31 PST

The renowned Austrian conductor Josef Krips (1902–1974) took over the reins of the Symphony in 1963, charged with rebuilding an orchestra that had grown slack. Although Krips refused to allow the Symphony to record commercially, he approved a series of live Friday-night broadcasts on radio station KKHI. From surviving taped transcriptions of those broadcasts we'll hear Josef Krips transform the Symphony, from his inaugural concert—played one week after the JFK assassination—to his 70th birthday concert in 1972, when he made a guest appearance during Seiji Ozawa's tenure.

Bruckner's Symphony No. 5

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:49:02 PST

Anton Bruckner grew up an unsophisticated teacher’s son. By the time he reached Vienna and the composition of his Symphony No. 5, he had a sound combining Beethoven’s sense of mystery and suspense, Schubert’s harmony, and Wagner’s breadth in unfolding, plus a symphonic vision all his own.

From the Archives: The Monteux Era

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:50:30 PST

Pierre Monteux (1875–1964) led the Symphony from 1935 to 1952 and brought it back to the recording studio after a long hiatus. Both on RCA Victor and the popular Standard Hour Broadcasts, Maître Monteux left us copious recordings of a vibrant ensemble with an utterly unique sound and style. From 1941's shellac 78 rpm discs made over telephone lines to the crystal-clear LPs of the 1950s, Monteux and the Symphony made discographic history.

Due to a technical error, Episode 3, The Monteux Era has been reissued to your iTunes subscription. Episode 4, The Jordá Era, is available in your iTunes subscription history.

Mozart's Symphony No. 40

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:59:22 PST

Mozart composed his Symphony No. 40 during the very productive summer of 1788, when he also completed his Symphony No. 39 and Symphony No. 41—the last symphonies he would compose. After a series of revisions, including Mozart’s addition of clarinet parts for his friend, the clarinetist Anton Stadler, numerous versions existed (including an autograph score, with clarinets, that ended up in the hands of Johannes Brahms), confusing editors until their eventual straightening out of the parts in 1930. Symphony No. 40 is in the key of G minor is one of only two symphonies Mozart wrote in a minor key, and according to Robert Schumann, has a “weightless, Hellenic grace.”

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:39:08 PST

Perpetually self-conscious, Tchaikovsky worried in spring 1888 that his imagination had dried up, and that he had nothing left to express through music. Vacationing at his home in Frolovskoe provided all the inspiration he needed, and by August, his Symphony No. 5 was complete.

From the Archives: The Jordá Era

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:52:04 PST

A two-year search for Pierre Monteux's successor resulted in the 1954 appointment of Enrique Jordá (1911–1996), an electrifying stage presence and passionate advocate of contemporary music. Jordá's discography with the SFS is modest, but his three RCA Victor albums, together with superb performances of two local composers on the CRI label, bear engaging witness to the San Francisco Symphony of the 1950s and its elegant Spanish-American maestro.

Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:31:04 PST

During a wildly successful tour of the United States in 1928, Maurice Ravel met American composer George Gershwin, and listened to jazz in Harlem and New Orleans. These influences plus his Basque heritage (already exhibited in his Rapsodie espagnole and Boléro) are easily heard in his Piano Concerto in G major. Ravel modeled it after the light, divertimento-like concertos of Mozart and Saint‑Saëns. The Spanish-tinged jazz riffs of the first movement are followed by a gentle and delicate Adagio, and the concerto closes with a bang in its irresistible finale.

Debussy's "Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien"

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:12:18 PST

In 1911, Claude Debussy wrote the incidental music for a mystery play by Gabriele d'Annunzio. Written for the Belle Époque figure Ida Rubinstein, who was muse to numerous artists and musicians, the play chronicles the martyrdom of the Roman archer Sebastian, who was killed by his own troupe of archers after being discovered to be a Christian. Rubinstein, said to have owned a black tiger cub and drink champagne out of Madonna lilies, had been a member of the Ballet Russe known for her suggestive roles (including Cleopatra and opposite Nijinsky in Rimsky-Korsakoff’s Scheherazade). Attendance at the premiere of this play was banned by the Archbishop of Paris on threat of excommunication.

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:03:28 PST

First symphonies usually serve as stepping stones on the way to greater things. Tchaikovsky’s First was already great, written in a bold and assured manner the composer would not achieve again until his later symphonies. But even Tchaikovsky admitted the work gave him more trouble than any of his others. He revised it numerous times, and it was rejected several times, before it was finally performed almost twenty years after he began composing. With melodies that look ahead to the Waltz of the Flowers from his ballet The Nutcracker and borrowing music from his Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, the symphony carries the subtitle Winter Daydreams.

