Press Room

May 18, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony conclude the 2021–22 season with two concert programs, June 16–19 and June 23–25, at Davies Symphony Hall. The first program features pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard as soloist and includes music by Béla Bartók, Jessie Montgomery, and Ottorino Respighi. The final program of the season includes music by Steven Stucky, John Adams, and Jean Sibelius and features pianist Víkingur Ólafsson.

On June 16–19, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts a program of music that spans almost two and a half centuries, opening with Luciano Berio’s transcription of Ritirata notturna di Madrid—the final movement from Luigi Boccherini’s 1780 quintet La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid, a work depicting the nighttime sounds of Madrid. In 1975, at the request of La Scala Orchestra, Luciano Berio superimposed and transcribed several of Boccherini’s own iterations of the work to create Four Original Versions of Ritirata notturna di Madrid. On the other side of the chronological spectrum is Jessie Montgomery’s Strum for String Orchestra, composed as a string quartet in 2006 and revised into the string orchestra version in 2012. Montgomery describes: “Drawing on American folk idioms and the spirit of dance and movement, the piece has a kind of narrative that begins with fleeting nostalgia and transforms into ecstatic celebration.” Ottorino Respighi’s The Pines of Rome, completed in 1924, continues the theme of painting with music. Respighi noted, “In Pines of Rome [the composer] uses Nature as a point of departure, in order to recall memories and vision. The centuries-old trees which so characteristically dominate the Roman landscape become witnesses to the principal events in Roman life.” Also on the program, pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard performs Béla Bartók’s first and last piano concertos: Piano Concerto No. 1, composed in 1926, on June 16 & 17, and Piano Concerto No. 3, composed in 1945, June 18 & 19. The program, including both piano concertos, will be recorded for future audio release.

On June 23–25, Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the San Francisco Symphony in the final concerts of the 2021–22 season with a program featuring SF Symphony premieres of works by Steven Stucky and John Adams, as well as Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5, composed in 1915. Steven Stucky’s Radical Light was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and premiered by the ensemble in 2007 with Salonen conducting. With the title of the work inspired by Stucky’s favorite poet A.R. Ammons, the concept of Radical Light was largely influenced and inspired by Jean Sibelius’ music, especially the unique single-movement architecture of his Seventh Symphony. Also commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, John Adams’ 2019 work Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?  is a piano concerto composed of seamlessly connected sections in one continuous movement, performed in these concerts by pianist Víkingur Ólafsson in his SF Symphony Orchestral Series debut. Berkeley-based composer John Adams has a longstanding history with the San Francisco Symphony, having served as New Music Adviser and later as the Orchestra’s first Composer-in-Residence, composing and premiering numerous works commissioned by the SF Symphony.

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. A face covering is required for entry into Davies Symphony Hall and must be worn at all times. The SF Symphony strongly recommends that patrons wear a non-vented respirator, such as an N95, KN95, or KF94 face mask. The San Francisco Symphony requires proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 for everyone entering Davies Symphony Hall ages 12 and up who’s eligible—including patrons, performers, volunteers, and staff. “Full 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. At this time, proof of booster shots is not required. Patrons under age 12 must show proof of full 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. A photo verifying negative test results from a self-administered antigen [rapid] test taken within 1 day of event entry is also acceptable. Additionally, patrons may bring unopened at-home rapid tests 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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