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THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY

••elW9hUl11i Los• A_ngeles Phllharmonlc Oct. 23-24 Gustavo Dudamel conduc,ts Wgrl<s

by John Adams, Enrico Ghapel<1, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Berlioz; with Johannes Moser, electric cello Boston 1 Symphoilj, Orchestra Dec. 6-7 Ludovic Morlot conducts works by 'BerliQz, Elllott Garter, Bart6k, John, Harbison, Rc!VJll and, Mahler; with Richard Goode, piano, and Elizabeth Rowe, •flute Chicago Symphony Orchestra Feb.14-15 Riccardo MutLconducts wprk� by �rt�ur, �OQ_�gger,,M_ascin B_ate�1 Franck, Schubert,<1nd,An11�•Glyne ,Cleveland Orcfiestr.a Aprjl l5-16 Franz1Welser-MO,st con.du� ,works

by Mer:i�elssol\n,:Kaij11 Sc!at.iaho, Shostakovich, Beethoven, TttomasAfles and·su;ietc!n@; with ,Niedlaj 2:nai<ler.violin

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Phllharmonlc

May lJ-14

Alan Gilllert conducts ,works by Berlioz, Magnus Lindberg, Tchaikovsky, Dvon\k, Bart6k, Debussy and ,Ravel; with ¥efim Bronfman, piano, and Glenn Dicterow, violin Phlladelphla Prchestra June 9-10 Charles Dutoit conducts works

by Hindemith, Ravel, Shostakovich, Behzad >Ranjbaran, Rachmaninoff, Debussy and Scriabin; with Louis Lortie, piano

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Celebration- draws nation's

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By Janos Gereben

Special to The Examiner

he San Francisco Symphony's seasons usu­ ally feature dozens of visiting artists. For the centennial season, they will number in the hundreds.

Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas has invited six of the nation's oldest and most promi­ nent orchestras, about 600 musicians in all, in addition to the participation of world-renowned conductors and soloists.

All but two of the orchestras are older than San Francisco's centennial cast. The Los Angeles Philharmonic (founded in 1919) also has one of the globe's youngest music directors, 30-year-old Gustavo Dudsmel.

Having conquered audiences here over the years while still in his 20s, leading both his Venezuelan youth orchestra and the Philharmonic, Dudsmel told The San Francisco Examiner he is eager to return: "This is such a wonderful occasion and we are happy to salute our West Coast neighbors and participate in the grand celebration."

Others in the American Orchestra Series are the country's oldest: the 169-year-old New York Philharmonic, led by Alan Gilbert; the 120-year-old Chicago Symphony, directed by Riccardo Muti; the 111-year-old Phila­ delphia Orchestra Charles with Dutoit.

The 129-year­ old Boston

Symphony, led by Ludovic Morlot, will also par­ ticipate, with Morlot replacing James Levine, who resigned as music director in March for health reasons.

The youngish Cleveland Orchestra, now 92, is led by Franz Weiser-Most, one of Europe's most active symphonic and opera conductors.

Each orchestra is bringing one or more new works it had commissioned along with a diz­ zying variety of music. Rather than the usual plethora of audience-pleasing selections, these concerts represent a cross-section of music, including treasures not as well-known to regular concertgoers.

One Los Angeles Philharmonic concert pairs John Adams' "Tromba lontana" and Enrico Cha­ pela's Concerto for Electric Cello with Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5.

The Chicago Orchestra brings the young con­ temporary Mason Bates' ''Alternative Energy," 20th-century great Arthur Honegger's "Pacific 231," and the 19th-century romanticism of Franck's Symphony in D minor.

The Cleveland concert mixes Mendelssohn's "Scottish Symphony" with Shostakovich's Sym­ phony No. 6, and contemporary Finnish Kaija Saariaho's "Orion."

Shostakovich is represented the most, probably because the other great symphon­ ist of the recent past, Gustav Mahler, is played so frequently here. The Philadelphia Orchestra also presents Shostakovich's

AU: COORtrSV:Anl[E,-GEJTYTMAGES FllE PHOTOS Symphony No. 5, alongside Hindemith's "Sym­ phonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber:' and the Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.

