The Colorado Symphony Ball puts the Spotlight on the Orchestra for an evening of music and dance

For the first time in its history, this year’s Symphony Ball will feature the sounds of The Colorado Symphony for both listening pleasure and dancing. The ball, held this year on Saturday, April 28, 2012, will take place at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel and begins at 6:00 PM.

The orchestra will be front and center performing music to please ball attendees of all ages from warm pre-dinner background music to a high-energy full orchestra performance to top dance hits spanning decades. “Spotlighting our orchestra at this year’s ball couldn’t be more appropriate considering our newly adopted focus to engage and connect more in our community,” says Colorado Symphony board co-chair, Mary Rossick Kern. “It will be fun and exciting for ball patrons to be up close and personal with members of the orchestra throughout the evening.”

Symphony Ball 2012 is chaired by Colorado Symphony Association trustee and CBS4 general manager, Walt DeHaven, and his wife and president of Aiello Public Relations & Marketing, Wendy Aiello. Ed Greene, CBS4 weather and news anchor, will be the evening’s emcee. The night will begin with a silent auction and cocktails followed by dinner, live auction and entertainment by the Colorado Symphony with dancing to follow.

For more information about Symphony Ball 2012 tickets, table and corporate sponsorship, contact Melissa Muscato at (303) 308-2495.

Q2 Music and The Greene Space at WQXR Present A Preview of Merkin Concert Hall’s ECSTATIC MUSIC FESTIVAL on Wednesday, February 1 at 7pm

An Evening of Performances by Jason Treuting, Angélica Negron, and Jherek Bischoff, and Conversation with Festival Curator Judd Greenstein

Q2 Music, WQXR’s online station devoted to the music of living composers, will, for a second year in a row, serve as the exclusive digital venue for the Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Concert Hall. Featuring more than 150 performers and composers from different musical backgrounds who are re-defining music today, the Ecstatic Music Festival has been hailed for putting its finger on the pulse of contemporary “post-classical” music.

On Wednesday, February 1 at 7pm, Q2 Music will kick off the festival with a live concert in The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR, the innovative multiplatform broadcast studio and live event venue. WQXR host Terrance McKnight will welcome a star-studded lineup of this year’s Ecstatic Music Festival composer-performers, including Jason Treuting, Angélica Negron, and Jherek Bischoff. The evening will also include an introductory conversation with Ecstatic Music Festival curator, composer Judd Greenstein. Tickets are available now at www.thegreenespace.org.

In addition, Q2 Music will serve as the digital destination for the festival, making all of the concerts available for audiences worldwide. Q2 Music will carry all of the New Sounds Live concerts on www.wqxr.org/q2music as live audio webcasts with host John Schaefer , and will also record all Ecstatic Music Festival concerts for on-demand streaming.

Composer's Dilemma: rhythm, bar lines and readability

I love rhythm, numbers and odd pairings of the two. They don't always make for obvious bar line choices.

A recent piece I've written is for solo violin, The Jig is Up, suggesting this is a jig and yet not.



The music starts with the right concept --a nice little jig in compound time. In the opening example the music could almost be divided into a nice 6/8 pattern, except for the 3rd and 4th measure. Perhaps I could have the G cross the bar line. The tempo is also set to an eighth note equals 252. If I divide that by 3 I could make it a dotted quarter note equals 84 --a much nicer number for most metronomes.



When we get to line 5 the compound time is shot all to hell. Is the first measure in 7 or should it be nice with the final eighth note of the previous line added to the bar? But then that breaks up the almost dividable pattern in line 4. Measure 2 in in 8 and measure 3 is in 9, with measure 4 is in 6. Wait, the piece gets better!



At rehearsal marker 'A', which is line 9 and a return to the original theme, the line can almost be divided evenly into the 6/8 patterns again. We have that nasty pair of quarter notes that "cross" the bar line --or do they? If we leave them together all the other measures have 6 beats. Measure 3 is the odd one out with 7 beats for a total of 31 in the line. Yes folks, 31 is a prime number. I've been found out or "the jig is up." The piece spends the rest of it's time with 31 beats to a line.



