San Francisco Symphony February 2026 Programming

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—The San Francisco Symphony’s February programming lineup features three Orchestral Series programs led by guest conductors Harry Bicket, Manfred Honeck, and Jaap van Zweden; the SF Symphony’s annual Lunar New Year concert, this year celebrating the Year of the Horse; and Dream Awake, a SoundBox program curated by violinist Alexi Kenney. The month also includes recitals with violinist Nicola Benedetti and pianist Yefim Bronfman, a Shenson Spotlight Series debut recital with pianist Mao Fujita, chamber music concerts at Davies Symphony Hall and the SF Public Library Parkside Branch, and a Valentine’s Day “Music of the Heart”-themed Music for Families concert conducted by Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser.

Orchestral Series
February 5–7: Bicket Conducts All-Mozart 
Harry Bicket, music director of Santa Fe Opera and artistic director of The English Concert, conducts the SF Symphony in a program of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, opening with the energetic Serenade No. 6, Serenata notturna, and Symphony No. 34, which features an opening fanfare that Mozart went on to reuse in two opera overtures. Soprano Golda Schultz joins Bicket and the Orchestra to perform the arias “Deh vieni, non tardar,” from The Marriage of Figaro and “Come scoglio,” from Così fan tutte. Schultz and tenor Samuel White also give the first SF Symphony performances of “Don Ottavio, son morta!…Or sai chi l’onore,” a scene from Don Giovanni. Mozart collaborated on these operas with Venetian poet and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte over the course of three years. The program closes with Symphony No. 38, nicknamed “Prague,” after the city where the work premiered to high acclaim.

February 19–21: Van Zweden Conducts All-Beethoven
Jaap van Zweden, music director of the Seoul Philharmonic and music director designate of Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, leads the Orchestra in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2, an 1802 work of lyricism, wit, and playful energy. Van Zweden also conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, which the composer believed to be his “most excellent symphony." The second movement, Allegretto, is one of his most popular compositions.

This program marks the start of a three-season cycle with van Zweden performing Beethoven’s nine symphonies. In the 2026–27 season, he will return for two weeks to conduct Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 5, 6, and 8, and in the 2027–28 season, he will conduct Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 4, and 9.

February 26–27 & March 1: Honeck Conducts Mozart’s Requiem
Manfred Honeck, music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, leads a dramatic production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem, which was unfinished upon the composer’s death. This unique production, conceived by Honeck, features portions of the Requiem that Mozart completed before his death, interspersed with readings from Mozart’s letters and the poetry of Nelly Sachs, Gregorian chant, and interpolations of other late Mozart works. The performance features soprano Ying Fang, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, tenor David Portillo, bass Stephano Park, narrator Adrian Roberts, and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Portillo, Park, and Roberts make their Orchestral Series debuts in this program. The program opens with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, followed by Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 93 in D major, written during the composer’s triumphant late-career stay in London.

Preconcert talks with The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young (Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco) will be presented from the stage and are free to all ticketholders. In addition, Requiem Reflections, an exhibit in the Davies Symphony Hall lobbies, connects Mozart’s Requiem with the universal questions it stirs and invites audiences to reflect on their relationship with music, faith, mystery, loss, and hope.

Special Event
February 28: Lunar New Year: The Year of the Horse
The San Francisco Symphony celebrates the Year of the Horse in its annual Lunar New Year concert, conducted this year by Mei-Ann Chen. The program includes Huan-Zhi Li’s Spring Festival Overture, the traditional song “Wishing You Prosperity,” music from Che-Yi Lee’s Dancing Strings, Tyzen Hsiao’s The Angel from Formosa, Huang Ruo’s Flower Drum Song from Feng Yang from Folk Songs for Orchestra, and An-Lun Huang’s Saibei Dance. SF Symphony Second Clarinet Yuhsin Galaxy Su joins the Orchestra in her solo debut to perform Che-Yi Lee’s Alone Ascending the West Chamber, and erhu player George Gao plays his original work Capriccio No. 6, “Shaoyin.” The concert closes with Chen Ge Xin’s Gong Xi Gong Xi.

The celebration begins at 4:00pm with preconcert lobby festivities open to all ticketholders, featuring an array of entertainment and activities, such as lion dancers, fortune readers, art making, and cultural performances.

