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IN Music News James Gaffigan: S.F. Symphony's First-Rate No. 2
Between Brahms and Bruckner, Gaffigan's Mind Avila: Who Will Publicize the Publicist?
Fall Opera Additions: Going to the Met? First, Break the Piggy Bank Varese on YouTube Elijah Age Range: 11 to 80 Woodruff to Direct Appomattox
U.S. Premiere
Guarnieri, Tipett
In Memoriam:
Les Femmes
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James Gaffigan: S.F. Symphony's First-Rate No. 2
By Janos Gereben
At a mere 27, and looking even younger, James Gaffigan made an impressive conducting debut on last Wednesday at Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony's new associate conductor opened his first subscription concert by leading a well-known, transparent work, rather than conducting new or rarely performed music that can make an initial assessment difficult.
Brahms' Symphony No. 3 provides no places to hide, and if you hum (quietly) all the way through it, you might hear all the boo-boos — if there are any. There were none worth mentioning. The performance was all of one piece, and it was exhilarating.
Gaffigan is Michael Tilson Thomas' first associate — rather than assistant — conductor here. He arrives with a well-publicized mandate of important functions in leading the orchestra on his own, in addition to assisting MTT. Previously assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Gaffigan won the Georg Solti Conducting Competition in Frankfurt, and he has led performances in the Zürich Opera.
A small, slight man with a crown of dense hair, Gaffigan conducts passionately, with large, sweeping motions, and he doesn't exhibit the slightest sign of self-important posing. His attention is on the music (without referring to the score) and the musicians — apparently not interested in looking good, he winds up doing just that.
The Brahms symphony opened securely, self-confidently, with rock-solid consistency in tempos and balance. A bit closer to Tchaikovsky than Beethoven, Gaffigan's Brahms is smooth and rounded, more romantic than heroic. Regardless of your own preference, the conductor's interpretation was made valid by its sincerity and excellence. The orchestra supported Gaffigan well, showing attention and respect, even if not (yet?) expressing the kind of affection the musicans lavish on some of their favorite conductors.
The opening Allegro was serene but straightforward, romantic but not gushing. The Andante sparkled: Gaffigan brought in the brass smoothly under the strings, and they reached their big moments in a "logical" way (though the fortes were slightly overdone). The sound was either a bit thin or chamber-music-like, depending on individual perception. To me, it sounded more like the latter.
Normally, it would be a good thing to say that the third movement turned out differently from the usual placeholder position between the Andante and the concluding Allegro, but this was not the case. It was fine and uneventful. The fourth movement, however, was a crackerjack, even if climaxes were more noisy than powerfully broad. Individual passages came through brilliantly and the entire movement hung together splendidly.
Here, as at the end of the other movements, Gaffigan directed a rare kind of cutoff — smooth releases, with a subliminal resonance, rather than clean and crisp in a showy manner. Based on his debut, we should expect nothing showy or showbiz from Gaffigan, just the real thing.
James Gaffigan
Between Brahms and Bruckner, Gaffigan's Mind Is on Opera When James Gaffigan completed his series of debut concerts with the San Francisco Symphony this weekend, which featured Brahms' Third Symphony, he prepared to leave for Frankfurt to lead performances of Bruckner's Symphony No. 6. Before he left, he talked with San Francisco Classical Voice about opera, which he said is his "favorite genre." Why opera? He explained: "I am not a great pianist but I love to accompany artists, and I feel most comfortable in the pit of an opera house." Although he turned down an important staff position with the Zürich Opera (where he has led performances of La Bohème) to come to San Francisco to become MTT's associate conductor, he dreams of leading Otello, Così fan tutte, Abduction From the Seraglio, and he admits to be a Tristan "maniac." Adding to all that, Gaffigan's fiancée is an "operatic soprano," as well as the Philharmonia Baroque's new office and events coordinator. Born in Staten Island, New York, Gaffigan's musical career started early in childhood when his (nonmusician, but music-loving) parents bought a piano for themselves. They were almost immediately displaced at the keyboard by the youngster. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art (of Fame fame) followed. Gaffigan played jazz guitar and bassoon there, but by the time he arrived at the New England Conservatory his goal was to become a conductor. He led an orchestra for the first time at rehearsals of Dvorák's Eighth Symphony, and later created conducting opportunities for himself by leading new works "in search of performances" that were written by faculty members. During his graduate school years at Rice, Gaffigan frequently attended Houston Grand Opera performances. To this day, he speaks with respect of David Gockley's leadership there. (The two are neighbors now: The Rice University graduate is in Davies Hall, and Gockley is across Grove Street, where he heads the San Francisco Opera.) In 2000, the well-traveled young conductor participated in the inaugural year of David Zinman's American Academy of Conducting in Aspen. He received the first Robert Harth Conducting Award in 2002, when he also made his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Festival and became a conducting fellow at Tanglewood. He then served as assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra from 2003 to 2006. He had several big breaks that few assistants get — at one point he took over for Franz Welser-Möst when the Cleveland Orchestra music director came down with an ear infection. "It's a weird job in that respect," Gaffigan muses. "We're waiting for people to go down. You don't wish any harm on people, but some good things come out of bad things." During that time at the Cleveland Orchestra, his initial appearance at Zürich Opera was also made possible by filling in for Welser-Möst, who was called to the rescue after the scheduled conductor, Marcello Viotti, suddenly died. Although he has guest conductor assignments coming up in the U.S. and Europe (and is rumored to have job offers in profusion), Gaffigan is settling down in San Francisco to stay for a good while — intentionally and contractually. "Oh, yes," said a Symphony official who spoke off the record, "we've got him!"
