Having written early and often about the programming of the music of Morton Feldman by the San Francisco Symphony this season at Davies Symphony Hall, it is now time to announce that the subscription concerts for this music will take place in two weeks. After his early compositions, which tended to be relatively short with an emphasis on aleatoric content (often composed on graph paper and leaving many decisions of both pitch and duration to the performers), Feldman settled into a more serene rhetoric in compositions of increasing length. As I observed in the appreciation piece I wrote last April, towards the end of Feldman’s life, duration was being measured in hours, rather than minutes.
The work that the San Francisco Symphony will present during the week of February 23 will be “Rothko Chapel.” Feldman began work on this shortly after completing a major four-part work entitled The Viola in My Life; and the viola was still very much on his mind. The performance will feature Principal Viola Jonathan Vinocour, along with five other soloists, Principal Timpani David Herbert, Principal Percussionist Jack Van Geem, Robin Sutherland on celesta, soprano Kiera Duffy, and mezzo Sasha Cooke. The ensemble behind these soloists will consist solely of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. All sung parts involve only vocalizations without any texts. All performers will be conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. The duration scale of the composition is about half an hour, which makes it a relatively “audience friendly” way to begin to appreciate Feldman’s work with extended durations.
The second half of the concert will present a “completely different” vocal offering, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 626 setting of the requiem text. Duffy and Cooke will return as female vocal soloists. They will be joined by tenor Bruce Sledge and bass-baritone Nathan Berg. The Chorus will be prepared for both works by its Director, Ragnar Bohlin.
Performances will take place in Davies Symphony Hall at 2 PM on Thursday, February 24 and at 8 PM on Wednesday, February 23, Friday, February 25, and Saturday, February 26. James Keller will give the Inside Music talk from the stage one hour prior to each concert. Ticket prices range from $35 to $140 and may be purchased through the event page on the San Francisco Symphony Web site. Tickets may also be purchased at the Davies Box Office on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street or by calling 415-864-6000. The Inside Music talk is free to all ticket holders, and doors open fifteen minutes before the talk begins.
Comments