The San Francisco Symphony’s opening galas are always special occasions, but Wednesday, when the orchestra marks its 100th year, it will be, as Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas puts it, “an extraordinary thing, this moment in time.”A century in the life of a city that’s only 164 years old itself is worth noting, but the central role of the orchestra in San Francisco’s cultural life makes it more than mere formality.
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Centennial players: In honor of the San Francisco Symphony’s 100th season, The Examiner is showcasing contributors to the orchestra’s distinguished history.
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Centennial players: In honor of the San Francisco Symphony’s 100th season, The Examiner is showcasing contributors to the orchestra’s distinguished history.
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Centennial players: In honor of the San Francisco Symphony’s 100th season, The Examiner is showcasing contributors to the orchestra’s distinguished history. Robin Sutherland, piano
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San Francisco Symphony’s celebrations of its 100th birthday began in earnest this week with the publication of a luxurious hardback: the meaty coffee-table book “Music for a City, Music for the World.”
Written by Larry Rothe, the story of orchestra begins with the apocalyptic drama of the Great Quake, a mere five years before the birth of SFS in December 1911:
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Who’s in townArtist and author Belle Yang gives a talk that explores how Chinese culture and history, from which she distanced herself as a young immigrant in the United States, has informed her artistic and philosophical journey. [5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Room, 100 Larkin St., S.F.]Lectures
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Michael Francis, who conducts the San Francisco Symphony’s summer concerts, has unusual distinctions among maestros of the podium: a double-bass player, his career so far consisted of a series of sudden substitutions.He also is young, but that’s less unusual these days with Alexander Prior, 18, at the Seattle Symphony and Lionel Bruingier, 25, an assistant in Los Angeles to Gustavo Dudamel, who made his own professional debut at 24.
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Who’s in town Photojournalist Brenda Paik Sunoo discusses her new book, “Moon Tides,” which is an homage to the elderly female divers who live on Jeju Island, Korea. The International Museum of Women presents the evening. [5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Russ Building, 235 Montgomery St., 12th floor, S.F.; RSVP: www.imow.org]Lectures
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The availability of $10 standing-room tickets to San Francisco Opera’s “The Ring of the Nibelung” reminds those who feel they can’t afford classical music that where there is a yearning, there is a path. The Bay Area is ripe with free musical events — even in summer, when the main supplier, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, is not in session. Here are a few options:
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Similar in grandeur and majesty, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and “Missa Solemnis” (Solemn Mass), both from 1824, are virtually at opposite ends of the composer’s hit parade. The Ninth is performed constantly, but the Mass comes along once or twice in an orchestra’s lifetime.
The 80-minute work demands a full orchestra, large chorus and epxert vocal and instrumental soloists.
Even after nearly two centuries, Beethoven’s innovations with harmonies and tempos are daunting.
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