While the orchestra’s program was almost defiantly canonical, it was played with such lightness and energy that you could forgive its disappointing safeness.
San Francisco Symphony
Classical Album Reviews: Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 3 and Mass in C (SFS Media), Music for Harp (Innova)
Beethoven’s Mass in C is the highlight. Would that the San Francisco Symphony’s performance of the Third Concerto had more electricity.
Classical CD Reviews: John Adams’ “Absolute Jest” (SFS Media); Alexander Melnikov plays Schumann (Harmonia mundi)
John Adams’ Absolute Jest is a sheer blast of fun, wildly inventive and, at its best, a vertiginous collage.
Fuse Music Commentary: Notable Classical Performances of 2014
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.
Classical Music CD Review: “Masterpieces in Miniature” (SFS Media)
The conceit of this disc is both nostalgic and old-fashioned.
Concert Review: Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall
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.
Classical CD Review: San Francisco Symphony’s “West Side Story” — A Brashly Invigorating Performance
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.