Over three weeks the San Francisco Symphony reflects on the distinctive lyricism of Franz Schubert and Alban Berg—100 years separate them, but Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas shows us how their passionate compositions shaped classical music as we know it. Schubert heralded the dawn of a new Romantic age. Berg brought that age to its conclusion and propelled music into a new period of Modernism. Both of their lives were cut short. Each one of the four programs will transport you as the San Francisco Symphony explores the beauty of two of music’s most poetic voices.
“The sense of the amusing, the ironic, the touching, the parodistic, the incredibly restrained, the utterly over-the-top…”—Michael Tilson Thomas , Music Director
Learn more about the fascinating parallels between Franz Schubert and Alban Berg.
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Additional support is provided by the Carol Franc Buck Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Events
MTT conducts Schubert's Unfinished Symphony
Wed, May 27, 2009 - Sat, May 30, 2009
Experience Vienna through the work of two very different native sons. Schubert's lyrical Rosamunde Overture and his Unfinished Symphony are juxtaposed with Berg's vibrant Three Pieces for Orchestra and his Seven Early Songs. Mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung brings her unique interpretation to these sensuous and melodic songs.
Inside Music, an informative talk free to ticketholders, with Peter Grunberg begins one hour prior to concerts.
Friday 6.5: MTT conducts Schubert's Unfinished Symphony
Fri, May 29, 2009
This Friday 6.5 Series concert features Michael Tilson Thomas's remarks before the complete works are performed. The music of Vienna through the work of two very different native sons. Schubert's lyrical Rosamunde Overture and his Unfinished Symphony are juxtaposed with Berg's Seven Early Songs.
MTT conducts A Schubert and Berg Journey
Wed, Jun 3, 2009 - Thu, Jun 4, 2009
Julia Fischer and Yefim Bronfman join the Orchestra and MTT in exploring the world of Franz Schubert and Alban Berg through works such as Berg's Lulu Suite, songs of Schubert and Berg, and four-hand piano music by Schubert.
The San Francisco Examiner recently said of the opening concert in the Dawn to Twilight Festival that "Berg … was performed with something close to perfection."
Michael Tilson Thomas and Yefim Bronfman perform Schubert’s Rondos for Piano Four-Hands in a special pre-concert recital one hour prior to each concert.
MTT conducts Schubert's Great C Symphony
Fri, Jun 5, 2009 - Sat, Jun 6, 2009
Hear the evolution of style between the first Viennese School of Schubert and the Second Viennese School of Alban Berg. Schubert's Great C major Symphony, written in 1825, is a masterpiece of the fledgling Romantic style, while Berg's Chamber Concerto, from 1925, is a bold statement of how much things had changed in the intervening century.
Inside Music, an informative talk free to ticketholders, with Susan Key begins one hour prior to concerts.
MTT and Gil Shaham
Wed, Jun 10, 2009 - Sat, Jun 13, 2009
Part requiem, part showpiece, the great Berg concerto finds an ideal interpreter in Shaham, who has explored it for years and played it often. Schubert's Masses are glories of the choral repertory and this one is no exception.
"… in the entire classical music canon, there may be no one who can compose an ending to a piece as effectively as Berg." -
San Francisco Examiner
Inside Music, an informative talk free to ticketholders, with Alexandra Amati-Camperi begins one hour prior to concerts.Meet Gil Shaham for an exclusive CD signing immediately following the June 13 concert at the Symphony Store in the lobby. Purchase your CDs now at the
Symphony eStore.
Center Terrace seats are not available for these performances.
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