From the Archives: The Hertz Era

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:36:34 PST

The Symphony's recorded history begins in 1925, as the eminent German maestro Alfred Hertz (1872–1942) brought his orchestra into the recording studio for its first sessions. Hertz's 24 recordings with the San Francisco Symphony have been treasured collector's items for generations, until recently all but inaccessible. This episode brings the sound of the 1920s San Francisco Symphony back to life for modern listeners.

From the Archives: An Overview

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:38:51 PST

The Symphony’s legacy on records is vast. This first episode provides an introductory overview of the whole. Along the way, we’ll learn about some of the challenges of assembling a complete collection of the Symphony’s surviving recordings, and explore the impact of evolving audio technology on the San Francisco Symphony.

Wagner's Götterdämmerung

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:55:29 PST

Wagner, taking inspiration from Nordic mythology, wrote the Ring Cycle to tell the epic tale of the magical golden ring of the Nibelung. Granting its owner the power to rule the world, the ring is coveted by many, including Wotan, the ruler of the Gods. The saga of the ring is chronicled in four operas--Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung. This final opera opens as morning dawns on the lovers Siegfried and Brünnhilde , continues to his betrayal of her in pursuit of the ring, and finally ends with Brünnhilde’s Immolation, when she casts herself on the fire of Siegfried’s funeral pyre to rid the ring of its curse and return it to the Rhine Maidens, its rightful owners.

Brahms's Piano Quartet (orch. Schoenberg)

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:01:30 PST

Although his own compositional techniques are considered avant garde, Arnold Schoenberg viewed himself as a direct extension of the German tradition of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms. He was 22 when Brahms died, and his particular affinity for Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 led him to the task of orchestrating the work in 1937. In a letter to the San Francisco Symphony’s program annotator, he stated his reasons: he liked it, it was seldom played, and he wanted to be able to hear all the parts. He vowed to remain strictly within Brahms’ style and to use only elements he believed Brahms would have; the results are a work that is a co-authorship of peers.

Brahms's German Requiem

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:41:57 PST

Although not a conventionally religious man, Johannes Brahms knew his Bible well and assembled the text for his German Requiem himself, choosing passages that suited his means perfectly. By titling it the German Requiem, Brahms meant that it was for the German people, in a language that they could understand—he also mentioned in his letters an alternate title of the Human Requiem. Although technically a mass for the dead, the work does not mention death until the penultimate movement, and even then addresses the living with a sense of reassured faith rather than anxiety.

Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" (arr. Mahler)

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:40:45 PDT

Years before there was Photoshop, there was Gustav Mahler, and his infamous "retouchings" of respected scores to bring them up to modern listening standards. Known in his day more as a conductor than a composer, Mahler would make revisions to the music he was performing—an instrument added here, a note changed there—ideas that were not always popular with listeners. However, in the case of Schubert’s Quartet in D Minor, Death and the Maiden, a theme and variations on his lieder of the same name, the work definitely remains more Schubert’s. Mahler reinforced the bass line, changed double stops into rich string textures, and brought this intimate chamber work into the large concert hall. This podcast uses a recording of the original quartet, performed by SFS musicians Sarn Oliver and Amy Hiraga, violins; Nanci Severance, viola; and Peter Wyrick, cello.

Schumann's Symphony No. 2

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:15:45 PDT

By the time he wrote what we now know as his Symphony No. 2, Robert Schumann had already completed his Symphony No. 1, his Overture, Scherzo, and Finale, and the first version of the work that would eventually be published as Symphony No. 4. However, by summer 1844, Schumann began to be ruled by his mood swings and phobias (including fear of blindness, heights, death, and poison), effectively halting his creative activity. But then, midway through 1845, he wrote a letter to Felix Mendelssohn about dreams of blaring trumpets in C. Finally, in December 1845, he wrote, in three weeks, the essentials of Symphony No. 2, and the symphony was premiered in November 1846.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 8

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:32:11 PDT

Much like his fifth and sixth symphonies, Ludwig van Beethoven composed his seventh and eighth symphonies in quick succession. Compared with Symphony No. 7 and Symphony No. 9 (which would not be completed for twelve more years), Symphony No. 8 seems like a look back to Classical times, with nods to Beethoven’s teacher, Josef Haydn. However, the Eighth is more a study in compactness: there is just as much music packed into fewer notes, a sentiment that Beethoven himself echoed--when asked why the Seventh was so much more popular, he responded, “…because the Eighth is so much better.”

