{"id":6756,"date":"2013-07-28T14:08:13","date_gmt":"2013-07-28T21:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=6756"},"modified":"2013-07-28T14:08:13","modified_gmt":"2013-07-28T21:08:13","slug":"symphony-offers-potpourri-of-pleasure-future-goodies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/symphony-offers-potpourri-of-pleasure-future-goodies\/","title":{"rendered":"Symphony offers potpourri of pleasure, future goodies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Kenny Loggins<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/dl>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Jessye Norman<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

 <\/p>\n

I have a couple of highbrow friends who braved all four parts of Wagner\u2019s Ring cycle a while back in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

And then they had the stamina to sit through the whole thing again in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

Frankly, I wouldn\u2019t endure that on a bet.<\/p>\n

I also know some lowbrow folks who\u2019ve been on pins and needles waiting for the next \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d or \u201cKeeping Up with the Kardashians\u201d reality show.<\/p>\n

Not my druthers.<\/p>\n

On the third hand, I and my middlebrow colleagues agree we\u2019ll attend carefully selected symphony, ballet and opera events, Shakespearean festivals, art-museum openings and the like, as well as pop this \u2018n\u2019 that \u2014 and, as a rule, thoroughly enjoy our cherry-picking.<\/p>\n

Which brings me to the San Francisco Symphony and its recent variegated concert in tribute to John Goldman, who has relinquished the symphony\u2019s presidency after 11 years. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pieces by Ravel, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Stephen Schwartz and Rodgers and Hammerstein, and guest performers Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Gil Shaham, Lisa Vroman and Kenny Loggins (in a \u201csurprise\u201d appearance) have all ranked among Goldman\u2019s favorites.<\/p>\n

The result? A potpourri of pleasure.<\/p>\n

Said he to an appreciative audience, \u201cYou can tell I have eclectic tastes \u2014 some would call it weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t a weird night at all, merely another extraordinary one.<\/p>\n

Many uncommon nights can be expected in the near future \u2014 such as an orchestra-less concert with Jessye Norman Aug. 9 at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll sing a collection of songs, in the first half, by George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kurt Well, Leonard Bernstein and Duke Ellington. After intermission, she\u2019ll perform homages to Nina Simone, Lena Horne, Odetta and Ella Fitzgerald.<\/p>\n

The soprano, who\u2019ll be backed by pianist Mark Markham, rescheduled from July 31 because she wanted to sing instead at a U.S. Congress ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.<\/p>\n

Other future San Francisco Symphony goodies will include \u201cDisney in Concert: Magical Music from the Movies,\u201d a Sunday afternoon pops event July 28; a \u201cJerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration\u201d featuring Allman Brothers and Gov\u2019t Mule vocalist\/guitarist Warren Haynes; and the new season\u2019s \u201cOpening Night Gala\u201d with Audra McDonald on Sept. 3.<\/p>\n

The night of the Goldman tribute, Michael Tilson Thomas led the orchestra. Brilliantly. And the guest artists radiated talent as they played and sang.<\/p>\n

The truth is, MTT and the SFS provide the extraordinary so often it\u2019s become what\u2019s anticipated. Certainly it\u2019s what I always expect.<\/p>\n

One glance at the diverse pops-loving folks jamming Davies \u2014 many decked out, some in chinos and jeans \u2014 proved the musicians had collectively fashioned one thing this balmy June evening: Fun.<\/p>\n

That was especially palpable in the final piece of the evening, which found Tilson Thomas trying \u201cto bring all these musical worlds together\u201d as the symphony intermingled passages from Beethoven\u2019s 5th with Loggins\u2019 vigorous vocal of Chuck Berry\u2019s 1956 rhythm \u2018n\u2019 blues smash, \u201cRoll Over Beethoven.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pop hit\u2019s lyrics, ironically, suggest R&B should replace classical music, a concept the Davies crowd would never accept.<\/p>\n

Loggins also drew untamed applause when he performed the raucous \u201cEverything\u2019s Gonna Be Alright\u201d and the more pensive \u201cReturn to Pooh Corner.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the crowd was equally delighted with classical strains.<\/p>\n

My own favorite was the excerpts from Ravel\u2019s \u201cPiano Concerto in G major,\u201d with Jean-Yves Thibaudet displaying finger gymnastics with both soft and percussive segments.<\/p>\n

Gil Shaham\u2019s violin skills headed my wife\u2019s list. His mastery of Tchaikovsky\u2019s finale from \u201cViolin Concerto in D major, Opus 35\u201d was immediately clear, his confidence in full evidence as he fiercely stroked his instrument.<\/p>\n

Lisa Vroman, a Broadway veteran with a striking voice, drew the biggest laughs with her rendition of \u201cHoney Bun,\u201d from Rodgers and Hammerstein\u2019s \u201cSouth Pacific\u201d \u2014 her high-stepping and white sailor suit comically augmented by a chunky male accomplice in fright wig, grass skirt, mock-coconut bra and spats.<\/p>\n

Vroman also delivered a couple of Schwartz tunes from his score of \u201cWicked,\u201d with resident conductor Donato Cabrera on the podium, following her quick-change into a shimmering turquoise gown.<\/p>\n

MTT, as is customary, was at the top of his game, whether leading the finale from Rachmaninoff\u2019s \u201cSymphony No. 2 in E minor, Opus 27\u201d or Gershwin\u2019s sprightly \u201cWalking the Dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tilson Thomas drew chuckles when he dedicated the latter to concertgoers who have dogs and then added he wasn\u2019t ignoring \u201cthose of you who have lemurs \u2014 we love them, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of pooches, I spied two: a small Spaniel service dog on a leash inside the theater, and a smaller Chihuahua in the arms of a homeless woman beggar just outside.<\/p>\n

Were there any hiccup in the concert itself, it came when the nearly 100-member strong San Francisco Symphony Chorus, under the leadership of Ragnar Bohlin, presented excerpts from the soundtrack of \u201c2001: A Space Odyssey\u201d \u2014 that is to say, Gy\u00f6rgy Ligeti\u2019s \u201cLux aeterna.\u201d<\/p>\n

That piece \u2014 though exquisitely performed \u2014 is definitely weird. To me, it emphasizes eeriness and what seems like hollow, metallic echoes.<\/p>\n

Before the event, The Martini Brothers entertained in the lobby with dance tunes. Eight or nine couples gleefully strutted their stuff as many onlookers stared \u2014 and one wag talked about taking what she called \u201ca tour of some of the finest facial surgery in the Bay Area.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Francisco Symphony concerts take place at Davies Hall, Grove Street (between Van Ness and Franklin), San Francisco. Information and tickets: (415) 864-6400 or www.sfsymphony.org.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jessye Norman   I have a couple of highbrow friends who braved all four parts of Wagner\u2019s Ring cycle a while back in San Francisco. And then they had the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"