Line 13 puts the 7 beat measure at the opening of the line. As the "variation" progresses the bar line continues to shift as to where the 7 beats end up.



My dilemma as a composer was where to put bar lines. Should I keep changing the time signature so I could write the music into nice organized measures? Was is better to do what I ended up doing and just not put bar lines in at all. For me the line of music is a whole --a thread that runs from the opening of a line to the end. There are sections where the final note of a line is definitely a pickup note to the next line.

I'd be curious as to what musicians think of the music. How would you divide the music to make it more readable. If you'd like to see the complete score, drop me an email or write to me on twitter (chipmichael). I'd be happen to send a pdf your way.

Nicola Benedetti & Friends Residency at LSO St Luke's in March

BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts
1, 8, 15 & 22 March
All to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3

International violinist Nicola Benedetti curates a series of four concerts in which she features as both soloist and chamber musician, performing alongside some of her closest musical colleagues.

Nicola Benedetti is joined by Alexei Grynyuk (piano), Leonard Elschenbroich (cello), Alexander Sitkovetsky (violin) and Maxim Rysanov (viola) across four concerts featuring music by Bach, Ravel, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Shostakovich and Ysaÿe. Each concert will be recorded for later broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

2011/12 is the most ambitious BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert season at LSO St Luke’s to date. During September, October and November, over 12 recitals six world-ranking pianists performed a complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas, which was received to outstanding acclaim. In February 2012, Britain’s leading chamber ensemble, the Nash Ensemble, is in residence for a series focusing on some of the great chamber works of Brahms, and in May 2012, pianist Cédric Tiberghien, cellist Pieter Wispelwey, violinist Isabelle Faust and harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani perform solo recitals of music by JS Bach.

Prior to these Lunchtime Concerts Nicola will appear at:

New York

Monday 30th January, 2012
January 30, 2012 @ 7:30 pm
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleeker Street, New York, NY, United States, 10012

Nicola Benedetti, violin with REBEL: “Italia” Decca Classics album release concert w/ music of Vivaldi and J.S. Bach

Santa Ana

February 2, 2012 @ 8:00 pm
with Pacific Symphony

Venue: Segerstrom Hall at OCPAC Mesa, CA, United States, 92626.

Repertoire: Max Bruch : Violin Concerto No 1 in G minor Op 26

Munich Germany

February 10, 2012 @ 8:00 pm
with Munich Symphony Orchestra

Venue: Prinzregententheater

Repertoire: Johannes Brahms – Double Concerto in A minor for violin and cello solos and orchestra, op.102

Ayrshire Music Festival

February 15, 2012 @ 7:30 pm
Venue: Ayr Town Hall, New Bridge Street, Ayr, KA7 1JX

Repertoire: James MacMillan : From Ayshire

Richard Strauss : Sonata for Violin and Piano in Eb Major Op.18

Sergey Prokofiev : Violin Concerto No 1 in D Major Op 19

Maurice Ravel : Tzigane

Interview with Avner Dorman

The composer discusses some of his works, among them a new encore piece for Hilary Hahn

Israeli-born composer Avner Dorman is yet another person that was a late-starter in the classically-trained world where everyone seemingly starts learning what they do at age 3 or 4, but he's now proven to us again, just as quite a few others have in our journeys here, that age is only a number in this game.

If you click on his website, you'll see that he already has a variety of great works and has been premiering even more as we speak, including one of the Hilary Hahn Encores (EDITOR'S NOTE: I couldn't not ask him about that, and believe it or not, he hasn't even heard this piece played yet. Huh?) and a narrated orchestral work titled Uzu and Muzu from Kakamaruzu premiering in March with the Stockton Symphony.
Avner had a few minutes to hang with me via Skype and discuss.

Colorado Symphony Celebrates a special evening of passion, love and lust with Valentine Classics

Just in time for the most passionate day of the year, the Colorado Symphony presents a Valentine's-inspired evening of romantic classics. Prepare to be swept away by the romance, power and ardor that only a symphony orchestra can deliver.