The postconcert Lunar New Year Banquet begins at 6:30pm in Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall at Davies Symphony Hall, and features a lucky draw and live music, including a special performance. VIP dinner packages include access to the preconcert receptions, premium concert seating, and seating at the banquet.

SoundBox
February 6–7: Alexi Kenney
Violinist Alexi Kenney presents Dream Awake, a visceral and surreal SoundBox program that depicts the delicate balance between dreaming and waking life. Taking place in a backstage rehearsal space at Davies Symphony Hall, each SoundBox performance is unique—encompassing shifting stage settings, art installations, projection screens, and unexpected elements, featuring original lighting design by Luke Kritzeck and video design by Adam Larsen. Since its debut in 2014, SoundBox has been widely recognized for its creative approach to the orchestral medium and its ability to galvanize a diverse demographic.

Great Performers Series and Shenson Spotlight Series
February 1: An Evening with Nicola Benedetti
Violinist Nicola Benedetti performs with cellist Adrian Daurov, guitarist Plínio Fernandes, and accordionist Hanzhi Wang in An Evening with Nicola Benedetti. The concert combines solo performances and storytelling, with Benedetti sharing a selection of romantic, virtuosic, Celtic, and folk-inspired works by Ernest Bloch, Claude Debussy, Niccolò Paganini, Pablo de Sarasate, and more in unique chamber arrangements.

February 8: Yefim Bronfman Piano Recital
Pianist Yefim Bronfman plays a solo recital featuring Robert Schumann’s Arabesque in C major for Piano, Opus 18; Johannes Brahms’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Opus 5; Claude Debussy’s Images for Piano, Set 2; and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Opus 57, Appassionata.

February 25: Mao Fujita
Pianist Mao Fujita performs a solo recital including Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Opus 2, no.1; Richard Wagner’s Ein Albumblatt; Alban Berg’s Twelve Variations on an Original Theme; Johannes Brahms’s Piano Sonata No. 1, Opus 1; and Franz Liszt’s arrangement of the Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. The Shenson Spotlight Series, now in its fifth season, features ascendant artists in their Davies Symphony Hall debuts. Born in Tokyo, Fujita was still studying at the Tokyo College of Music in 2017 when he took first prize at the prestigious Concours International de Piano Clara Haskil in Switzerland, along with the Audience Award, Prix Modern Times, and the Prix Coup de Coeur, which first brought him to the attention of the international music community. He was also the silver medalist at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.   

Chamber Music Concerts
February 1: Chamber Music at Davies Symphony Hall
In this chamber music concert, San Francisco Symphony musicians perform Luigi Boccherini’s String Quintet in D major; Arthur Foote’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in C major, Opus 23; and Georges Enescu’s String Octet in C major, Opus 7.

February 22: Free Concert at San Francisco Public Library Parkside Branch
The San Francisco Symphony's free Community Chamber Concert series features small ensembles from the Symphony performing at community spaces across San Francisco. These concerts are an opportunity for audiences to get to know SF Symphony musicians and see them perform in an intimate setting. On February 22 at 2:30pm at the San Francisco Public Library’s Parkside Branch, Assistant Principal Violin Jessie Fellows (Audrey Avis Aasen-Hull Chair), Assistant Principal Viola Katie Kadarauch, and Associate Principal Cello Anne Richardson (Peter & Jacqueline Hoefer Chair) perform a Community Chamber Concert and engage in a Q&A with the audience. All Community Chamber Concerts are free and open to the public.

Family-Friendly Programming
February 14: Music for Families “Music of the Heart”
Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, SF Symphony Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education, conducts the Orchestra, soprano Vuyiswa Sigadi, tenor Sid Chand, and baritone Elijah Cineas in a special Valentine’s Day Music for Families program. The concert features works by Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Léo Delibes, Edward Elgar, George Gershwin, Kyle Gordon, Sergei Prokofiev, Giacomo Puccini, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Richard Wagner in an exploration of classical music inspired by love and music of the heart. Music for Families performances are best suited for children ages 5–12, and kid-friendly activities will be available in the Davies Symphony Hall lobbies before the concert begins.

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