program
Oresteia Overture
Concerto for Two Pianos
Symphony No. 2, Little Russian
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2
performances
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Event Description
The Labèque sisters, "the best piano duet in front of an audience today," (The New York Times) perform Bruch's Concerto for Two Pianos. See this dynamic pair play a work that abounds with a dramatic force that lends itself perfectly to the Labèque's singular vitality and virtuosity. Then, hear Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony, famous for its use of folk songs evoking rustic scenes of the Ukrainian countryside.
The Thursday Matinee concerts are endowed by a gift in memory of Rhoda Goldman.
At a Glance
Taneyev
Oresteia Overture 1889 | 18 mins
At a time when most Russian operas were either fairy-tale fantasies or nationalistic epics, Sergei Taneyev developed a work based on episodes from the classic Oresteia penned by the Greek author Aeschylus (525-456 BCE). In 1889, Taneyev wrote what he intended to be the opera’s overture; by the time he finished the opera he instead composed a more concise prelude and expanded the original overture into its own standalone concert piece (played at these concerts). LISTEN FOR: This music is tense and dramatic. An early listener described “wild sounds of the cymbals, harsh trills of the woodwinds, exclamations of the trombones, and fateful muted sounds of horns . . . against which . . . phrases quickly flash and change, or are incessantly repeated, as an inconsolable cry of the heart.” Toward the end, the piece reaches a plane of transcendent majesty.
Bruch
Concerto for Two Pianos in A-flat minor 1915 | 25 mins
Max Bruch was approached about writing a double piano concerto by a pair of American sisters from Baltimore, Ottilie and Rose Sutro, who had achieved reasonably successful careers as a piano-duo team. LOCAL TIDBIT: The sisters were nieces of Adolph Sutro, who had made a fortune engineering a mining tunnel in Nevada and founded San Francisco’s Sutro Baths and Cliff House; he also served from 1895 to 1897 as our city’s twenty-fourth mayor. The Sutro sisters gave the world premiere of this double concerto; at these concerts, you'll hear the first San Francisco Symphony performances featuring another sister act, Katia and Marielle Labèque. This piece opens dramatically and generously showcases the two pianos with music that is part wistful, part operatically passionate, and part free fantasia.
Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 2, Little Russian 1872/1879 | 33 mins
This symphony’s nickname refers to “Little Russia,” an affectionate name for the Ukraine. Piotr Tchaikovsky’s younger sister had married and moved to her husband’s estate at Kamenka, near Kiev, the capital of Ukraine; it became a home away from home for Tchaikovsky, who longed for a stable family life (and sadly never achieved it on his own). It was at Kamenka that he began work on this symphony and where he first heard some of the Little Russian folk tunes that are quoted throughout. LISTEN FOR: Tchaikovsky was optimistic when he wrote this, and perhaps it shows—this is a symphony without any really slow music (at least nothing slower than the not-terribly-slow introduction!).
JEANETTE YU is Director of Publications at the San Francisco Symphony.
Concert Extras
Guest artist signing: Piano duo, The Labèque sisters, will be available for autographs following the May 31, Jun 1 and Jun 2 concerts. Signing takes place in the orchestra lobby, near the Symphony Store.
Inside Music, an informative talk by Laura Stanfield Prichard, begins one hour prior to concerts. Free to ticketholders. Learn More.
The Prelude Series: A Pre-Concert Discussion
An engaging new way to enhance your classical music experience at Davies Symphony Hall. Join us 45 minutes before the performance in the First Tier Lobby to take part in a free pre-concert discussion.
Discussion topic: Reveling in Romanticism
