Contact: Public Relations Department San Francisco Symphony (415) 503-5474 [email protected] www.sfsymphony.org/press FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / MARCH 6, 2017 MUSIC DIRECTOR MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS AND THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCE 2017–18 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: Season-long celebration of American icon Leonard Bernstein’s birth centennial with MTT and the SFS, including performances from his vast orchestral, vocal, and musical theater catalog—highlights include full concert production of Candide; all-Bernstein celebration with MTT including Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs, Chichester Psalms, Arias and Barcarolles, and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; The Age of Anxiety, Symphony No. 2; West Side Story film with live orchestra; and Divertimento and Serenade MTT conducts epic Russian opera Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky in a semi-staged production starring Stanislav Trofimov in the title role MTT leads programs exploring American maverick composer Charles Ives’s Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4; performances will be recorded for future release on SFS Media Opening Night Gala features renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma performing Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saëns, as well as music by Leonard Bernstein, and Ravel’s Boléro Orchestra’s Grammy award-winning in-house record label SFS Media releases two-CD box set of Schumann’s complete symphonic cycle, conducted by MTT and recorded live in 2015–16 MTT leads world premiere of SFS commission by former SFS Composer-in-Residence Charles Wuorinen, celebrating his 80th birthday SF Symphony first performances include contemporary works by Andrew Norman, Brett Dean, Guillaume Connesson, and Esa-Pekka Salonen; and rarely performed works by Dvořák, Mozart, Taneyev, and Stenhammar Jakub Hrůša, Edward Gardner, and Daniel Harding make their SFS conducting debuts San Francisco Symphony 2017–18 Season Announcement Visiting conductors Krysztof Urbański, Susanna Mälkki, Semyon Bychkov, Osmo Vänskä, and Herbert Blomstedt lead music from their home countries; Juraj Valčuha, Pablo Heras-Casado, Stéphane Denève, and David Robertson conduct first SFS performances of contemporary works; and Charles Dutoit traces Ravel’s 1928 tour of the United States Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov presents season-long residency including a solo recital, duo recital with Sergei Babayan, and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with MTT and the SFS Orchestra’s West Coast tour includes performances in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Costa Mesa with violinist Gil Shaham in March 2018 SoundBox enters fourth season of bringing immersive concert experiences to new audiences in a unique performance space—eclectic programs curated by Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony musicians, and other guest composers and artists continue to break new ground San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra celebrates 35th anniversary, providing world class pre-professional music instruction to young musicians tuition free SF Symphony’s groundbreaking Adventures in Music program celebrates 30 years of bringing music education to every elementary school in the San Francisco Unified School District, now serving every 1–5 child in San Francisco public schools 2017–18 season welcomes distinguished ensembles and soloists from around the world, including the Royal and Israel philharmonic orchestras, Bach Collegium Japan, and Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields; pianists Yuja Wang, Yefim Bronfman, and András Schiff; violinist Christian Tetzlaff; and an extraordinary collaborative performance by violinist Itzhak Perlman and pianist Martha Argerich SAN FRANCISCO, CA—March 6, 2017—Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) and the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) today announced plans for the 2017–18 season, comprising more than 200 concerts in eleven months presented at Davies Symphony Hall. The Orchestra’s 106th season is highlighted by musical touchstones that are trademarks of MTT’s artistic vision for the Orchestra. In MTT’s 23rd season as Music Director, the San Francisco Symphony explores the adventurous American sound; creates unique concert experiences through staging, multimedia elements, and immersive settings; champions the creation and performance of new music; brings distinct perspectives and pairings to core symphonic repertoire; captures live performances for release as reference recordings; and celebrates the longevity and meaningful impact of the San Francisco Symphony’s commitment to music education. MTT leads a season featuring celebrations of the centennial of multifaceted composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein’s birth; an exploration of American music prominently featuring