Avila: Who Will Publicize the Publicist? We will. Karla Raquel Avila has worked long and hard as a publicist on behalf of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, but on March 22, she will return to her other career, as a clarinet player. Part of the Conservatory's free Alumni Performances Series, beginning at 8 p.m. at the Concert Hall, Avila's recital will include Bartók's Contrasts, with Keisuke Nakagoshi on piano and Alisa Rose on violin. She will perform Brahms' Trio, Op. 114, with Christopher Basso on piano and Samsun Van Loon on cello; and Prokofiev's Quintet, Op. 39, with Meave Cox on oboe, Daniel Jang on violin, Kate Weeks on viola, and Jacob Johnson on bass. The grand finale is Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring — get this — "arranged by Ryan Brown for clarinet and rock band, with special guests." Those mischievous Conservatory alumni.
 Karla Avila: Stravinsky with a rock band
Fall Opera Additions: Magic Flute, Madama Butterfly This will be popular only among "regular people," certainly not warhorse-fatigued connoisseurs: San Francisco Opera is adding five performances of Puccini's Madama Butterfly and two of Mozart's The Magic Flute to the fall season. The probable box office bonanza includes Patricia Racette and Marie Plette in Dec. 1, 5, 6, and 8 (matinee and evening) performances of Madama Butterfly, conducted by Donald Runnicles. On Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 there will be family matinee versions of The Magic Flute. Regular tickets for War Memorial performances range from $15 to $275 (see the next column item), but the family matinees also have $10 and $40 tickets for children and students under the age of 18.
Going to the Met? First, Break the Piggy Bank The Metropolitan Opera will open next season with a new record for ticket prices. For the opening night Lucia de Lammermoor (with Natalie Dessay and Marcello Giordani), boxes are available for $100,000. For that, you'll get an eight-seat box on the parterre level, tickets for the preopera cocktail reception, and places at the postopera black-tie dinner with the performers. The per-seat cost comes to $12,500, more than double last year's opening-night high of $5,000. Oh, and of the $100,000 ticket price: $95,840 is tax-deductible. "Ordinary" opening-night tickets are priced at $1,250, $600, and $350 for orchestra, $250 for dress circle, $125 for balcony, and $75 for family circle.
Varese on YouTube There was a time when MTT played and played Varese, but not anymore. So for a fix go to YouTube, and look around for performances of Ionisation, the Varese-Xénakis-Le Corbusier collaboration of Poeme électronique, Offrandes, and more.
Elijah Age Range: 11 to 80 Herbert Blomstedt, who turns 80 this year, will lead performances of Mendelssohn's Elijah, March 23-25, and among the soloists in Davies Hall is 11-year-old Jack Lundquist. The Berkeley sixth-grader, who sings the role of the Youth, has won the part at an audition for members of the top boys choirs in the Bay Area. Lundquist is a remarkable singer: He participated with Pacific Boychoir in 2006 S.F. Symphony performances of Liszt's Dante Symphony, he sang the part of the Youth in Elijah last October with the UC Berkeley University Chorus and Orchestra, and he will return to Davies Hall in April for performances of Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust. Other Elijah soloists include soprano Juliane Banse, mezzo Annette Markert, tenor Christoph Genz, and baritone Alan Opie — all of whom are making their Symphony debuts. Soloists from the Symphony Chorus are sopranos Pamela Sebastian and Trisha Leavitt, altos Brenda Bonhomme and Elspeth Franks, tenors Kevin Gibbs and David Peters, and basses Josh Henderson and David Varnum.