MASTERWORKS SERIES
Valentine Classics

SAT 2/11 - 7:30 p.m.
Boettcher Concert Hall

Selections include:

TCHAIKOVSKY / Selections from Swan Lake
BIZET / Selections from Carmen
MASSENET / Thaïs: Médiation
DEBUSSY / Clair de Lune

Vladimir Spivakov and Olga Kern US Recital Appearances February 2012

Internationally Acclaimed Violinist and Pianist Visit Boston, NYC, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco to Perform Repertoire of Brahms, Stravinsky, Pärt, Franck, Schnittke and Shostakovich

In February 2012, violinist Vladimir Spivakov and pianist Olga Kern will embark on a rare joint recital tour in the United States, visiting top concert halls in Boston, New York City, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco. This is the powerful duo’s first ever joint recital tour outside of Europe, and they have created a dynamic program of works by Brahms, Stravinsky, Pärt, Franck and Schnittke. At the Carnegie Hall concert only, Spivakov and Kern will be joined by celebrated cellist and 2012 Musical America Artist of the Year, David Finkel of the Emerson String Quartet for a special performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2. (complete repertoire list below).

Throughout his career, spanning nearly four decades, violinist Vladimir Spivakov has been praised by critics for his deep insight into composers’ intentions, the richness and beauty of his tone, his fine phrasing and nuance, his emotional impact on his audiences, and his refined artistry and intelligence. Mr. Spivakov made his United States recital debut in 1975 and international engagements quickly followed. He has performed as soloist with the most important orchestras in the world, and collaborated with some of the 20th century’s most eminent conductors, including Svetlanov, Kondrashin, Temirkanov, Rostropovich, Bernstein, Leinsdorf, Ozawa, Maazel, Giulini, Masur, Chailly, Conlon and Abbado. In addition to performing major traditional works, Mr. Spivakov has continually treated his audiences to new and innovative repertoire, both in chamber music and orchestral works. Mr. Spivakov plays a violin by Stradivari. Spivakov is equally renowned as Conductor and Founder of the Moscow Virtuosi and as Founder, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the National Philharmonic of Russia.

Olga Kern is the striking young Russian Gold Medal winner of the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Her performance of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 made her the first woman to achieve this distinction in over 30 years. Kern made her New York debut at Carnegie's Zankel Hall in May, 2004, and eleven days later returned to New York to play again, this time on the stage of the Isaac Stern Auditorium at the invitation of Carnegie Hall. Ms. Kern is a magnetic performer with one of the most prodigious piano techniques of any young pianist. Last season, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Van Cliburn Foundation honored Ms. Kern’s Cliburn victory 11 years ago with a co-presentation of her talents in March and April of 2011. Also in 2011, Kern performed with the symphonies of Detroit, Anchorage, Nashville, Dallas, Virginia, St. Louis, Rochester, Pittsburgh, Madison, Johnson City, Syracuse and Colorado. Additionally in North America, she has been invited to perform at Longwood Gardens, the Sanibel Music Festival, the Winter Park Bach Festival, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and Drake University. Ms. Kern records exclusively with Harmonia Mundi, and her Chopin Sonatas CD was released in 2010.

Vladimir Spivakov and Olga Kern 2012 Recital Tour

February 17 Boston, MA - Sanders Theatre

February 18 New York, NY - Carnegie Hall

February 19 Chicago, IL - Orchestra Hall

February 25 Seattle, WA - Benaroya Hall

February 26 San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theatre


Program:

Johannes Brahms, Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, op. 108
Igor Stravinsky, ‘Suite Italienne’
Arvo Pärt, Spiegel im Spiegel (dedicated to Vladimir Spivakov)
Cesar Franck, Sonata in A Major

Program – February 18 (Carnegie Hall):

Johannes Brahms, Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, op. 108
Igor Stravinsky, ‘Suite Italienne’
Alfred Schnittke, Prelude in Memoriam Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich, Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op.67 violin (with David Finkel)

Anne Akiko Meyers: Air - The Bach Album out on eOne Valentine's Day

Bach Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 plus Bach Concerto for Two Violins featuring Meyers on both parts

Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers’ newest recording for eOne entitled Air – The Bach Album will be released on Valentine’s Day, 2012. This is Anne Akiko Meyers’s first orchestral album for eOne and features the English Chamber Orchestra with Steven Mercurio conducting. The album includes Bach’s Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, the Double Concerto for Two Violins, and arrangements of Bach’s “Air”, “Largo” from the Harpsichord Concerto in f minor, and the Bach/Gounod “Ave Maria.”