Ives’s Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4, which will be recorded live; a new semi-staged production of Mussorgsky’s epic political opera Boris Godunov; the fourth season of experimental SoundBox programs; first SFS performances of contemporary and less familiar works, including a commission and world premiere by American composer Charles Wuorinen; the release of highly anticipated complete 2 San Francisco Symphony 2017–18 Season Announcement cycle of Schumann’s symphonies on in-house record label SFS Media; the 35th anniversary of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the 30th anniversary of the groundbreaking Adventures in Music program. SEASON-LONG CELEBRATION OF LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S BIRTH CENTENNIAL Throughout the 2017–18 season, the San Francisco Symphony joins the worldwide performing arts community in celebrating the birth centennial of musical giant Leonard Bernstein. Over the course of six concert programs, the SFS exhibits Bernstein’s multifaceted catalog spanning diverse genres, musical styles, and thematic topics. Michael Tilson Thomas first met Leonard Bernstein after spending a summer at the Tanglewood Music Center in 1968 and they became longtime friends and colleagues. MTT, who has championed Bernstein’s music throughout his career, curated this season’s centennial tributes to showcase the breadth and depth of the composer’s musical genius. “It is a joy to celebrate my friend and longtime colleague Leonard Bernstein’s spirit and legacy through his music next season,” comments Michael Tilson Thomas. “The programs I have planned throughout the season showcase widely varying sides of Bernstein’s work, from his comic operetta Candide and groundbreaking musical West Side Story, to his narrative symphony The Age of Anxiety and song cycle Arias and Barcarolles. Arias and Barcarolles is especially dear to me because I was involved in its premiere in 1988. Bernstein was a great friend to many people, and gifted us all his tremendously adventurous spirit.” Following a season-opening gala on September 14 that includes Bernstein’s festive Overture to Candide, MTT explores the composer’s extensive and varied compositional output September 22–24 with celebratory performances of jazz ensemble showpiece Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs with SFS Principal Clarinet Carey Bell; liturgical choral and orchestral work Chichester Psalms; deeply personal, often humorous song cycle Arias and Barcarolles featuring mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard and bass-baritone Ryan McKinney; and Symphonic Dances from groundbreaking Broadway musical West Side Story. November 2, 3, and 5, MTT leads the Orchestra and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet in Bernstein’s The Age of Anxiety, Symphony No. 2. A musical representation of W.H. Auden’s narrative poem of the same name, Bernstein’s symphony follows four characters in a complex quest for meaning and showcases themes the composer revisited many times in his career, most prominently the difficult search for faith. Further highlighting the Symphony’s Bernstein centennial celebrations, the SFS performs a full concert version of the composer’s satirical comic operetta Candide conducted by MTT, January 19–21. Performers for Candide will be announced at a later date. Presented February 1–3 as a part of the Symphony’s popular Film Series, West Side Story further showcases Bernstein’s reach and range as a composer. The winner of ten Academy Awards, the film version of Bernstein’s iconic musical is presented on the big screen with the SFS performing the score live to picture at Davies Symphony Hall. February 22–24, guest conductor Andrey Boreyko also salutes Bernstein in a program featuring his exuberant series of vignettes, Divertimento, and virtuosic violin work in praise of love, Serenade, performed by Vadim Gluzman. SEMI-STAGED PRODUCTION OF MUSSORGSKY’S BORIS GODUNOV CONCEIVED AND CONDUCTED BY MTT For more than twenty seasons, Michael Tilson Thomas and the SFS have been at the forefront in creating original staging for works of the orchestral and operatic repertory in a symphonic setting. From The Flying Dutchman, Peter Grimes, and Peer Gynt, to West Side Story and On The Town, MTT continues to explore new ways to provide context for core masterworks with visionary staging, lighting, set design, and imagery. On June 14, 15, and 17, MTT and the SFS continue 3 San Francisco Symphony 2017–18 Season Announcement this innovative approach, performing Mussorgsky’s epic political drama Boris Godunov in the original Russian, in a semi-staged production conceived by MTT. “My goal with each semi-staged production, whether opera, musical theater, or symphonic work, is to use lighting, costumes, projections, and stage direction to further illuminate the music and story so that the audience comes away with a deeper and more immersive concert experience,” explains Michael Tilson Thomas. “I’m looking forward to this production which will showcase