Musical Life in San Francisco: Yuja Wang, Michael Tilson Thomas, and the SF Symphony play Poulenc, Stravinsky, Villa-Lobos, Ravel, and Stravinsky
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Michael Tilson Thomas, Conductor and Piano
Yuja Wang, Piano
Poulenc, Sonata for Piano Four Hands (1918/1939)
Stravinsky, Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (1929)
Villa-Lobos, Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9 (1945)
Ravel, Piano Concerto In D major for the Left Hand (1930)
Stravinsky, Le Sacre du Printemps
Michael Tilson Thomas may sometimes over-program his orchestra and over-instruct his audiences, as locals will attest, but a cooperative sunset, a dazzling young Chinese soloist in a red dress, and a frothy line-up of arch and knowing pieces helped transform last Thursday evening's SF Symphony concert into something of a summer gala.
I had the good fortune of sitting next to a rather starchy woman of the "old school,” who called to mind Mary Tyler Moore at her most forbidding. She wasn't thrilled to see that the concert was about to begin from a stage bereft of players.
"If he reaches for a microphone, we're in trouble," she said, laconically.
