San Francisco Symphony January 2025 Programming

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—The San Francisco Symphony’s January programming lineup features four Orchestral Series programs led by guest conductors. On January 9–11, James Gaffigan conducts the first San Francisco Symphony performances of Missy Mazzoli’s Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres), as well as Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto with Ray Chen and Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. On January 16 & 18–19, David Robertson leads the Orchestra in Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question, the world premiere of John Adams’ After the Fall with pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, and Carl Orff’s Carmina burana with soprano Susanna Phillips, tenor Arnold Livingston Geis, baritone Will Liverman, the San Francisco Girls Chorus, and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. On January 24–25, Mark Elder makes his Orchestral Series debut conducting Hector Berlioz’s Overture to Les frances-juges and the first San Francisco Symphony performances of Le roi Lear Overture, Claude Debussy’s Prélude à L'Après-midi d’ un faune, Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra, and John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine. On January 30–February 1, Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt returns to the San Francisco Symphony to conduct Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. 

The month also features Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser conducting a sci-fi themed Music for Families concert on January 18. SF Symphony musicians perform a chamber program, featuring works by Arnold Bax, Benjamin Britten, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Camille Saint-Saëns on January 26. Composer and pianist Courtney Bryan curates a SoundBox concert with SF Symphony musicians on January 31–February 1.  

Orchestral Series
January 9–11: James Gaffigan & Ray Chen  
James Gaffigan, General Music Director of Komische Oper Berlin and Music Director of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, conducts the first San Francisco Symphony performances of Missy Mazzoli’s Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres), which the composer describes as “music in the shape of a solar system, a collection of rococo loops that twist around each other within a larger orbit.” Violinist Ray Chen joins Gaffigan and the Orchestra to perform Samuel Barber’s lyrical and openhearted Violin Concerto, perhaps the most enduring American violin concerto yet composed. The program closes with Symphony No. 5 by Sergei Prokofiev, written during the final phase of World War II. Prokofiev wrote about the piece, “I conceived of it as glorifying the grandeur of the human spirit, praising the free and happy man—his strength, his generosity, and the purity of his soul.” 

January 16 & 18–19: Carmina burana & Adams’ Piano Concerto
David Robertson, Director of Conducting Studies, Distinguished Visiting Faculty at the Juilliard School and former Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony, leads the Orchestra in Charles Ives’ existential and experimental The Unanswered Question. Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson joins Robertson and the Orchestra to perform the world premiere of John Adams’ piano concerto After the Fall, inspired in part by Ólafsson’s Bach performances. This marks the ninth work that the San Francisco Symphony has commissioned from Adams, who has collaborated closely with the Orchestra for more than 45 years. “Vikingur has a special affinity for my music,” said John Adams. “After the Fall was written with his extraordinary gifts in mind. He is one of the great Bach pianists of our time, so it’s no surprise that a ‘presence’ of Bach prevails in parts of this new concerto.” The concerto’s title, After the Fall, is a nod to another piano concerto, No Such Spring, written by Adams’ son Samuel Carl Adams. Esa-Pekka Salonen and the SF Symphony premiered No Such Spring with pianist Conor Hanick in 2023. “I was so overwhelmed by it that I really didn’t think I could ever write another piano concerto,” Adams recalls. “So the title is partly a tip of the hat to Sam’s piece: there is no such spring after the fall.” 

The second half of the program is devoted to Carl Orff’s iconic choral work Carmina burana with soprano Susanna Phillips, tenor Arnold Livingston Geis, baritone Will Liverman, the San Francisco Girls Chorus, and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Geis and Liverman both make their Orchestral Series debuts in this program.  

January 24–25: Also sprach Zarathustra
Mark Elder, Conductor Emeritus of the Hallé, makes his Orchestral Series debut conducting Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra, known for its instantly recognizable opening trumpet fanfare. The program also includes Overture to Les frances-juges, from an unfinished opera by Hector Berlioz; Claude Debussy’s sensual symphonic poem Prélude à L’Après-midi d’un faune; and the first San Francisco Symphony performances of Berlioz’s Le roi Lear Overture. The program closes with John Adams’ thrilling Short Ride in a Fast Machine. 

January 30–February 1: Blomstedt Conducts Schubert & Brahms
Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt returns to the San Francisco Symphony to conduct Franz Schubert’s optimistic Symphony No. 5, inspired by the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn. The program also features Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, which the composer worked on for more than 20 years. The Symphony reflects Brahms’ deep admiration for Ludwig van Beethoven.  

Family-Friendly Programming
January 18: Music for Families 
Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser conducts a sci-fi themed Music for Families program, featuring programming to be announced. This concert is best suited for children ages 5–12. 

Chamber Music Series
January 26: Chamber Music at Davies Symphony Hall 
In this chamber music concert, San Francisco Symphony musicians perform Arnold Bax’s Quintet for Oboe and String; Camille Saint-Saëns’ Fantaisie for Violin and Harp; Benjamin Britten’s Two Pieces for Violin, Viola, and Piano; and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Clarinet Quintet.  

SoundBox
January 31–February 1: SoundBox: Courtney Bryan
Composer and pianist Courtney Bryan presents a SoundBox concert of music by contemporary Afrodiasporic composers from the United States, the Caribbean, South America, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Bryan writes, “There is a wide range of musical voices represented in the program, and many of the works reference moments of history within the African diaspora, honor Black writers and other cultural figures, or include topics of race, immigration, and other sociopolitical concerns.” 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. 

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