Press Room

Feb 7, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—San Francisco Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen returns to Davies Symphony Hall for three weeks of concerts, February 24–March 12, 2022.

On February 24, 26, and 27, Salonen conducts the San Francisco Symphony premiere of the complete music to Ludwig van Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus, featuring narration written by Gerard McBurney and original animated projections by video artist Hillary Leben, marking her first collaboration with the Symphony. In November 2020, Salonen and Leben collaborated on a pre-recorded digital presentation of The Creatures of Prometheus with the Philharmonia Orchestra, where Salonen is Conductor Laureate. Originally conceived as a ballet work, The Creatures of Prometheus tells the story of two clay statues made human by the Greek god and notorious trickster Prometheus. Throughout the ballet, the clay statues encounter various figures of Greek mythology—the Muses; the Graces; gods and demigods including Apollo, Orpheus, and Bacchus—and in so doing they learn the manners and skills that make them fully human. In this imaginative multimedia performance led by Salonen and narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor and voice artist Keith David, Leben’s original animated projections combine with Beethoven’s talent for colorful and dramatic storytelling to bring to life the enchanting story of Prometheus’ antics in the world of the mighty and capricious Greek gods.

The March 3–5 program opens with the world premiere of Song of the Flaming Phoenix (火凤凰的笙音), a new concerto for sheng by Fang Man and featuring sheng virtuoso Wu Wei, commissioned by the League of American Orchestras with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet joins the Symphony for Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and Alexander Scriabin’s bewitching The Poem of Ecstasy rounds out the program.

On March 10–12, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Orchestra perform the San Francisco Symphony premiere of Elizabeth Ogonek’s Sleep & Unremembrance, a work inspired by Wisława Szymborska’s poem While Sleeping—one of the writer’s last poems before her death in 2012. The program also includes Igor Stravinsky’s dazzling Violin Concerto featuring Leila Josefowicz as soloist, followed by the composer’s The Rite of Spring. Set in pagan Russia with roots in Russian folk music, The Rite of Spring is an exhilarating and revolutionary work that has had a profound impact on modern music since its premiere in 1913. These are the first in a variety of performances of music by Stravinsky that Salonen leads this season; he also conducts semi-staged productions of Oedipus Rex and Symphony of Psalms (June 10–12, 2022), and releases a digital-only performance of The Soldier’s Tale on SFSymphony+ in June, in a new staged production by director, designer, and filmmaker Netia Jones.

CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE: 

Tickets 
Tickets for concerts at Davies Symphony can be purchased via sfsymphony.org or by calling the San Francisco Symphony Box Office at 415-864-6000.

Location 
Davies Symphony Hall is located at 201 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco.

Health & Safety Information 
Davies Symphony Hall is currently operating at full audience capacity. Based on health and safety recommendations from the City and County of San Francisco and due to the transmissibility of the Omicron variant, all San Francisco Symphony patrons are required to wear a non-vented respirator, such as a N95, KN95, KF94, or equivalent face mask while inside Davies Symphony Hall. Effective February 1, 2022, the San Francisco Symphony requires proof of up-to-date vaccination against COVID-19 for everyone entering Davies Symphony Hall ages 16 and up who’s eligible—including patrons, performers, volunteers, and staff. “Up-to-date vaccination” is defined as two weeks after completion of the two-dose regimen of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or other WHO authorized COVID-19 vaccine, and one week after receiving a booster shot, for those eligible. Beginning March 1, 2022, this requirement is expanded to ages 12 and older. Patrons under age 12 must show proof of up-to-date vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test (PCR test taken within 2 days of event entry or antigen [rapid] test taken within 1 day of event entry.

For those patrons under age 12 who wish to show verification of a negative COVID-19 test result, the following are acceptable as proof: a printed document (from the test provider or laboratory); or an email, text message, web page, or application (app) screen displayed on a phone or mobile device from the test provider or laboratory. The information should include person’s name, type of test performed, negative test result, and date the test was administered. Self-administered antigen testing is not acceptable at this time, but patrons may bring an unopened at-home rapid test with them to Davies Symphony Hall to take with a verified EMT present. Details about health and safety protocols at Davies Symphony Hall can be found here. 

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