San Francisco Symphony

Classical Album Review: Pierre-Laurent Aimard Plays Bartók’s Piano Concertos

August 27, 2023
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Ultimately, then, we’ve got something special here: a fresh take on some canonic works by a conductor and soloist whose bread-and-butter is this very fare.

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Classical Music Review: San Francisco Symphony at Symphony Hall

March 27, 2019
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While the orchestra’s program was almost defiantly canonical, it was played with such lightness and energy that you could forgive its disappointing safeness.

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Classical Album Reviews: Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 3 and Mass in C (SFS Media), Music for Harp (Innova)

January 3, 2016
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Beethoven’s Mass in C is the highlight. Would that the San Francisco Symphony’s performance of the Third Concerto had more electricity.

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Classical CD Reviews: John Adams’ “Absolute Jest” (SFS Media); Alexander Melnikov plays Schumann (Harmonia mundi)

August 27, 2015
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John Adams’ Absolute Jest is a sheer blast of fun, wildly inventive and, at its best, a vertiginous collage.

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Music Commentary: Notable Classical Performances of 2014

December 24, 2014
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It’s fun to recall what’s been played locally since January and be reminded just how rich the greater Boston area’s classical music scene really is.

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Classical Music CD Review: “Masterpieces in Miniature” (SFS Media)

November 22, 2014
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The conceit of this disc is both nostalgic and old-fashioned.

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Concert Review: Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall

November 18, 2014
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Under Michael Tilson Thomas’s leadership, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra’s sound has been refined and tightened; its repertoire has grown to embrace American music of all stripes.

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Classical CD Review: San Francisco Symphony’s “West Side Story” — A Brashly Invigorating Performance

July 9, 2014
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The music of West Side Story sounds grippingly urgent and colorful as ever in the hands of one of America’s best orchestras and conductors.

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