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Opening concert

March 8-9 MTil" conducts works by Copland, Harrison and Ives; with Paul Jacobs, organ

or 11 years, the question Michael Tilson Thomas has heard most often about programming has been, "When is American Mavericks coming back, when are you going to do it again?"

Audiences, critics and MTT agree that these concerts, held only in 2000, were iconic, pathfinding and daring. Symphony Executive Director Brent Assink calls Mavericks "one of those 'only in San Francisco' events."

MTT considers what he calls "the iconoclastic spirit that so many people identify with San Francisco" as he prepares for two special features of the orchestra's centennial season.

The American Mavericks Festival, showcasing avant-garde and contemporary music, comes to Davies Symphony Hall in March, and Barbary Coast and Beyond's semi-staged productions with music from San Francisco's early days (between the Gold Rush and the 1916 Panama-Pacific International Exposition) will be presented in May. The American Mavericks Fes­ tival has its roots in The City, but it also reaches out in the world of contemporary music.

The first round of Mavericks featured rare, some first-time, per­ formances of avant-garde 20th-century American classical music, with participation from some Grateful Dead members.

The concerts, boasting overflowing houses of uniquely mixed audiences of young and old, rock fans and traditional long-hair aficionados, became MTT's most acclaimed programs early in his position

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March.10, March 14 MTT conducts works by Foss, Cowell and Cage; with Jessye Norman, Meredith Monk and Joan ta Barbara, vocals; and Jeremy Denk, piano March 11, 2 p.m.

Chamber music by Partch, Cowell and Subotnick; with Joan 'la Barbara, vocals; and Jeremy Denk, piano March 15-17 MTT conducts works

by Bates, Adams, Feldman and Varese; with �manuel Ax, piano; Mason Bates, electronica; St. Lawrence String Quartet and San Francisco Symphony Chorus March 18, 2 p.m.

MTT conducts a chamber program of warks by Monk, Reich, Foss and del Tredici; with Laura Claycomb, soprano;, and• Jeremy ·0enk, piano

Barbal'.Y Coast ,nd,Beyond MayW-12

MTT·conducts; With ,Cla�comb, soprano; and,Anton Nel, piano *Programs aJe at Bp.m.in Davies Hall unless noted.

NEW MUSIC Above, Meredith Monk's commis­ sioned work will be performed March 18.

Below, composer John Adams' "Absolute Jest• is among the world premieres in 2O12's American Mavericks series.

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as music director.

Mavericks also became a popular public radio series and web­ site championing new and unusual American symphonic music.

Among this season's commissioned premieres will be John Adams' "Absolute Jest," Mason Bates' "Mass Transmission" and Morton Subotnick's "Jacob's Room: Monodrama."

Works by Meredith Monk, Charles Ives, Henry Cowell, Charles Ruggles, John Cage, Lou Harrison and Aaron Copland also will be presented in The City, and on the orchestra's two-week tour to New York; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Chicago.

Peformers include Monk, Jessye Norman, Jeremy Denk, Emanuel Ax, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Joan La Barbara and organist Paul Jacobs.

"San Francisco has always been known for its inde­ pendent spirit," says MTT. "Consistent with The City's character, the orchestra has been daring in exploring a variety of musical territories. In our centennial season, we celebrate this spirit by building on the American Mavericks Festival of 2000 with a provocative mix­ ture of music by iconic pioneers, as well as works new to our audience."

For Barbary Coast and Beyond, MTT serves as curator, conductor and host. Soprano Laura Clay­ � comb and pianist Anton Neljoin the orchestra as ry of earl�-20th;-centwJ � ��isco is . ·ffliC• :1{_ ��.�

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Above, soprano Laura Claycomb performs in Mavericks and Barbary Coast concerts. Left, Mason Bates' commissioned piece "Mass Transmission• gets its world premiere in March.