program
Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn
Johannes
Brahms
Piano Concerto No. 2
The MAX Concerto
[San Francisco Symphony Commission and World Premiere]
Anders
Hillborg
Symphony No. 2
Ludwig van
Beethoven
performances
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Event Description
In Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn, Brahms travels in time, using ancient musical forms to explore possible futures. In Beethoven’s Second Symphony, anarchic glee subverts Classical elegance. Between the two big Bs, precisely in the present, Esa-Pekka Salonen debuts his longtime friend Anders Hillborg’s witty and colorful new Piano Concerto, performed with genial sophistication by soloist Emanuel Ax.Anders Hillborg’s Piano Concerto was commissioned for Emanuel Ax by the San Francisco Symphony with the generous support of John Kongsgaard.
Open rehearsals are endowed by a bequest from The Estate of Katharine Hanrahan.
At A Glance
Johannes Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Haydn is based on the “Chorale St. Antoni,” an 18th-century wind-band movement with disputed origins. Brahms takes it through eight wonderfully inventive transformations before an elaborate finale on a ground bass.
The title of Anders Hillborg’s Piano Concerto No. 2, The MAX Concerto is a riff on the name of its inaugural soloist, Emanuel “Manny” Ax. Its contrasting sections evoke different styles of piano playing—“Grand Piano,” “Toy Piano,” “Hard Piano,” “Ascending Piano,” and more.
In his Symphony No. 2, Ludwig van Beethoven hadn’t moved far beyond the model of his teacher, Haydn, but the strength of his voice is still unmistakable. His later symphonies get all the glory, but at least one commen- tator found the Second “the most interesting of the nine.”
The title of Anders Hillborg’s Piano Concerto No. 2, The MAX Concerto is a riff on the name of its inaugural soloist, Emanuel “Manny” Ax. Its contrasting sections evoke different styles of piano playing—“Grand Piano,” “Toy Piano,” “Hard Piano,” “Ascending Piano,” and more.
In his Symphony No. 2, Ludwig van Beethoven hadn’t moved far beyond the model of his teacher, Haydn, but the strength of his voice is still unmistakable. His later symphonies get all the glory, but at least one commen- tator found the Second “the most interesting of the nine.”
Concert Extras
Thursday, October 12 from 9:00am-9:30am: A preconcert talk hosted by Sarah Cahill will be presented from the stage. Free to all ticketholders.
