San Francisco Performances (SFP) is offering a new series dubbed “Front Row Premium.” The four premium, “handcrafted” performances were recorded specifically for release online, and membership to the series is free with email sign-up.
Each of the concerts will be made available every other Thursday starting Feb. 11, and the video will remain on the SFP site indefinitely. Final details have not yet been posted online, but check the SFP Front Row website for updates.
Composer/pianist Timo Andres kicks off the series on Feb. 11, with a program pairing Philip Glass études with Franz Schubert impromtus. Andres is also featured in the second show, Feb. 25, which includes works by John Adams, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Duke Ellington, François Couperin, Alvin Singleton, Poulenc, and Sir Roland Hanna.
On March 4, pianist Jonathan Biss is all-in on Beethoven sonatas: E-flat Major, Op. 7; F-sharp Major, Op. 78 (“à Thérèse”); and A-flat Major, Op. 110.
Guitarist Jason Vieaux wraps this portion of Front Row Premium on March 18 with a program still to be announced.
Earlier Front Row performances released last spring and over the summer are still available online. Those programs comprise selected audio recordings from SFP’s vast archive of full-length past performances. Among the riches to be explored are the “Beethoven@250” concerts, the “BobCasts,” an eight-part series that explores the history and themes of works and composers hosted by Robert “Bob” Greenberg, and the “Sanctuary Series,” a series of multiple collaborations between artists and SFP President Melanie Smith.
According to Smith, “the Premium series is an exciting extension of our “Sanctuary” series, where the programming was created specifically by artists for the series. With composer/pianist Timo Andres’s large role already in our 2020–2021 season (three distinct performances), we were delighted to offer him two spots on the Premium schedule. We're also very happy to welcome Jonathan Biss and Jason Vieaux to our Front Row Premium series, adding a sense of intimacy that mirrors our regular Herbst Theatre performances.”