“A model of farsighted musical intelligence and no-nonsense command” (Chicago Tribune), Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck returns to the San Francisco Symphony after his triumphant 2017 debut. The acclaimed conductor leads the Orchestra in Dvořák’s rousing, Bohemian-flavored Eighth Symphony and Prokofiev’s cello showpiece, Sinfonia concertante, with the fiery virtuoso Truls Mørk.
Inside Music: With Manfred Honeck, Truls Mørk, and Peter Grunberg at 7:00 (1:00 on Friday,Thursday). Free to ticketholders. Learn More.
Off-The-Podium: With Manfred Honeck, Truls Mørk, and Peter Grunberg following the concerts on October 12 and 13.
PROKOFIEV
Sinfonia concertante in E minor for Cello and Orchestra, Opus 125 1950 | 37 mins
The sinfonia concertante was a genre in which more than one instrument stood in the spotlight—it was basically a group concerto. Don’t let the title fool you, though: In Prokofiev’s extraordinarily demanding work, the solo cellist plays nearly the entire time, with strikingly few breaks. A music historian deftly captured the essence of this large-boned piece, saying that in this music “the old and the new in Prokofiev stand side by side.” LISTEN FOR: Despite harshness and disjointedness in the melodies (“old Prokofiev”), the broad, singing themes (“new Prokofiev”) are what we notice most. MORE
DVOŘÁK
Symphony No. 8 1889 | 34 mins
Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony is genial and upbeat. The piece begins with a solemn introduction that spotlights the orchestra’s mid-range instruments, yet LISTEN FOR: a joyful interruption that takes the shape of a birdcall by a single flute. This happy moment builds into great ebullience throughout the rest of this very optimistic first movement. We’re not in the clear yet—the music eventually degrades into mournfulness via some forbidding passages. This tempering of spirit is a deliberate and clever move by Dvořák—think of how the sun always seems to shine more brightly after it has been darkened by shadows. Similar contrasts mark the Adagio, with gentle music countered by weighty passion. The folk-flavored third movement swings us back to melancholy. Then, after a bright opening fanfare, the symphony’s dance-like finale unrolls as a delightful set of variations on a lovely and dignified theme. MORE
JEANETTE YU is Editorial Director at the San Francisco Symphony.
Program
Sinfonia concertante in E minor for Cello and Orchestra, Opus 125 (1950)
Symphony No. 8 No. 8 in G major, Opus 88 (1889)
The Thursday Matinee concerts are endowed by a gift in memory of Rhoda Goldman.
Support for Truls Mørk's appearance is provided by the Phyllis C. Wattis Fund for Guest Artists.
Dvořák's Symphony No. 8
Cello
Initially taught by his father, Norwegian cellist Truls Mørk continued his studies with Frans Helmerson, Heinrich Schiff, and Natalia Schakowskaya. In his early career he won the Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition, Cassado Cello Competition in Florence, the Unesco Prize at the European Radio-Union Competition in Bratislava, and the Naumberg Competition in New York. Since that time he has made regular appearances with orchestras such as the Orchestre de Paris, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. In North America he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras, Boston Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He makes his San Francisco Symphony debut at these performances.
A champion of contemporary music, Mr. Mørk has given more than thirty premieres including Rautavaara’s Towards the Horizon with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (also recorded for Ondine), Pavel Haas’s Cello Concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic, Krzysztof Penderecki's Concerto for Three Cellos with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and Haflidi Hallgrimsson’s Cello Concerto, co-commissioned by the Oslo Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony, and Scottish Chamber orchestras.
Mr. Mørk’s recordings for the Virgin Classics, EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, Ondine, Arte Nova, and Chandos labels have received Gramophone, Grammy, Midem, and ECHO Klassik awards. Notable releases include Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with Mariss Jansons conducting the Oslo Philharmonic, Britten's Cello Symphony and Elgar's Cello Concerto with Simon Rattle conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), Miaskovsky’s Cello Concerto and Prokofiev's Sinfonia concertante with Paavo Järvi and the CBSO, Dutilleux with Myung-Whun Chung leading the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, C.P.E. Bach with Bernard Labadie conducting Les Violons du Roy, Haydn's concertos with Iona Brown conducting the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, as well as the complete Bach cello suites and Britten cello suites. His most recent recordings include Shostakovich’s concertos with the Oslo Philharmonic, works for cello and orchestra by Massenet with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the Saint-Saëns concertos with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
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