San Francisco Symphony 2013-14: a dozen picks

Christian Tetzlaff. Photo by Giorgia Bertazzi.

Choosing twelve concerts from the San Francisco Symphony's 2013-14 season seemed harder than usual this year, but I feel as if I've been saying that for awhile now and and maybe I have. MTT's tenure has settled into a comfortable groove, but not a complacent one. The coming season has an enticing mix of classic and contemporary composers, some of the world's most sought after guest conductors and soloists, and great single evening programs featuring YoYo Ma (already sold out), Yuja Wang in recital, Dmitiri Hvorostovsky,  Liza Minnelli, Burt Bacharach, a film night series including Hitchcock's Vertigo and Psycho,  Chaplin's City Lights, and Disney's Fantasia accompanied live by the orchestra. If you want to get dressed for an occasion, the opening night gala featuring Audra McDonald promises to be a memorable evening and the post-concert party is always seriously fabulous. There are also a number of programs featuring the orchestra's principals as featured soloists. In some cities this would be done to save some money- in San Francisco they do it showcase the talent. These musicians are some of the finest in the world.

Here are my twelve:

Yefim Bronfman performs Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1, the world premiere of Zosha Di Castri's Lineage, and Prokofiev's Third Symphony. MTT conducts. Sept. 11-14

Apart from that unicorn which travels under the name Martha Argerich, there's no living pianist I'd rather hear than Bronfman. I'm not thrilled about the Tchaik 1, which is a safe bet two years in a row now for Fima's appearance with the orchestra, but whatever. What really enticed me to this one is Di Castri's new work, the first in a "New Voices Series" of commissions by the SFS. The Prokofiev 3rd is also pretty crazy. 

Pablo Heras-Casado, Thomas Adès, and Leila Josefowicz.  Oct 3-6

Casado is among the small handful of conductors I wouldn't mind seeing on the podium when the time arrives. He returns this year with an exceptional two weeks of concerts featuring the works of Thomas Adès and Felix Mendelssohn. There are three different programs during Heras-Casado and Adès' visit, including one evening of chamber music featuring Adès also performing, which should be fantastic (he's a fascinating pianist). See all of three if you have the time and means, but if you can only choose one, go with this one featuring Leila Josefowicz on the program with the Stravinsky Violin Concerto. She's one of the most talented, intense musicians on the scene. I admit to having an infatuation with her, but I'm not the only one. See why for yourself. Also on the program are Lully's Overture and Passacaille from Armide, Adès' Three Studies from Couperin, and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3, Scottish.

Edwin Outwater and Simon Trpčeski.  Oct 24-26
October features an inordinate amount of great evenings at Davies, but the return of former Resident Conductor Outwater and the presence of the versatile and compelling pianist Trpčeski in an evening of Eastern European music puts this one on the list. On the program: Ligeti's Concert Românesc; Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3; Dvořák’s Legends for Orchestra, Nos. 2, 6, and 10 and Lutoslowski's Concerto for Orchestra. Go for the Ligeti and Trpčeski. Stay for the Lutoslowski.

Semyon Bychkov conducts Britten's War Requiem. Nov. 27 & 30

Take a break from the seriousness of your holidays and revel in this light fare before everything becomes all-Christmas, all-the-time. I'm one of the few dissenters when it comes to the common wisdom of how great Bychkov is, but even I can't resist this important part of the Britten Centennial, a monumental work not to be missed. Hopefully Christine Brewer will be in fine voice- her last appearance here was a bit shaky. Tenor James Gilchrist, baritone Roderick Williams, the SFS Chorus, and the Pacific Boychoir are all on hand to make this soar.

Beethoven and Bates.  Jan 8-11

Mason Bates (composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony, DJ, and handsome local guy) had three (three!) works programmed with Beethoven classics this season, but a late change has now made it two. The audacity! One has been heard here before- Alternative Energy was performed by Bates and the CSO during their Centennial Season visit. Liquid Interface will get its local premiere. It's tempting to recommend the concerts featuring the new work, especially if you've heard the other, but I'm going with the return of Alternative Energy. Not only is it a great piece, but the rest of the program features the better Beethoven selections- Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik soloing in Romances for Violin and Orchestra as well the Seventh Symphony. 

MTT conducts Mahler's Third, featuring Sasha Cooke. Feb. 27, Mar. 1 & 2

No, we haven't heard enough Mahler, and we certainly haven't heard enough from Cooke, who was sensational as Mary Magdalene this past summer across the street in the War Memorial Opera House.

I don't have any of the remaining subscription concerts in March on my list, but take a look at the Symphony's calendar for what's going that month- there is a lot worth getting a ticket for, including  the St. Petersburg Phil led by Temirkanov (performing the 2nd Rachmaninoff Symphony), Yuja and the Dude, Liza with a Z, Evgeny Kissin, Natalie Dessay and Julia Fischer. It's the most ridiculously packed month of them all.

Blomstedt and Carey Bell. April 3-6
Both of the programs on Blomstedt's annual visit are worth attending, and if you've never heard the orchestra under their Conductor Laureate you really shouldn't miss this. Blomstedt's visits are uniquely special. I'm choosing this one because it showcases Bell, who is probably the most talented clarinet player in the world. On the program are Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto and  Schubert's Symphony in C, aka The Great.