Verdi's Requiem

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:58:08 PDT

In mid-nineteenth century Italy, Alessandro Manzoni, a poet and humanist, was one of the central figures in Italian cultural life. Not only was he a great writer, but he had been elected to the first Senate of the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Upon his death, in 1873, the country entered a period of national mourning. Giuseppe Verdi, having not yet written much of anything other than opera, volunteered his services to compose a Requiem mass. He offered the public not a strictly liturgical work but a concert piece, and it was greeted with applause both at its premiere in Milan’s St. Marco Cathedral and at its second performance, three days later, at La Scala.

Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:49:48 PDT

Originally composed for solo piano (and later orchestrated by Ravel), Pictures at an Exhibition was written by Modest Mussorgsky after he visited a retrospective exhibit of the works of his friend Victor Hartmann. The collection of pieces represents a promenade from painting to painting, pausing in front of works called The Gnome, Ancient Castle, and Great Gate of Kiev. Mussorgsky was a member of a nationalistic, anti-conservatory group of young musicians, and he had an unusual ability to interpret visual art in musical expression.

Elgar's Symphony No. 1

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:48:49 PDT

Born the son of a piano tuner and educated by playing in and conducting small amateur bands (including that of the Worcester Pauper Lunatic Asylum), Sir Edward Elgar had already written the Enigma variations, four Pomp and Circumstance marches, and the oratorio Dream of Gerontius before composing his Symphony No. 1 in 1908 at the age of fifty. While his colleagues Vaughan Williams and Holst encouraged a return to folk music, Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 pushed English music into the romanticism of the rest of the European community, and earned Elgar the nickname “the English Mahler.”

Petrushka

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:59:42 PDT

Upon visiting Stravinsky in late 1910, expecting to find him immersed in composing the Rite of Spring, Serge Diaghilev, director of the Ballet Russe, was quite surprised to find him instead composing the ballet of an anthropomorphized puppet. The story recounts the rise and fall of mischievous Petrushka, a puppet brought to life by a magician as he courts the Ballerina and fights the Charlatan. The work was premiered one hundred years ago, with Nijinsky dancing the title role. Former SFS Music Director Pierre Monteux conducted the work’s world premiere.

Mahler Symphony No. 3

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:50:03 PDT

In summer 1895, Gustav Mahler went on vacation. He’d had a busy year conducting in Hamburg, and went to his cabin to do what he always did in his free time—compose. He outlined a program for his new work—Pan’s awakening, the Bacchic entrance of summer—but leaves the movement titles out of the program. In this Symphony No. 3, the largest and longest in the current symphonic repertoire, he leaves the story up to the listener—according to Mahler, “you just have to bring along ears and a heart and—not least—willingly surrender to the rhapsodist.”

Brahms's Symphony No. 1

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:10:18 PDT

Beethoven’s first symphony premiered when he was 30. Schubert wrote his first at 16, and Mozart’s was composed when he was only 8. But Johannes Brahms, at 43, had yet to finish his Symphony No. 1, which he’d begun writing more than twenty years previously. A notorious perfectionist, he burned many of his early works and sketches; it was not easy living in the shadow of the giants before him. His many years of preparation were worth it—upon the work’s premiere in 1876, the Vienna press called it “Beethoven’s Tenth.”

Beethoven's 'Missa Solemnis'

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:37:55 PDT

To set about composing his Missa Solemnis, Beethoven looked to the past. He obtained a copy of the score to J.S. Bach's B Minor Mass, at that time still unpublished, and also studied the sacred music of C.P.E. Bach. After countless sketches and spiritual preparation, Beethoven composed this work for large orchestra and chorus, dedicating more time to it than to any other work he composed. Written simultaneously with the Symphony No. 9, the Missa Solemnis is considered one of the most significant mass settings in classical music.

Bartok Piano Concerto No. 2

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:38:55 PDT

Following the relative unpopularity of his Piano Concerto No. 1, Bela Bartók returned to his roots for the composition of his next piano concerto, which he called an “antithesis” to the first. This second concerto takes more of a classical form, with a sonata structure and a simpler treatment of the themes. Bartók was well-versed in this kind of writing, having himself made several student editions of music by Bach, Scarlatti, and Couperin. Despite the more traditional form, Bartók’s Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra still maintains the folk music-infused sonorities that have been a consistent hallmark of his music.