 Jack Lundquist and Herbert Blomstedt Photo by Gareth Hendrixson
Woodruff to Direct Appomattox The San Francisco Opera's premiere of Philip Glass' Appomattox in October has changed stage directors. George C. Wolfe, who asked to be released from the project because is he scheduled to direct a film, will be replaced by Robert Woodruff. Woodruff has been involved with such productions s Rinde Eckert's Highway Ulysses, Charles L. Mee's Full Circle, and Racine's Brittanicus at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass. His work with Glass includes Sound of a Voice on David Henry Hwang's libretto, which is premiering at ART. "Working with Philip’s music is a gift, as he provides both the great sweep of emotional gesture while simultaneously creating musical detail, which demands psychological complexity from his collaborators," Woodruff has said. Locally, he premiered Sam Shepard's Buried Child at the San Francisco Magic Theater in 1978. He also directed the American premiere of Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class and the premiere of True West.
U.S. Premiere in Monterey Monterey Symphony, led by music director Max Bragado, is offering the first U.S. performances of Symphony No. 5 by Pedro Miguel Marqués (1843-1918). The Palma de Mallorca-born composer was a child prodigy — he was already playing the violin with a Palma opera company at age 10. He studied composition in Paris with Berlioz, and returned to Madrid and composed five symphonies, but he eventually became famous more for his theatrical works, especially zarzuelas. The Monterey program also includes Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony.
Guarnieri, Tipett at Santa Cruz Symphony M. Camargo Guarnieri's 1928 Dansa Brasileira is featured at the Santa Cruz Symphony's March concerts in the Civic Auditorium, conducted by John Larry Granger. Sara Buechner is the soloist in the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2, in a program that concludes with Brahms' Symphony No. 2. On April 21 and 22, the Symphony will be joined by Cheryl Anderson's Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus and four soloists in performances of Michael Tippett's 1941 oratorio, A Child of Our Time.
In Memoriam: John Thow UC Berkeley music professor John Thow, an internationally recognized composer, died on March 4, at the age of 57. The university will hold a memorial event in his honor on April 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Hertz Hall. Thow, who joined the Berkeley faculty in 1981, produced an extensive and diverse repertoire of solo, chamber, vocal, choral, operatic, and orchestral music. He received commissions from the San Francisco Symphony (Into the Twilight, 1988; Trilce, 1995; Musica d'amore, 1999; Bellini Sky, 2005), the Berkeley Opera (Serpentina, 1999), the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Boston Musica Viva, Alea III, Earplay Ensemble, Ventura Chamber Music Festival, and Detroit Chamber Winds, among others. Thow's New York Times obituary said " ... his music combined a modernist's approach to rhythm and harmony with an almost Romantic lyricism, and often — in works like Trilce (1992) and Breath of Sun (1993) — the music’s interest lies in the tension between those contradictory impulses. In other scores, his interests ranged farther afield, and he had a particular fondness for Native American music. Lene Tawi (1996) is a chamber orchestra setting of a Hopi rain song. His Chumash Songs (2000) used rhythmic figures from the Chumash Indians of Southern California, and his Three Echoes (2001) is scored for a flute played by the Lakota tribe." During his 26 years on the UC Berkeley faculty, Thow was department chair from 1991 to 1992, he was involved with the Berkeley Contemporary Music Players from 1997 to 2001, and he mentored a generation of young composers.
 John Thow
Les Femmes du Violon Finally, someone noticed. Kyle MacMillan, writing in the Denver Post, says that rather than an emergence of more famous male violinists (as in the past), it is young women who are coming to the fore. He cites Hilary Hahn (27), Nicola Benedetti (19), Julia Fischer (23), Janine Jansen (29), Leila Josefowicz (29), and Jennifer Koh (29), but a complete list would go on and on. They are making their mark right after the trailblazers: Kyung-Wha Chung, Anne Sophie Mutter, Midori, and so forth.
(Janos Gereben is a regular contributor to San Francisco Classical Voice. His e-mail address is janosg@gmail.com.)
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