January 1, 2025
MUSIC WITH FRIENDS
Guest conductor James Gaffigan returns to the San Francisco Symphony
James Gaffigan joins the San Francisco Symphony this month to conduct a program featuring Missy Mazzoli’s Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres), Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto with Ray Chen, and Sergei Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony. Gaffigan was associate conductor of the San Francisco Symphony from 2006 to 2009 and is now general music director of Berlin Comic Opera and music director of Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts in Valencia, Spain.
What’s it like to return to the San Francisco Symphony, an orchestra you have a long history with?
I’m looking forward to returning to the San Francisco Symphony for many reasons, both personal and musical. Personally, I know many members of the orchestra. I’ve known some of them since a young age when we were beginning our careers together, and we’re still friends. I have only incredible memories of being there as the associate conductor in the early 2000s, when I was doing a lot of repertoire for the first time with such a great orchestra. We’ve had lots of culinary and cultural adventures around the city too.
What are some of the fundamental qualities that define the SF Symphony?
In returning over time, I’ve loved to see the development of the orchestra, the new hires, and all of the new members that I’ve yet to meet. If I had to define the San Francisco Symphony with one word, it’s “versatility.” They’re one of the greatest orchestras in the country, and they can literally do anything—any style—and switch between different styles within one program. I really look forward to returning and making music with them.
What are your must-sees when you’re back in San Francisco?
I look forward to visiting many places in the city that hold many beautiful memories. There’s the Ferry Building, and the market there—and many, many coffee places. I remember when Blue Bottle Coffee first opened, and I went literally every morning before rehearsal at the San Francisco Symphony.
And I especially love exploring outside the city. Right across the Golden Gate Bridge there’s Muir Woods, one of my favorite places on earth. Drive a little further and you’re in wine country, in Sonoma, Healdsburg, and Napa. I have extraordinary memories of being there, and so many places in and around San Francisco that are dear to my heart.
What’s it like to return to the San Francisco Symphony, an orchestra you have a long history with?
I’m looking forward to returning to the San Francisco Symphony for many reasons, both personal and musical. Personally, I know many members of the orchestra. I’ve known some of them since a young age when we were beginning our careers together, and we’re still friends. I have only incredible memories of being there as the associate conductor in the early 2000s, when I was doing a lot of repertoire for the first time with such a great orchestra. We’ve had lots of culinary and cultural adventures around the city too.
What are some of the fundamental qualities that define the SF Symphony?
In returning over time, I’ve loved to see the development of the orchestra, the new hires, and all of the new members that I’ve yet to meet. If I had to define the San Francisco Symphony with one word, it’s “versatility.” They’re one of the greatest orchestras in the country, and they can literally do anything—any style—and switch between different styles within one program. I really look forward to returning and making music with them.
What are your must-sees when you’re back in San Francisco?
I look forward to visiting many places in the city that hold many beautiful memories. There’s the Ferry Building, and the market there—and many, many coffee places. I remember when Blue Bottle Coffee first opened, and I went literally every morning before rehearsal at the San Francisco Symphony.
And I especially love exploring outside the city. Right across the Golden Gate Bridge there’s Muir Woods, one of my favorite places on earth. Drive a little further and you’re in wine country, in Sonoma, Healdsburg, and Napa. I have extraordinary memories of being there, and so many places in and around San Francisco that are dear to my heart.
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Tell us a little about the program you’ll be conducting in San Francisco. How do the works fit together?
This program has a combination of very different genres. I always think it’s important that American orchestras celebrate the great American composers alongside the great living American composers. Of course, Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto is a masterpiece, and one of the most famous American masterpieces performed regularly. And what better way to showcase it than with the San Francisco Symphony and Ray Chen.
We have a living composer, Missy Mazzoli, one of the best-known American composers working today, and rightfully so. She has her own voice, her own style, and with the San Francisco Symphony being as versatile as they are, they are truly able to do it justice.
The second half of the program showcases my love for Prokofiev as a composer, and the orchestra’s virtuosity in performing his work. Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 is his grandest symphony, and a work that I remember hearing Michael Tilson Thomas conduct with the orchestra when I was Associate Conductor. It has everything in it—like a mini opera in symphony form, with so many emotions wound up into one piece. I think it will show the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony in an incredible light, so I look forward to bringing my love and passion for this piece into the performance by this particular orchestra.
You work in both the symphonic and operatic worlds. How does your approach differ when conducting an opera versus a symphonic concert, and what do you find most rewarding about each?
The truth is, I enjoy conducting opera and symphonic repertoire equally. They’re completely two different genres that call for very different skillsets and talent. Operatically, I love how many pieces have to come together to complete the puzzle and how many people are involved in the production. I love working with singers—working with their unique voices, supporting them and basically making their lives easier: They have enough to think about with what they need to do and sing onstage, so it’s my job to be as flexible as possible and make them as comfortable as they can be. I believe that there’s a lot of compromise that one must be able to make as a conductor of opera. So it’s not for everyone: If you’re a control freak, you shouldn’t be conducting opera!