Mahler's Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 03 May 2011 10:53:23 PDT

Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, by Gustav Mahler opens with a first movement originally composed as a stand-alone work entitled Todtenfeier (Funeral Rites). Five years later, following his appointment as principal conductor in Hamburg, Mahler realized that this was, in fact, the first movement of his second symphony. Following Symphony No. 1, which tells the story of a Hero’s life, the second symphony opens with the funeral rites of the Hero. The second and third movements are retrospective intermezzos, and the fourth and fifth movements depict the Last Judgment and Resurrection.

Mahler's Symphony No. 6

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:42:23 PDT

In summer 1903, Mahler was at his happiest time of life. Married to the beautiful Alma and father to two healthy daughters, it doesn’t seem like the time when one would compose a symphony often called the Tragic. However, in an eerily prescient stroke, this is exactly what Mahler does. In the years that followed, Mahler suffered the death of a child, the loss of his position in Vienna, and learned of his debilitating heart disease—three blows of fate predicted by the blows of the drum that fell the Hero at the close of Symphony No. 6.

Mahler's Symphony No. 9

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:29:13 PDT

Almost exactly one hundred years ago, on May 18, 1911, the great composer and conductor Gustav Mahler died of a blood infection just weeks before his fifty-first birthday. His last complete work, the Symphony No. 9, was composed following a whirlwind period of great loss and supreme achievement, including the composition of his “symphony without a number,” Das Lied von der Erde. Symphony No. 9 reaches the greatest apex of Mahler’s compositional catalogue, exhibiting his characteristic subtle transition, expansion, and continuous variation at their fullest.

Brahms's Symphony No. 3

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 15:33:53 PDT

After composing Serenade No. 1, Johannes Brahms waited fifteen years before he wrote another purely orchestral work for large ensemble. Infamous for his harsh self-criticism and haunted by the feeling that he was living in Beethoven’s shadow, Brahms finally broke his symphonic silence at the age of forty-two with the Haydn Variations, a musical experiment with the arrangement of sonic shapes.By the time he composed his Symphony No. 3, ten years later, he had fully realized his true voice as a symphonic master.

Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique"

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:12:10 PDT

A man spots a woman across the room at a party and falls instantly in love with her. In a fit of despair over his unrequited love, he poisons himself and fantastic dreams and visions result. This is the story, inspired by his own love for the actress Harriet Smithson, that Hector Berlioz portrays in his Symphonie fantastique, premiered in 1830. Using recurring musical motifs to represent characters and brand new instrumental colors, Berlioz worked on foundations laid by Beethoven to bring music fully into the Romantic era.

Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 2, "A London Symphony"

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:27:48 PDT

In 1903, Ralph Vaughan Williams began collecting folk songs. His dedication to his English heritage was evident early on in his career, from his editions of Purcell’s music for the Purcell Society to his assembling, editing, and contributing to The English Hymnal. It is fitting, then, that his first instrumental symphony should be called A London Symphony. Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 2 is inspired by the vibrant city life of London, and has been described as the musical equivalent of Claude Monet’s paintings of the sun rising over the foggy Thames.

Sibelius's Symphony No. 2

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:54:20 PDT

At the close of the nineteenth century, Finnish natives were enjoying a renaissance of their native culture, in opposition to their Russian occupiers. Jean Sibelius was swept up in this nationalistic fervor, and composed several patriotic tone poems, including Finlandia. Symphony No. 2, misinterpreted at its premiere as a commentary on the Finnish political conflict, was composed mostly in Italy, where Sibelius was renting a studio. Working with fragments and sketches intended for four separate tone poems, Sibelius then assembled the pieces into this full-fledged symphony.

Dvorak's New World Symphony

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:47:22 PDT

In June 1891, Antonín Dvořák was invited to direct the newly-formed National Conservatory in New York City. Leaving four of their six children behind in Bohemia, Dvořák and his wife made their new home on East 17th Street in cacophonous Manhattan, just a few blocks from the new school. Through his diverse student body and the advent of the polyrhythmic ragtime, Dvořák first encountered African American and Native American music. He was particularly taken with those cultures’ spirituals. He borrowed musical elements from diverse popular sources for many of his compositions, including his Symphony No. 9, From the New World.

