Results tagged “symphony”

Off the tops of our heads, we can't think of too many classical/chamber pieces written in honor of our fair city. This one, 1973's "San Francisco Polyphony," is by Hungarian-born composer György Ligeti who's most famous for scoring parts of Stanley Kubrick films like 2001 and Eyes Wide Shut. It's, like, dissonant and you can't exactly dance to it. But we welcome any imaginative suggestions for what all that scary ruckus is around 3:50 -- Embarcadero Station at rush hour?

     

Dolores Park was packed to the gills this afternoon for the free San Francisco Symphony performance. Folks were even smartly sitting on the well-shaded medians of Dolores Street, which was closed to traffic. Ice cream from the mobile vendors was selling like hotcakes, as the bells competed with the sound of the music and acted as Pavlovian stimulation to all of the overheated kids. The Bi-Rite Creamery line also predictably extended down to the corner of the 18th and Dolores intersection.

LIT: In the newly released book Smash the Church, Smash the State: the Early Years of Gay Liberation, nearly 40 authors describe their involvement in the radical groups that took the fight for queer rights and connected it to other social justice issues. Tonight's reception for the Bay Area contributors to the book features editor Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Merle Woo and others, and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Snacks will be served.

MUSIC: Award-winning violinist Gil Shaham will perform the Berg Concerto, "part requiem, part showpiece," which he has explored for years and has played often, and Schubert's Mass No. 6, a "glory of the choral repertory."

FILM: During a time in which the military is desperate for new recruits, unless you're openly gay, Ask Not exposes the tangled political battles that led to the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy and examines the societal shifts that have occurred since its 1993 passage. Current and veteran gay soldiers reveal how the policy has affected them during their tours of duty as they struggle to maintain a double life, uncertain of whom they can trust.

SF Symphony guest conductor Fabio Luisi did his best last week to steal the thunder of violin megastar Joshua Bell. He opened the program with a tone poem by Richard Strauss, Don Juan. Tone poem means a symphonic little piece which tells a story, and, more often than not, said story is rather hard to follow: the instrumental language of an orchestra, as powerful and evocative as it is, is still open to multiple conflicting interpretations. To each their own daydream. Not with Luisi's Don Juan: after a crisp, brilliant opening that said, here comes Don Juan, he does not fuss around, Luisi and the SFSO delivered a sexy, lush rendition of the piece. It was a propulsive, erect, fanfare-ish opening. The strings (and Barantschik in particular) were seductive, the brass blended with the orchestra. A oboe playfully riffed on a snake charmer melodic line.