Artists
Conductor
Soprano
Michelle DeYoung
Mezzo-soprano
San Francisco Symphony Chorus
San Francisco Symphony
program
Push
[World Premiere]
[World Premiere]
Trevor
Weston
Symphony No. 2
Gustav
Mahler
performances
If you would like assistance purchasing tickets for patrons with disabilities, please call the box office at 415-864-6000.
THE EMERGING BLACK COMPOSERS PROJECT IS UNDERWRITTEN BY MICHÈLE AND LAURENCE CORASH.
Event Description
Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, evokes the divine glory of eternal life attained only through the suffering of the mortal world. Its lyrical slow movement and heart-pounding finale introduce two vocal soloists, here embodied by soprano Golda Schultz and mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung. Opening the program, Trevor Weston, inaugural winner of the Emerging Black Composers Project, unveils a new orchestral work, led by Esa-Pekka Salonen in its world premiere.
At A Glance
Trevor Weston is the first winner of the Emerging Black Composers Project, sponsored by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and San Francisco Symphony. His work Push, which receives its world premiere this week, is the resulting commission. The title was inspired by Antonín Dvořák’s comment that “the enthusiasm of most Americans for all things new is apparently without limit. It is the essence of what is called ‘American push.’”
Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, nicknamed “Resurrection,” began as a large orchestral piece called Todtenfeier (Funeral Rites). Between 1888 and 94, Mahler continued to add movements until it became an enormous symphony. The fourth movement introduces a mezzo-soprano to sing Urlicht (Primal Light), based on Des Knaben Wunderhorn (a collection of German folk poems), and the fifth movement adds a soprano and chorus for a setting of a hymn by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, elaborated on by Mahler himself. It concludes: “I will die, that I might live! . . . What you have conquered / Will carry you to God!”
Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, nicknamed “Resurrection,” began as a large orchestral piece called Todtenfeier (Funeral Rites). Between 1888 and 94, Mahler continued to add movements until it became an enormous symphony. The fourth movement introduces a mezzo-soprano to sing Urlicht (Primal Light), based on Des Knaben Wunderhorn (a collection of German folk poems), and the fifth movement adds a soprano and chorus for a setting of a hymn by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, elaborated on by Mahler himself. It concludes: “I will die, that I might live! . . . What you have conquered / Will carry you to God!”
Concert Extras
Pre-Concert Q&A: A pre-concert audience Q&A session with composer Trevor Weston and moderator Phillippa Cole will be presented from the stage one hour prior to the concert on September 29 and October 2. Free to all ticket holders; doors open 15 minutes before.