Bach’s Mass in B minor

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:29:56 PST

Bach’s Mass in B minor can viewed as a compendium of all of the musical styles in which the composer was fluent. The work encompasses many different styles popular in the Baroque era, including polyphonic choral textures, instrumental solos, and operatic aria solos for the vocalists. A work of huge scale, it is unlikely that Bach ever heard the Mass performed in its entirety. Composed at intervals throughout his life and finally compiled into a complete work just before his death, the B minor Mass stands as an embodiment of Bach’s genius.

Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:40:48 PST

On an extended journey through Italy in 1830 and 1831, Felix Mendelssohn began work on his Fourth Symphony. A wildly talented composer who wrote his famous Octet when he was only sixteen, Mendelssohn was prompted to finish the work when the London Philharmonic Society requested a symphony from him (and offered payment of a hundred guineas). Mendelssohn called it the jolliest music he had ever composed. Although he remained dissatisfied with the symphony and planned numerous revisions, the Italian Symphony still stands as one of his most easily recognizable works.

Brahms's Serenade

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:58:45 PST

In 1857, Johannes Brahms assumed the post of Clara Schumann, recently departed for Berlin, as piano teacher at the court of Prince Leopold. His pupils and members of his choir loved him, and at the court he reveled in his time to compose, conduct, and study the repertory. It also afforded him a period of cooling off following the death of his mentor Robert Schumann, and allowed him to work towards his great goal of composing symphonies. This first Serenade was called a “Symphony-Serenade” by Joseph Joachim, and is a fresh, inventive, and spirited work.

Mozart's Requiem

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 16:08:09 PST

Mystery and myth surround Mozart’s Requiem. It was left uncompleted at the composer’s somewhat sudden death, and no one quite knows exactly how much music he left behind. His widow, Constanze, was set with the task of finding another composer to complete the work, while still promoting it as a Mozart composition (in order to receive the full commission fee). After Joseph Eyeler, one of Mozart’s students, was unable to complete the Requiem, Franz Xaver Süssmayr, another former student, finally completed a working version, which stands as the most popular of the many versions still performed today.

Mozart's Symphony No. 33

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 13:23:32 PST

Throughout Mozart’s childhood, his father Leopold paraded him around the courts of Europe in the hope of gaining the boy’s employment, and therefore a steady cash flow for his family. After many years of traveling, he was hired for a full time position in their hometown of Salzburg. In spring 1779, Mozart met a traveling theater troupe that performed many of his operas and symphonies. It’s likely that this Symphony No. 33, which Mozart composed while employed at the court at Salzburg, was meant as just that: an overture to a theatrical production.

Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 10:57:58 PST

Following encouragement from his teacher to immerse himself in the works of Mozart and Haydn, Sergei Prokofiev composed his Symphony No. 1, Classical, in 1916-17. Harkening back to his forbears in the realms of form and structure while using the expanded harmonic language of his contemporaries, Prokofiev for the first time composed away from the piano keyboard, lending a more compact and transparent orchestral sound to the work. Written just before the composer left Russia following the abdication of the Tsar and Lenin’s ascent to power, the Classical symphony foreshadowed the neoclassicism of the 1920s and became one of the composer’s most frequently performed works.

Schubert's Symphony No. 5

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:28:15 PST

At 17, Schubert composed his art song masterpiece Gretchen am Spinnrade. The following year, he composed more than 145 more, including Erlkönig. By the time he reached age 19, in 1816, he had already composed a treasure trove of art songs and instrumental sonatas in addition to his first four symphonies. Following a series of personal setbacks, including receiving no response after sending Goethe a packet of songs based on his poems, Schubert composed his Fifth Symphony. Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor, one of only two he wrote in a minor key, was one of Schubert’s favorites, and is echoed in the fiery minuet movement.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 1

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:32:58 PST

Arriving in Vienna in 1792, with a stack of music he’d composed in Bonn, young Beethoven settled down to study composition with Josef Haydn. By the time he premiered his first symphony in 1800, he had already published an impressive catalogue, including 10 piano sonatas, two cello sonatas, three violin sonatas, five string trios, and six string quartets. Symphony No. 1 opens on a dissonant chord and includes featured wind solos and a third movement scherzo, all reflecting a musical personality that foreshadows Beethoven’s impending departure from his Classical education