After her recent acquisition of the “ex-Napoleon/Molitor” Stradivarius violin from 1697, Meyers decided to become the first violinist to record both solo parts of the Double Concerto on two different violins. Meyers joked that this was the first time she agreed with all of her “partner’s” musical ideas.

Meyers believes the golden purity of the tone of the ‘ex-Molitor/Napoleon’ Strad, contrasts beautifully with the darker timbre of the 1730 “Royal Spanish” Strad, on which she recorded the second violin part. The distinctive voice of each violin inspired Meyers to record both parts of the Double Concerto, as she feels like she sounds like a different violinist on each instrument.

Michael Tilson Thomas and the SF Symphony release recording of John Adams' 'Harmonielehre'

ON SFS MEDIA MARCH 13, 2012
Exclusive pre-release download from iTunes available February 15

Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) and the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) will release a hybrid SACD recording of works by John Adams in conjunction with its month-long American Mavericks Festival in March 2012. Self-produced on the Orchestra’s SFS Media label, the recording features the SFS commission Harmonielehre and Short Ride in a Fast Machine, a work commissioned by MTT. The recording will be available for pre-release by download exclusively from Apple’s iTunes Music Store beginning February 15, the composer’s birthday. The San Francisco Symphony’s e-store is currently accepting pre-sale orders for the Adams recording at sfsymphony.org/store and on February 15 it will become available at the Symphony Store in Davies Symphony Hall. National and international retail release for the recording will be March 13. On March 15, MTT leads the SFS in world premiere of Absolute Jest, a new work by Adams commissioned for its centennial season, with additional performances in Chicago, Ann Arbor and Carnegie Hall.

The SFS commissioned, premiered and recorded Harmonielehre in March 1985 under Edo De Waart during Adams ’ tenure as SFS composer in residence. Adams recalled, “I was a young composer when I wrote Harmonielehre and I had really only written two other orchestra pieces at that point and one of them was Harmonium, which was premiered by the San Francisco Symphony only a few years before that. Harmonielehre was tough coming out… I was searching for what I wanted to say. I knew that part of what I wanted to write for the orchestra was a music that would kind of strum the strings of its repertoire that would play to its strengths… [with Harmonielehre] I really confronted who I was, who I am, John Adams as a composer - somebody who grew up listening to classical music, classical orchestral music, who played in orchestras when I was younger, who conducted, who loved that repertoire, but at the same time was somebody who also grew up listening to jazz and rock and who was very influenced by minimalism. So it’s this rather strange marriage of the driving pulse of American minimalism and the sensuous and emotional and expressive world of the great European masterpieces.”

Michael Tilson Thomas, who conducted the work during his first season as SFS Music Director in 1995 and multiple times since, said of the work, “When a new piece is premiered, it can make a stunning impression. But the real story of that piece is what emerges over time. When the SFS first performed Harmonielehre in the mid-80s it was a life changing moment for everybody who heard it. I heard it first on the recording and I was drawn into the piece in so many ways, its enormous power, but also its tenderness and depth of expression. And now, decades later, the piece still stands up.”

MTT commissioned Short Ride in a Fast Machine from John Adams in 1986 for a Pittsburgh Symphony performance in Massachusetts. Adams shared, “Michael called me back in 1986 when he was opening a new music festival in Massachusetts with the Pittsburgh Symphony and he asked me to do a fanfare. The sort of traditional fanfare with blaring trumpets didn’t really appeal to me, and how do you write a fanfare when Copland has already done it so well? I thought about it and for some reason the connection with Cape Cod came to mind. Years before that I had been there with a former brother-in-law and he had asked me at about 1 in the morning if I would like to take a ride with him in his Lamborghini. I did and once he started up I wished I hadn’t because he drove very, very fast. The idea of a piece that had that combination of excitement and thrill and was just on the edge of anxiety or terror was the motivating force for [Short Ride in a Fast Machine.] The piece starts with the click of the wood block and that wood block never changes, it just keeps driving and it’s sort of like a gauntlet through which a 100-piece orchestra has to pass.”

