San Francisco Symphony March 2025 Programming

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—The San Francisco Symphony’s March programming lineup features Orchestral Series programs led by guest conductors Elim Chan and Juraj Valčuha and featuring guest violinist Gil Shaham. The month also features a duo piano recital by Yuja Wang and Víkingur Ólafsson; a performance by the Israel Philharmonic; chamber music programs at Davies Symphony Hall and the Legion of Honor; and a SF Symphony Youth Orchestra concert, led by Radu Paponiu. The Symphony also presents a program of music from video games, conducted by Eímear Noone, and the fourth annual Teen Night concert, led by Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser.

Orchestral Series
March 13–15: Chan Conducts All-Tchaikovsky
Elim Chan, former Principal Conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, conducts Piotr Ilyich’s Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, Pathétique, which the composer called “the best thing I ever composed or shall compose.” Chan also conducts music from Tchaikovsky’s tragic and romantic Swan Lake, one of the most well-known ballets of all time.

March 27 & 29–30: Juraj Valčuha & Gil Shaham
Juraj Valčuha, Music Director of the Houston Symphony, is joined by violinist Gil Shaham for Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto. The piece was originally written for violinist Joseph Joachim, who was a friend of Brahms and advised the composer throughout the work’s creation. In addition, Valčuha leads the Orchestra in Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, widely perceived as a depiction of Joseph Stalin’s regime.

Great Performers Series
March 2: Yuja Wang & Víkingur Ólafsson Duo Piano Recital
Yuja Wang and Víkingur Ólafsson present a wide-ranging duo piano recital, including John Adams’s Hallelujah Junction; Luciano Berio’s Wasserklavier; Thomas Ades’s arrangement of Conlon Nancarrow’s Study No. 6; Arvo Pärt’s Hymn to a Great City; Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Opus 45; and Franz Schubert’s Fantasia in F minor, D.940. In a recent interview with the San Francisco Symphony, Ólafsson said, “Two grand pianos can feel overwhelming, but they can also feel incredibly fascinating, if you know how to treat this kind of dual machine, if you know how to texturize it... When we perform together it doesn’t feel like ‘show business,’ like two pianists competing for attention on stage, but rather two pianists creating something together that is larger than the two individuals.”

March 23: Israel Philharmonic
The Israel Philharmonic, led by Principal Conductor Lahav Shani, performs Tzvi Avni’s Prayer, a short work for string orchestra; and Leonard Bernstein’s Halil, featuring flutist Guy Eshed. The program concludes with Max Bruch’s expressive Kol Nidrei, featuring cellist Haran Meltzer, and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s triumphant Symphony No. 5. Lahav Shani was appointed Principal Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic in 2020, and he recently renewed his contract through 2032.

Special Events
March 19: Video Games in Concert with Eímear Noone
Composer and producer Eímear Noone conducts the San Francisco Symphony in a concert that explores the musical worlds and themes of classic video games, including World of Warcraft, The Last of Us, Baldur’s Gate, Fortnite, Overwatch, The Witcher, The Legend of Zelda, and more. This concert is the first time that this new Video Games in Concert program will be performed; Noone has presented previous versions of the concert with orchestras worldwide  Based in Los Angeles and Dublin, Noone is one of the world’s premier composers of video game scores, and her composition portfolio of 30 film, television, and video game titles has received multiple industry accolades including the Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Video Game Score. Noone was recently announced as a lead composer of the upcoming video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, slated for an early 2025 release.

March 22: Teen Night
Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser leads the Orchestra in the fourth annual Teen Night concert, an innovative concert aimed at teens and young adults, conceived and programed by Bartholomew-Poyser. This year’s Teen Night theme is “Harmony and Humanity,” centered on Antonín Dvořák’s lyrical and nostalgic Symphony No. 8. The program includes games and trivia presented alongside excerpts from the Eighth Symphony and related works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Sergei Prokofiev, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, followed by a complete performance of Dvořák’s symphony. Bartholomew-Poyser joined the San Francisco Symphony as Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education since 2021 and recently renewed his contract through the 2026–27 season. This concert is designed for ages 13 and up.

Chamber Series
March 16: Chamber Music at Davies Symphony Hall 
In this chamber music concert, San Francisco Symphony musicians perform Gustav Mahler’s Piano Quartet in A minor; Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D.887; and Jeremiah Siochi’s Duo for Harp and Percussion.

March 23: Chamber Music at Gunn Theater at Legion of Honor
This chamber music program at the Gunn Theater at the Legion of Honor features SF Symphony Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik, former Symphony cellist Peter Wyrick, and guest pianist Anton Nel performing Bach’s Italian Concerto, BWV 971; Johannes Brahms’s Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor; and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Trio No. 3 in B-flat major, K.502.

San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra
March 9: San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra
Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu conducts the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra in a concert featuring Gabriela Lena Frank’s Elegía Andina; Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D major, K.385, Haffner; and Richard Strauss’s Suite from Der Rosenkavalier.

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