James Conlon conducts, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet.  April 24-26
Few conductors impress me as much as Conlon does. His knowledge, enthusiasm, energy and talent seemingly have no end. Thibaudet impressed me greatly in his last appearance, so this one should be quite good, especially since the program features Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No.1, Tchaikovsky's 6th, Pathetique, and a rarity championed by Conlon- the scherzo from Erwin Schulhoff's Fifth Symphony. Principal Trumpet Mark Inouye is also prominently featured in these concerts.

Ton Koopman's Bach. May 1-4
Nobody is better with Baroque repertoire than Koopman, and he returns for two programs. This one features both J.S. and C.P.E. Bach, with solo slots for Principal Cellist Peter Wyrick and Principal Trumpet Mark Inouye. Also on hand is soprano Carolyn Sampson. From Johann is Orchestra Suite No. 4 and the cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen. From his son Carl there's the Cello Concerto No. 3 and the Symphony in G major. 

MTT and Christian Tetzlaff.  May 14-17.
The return of the Shredder. A profile in The New Yorker last year (08/27/12) told the rest of the world what those who've seen him perform already knew- there is no one else quite like the violinist Christian Tetzlaff. He'll be performing Bartok's 2nd Violin Concerto on his modern, inglorious fiddle. Sibelius' Lemminkäinen's Return and the Brahms 4th are also on the program. If Tetzlaff performs in the first half of the concert as expected, expect noticeable attrition after the intermission- the main even will have happened. Tetzlaff will also be performing the Bach Sonatas and Partitas in a solo recital on Sunday May 11th in what will be one of the most anticipated recitals of the year. Do not miss this.

Yuja Wang plays the Rach IV.  May 22-25.
Tchaikovsky's The Tempest and Debussy's Images will also be played during these evenings, but will anyone actually remember that afterwards? Probably not. MTT conducts, and there's a special chemistry between these two which only seems kind of weird when one reads those words. In person, it's electric.

Britten's Peter Grimes.  June 26-29
The second half of June is devoted to the Benjamin Britten Centennial with four different programs, all of which are of interest. However, if you only can attend one, choose this. Closing the season with a semi-staged opera is becoming a SFS tradition (and a very welcome one) and Britten's masterpiece will undoubtedly be given special consideration. The cast is excellent, including local favorites Elza van den Heever, John Relyea, Eugene Brancoveanu along with Ann Murray, Stuart Skeleton, Alan Opie, and Nancy Maultsby. 

Tickets are on sale now for all single concert programs and special events,  along with subscriptions and design-your-own series options, which feature a discount. You can order online, call the box office at (415) 864-6000, or visit Davies Symphony Hall in person at the Grove Street entrance between Van Ness and Franklin (2 blocks from the Civic Center BART exit). If you want to push your luck, last minute rush tickets  go on sale when available the day of the concert. The price is $20 (limit of 2) and you can see if there are any available by calling (415) 505-5577. The information is available until 6:00 PM the day of the concert, 6 PM Friday for weekend performances. When they come up they are often quite good seats. If you've never been to the Symphony before and are concerned about what to wear, dressing up is great but you really can attend in whatever you want. Just don't be an idiot by wearing shorts or a tux (unless it's opening night). The best sound is in the 2nd tier, the best view is from the Loge (which has the roomiest seats). There is a coat-check off the Grove Street entrance- use it if you bring a large coat with you to the performance. No one wants to be bothered with your coat hanging off your seat into their lap. Don't talk while the musicians are playing- they can hear you and it annoys the piss out of the rest of us. Whatever you have to say can wait until the music is over. Really. You'll know it's over when the conductor lowers his hands. Then you can clap if you feel like it, but wait until they're finished, unless you really, really can't contain yourself. Don't be the first person to clap. Just don't. Shouts of approval are acceptable, but yelling "Bravo" will make you look like a yokel. Yelling "Bravi!" will make you look like an ass. The bar on the 2nd tier doesn't serve hard liquor. You have 7 minutes to get to your seat once the first bell rings- plenty of time- don't rush. The bathrooms on the Van Ness side of the building are less crowded. Men, if you see a line in that bathroom, don't assume there isn't a place available- for some reason men just like to line up for no good reason in that bathroom. I have no idea why, but they do. Just peek around the corner and see if there's a vacancy. Chances are there is one. Don't leave your program under your bare hand in your lap- when you try to move it you'll make a distracting sound trying to unstick it from your skin. Read the program notes online before the concert, not during the concert.They are always available, and usually quite informative. The Symphony is a very good place to go by yourself in the hope of meeting another single person with whom you can eventually enjoy sex. There are many attractive single people there by themselves. Chat one up. If their date is actually in the bathroom, so what? At least you tried. If that happens to you, walk away, go to another level of the hall and seek out someone else. If you're looking for a classy place to go after the show with a person you've just met, go to Absinthe, not Sugar. Do not try to take an upskirt of Yuja Wang. However, if you disregard this warning and manage to get away with it, would you please send me a copy?