Cellist Johannes Moser releases new CD: Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.1 & Britten: Cello Symphony

“One of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists” (Gramophone)

On January 31, 2012, Hänssler Classic releases the latest album from the charismatic young virtuoso, Johannes Moser. Following his extraordinary recording of concertos by Martinů, Hindemith and Honegger released in May of 2011, Moser returns with a stunning new release featuring two distinguished cello concertos of the mid-20th century: Dimitri Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 from 1959 and Benjamin Britten’s Cello Symphony premiered in 1964.

Both works were originally composed for the great Mstislav Rostropovich who was the teacher of Moser’s own teacher David Geringas. “The Shostakovich is very precious to me,” Moser says, “so in a way, I feel like I am continuing the family line. The Shostakovich Concerto has been my most important musical companion since my teenage years. I played it at most of the defining, often competitive moments in my early career.” Those moments included the Jugend Musiziert competition where Moser won first-prize at age 16 and it was the piece he played when auditioning to study with David Geringas. Moser then performed the concerto with orchestra for the first time on his 18th birthday and again in the finals of the Tchaikovsky competition which he won in 2002. Moser has also performed the concerto with Mariss Janssons and the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

The Shostakovich concerto is characterized by vitality, humor and is very much an expression of the cellist’s virtuosity, but also has incredibly intimate moments. In the finale, Shostakovich quotes Stalin’s favorite song "Suliko" and turns it into a grimace. Since it had been six years after Stalin’s death, Shostakovich felt that he could be political in a sarcastic way without being deported right away.

As the title suggests, cello and orchestra are equal partners in Britten's "Symphony for Cello and Orchestra" op 68, creating what is at times the clarity of chamber music. This new recording continues Moser's exploration of 20th century cello concertos while building upon his masterful interpretations of cello sonatas by Britten.

“The Britten Cello Symphony is the total opposite of the Shostakovich,” Moser explains. “The cellist’s virtuosity and individual voice are no longer in the foreground and Britten truly turns the cello solo part into an integral element of very symphonic writing. I appreciated the opportunity not to be a counterpart to the orchestra but an integrated part of it.”

Both concerti are very personal statements of the composers, who were both outcasts in their society: Shostakovich being on the edge of deportation because of his controversial writing, and Britten because of his homosexuality. Both composers longed to be part of the society that was rejecting them in such a cruel way.

Lyric Opera of Chicago Announces Its 2012-13 Season

Lyric’s 58th Season Features Nine Operas: Elektra, Simon Boccanegra, Werther, Don Pasquale, Hansel and Gretel, La bohème, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Rigoletto, and A Streetcar Named Desire, October 6, 2012 Through April 6, 2013

Anthony Freud, general director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, announced yesterday the repertoire, principal singers, conductors, directors, and designers for Lyric’s 2012-13 season. This was Freud’s first news conference since becoming Lyric’s general director on Oct. 1, 2011. Joining Freud for yesterday’s announcement was Sir Andrew Davis, Lyric’s music director, and Renée Fleming, Lyric’s creative consultant (via Skype).

Lyric’s 58th season features 68 performances of nine different operas: Elektra, Simon Boccanegra, Werther, Don Pasquale, Hansel and Gretel, La bohème, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Rigoletto, and A Streetcar Named Desire. The season runs from October 6, 2012 through April 6, 2013 at the Civic Opera House, an art deco landmark in Chicago. Lyric is staging new productions of Elektra, Werther, and Die Meistersinger, as well as a special presentation of Streetcar. Oklahoma!, the American musical-theater classic by Rodgers and Hammerstein, is scheduled for the spring of 2013, following Lyric’s regular season. Subscribers will get first choice of seats and special pricing for this production. The on-sale date and production details of Oklahoma! will be announced later.

