Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2

After nearly being expelled from conservatory and enduring the disastrous premiere of his first symphony, Rachmaninoff didn’t write a note of music for three years.  But after trying out hypnosis therapy (“You will write a Concerto. . . You will work with great facility. . . It will be excellent”), Rachmaninoff composed his Piano Concerto No. 2.

Brahms Symphony No. 4

Ever the brutal self-critic, Brahms did not write his first symphony until the age of 42.  By the time he wrote his Symphony No. 4 in 1885, he had reached the pinnacle of his orchestral composition—the music he had always wanted to write.

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11

Subtitled The Year 1905, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 uses many Russian folk, revolutionary, and prison songs to evoke the story of the massacre of hundreds of peasants protesting at the Tsar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.  The work is full of Shostakovich’s signature ambiguity, the result of his complicated relationship with the Soviet leadership.

Bartók's Duke Bluebeard’s Castle

Duke Bluebeard brings his new wife Judith home to his cold, dark castle, where she insists on opening the seven locked doors behind which Bluebeard hides his secrets.  Bartók, the father of ethnomusicology, wrote this one-act opera in his native language and used the speech’s natural rhythm to lead the musical expression.

Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto

Rachmaninoff was already an admired conductor and pianist when he wrote his Piano Concerto No. 3 to bring along on his first tour of the United States.  On that tour, he performed the concerto with the New York Philharmonic under their conductor Gustav Mahler.

Dvořák's Symphony No. 7

Considered at first to be a composer of popular music and not a great symphonist, it was Brahms who believed in Dvořák enough to set him up with an important publisher.  Written for the London Symphony, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 is a personal catharsis and a masterpiece in tragedy.

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6

Following the conventional success of his Symphony No. 5, written to pacify the Soviet leaders scandalized by his opera Lady Macbeth, Shostakovich composed the Symphony No. 6.  Characterized by its unusual Largo opening and scherzo-like finish, the work exhibits Mahler’s influence on Shostakovich’s sound worlds.

From the Archives: Comparisons

The sheer scope of the Symphony's recorded legacy allows us to hear the same piece performed over the years. Differences are fascinating, but sometimes the similarities are just as remarkable. As the conclusion of the series, this episode takes the broadest approach yet, sweeping freely over the Symphony's history from 1925 onwards as it illustrates the change, growth, and evolution of this wonderful orchestra down the years.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 6

To escape the city of Vienna, Beethoven often spent his summers in the rural counties surrounding it—a love reflected in his Symphony No. 6, Pastoral. With movements titled Awakening of joyful sentiments upon arriving in the country and Scene by the brook, the work depicts life in the country.

From the Archives: First-Chair Soloists

This episode brings us the playing of the San Francisco Symphony musicians down the years, from Henry Hadley's own choice for principal horn Walter Hornig, through long-serving stalwarts such as oboist Merrill Remington and flutist Paul Renzi, to concertmasters such as Louis Persinger, Michel Piastro, Naoum Blinder, and their present-day successor Alexander Barantschik. We'll hear the profound differences that can arise from changes of personnel in key positions, and how individual players changed their styles and techniques over the years.

Bach's "Brandenburg" Concertos

After becoming disenchanted with his position of Capellmeister to Leopold, Prince of Anhalt Cöthen, Bach prepared a special copy of six concertos to send to the Margrave of Brandenburg in hopes of employment. Now known as the Brandenburg concertos, the six works represent Bach’s musical resume.

From the Archives: Guest Conductors

Some of the Symphony's guest conductors have bequeathed recordings to posterity. Hear giants such as Leopold Stokowski and his two RCA Victor albums with the SFS, local 1940s favorite and future Broadway legend Meredith Willson (shown above left), or famed figures such as William Steinberg, Jean Martinon, Charles Munch, Sixten Ehrling, James Conlon, and others at the helm of the Symphony.

Sibelius's Symphony No. 1

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) witnessed in his lifetime the complete transformation of Western music. Written during his young party-animal days (a boozy brawl forced a break in its composition), Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1 was influenced by the symphonies of Tchaikovsky.

Stravinsky’s "Firebird"

Serge Diaghilev was turned down by four composers before turning to Igor Stravinsky to write the music for a new production by the Ballet Russe. Luckily, Stravinsky, eager to try his hand at a ballet, had already been working on the music for a month, and their artistic relationship went on to produce Petrushka and The Rite of Spring.