Symphonic repertoire is extraordinary because it showcases the orchestra itself. There’s nothing to distract you from the symphonic experience, allowing you to just revel in the sound of the orchestra. I like to pay very close attention to the textures of orchestra repertoire while appreciating the rich experience of the music that a listener will experience as a member of the audience: They’re going to “shut off” for a while, and just revel in the sounds of the symphonic orchestra.
I find that most orchestras around the world are continuing to develop toward an even higher and more versatile level, and I love exploring repertoire that’s not often played in the regular subscription series. I enjoy combining the lesser-known works of a great composer with the works that are more familiar.
But I love both genres, and I need them both in my life.
What are some of your biggest hopes for the future of classical music in America?
My hope is that it can be an outlet for all young people at a young age. I was lucky in the public school system of New York City to have access to what we call classical music. It was an incredible outlet for me as a young boy: for emotions, for passions. I found great pleasure in working on my music alone or working on my music with colleagues—whether it was rock music or jazz or classical.
I think this should be available for every child in America and unfortunately, it’s not. It’s a dream of mine that within the normal education system, music can become a priority as high as mathematics or reading or history, because it exercises a very special part of the brain that has a lot to do with empathy and getting along well with others and listening well to others. I think we have a big problem in America of not listening to one another, which is the cause of many conflicts and misunderstandings. I think the idea of getting together and playing music, or even singing a simple song, is a way of bonding beyond words. That’s my biggest wish for America.
This program has a combination of very different genres. I always think it’s important that American orchestras celebrate the great American composers alongside the great living American composers. Of course, Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto is a masterpiece, and one of the most famous American masterpieces performed regularly. And what better way to showcase it than with the San Francisco Symphony and Ray Chen.
We have a living composer, Missy Mazzoli, one of the best-known American composers working today, and rightfully so. She has her own voice, her own style, and with the San Francisco Symphony being as versatile as they are, they are truly able to do it justice.
The second half of the program showcases my love for Prokofiev as a composer, and the orchestra’s virtuosity in performing his work. Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 is his grandest symphony, and a work that I remember hearing Michael Tilson Thomas conduct with the orchestra when I was Associate Conductor. It has everything in it—like a mini opera in symphony form, with so many emotions wound up into one piece. I think it will show the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony in an incredible light, so I look forward to bringing my love and passion for this piece into the performance by this particular orchestra.
You work in both the symphonic and operatic worlds. How does your approach differ when conducting an opera versus a symphonic concert, and what do you find most rewarding about each?
The truth is, I enjoy conducting opera and symphonic repertoire equally. They’re completely two different genres that call for very different skillsets and talent. Operatically, I love how many pieces have to come together to complete the puzzle and how many people are involved in the production. I love working with singers—working with their unique voices, supporting them and basically making their lives easier: They have enough to think about with what they need to do and sing onstage, so it’s my job to be as flexible as possible and make them as comfortable as they can be. I believe that there’s a lot of compromise that one must be able to make as a conductor of opera. So it’s not for everyone: If you’re a control freak, you shouldn’t be conducting opera!
Symphonic repertoire is extraordinary because it showcases the orchestra itself. There’s nothing to distract you from the symphonic experience, allowing you to just revel in the sound of the orchestra. I like to pay very close attention to the textures of orchestra repertoire while appreciating the rich experience of the music that a listener will experience as a member of the audience: They’re going to “shut off” for a while, and just revel in the sounds of the symphonic orchestra.
I find that most orchestras around the world are continuing to develop toward an even higher and more versatile level, and I love exploring repertoire that’s not often played in the regular subscription series. I enjoy combining the lesser-known works of a great composer with the works that are more familiar.
But I love both genres, and I need them both in my life.
What are some of your biggest hopes for the future of classical music in America?
My hope is that it can be an outlet for all young people at a young age. I was lucky in the public school system of New York City to have access to what we call classical music. It was an incredible outlet for me as a young boy: for emotions, for passions. I found great pleasure in working on my music alone or working on my music with colleagues—whether it was rock music or jazz or classical.
I think this should be available for every child in America and unfortunately, it’s not. It’s a dream of mine that within the normal education system, music can become a priority as high as mathematics or reading or history, because it exercises a very special part of the brain that has a lot to do with empathy and getting along well with others and listening well to others. I think we have a big problem in America of not listening to one another, which is the cause of many conflicts and misunderstandings. I think the idea of getting together and playing music, or even singing a simple song, is a way of bonding beyond words. That’s my biggest wish for America.
