Audiences will have to wait until 2020 to see Esa-Pekka Salonen take up his new post as the San Francisco Symphony’s music director. But the dynamic Finnish conductor, who last month was named the Symphony’s music director designate, returns as guest conductor in three performances this weekend.
If these concerts, scheduled for Jan. 18-20 in Davies Hall, are anything like Salonen’s previous guest appearances here, music lovers can expect a thrilling preview of the Symphony’s next chapter.
The program features the West Coast premiere of “Metacosmos” by Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir – a new work that Salonen conducted its world premiere at the New York Philharmonic last April. Sibelius’ “Four Legends of the Kalevala” and Richard Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra” complete the program.
The performances were originally scheduled to be conducted by Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, who postponed her debut appearance with the Symphony due to the birth of her first child. In an interview in Davies Hall on the day he was named music director designate, Salonen said he was very happy to step in as her replacement.
“It was a lucky coincidence, in a way, that Mirga, who’s a wonderful young conductor, cancelled,” he said. “That week opened up, and I happened to be free also. I inherited the second half of the program, which is the ‘Legends’ by Sibelius, a piece that I absolutely love and have been conducting a lot over the years. So then we just needed a first half, and I wanted to introduce this relatively new piece by Anna Thorvaldsdottir. She’s a fascinating composer, and I think it’ll be a great piece to introduce to the San Francisco audience.”
Salonen, who is also principal conductor of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, will be the 12th music director in the Symphony’s 107-year history, succeeding Michael Tilson Thomas, who concludes his 25-year tenure in July 2020.
On the day we spoke, Salonen said his previous San Francisco Symphony appearances had left him with an indelible impression of the orchestra’s strengths. Now he’s looking forward to returning to the ensemble with this program.
“It’s a very excellent group of musicians,” said Salonen, “technically on the superb level, very open, flexible, good natured, nice people, and I had a very good time. I felt we easily connected then, and when I came back, it felt like picking up from where we left. It really felt completely organic.”
Details: 8 p.m. Jan 18-19, 2 p.m. Jan. 20; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $20-$156; 415-864-6000; www.sfsymphony.org.
‘TANGO WITH MOZART’: Like the best culinary pairings, creative orchestral programs can charm the ear in tasty new ways. Consider this weekend’s California Symphony program, which pairs Mozart with the great Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla. Conducted by music director Donato Cabrera, the program features concertmaster Jennifer Cho as soloist in Piazzolla’s seductive “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” Also on the program: Mozart’s vibrant Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major and Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin.”
Details: 8 p.m. Jan. 19, 4 p.m. Jan. 20; Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek; $42-$72; 925-943-7469. www.californiasymphony.org.
MEYER TO THE PODIUM: Conductor Daniel Meyer, music director of the Erie Philharmonic, comes to San Jose this weekend to conduct Symphony Silicon Valley’s first program of 2019. It begins with Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, with Jon Kimura Parker as soloist. After intermission, Meyer leads the orchestra in Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 in G Major.
Details: 8 p.m. Jan. 19, 2:30 p.m. Jan. 20; California Theatre, San Jose; $50-$94; 408-286-2600; www.symphonysiliconvalley.org.
HEARNE SINGS: Composer Ted Hearne, a 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist whose stunning oratorio, “The Source,” was presented in a San Francisco Opera Lab production in 2017, joins the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players in the group’s Laboratory series this weekend. Known for his use of auto-tuning, Hearne will sing the vocal part in the West Coast premiere of music from his “Cage Variations.” The program also includes works by Ingram Marshall, Timo Andres, Molly Joyce and Mark-Anthony Turnage.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18, San Francisco Conservatory of Music; $35 general, $15 students; 415-633-8802; www.sfcmp.org.
WOMEN COMPOSERS CHAMPIONED: Music lovers and critics alike decry the shortage of music by women in classical performance, but Sarah Cahill does something about it. This weekend in Point Reyes Station, the fiercely forward-thinking pianist from Berkeley presents a sample of her latest project, “The Future Is Female.” Featuring solo piano works by women composers from around the world, the program includes music by Florence Price, Chen Yi, Teresa Carreño and Franghiz Ali-Zadeh. Admission includes a post-concert discussion with Cahill.
Details: 7 p.m. Jan. 19, Dance Palace Community and Cultural Center, Point Reyes Station; $10; 415-663-1075; www.dancepalace.org.
Contact Georgia Rowe at growe@pacbell.net
