San Francisco Symphony November 2025 Programming

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—The San Francisco Symphony’s November programming lineup features two Orchestral Series programs led by guest conductor Karina Canellakis and violinist Alexi Kenney; the SF Symphony’s 18th annual Día de los Muertos program; a recital by violinist Itzhak Perlman; and Gautier Capuçon: Gaïa, a cello recital featuring world premiere works by 16 contemporary composers, all commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony in collaboration with Capuçon. The month also includes live-to-picture film series performances of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Barbie; a program of music from Tim Burton’s films, featuring composer and vocalist Danny Elfman and violinist Sandy Cameron; the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra’s season-opening performance with Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu; and chamber music concerts at Davies Symphony Hall, the Gunn Theater at the Legion of Honor, and the SF Public Library Ortega Branch and Mission Bay Branch.

Orchestral Series
November 6–8: Canellakis Conducts Prokofiev & Sibelius
Karina Canellakis, Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, returns to the San Francisco Symphony to conduct Antonín Dvořák’s Scherzo capriccioso, which the composer wrote while mourning his mother. Alexandre Kantorow makes his Orchestral Series debut performing Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, which the composer wrote in 1921 for the Chicago Symphony, with whom he premiered the concerto as soloist. Canellakis also leads the Orchestra in Jean Sibelius’s Four Legends from the Kalevala, which depicts the adventures of Lemminkäinen, a heroic figure of Finnish mythology.

November 20–22: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Violinist Alexi Kenney makes his Orchestral Series debut as violinist and leader in a chamber orchestra program featuring the first SF Symphony performances of Olli Mustonen’s lively Nonet No. 2 for String Orchestra and Barbara Strozzi’s sorrowful “Che si può fare," arranged by Kenney. Kenney, Principal Flute Yubeen Kim (Caroline H. Hume Chair), in his soloist debut, and harpsichordist Jonathan Dimmock join forces to perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s dazzling Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major. “I’m thrilled to be making my solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony in the 2025-26 season,” said Kim. “Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 has been on my playlist for years—it’s not programmed often these days, so I’m really looking forward to bringing it to life in concert, especially alongside Alexi Kenney.” Kenney and the Orchestra close the program with Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, a series of virtuosic violin concertos that depict scenes shaped by elemental forces: wind, rain, sunshine, and snow.

Special Events and Great Performers Series
November 1: Día de los Muertos
Lina González-Granados, Resident Conductor of LA Opera, conducts the San Francisco Symphony’s 18th annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration, featuring music by Ricardo Castro, Paul Desenne, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jimmy López, Arturo Márquez, and Gabriela Ortiz. Cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia joins the Symphony to perform music from Márquez’s Espejos en la Arena, and dancers from Casa Círculo Cultural are featured throughout the concert.

Every year leading up to the Symphony’s Day of the Dead celebration, the lobbies of Davies Symphony Hall are transformed with immersive art installations and altars built by local artists to honor the living and the deceased. Curated by longtime SF Symphony collaborator Martha Rodríguez-Salazar, this year’s theme honors the memory and perspective of children by commemorating Día de los Angelitos, or Day of the Little Angels, celebrated on November 1. The event includes preconcert activities for families, including live catrinas and interactive altars.

November 4: Itzhak Perlman Violin Recital
Violinist Itzhak Perlman returns to Davies Symphony Hall in his 80th birthday season accompanied by his longtime recital partner, pianist Rohan De Silva. Known for a warm sound, welcoming demeanor, and unparalleled virtuosity that have made him a household name for six decades and counting, Perlman presents a program of violin showpieces including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major, K.301; César Frank’s Violin Sonata in A major; and Antonín Dvořák’s Sonatina in G major for Violin and Piano, Opus 100.

November 13–14: Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton
In celebration of the 40-year creative partnership of composer and musician Danny Elfman and director Tim Burton, Sarah Hicks conducts the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, and violinist Sandy Cameron in pieces from Elfman’s iconic scores while film clips and original concept artwork by Burton play on a large screen. Elfman himself will perform as part of the program. The concert features music from the films Alice in Wonderland, Beetlejuice, Batman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Frankenweenie, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and more.

November 16: Gautier Capuçon: Gaïa
Cellist Gautier Capuçon performs Gaïa, a recital of world-premiere works by 16 contemporary composers, commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony in collaboration with Capuçon for this project. The recital features works composed by an all-star lineup of contemporary composers, including Bryce Dessner, Joe Hisaishi, Missy Mazzoli, Gabriela Montero, Nico Muhly, Max Richter, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, and more. The recital will also feature a new work by composer and cellist Quenton Xavier Blache, who Capuçon anonymously selected for a new commission from a pool of applicants under the umbrella of the 2023 Emerging Black Composers Project. In this program, Capuçon is joined by pianist Jérôme Ducros; featured composer and cellist Quenton Xavier Blache; featured composer, cellist, and vocalist Ayanna Witter-Johnson; and SF Symphony Youth Orchestra cellists Timothy Huang, Anthony Jung, Melissa Lam, Ethan Lee, Claire Topper, and Cara Wang.

Capuçon brings this program to the stage mere days after the release of his album Gaïa, which is dedicated to and inspired by the Earth. He says, “This unique album brings together 17 pieces by 16 composers from different cultures, worlds, and musical genres. Each piece gives its own voice to the cello, immersing us in the power and depth of nature and the Earth, the source of life.” All 17 works will be featured on the Gaïa recording, which will be released by Erato Records and available on all streaming platforms on November 7. A related lobby exhibit is on display in the Davies Symphony Hall lobbies now through October 14. 

Please note that the start time of this concert has changed to 7:00pm. This program is presented without intermission.

Film Series
November 25: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon—Film with Live Orchestra
Sarah Hicks conducts Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon live-to-picture with the San Francisco Symphony. The film features an Academy Award-winning score by Tan Dun and tells the story of two warriors (played by Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh) who cross paths with a thief (played by Zhang Ziyi).

November 28–29: Barbie the Movie: In Concert
Sarah Hicks leads the Orchestra in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie live-to-picture, featuring a Grammy Award-nominated score by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. In this 2023 comedy, Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans. 

San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra
November 23: San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra
Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu conducts the first San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra concert of the 2025–26 season. The program features violinist Aaron Ma, winner of the 2025 SFSYO Concerto Competition, in Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, as well as Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari, Johannes Brahms’s Academic Festival Overture, and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8.

Chamber Music Concerts
November 8 & 15: Free Concerts at San Francisco Public Library Ortega Branch and Mission Bay 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 November 8 at 12:00pm at the San Francisco Public Library’s Ortega Branch, Bass Bowen Ha (Lawrence Metcalf Second Century Chair) and Second Clarinet Yuhsin Galaxy Su perform a Community Chamber Concert and engage in a Q&A with the audience. On November 15 at 2:00pm at the San Francisco Public Library’s Mission Bay Branch, Bass Charles Chandler and Assistant Principal Cello Amos Yang (Karel & Lida Urbanek 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.

November 9: Chamber Music at Davies Symphony Hall
In this chamber music concert, San Francisco Symphony musicians perform Erwin Schulhoff's Concertino for Flute, Viola, and Double Bass; Maurice Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor; and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat major.

November 16: 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 (Naoum Blinder Chair), former Symphony cellist Peter Wyrick, and guest pianist Anton Nel performing Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Trio in E-flat major; Variations on “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu;” and Piano Trio in B-flat major, Opus 97, Archduke. 

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