Major artists making their Lyric debuts in the 2012-13 season include Christine Goerke (Elektra), Krassimira Stoyanova (Simon Boccanegra), Sophie Koch (Werther), Anna Netrebko and Dimitri Pittas (La bohème), Andrzej Dobber, Željko Lučić, and Albina Shagimuratova (Rigoletto), and Teddy Tahu Rhodes (A Streetcar Named Desire). Two young conductors make their Lyric debuts on the podium: Ward Stare (Hansel and Gretel) and Evan Rogister (Rigoletto, Streetcar); and chorus master Martin Wright is new to the company this season.

Lyric’s website (www.lyricopera.org) is a comprehensive source of information, handsomely designed and easy to navigate. Videos about each opera are available for viewing throughout the season, including highlight reels introduced by Sir Andrew Davis and Renée Fleming, commentaries by Anthony Freud, and interviews with other artists and directors. In early February, Lyric will post Anthony Freud’s 2012-13 season overview video.

98.7WFMT will air locally and stream live (on wfmt.com) the opening-night performance of each opera in Lyric’s 2012-13 season. The WFMT Radio Network will rebroadcast eight of the nine operas nationally and internationally in May and June of 2013.

Michael Tilson Thomas featured in two PBS Great Performances on March 29 & 30

CONDUCTOR MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS FEATURED IN TWO
PBS GREAT PERFORMANCES BROADCASTS TO AIR NATIONALLY ON MARCH 29 & 30

Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT), Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, will be featured in two new Great Performances presentations in March to be broadcast nationally on PBS. Both programs are productions of THIRTEEN for WNET , one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers.

On Thursday, March 29 Great Performances will present The Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater at 8:00PM (check local listings). Recorded in April 2011 at the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center in Miami Beach , the performance of The Thomashefskys is written and hosted by Michael Tilson Thomas and stars Judy Blazer as Bessie Thomashefsky and Shuler Hensley as Boris Thomashefsky. It also features Ronit Widmann-Levy and Eugene Brancoveanu and the New World Symphony, and is directed for television by Gary Halvorson.

Following the national broadcast on PBS Great Performances on March 29, The Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater will be released on DVD by New Video (newvideo.com) on April 24 with extras including additional music performances, an interview with MTT about the Thomashefskys and a feature on the New World Symphony, America's Orchestra Academy. The New World Symphony was founded in 1987 by Michael Tilson Thomas and Ted Arison, and has launched the careers of over 800 musicians. Pre-orders for the DVD are currently being accepted at Amazon.com and at the San Francisco Symphony e-store at sfsymphony.org/store and will be shipped immediately following the April 24 release date. The program will also be available for digital download from iTunes, and for sale on the New World Symphony website at nws.edu/shop.

In September, the San Francisco Symphony and MTT launched the Orchestra’s milestone Centennial Season with a celebratory gala concert dubbed “Fanfare for a New Century” at Davies Symphony Hall. The gala concert will be presented as a two-hour special, San Francisco Symphony at 100, by Great Performances on PBS on Friday, March 30 at 9PM (check local listings). The broadcast is hosted by Bay Area author Amy Tan and directed for television by Gary Halvorson and features MTT conducting the Orchestra and two of the leading artists of our time, violinist Itzhak Perlman performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor and pianist Lang Lang performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. The concert opens with Aaron Copland’s vivid portrayal of American prairie life, the Billy the Kid Ballet Suite and concludes with Britten’s orchestral showpiece The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra of which the San Francisco Chronicle said: “…as Thomas led his colleagues, section by section and soloist by soloist… the listener could only marvel at the level of individual excellence and communal artistry on display.” Capping off the concert is an encore of Bay Area composer John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine featuring moving images of San Francisco projected throughout Davies Symphony Hall. (An audio recording of this performance of Short Ride in a Fast Machine, a work commissioned by MTT in 1986, will also be available on an upcoming all-John Adams recording on the Orchestra’s own SFS Media label along with their 2010 performance of Adams’ Harmonielehre, a work SFS commissioned and premiered in 1985. The recording will be available on March 13, with a special pre-release on iTunes and in the San Francisco Symphony store in Davies Symphony Hall beginning on February 15, the composer’s birthday.)