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SEEN
AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL CONCERT REVIEW
San Francisco Symphony opening gala, Delibes, Gershwin,
Rachmaninoff:
Yefim Bronfman, piano;
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Davies Symphony Hall, San
Francisco. 3.9.2008 (HS)
Rachmaninoff's
Piano Concerto No. 3 may seem an unusual choice for an
opening-night concert, but with the fiery Russian pianist Yefim
Bronfman at the keyboard there was no gainsaying its crowd-pleasing
character. With Michael Tilson Thomas revving up the orchestra and
Bronfman joyfully riding the music's many climaxes, the piece made a
fitting second-half offering for what is essentially a party for the
city's swells.
Programming such an evening takes some thought. You have to
entertain an audience that has already consumed dinner and, in many
cases, copious quantities of wine and liquor, then sit there in
black tie and fabulous gowns. But you don't want to make it into a
pops concert, either. Tilson Thomas' approach goes with pleasant or
familiar music that has some meat to it, not just appetizers and
petits fours.
This time he opened the concert with "Cortège de Bacchus," an
excerpt from Delibes' ballet, Sylvia. Its foursquare dance
rhythms and precision work from the symphony's brass made for a
hearty appetizer. He followed with Bernstein's Symphonic Dances
from West Side Story, a harbinger of things to come in a season
that will celebrate the composer's 90th birthday. The orchestra
brings an all-Bernstein program, including this work, to Carnegie
Hall later this month to open the New York concert venue's 2008-2009
season, and has several Bernstein works on its own calendar. If this
performance is any indication, these should be highlights.
Tilson Thomas' history of outstanding Bernstein performances shows
the composer's vitality and distinctive voice. The conductor
lavishes as much attention to detail on these dances, for example,
as he does on his own suites of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet,
for example. It's more than just the clarity of the sound. It's the
way he coaxes out the individual personality of each rhythm.
Rhythm is such a key element in the West Side Story suite.
Time was, symphony musicians had great difficulty summoning the élan
for the jazz swing of "Cool Fugue" or "Rumble." Or the Latin jiggle
of "Mambo." But times have changed, and Bernstein's evocation of
early 1950s popular music has the snap it often missed only a few
years ago. The pure sound of this orchestra makes the sweet strings
of "Somewhere" or the delicate finish to the "Finale" reminiscent of
a Puccini love duet.
Finishing the performance with a concerto probably would not happen
in mid- season, but the overt power of Bronfman's playing in the
outer movements provided exactly the energy and power that the
evening needed. And the pianist's delicate touch in the slow
movement made for a welcome respite.
Harvey Steiman