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Cristian M\u0103celaru leads the San Francisco Symphony in a program featuring Anton\u00edn Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s Symphony No. 9,\u00a0\u201cFrom the New World,\u201d\u00a0on Friday, May 22.<\/p>\n
Brandon Patoc\/San Francisco Symphony<\/p>\n
The San Francisco Symphony\u2019s new music director, Elim Chan<\/a>, hasn\u2019t taken the podium yet, but the electricity surrounding her appointment<\/a> already ignited Davies Symphony Hall.<\/p>\n The energy from the recent announcement of her appointment coursed through a highly combustible program Friday, May 22, conducted by Cristian M\u0103celaru, who led the Symphony for the world premiere of Tyler Taylor<\/a>\u2019s \u201cEmbers\u201d and two sweeping Romantic showpieces.<\/p>\n Cristian M\u0103celaru Conducts Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s \u201cNew World\u201d: San Francisco Symphony. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 23; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24. $75-$250. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-864-6000.\u00a0www.sfsymphony.org<\/a><\/p>\n In Taylor\u2019s printed and spoken comments about \u201cEmbers,\u201d the fourth winner of the Emerging Black Composers Project<\/a> reflected on community, \u201cwhat we share as humans and artists,\u201d and the nature of embers, which start small but can grow into something powerful.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The commissioned piece is a moving addition to the set of classical works that evoke fire and other natural phenomena, a relative of such diverse works as Wagner\u2019s \u201cMagic Fire\u201d music and Berkeley native Gabriella Smith\u2019s \u201cBreathing Forests,\u201d also a Symphony commission.<\/p>\n Tyler Taylor, the fourth winner of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Symphony\u2019s Emerging Black Composers Project, discusses his new work, \u201cEmbers,\u201d at Davies Symphony Hall on Friday, May 22.<\/p>\n Brandon Patoc\/San Francisco Symphony<\/p>\n \u201cEmbers\u201d opens with a thump from the whole orchestra, then trails off into a dark theme that slithers from note to note in the strings. Undulating woodwinds, with a prominent low flute tune, continue under high, keening strings. As the orchestra grows louder and the strings divide, the mood turns threatening.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Irregular raps from the percussion punctuate \u201cEmbers,\u201d crackling like a growing fire, as the orchestra quiets down. Taylor varies the opening theme, creating immensely high tension as the orchestra again winds itself up into a blazing, yet not triumphal, frenzy. The fire crackles along in the background, as the orchestra fades out.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cEmbers\u201d has moments of beauty and moments of terror, reflecting the ambiguous nature of fire. M\u0103celaru, currently the music director for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Cabrillo Festival of New Music, led the work sympathetically, finding every nuance of color and emotion in Taylor\u2019s compact and powerful score.<\/p>\n The conductor carried all of that nuance forward into exciting performances of Rachmaninoff\u2019s First Piano Concerto, with Macedonian pianist Simon Trp\u010deski, and Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s Symphony No. 9, \u201cFrom the New World.\u201d<\/p>\n Rachmaninoff was a great piano virtuoso of the late Romantic era. Since he wrote for himself, his piano music calls for extreme keyboard athletics. Trp\u010deski has technique to burn and brought it all to bear on the concerto, playing with both fire and romanticism. M\u0103celaru proved a superb partner, and the two combined for a wondrous degree of rhythmic freedom throughout.<\/p>\n Cristian M\u0103celaru leads the San Francisco Symphony in a program featuring Anton\u00edn Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s Symphony No. 9,\u00a0\u201cFrom the New World,\u201d\u00a0on Friday, May 22.<\/p>\n Brandon Patoc\/San Francisco Symphony<\/p>\n Trp\u010deski\u2019s ability to spin out a filigreed line or project power ideally suited the first movement, and he played with melting tenderness at the start of its cadenza. The close of the movement built so passionately that the audience was \u2014 appropriately \u2014 moved to applause.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Trp\u010deski nodded to the audience with a smile, then went on with the concerto. The ruminative, understated piano entrance gave him the opportunity to toy with the crowd\u2019s emotions, as he and M\u0103celaru deeply embraced the Romantic side of the work.<\/p>\n Rachmaninoff\u2019s wit emerged as well, and that carried over into the warmly romantic elegance of the third movement opening. Trp\u010deski played the sweet second section with a hint of longing, and the crisp closing phrases added a circus-like rush to the conclusion.<\/p>\n A well-deserved standing ovation brought the pianist back for two encores. In a brief speech before the first, Trp\u010deski noted his pleasure in returning after an eight-year absence, and at a momentous turning point for the Symphony. He dedicated the first encore to Chan, who was seated in Loge A with Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey, bringing another roar from the audience.<\/p>\n The pounding third movement of Prokofiev\u2019s Piano Sonata No. 7 made a splendid encore to the Rachmaninoff, but Trp\u010deski still couldn\u2019t make his exit. Out came a stagehand with a music stand for associate concertmaster Wyatt Underhill.\u00a0<\/p>\n The pianist dedicated this encore, Evgeny Svetlanov\u2019s brief and delightful \u201cTwo Simple Tunes,\u201d to the Symphony\u2019s beloved music director laureate, Michael Tilson Thomas<\/a>, who died last month<\/a> nearly five years after being diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain cancer.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Cristian M\u0103celaru leads the San Francisco Symphony in a program featuring Anton\u00edn Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s Symphony No. 9,\u00a0\u201cFrom the New World,\u201d\u00a0on Friday, May 22.<\/p>\n Brandon Patoc\/San Francisco Symphony<\/p>\n Then came the Dvo\u0159\u00e1k. That this was the fifth Symphony performance of \u201cFrom the New World\u201d in five years \u2014 Xian Zhang, Joshua Weilerstein, Dalia Stasevska and Edwin Outwater have all essayed it \u2014 in no way dimmed the audience\u2019s enthusiasm for it.<\/p>\n M\u0103celaru led the \u201cNew World\u201d with muscular propulsion, using rhythm and dynamics to build the structure of each movement. He balanced the orchestral forces so surely that their sound was transparent, with every line audible even in the symphony\u2019s loudest moments.<\/p>\n The performance flew by, and perhaps there could have been a bit less sheer speed. There seemed to be a bit of scrambling at the tempo change after the first movement\u2019s opening and again at the beginning of the third movement. In between, the serene slow movement would have been even more beautiful if played more expansively.<\/p>\n Still, the many beauties and excitement of M\u0103celaru\u2019s approach made up for his tempos. The strings played magnificently, with a polished sheen. Russ de Luna\u2019s tender account of the slow movement\u2019s English horn solo was, as always, a highlight of the performance, as were the interactions of principal flute Yubeen Kim and principal oboe Eugene Izotov.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The delicate close of the movement, played by 10 strings only, was as affectingly intimate as could be.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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