Romantic composers in San Francisco and Colorado
On September 18 and 19, Garrick Ohlsson joins forces with conductor David Afkham and the San Francisco Symphony to explore the musical orbit of Robert and Clara Schumann. Robert’s Symphony No. 4 begins with a catchy rising-and-falling figure, the “Clara theme,” derived from one of Clara’s own piano compositions. Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 is both an elegy for Robert and a tender portrait of Clara.
Also on the program, inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven, Unsuk Chin’s subito con forza pronounces itself forcefully and without reservation, painting with the bold brush strokes of the avant-garde.
On September 20, Garrick will perform chamber music with the SF Symphony Musicians, featuring Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Ramiro Boero’s Impulso Suite, Piazzolla’s La muerte del ángel and Decarísimo and Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet, Opus 67.
He then travels to meet the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, lead by Rune Bergmann on September 25, 26 and 27. The program, infused with Nordic spirit, will be crowned by Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3.
Rounding out the program are Johan Svendsen’s Norwegian Artists’ Carnival, a joyful, folk-infused overture; and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1, with its hushed, rumbling timpani which emerges from the silence before a lone clarinet unfurls a haunting melody — a theme that becomes the structural seed from which the entire symphony grows.