Beethoven's Symphony No. 4

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:15:46 PST

In summer 1806, Beethoven had to give up his summer vacation home in order to pay off his and his family’s debts. Despite the financial turmoil, the year was an extraordinarily productive one for him: the composer wrote many of his great works in that year, including the Razumovsky string quartets, the revision of what became Fidelio (including the Leonore Overture No. 3), the Fourth Piano Concerto, and the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies. The Fourth Symphony, often overshadowed by the Third and the Fifth, is perhaps his least frequently performed symphony. The work is a return to the grace and relative simplicity of Beethoven’s earlier classical style. At the middle of the second movement stands an episode that distinguished musical analyst Donald Francis Tovey called “one of the most imaginative passages anywhere in Beethoven.”

Rachmaninoff's 'Symphonic Dances'

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:05:43 PST

In summer 1940, while enjoying a very busy career as a pianist and conductor, Rachmaninoff finally found time to compose while vacationing on Long Island. Following the successful dance production of his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, choreographed by Mikhail Fokine, Rachmaninoff started work on what he called his Fantastic Dances, planning a Philadelphia Orchestra premiere complete with Fokine’s choreography. After the death of Fokine, this last work of Rachmaninoff’s became the Symphonic Dances, a three-movement work which showcases Rachmaninoff’s mastery of orchestral color and includes buried secret references and codes.

Episode 14: Prokofiev's Scenes from Romeo and Juliet

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:01:19 PST

Following multiple failed agreements with various ballet companies (including the Bolshoi, which declared the music impossible to dance to), Sergei Prokofiev reduced what would eventually become his most popular ballet to three orchestral suites. Romeo and Juliet “is a great lyrical symphonic epic, one in which Prokofiev used his unique gift for beautiful melody to give life to all the characters,” says Michael Tilson Thomas. Prokofiev’s work uses character and emotional motifs to capture the dramatic action in Shakespeare’s classic love story.

John Adams' "Harmonielehre"

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:33:07 PST

After a year-long writer’s block and amid feelings of uncertainty about how contemporary music would evolve, composer John Adams had a dream. He dreamt that as he was driving across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and looking at the water, an oil tanker took off into the sky like a rocket ship. He woke up the next day, and like a man possessed, began work on Harmonielehre. The third movement was inspired by a second dream, in which Adams’ daughter “rides perched on the shoulder of the Medieval mystic, Meister Eckhardt, as they hover among the heavenly bodies like figures painted on the high ceilings of old cathedrals,” Adams writes. He veered off from many of his contemporaries in this work by moving from minimalism back to a more Romantic harmonic language. He viewed Harmonielehre, which shares a title with Arnold Schoenberg’s seminal text on harmony (it translates as “book of harmony”), as a way to teach himself not just about harmony in music, but in life as well.

John Adams's "El Niño"

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 10:41:22 PST

After witnessing the whirling emotions of his wife’s pregnancy, the pain of labor, and their culmination in the birth of his daughter, John Adams was inspired to re-tell the story of the most famous birth of all: the birth of Jesus. Narrated by a woman, El Niño is a Nativity story you won’t find in the Bible. Commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony in 2000, the oratorio uses texts drawn from English, Spanish and Latin sources, ranging from mystic and author Hildegard von Bingen to the pioneering Mexican poet and novelist Rosario Castellanos.

Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:32:14 PDT

In 1854, Robert Schumann, friend and mentor to a young Johannes Brahms, attempted suicide by drowning in the Rhine River. Thrown into emotional turmoil by Schumann’s resulting institutionalization and his unrequited love for Robert’s wife Clara, young Brahms began sketching his first major orchestral work. Brahms reflects his struggle with a tormented opening, a slow movement he described as a “lovely portrait” of Clara, and, in the finale, his acceptance of reality. Perhaps afraid to attempt a form so masterfully executed by Beethoven, Brahms first wrote a sonata for two pianos, which evolved finally into his Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor.

Strauss’ 'Ein Heldenleben'

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 16:43:24 PDT

Richard Strauss’ tone poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) is regarded by many as a musical self-portrait. Its vivid sketches of the characters and events depict the hero himself, in a soaring E flat-major horn solo; his adversaries, played by stumbling tubas; and, in what is generally thought to be a portrait of Strauss’ opera diva wife, Pauline, a violin solo that runs from loving and playful to emotional and nagging. Written after winning a ten-year contract with the Berlin Court Opera, Strauss’ sky-high spirits are evident in this adventure of a work.

Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:01:26 PDT

During a wildly successful tour of the United States in 1928, Maurice Ravel met American composer George Gershwin, and listened to jazz in Harlem and New Orleans. These influences plus his Basque heritage (already exhibited in his Rapsodie espagnole and Boléro) are easily heard in his Piano Concerto in G major. Ravel modeled it after the light, divertimento-like concertos of Mozart and Saint‑Saëns. The Spanish-tinged jazz riffs of the first movement are followed by a gentle and delicate Adagio, and the concerto closes with a bang in its irresistible finale.

Orff's 'Carmina burana'

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:53:48 PDT

With a libretto based on a collection of poems discovered in a Benedictine monastery, Carl Orff’s Carmina burana (“Bavarian Songs”) elaborates on many topics familiar to both 13th century and current listeners: springtime beauty, going out for a night on the town, and girls in red dresses and the boys who chase them. Ever popular with audiences, Orff considered this cantata his best work.

Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 17:15:09 PDT

Franz Liszt may have been one of the nineteenth century’s most exasperating underachievers, to say nothing of committing the unforgivable sin of success on a staggering scale. But he was a genius, as this concerto can remind us. It was begun in 1835 at the ripe old age of 24, but Liszt did not complete his first piano concerto until nearly twenty years later. A final draft appeared in 1849, which was revised before the 1855 premiere (conducted by Hector Berlioz), and then revised yet again before its publication in 1856. Béla Bartók called the concerto "the first perfect realization of cyclic sonata form, with common themes being treated on the variation principle."

Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:27:37 PDT

After advocating for Beethoven's concerto, advising on the composition of Brahms', and performing Mendelssohn's more than two hundred times, celebrated violinist Joseph Joachim lent his musical talents to a fourth great German violin concerto: Max Bruch's. Described by Joachim as the "richest and most seductive" of the four works, this emotional, sensual music is Bruch’s most popular composition.

Walton's Symphony No. 1

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:30:35 PDT

The tumult and melancholy in William Walton’s first symphony have roots in perhaps the most familiar of all artistic inspirations: unrequited love. He wrote the first three movements after his girlfriend left him (including markings such as con malizia and con malinconia). Finally, Walton could compose no further, and the work was performed several times in its incomplete state. Luckily for several conductors who were anxiously awaiting a completed symphony, Walton soon was romancing a new lady, and he finished the finale in a tone markedly different from the heartbroken opening.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 7

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:32:27 PDT

The premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 was perhaps his greatest rock-star moment. Buoyed by the excited troops in whose honor the concert was being performed, Beethoven “tore his arms with a great vehemence asunder ... at the entrance of a forte he jumped in the air” (according to orchestra violinist and composer Louis Spohr). The work’s explosive energy and Beethoven’s expansion of symphonic structures to emphasize certain key areas make Symphony No. 7 an important stepping stone on his path towards Romanticism.

Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:29:14 PDT

Roméo et Juliette was composer Hector Berlioz’s attempt to write the next great choral symphony after Beethoven’s Ninth. In this “symphonie dramatique,” Berlioz uses the orchestra and the chorus not as dramatic actor and accompaniment, but as two equals. From the starting Allegro, depicting the warring houses of Montague and Capulet, to the Finale’s oratory oath of reconciliation, this work uses the (then new) language of programmatic orchestral writing to tell the oldest love story in the world.

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:28:40 PDT

Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony is a musical diary of his emotional life during a period of intense personal crisis. “I was down in the dumps last winter when the symphony was in the writing, and it is a faithful echo of what I was going through at that time,” he wrote to the work’s dedicatee, Nadezhda von Meck. Though his external life was not extraordinarily tumultuous, Tchaikovsky’s hypersensitive nature made him feel every event keenly, and this intensity of experience forms his first orchestral masterpiece from beginning to end.

Michael Tilson Thomas on Mahler's Symphony No. 5

publicrelations@sfsymphony.org (San Francisco Symphony) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:53:09 PDT

San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, a passionate interpreter of Mahler's music, describes the composer's Symphony No. 5. The San Francisco Symphony is part of the global commemoration of Mahler's birth and death anniversaries during the 2010-11 season, including performances at home and abroad of Mahler's music, the release of Songs with Orchestra, its final CD of the Grammy-winning Mahler recording cycle, and new Mahler episodes for its acclaimed Keeping Score national PBS television series.