MTT: MOZART, TILSON THOMAS & SCHUMANN
November 12, 13 & 14, 2021
At a Glance
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart loved to dance. In 1787 he received a request from Count Johann Pachta to compose some dances for a ball in Prague. Despite being light on his feet, Mozart procrastinated in a big way. Legend has it that the Count resorted to luring Mozart into coming over for a free meal (who can resist?). Upon arrival, he was directed to a desk and “strongly encouraged” to compose. Apparently Mozart worked well under pressure: Less than half an hour later, four of these German dances were in the books.
Michael Tilson Thomas notes, “Notturno is a virtuoso piece evoking the lyrical world of Italian music. Its shape recalls concert arias, “études de concert,” and salon pieces—creations of a bygone world that I still hold in great esteem…The piece has a subtext. It’s about the role music plays in the life of a musician and the role we musicians play (must play?) in life.”
The Spring Symphony of Robert Schumann was inspired by a poem by Adolph Böttger, and the spirit of spring is there from the outset: The symphony’s opening motto is indeed a wordless setting of the poem’s lines “O wende, wende deinen Lauf,—Im Talle blüht der Frühling auf!” (Oh turn, Oh turn and change your course,—Now in the valley blooms the spring!). Images of spring dot ensuing pages of the score through a series of movement headings (later jettisoned out of concern that they flew too close to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony): “Beginning of Spring,” “Evening,” “Jolly Playmates,” “Spring Replete.”
After notes by James M. Keller and Jeanette Yu
For more information, including full program notes, visit the San Francisco Symphony’s digital program book platform at https://sfsymphony.ihubapp.org/ or text “SFS Concert” to 55741.
Program
Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart
Six German Dances, K.509
Michael
Tilson Thomas
Notturno
Robert
Schumann
Symphony No. 1
This weekend’s performances conducted by Music Director Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas are underwritten by Marcia and John Goldman in honor and memory of Past San Francisco Symphony President Nancy Hellman Bechtle.
Michael Tilson Thomas
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Conductor
Michael Tilson Thomas is the Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, conductor laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra, and cofounder and artistic director laureate of the New World Symphony. He is a 12-time Grammy Award winner and has conducted the major orchestras of Europe and the United States.
Born in Los Angeles, he studied conducting and composition with Ingolf Dahl at the University of Southern California and as a young musician worked with artists including Igor Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. In his mid-20s, he became assistant conductor—and later principal guest conductor—of the Boston Symphony. He subsequently served as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and principal conductor of the London Symphony.
In 1987 he cofounded the New World Symphony, a postgraduate orchestral academy in Miami Beach dedicated to preparing young musicians of diverse backgrounds for leadership roles in classical music. He has worked with more than 1,200 NWS fellows, many of whom have gone on to major musical careers.
MTT became Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony in 1995, ushering in a period of significant growht and heightened international recognition for the orchestra. He led the Symphony in championing contemporary and American composers alongside classical masters, and as Music Director Laureate, he has returned to conduct the orchestra each season.
His discography includes more than 120 recordings, and his television work includes series for the BBC and PBS, the New York Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts, and numerous televised performances. “Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is” aired on PBS’s American Masters series in fall 2020.
Throughout his career, he has been an active composer, with major works including From the Diary of Anne Frank, premiered with narrator Audrey Hepburn, and Meditations on Rilke. Both appear on SFS Media’s Grammy Award-winning recording of his music. In 2023, Yuja Wang released a recording on Deutsche Grammophon which included his You Come Here Often?
He is an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France, a member of the American Academies of Arts and Sciences and Arts and Letters, a National Medal of Arts recipient, and a 2019 Kennedy Center honoree.
Three major recording projects were released in 2024 in celebration of his 80th birthday: Grace: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas on Pentatone; The Complete Columbia, CBS, and RCA Recordings on Sony Classical; and Complete Deutsche Grammophon & Argo Recordings on DG Eloquence.
Born in Los Angeles, he studied conducting and composition with Ingolf Dahl at the University of Southern California and as a young musician worked with artists including Igor Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. In his mid-20s, he became assistant conductor—and later principal guest conductor—of the Boston Symphony. He subsequently served as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and principal conductor of the London Symphony.
In 1987 he cofounded the New World Symphony, a postgraduate orchestral academy in Miami Beach dedicated to preparing young musicians of diverse backgrounds for leadership roles in classical music. He has worked with more than 1,200 NWS fellows, many of whom have gone on to major musical careers.
MTT became Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony in 1995, ushering in a period of significant growht and heightened international recognition for the orchestra. He led the Symphony in championing contemporary and American composers alongside classical masters, and as Music Director Laureate, he has returned to conduct the orchestra each season.
His discography includes more than 120 recordings, and his television work includes series for the BBC and PBS, the New York Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts, and numerous televised performances. “Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is” aired on PBS’s American Masters series in fall 2020.
Throughout his career, he has been an active composer, with major works including From the Diary of Anne Frank, premiered with narrator Audrey Hepburn, and Meditations on Rilke. Both appear on SFS Media’s Grammy Award-winning recording of his music. In 2023, Yuja Wang released a recording on Deutsche Grammophon which included his You Come Here Often?
He is an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France, a member of the American Academies of Arts and Sciences and Arts and Letters, a National Medal of Arts recipient, and a 2019 Kennedy Center honoree.
Three major recording projects were released in 2024 in celebration of his 80th birthday: Grace: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas on Pentatone; The Complete Columbia, CBS, and RCA Recordings on Sony Classical; and Complete Deutsche Grammophon & Argo Recordings on DG Eloquence.
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