From the Archives: The MTT Era

Under Michael Tilson Thomas (1944–) the San Francisco Symphony has risen to unprecedented heights of renown and artistic achievement. After a series of award-winning releases on RCA Red Seal, the Symphony created the in-house SFS Media label, under which it has been garnering numerous international awards and plaudits. We'll trace MTT's long association with the SFS, from his first guest appearance in 1974 to the Symphony's most recent releases.

From the Archives: The Blomstedt Era

Herbert Blomstedt (1927–) stepped up to the Symphony podium in 1985 and brought the orchestra to the Decca label, in which capacity the orchestra produced a distinguished series of recordings covering the repertory from Beethoven to Bartók and beyond. Grammy and other such international awards followed, reflecting the Symphony's new prominence on the world stage and its enviably high performance standards. Via broadcasts, in-house archives, and commercial recordings we relive the impressive music-making of a memorable era.

Varèse's "Amériques"

A complete departure from the mainstream European tradition, Amériques marks Varèse’s explosive breakout into modernism. Amériques calls for 125 musicians and a battery of unusual percussion, and according to Varèse, is meant to be understood “as symbolic of discoveries—new worlds on earth, in the sky, or in the minds of men.”

Ruggle's "Sun-treader"

Carl Ruggles, one of the most original voices in 20^th century American music, was a curmudgeonly man whose musical output totals just ten works, which he endlessly re-wrote and edited as close to perfection as he could.  His works, including Sun-treader, exhibit a freely evolving nontonal polyphony, through which he expressed his wish for freedom from the past.

Cowell's Piano Concerto

A native of Menlo Park, California, Henry Cowell is accredited with coining the term tone cluster, an effect he uses frequently in his Piano Concerto. Cowell specifies that the performer use the forearm or specially cut wooden sticks to play many adjacent notes at once, creating a dissonant cluster of sound.

Ives/Brant "A Concord Symphony"

Could the Great American Symphony, in fact, be a piano sonata by the great maverick composer Charles Ives? The composer Henry Brant, who also orchestrated music for Copland, spent most of his life orchestrating Ives’ great Concord Sonata into A Concord Symphony.

From the Archives: The de Waart Era

Edo de Waart (1941–) became the Symphony's music director in 1977 and saw the orchestra through two important transitions: the move to Davies Symphony Hall and the change from analog to digital recording technology. De Waart's tenure at the SFS is exhaustively documented via commercial recordings, broadcasts, and in-house archives. We'll hear the San Francisco Symphony undergo one of its most sweeping transformations, as it inaugurated Davies Symphony Hall with more than 20 new players.

Harrison Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra

Long-time Bay Area resident Lou Harrison was influenced by Eastern musical traditions. He and partner Bill Colvig built many of their own instruments, including an Indonesian gamelan. For his Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra, musicians perform on some of Harrison’s own specially created percussion instruments, most notably bells made out of oxygen tanks.

Mozart's Symphony No. 39

In the space of nine weeks in summer 1788, Mozart produced the last three of his symphonies, including Symphony No. 39. Started within a month after his opera Don Giovanni opened to a less than enthusiastic audience in Vienna, the symphony opens with a reflection on the opera’s overture.

From the Archives: The Ozawa Era

The Symphony returned to the recording studio in 1971 with Seiji Ozawa (1935–), first on Deutsche Grammophon, then on Philips. The Symphony began keeping recorded archives of its performances during Ozawa's tenure, thus preserving the sound of the Symphony in its day-to-day performances. We'll be hearing examples from those archives, together with commercial recordings and radio broadcasts.

From the Archives: The Krips Era

The renowned Austrian conductor Josef Krips (1902–1974) took over the reins of the Symphony in 1963, charged with rebuilding an orchestra that had grown slack. Although Krips refused to allow the Symphony to record commercially, he approved a series of live Friday-night broadcasts on radio station KKHI. From surviving taped transcriptions of those broadcasts we'll hear Josef Krips transform the Symphony, from his inaugural concert—played one week after the JFK assassination—to his 70th birthday concert in 1972, when he made a guest appearance during Seiji Ozawa's tenure.

Bruckner's Symphony No. 5

Anton Bruckner grew up an unsophisticated teacher’s son. By the time he reached Vienna and the composition of his Symphony No. 5, he had a sound combining Beethoven’s sense of mystery and suspense, Schubert’s harmony, and Wagner’s breadth in unfolding, plus a symphonic vision all his own.

From the Archives: The Monteux Era

Pierre Monteux (1875–1964) led the Symphony from 1935 to 1952 and brought it back to the recording studio after a long hiatus. Both on RCA Victor and the popular Standard Hour Broadcasts, Maître Monteux left us copious recordings of a vibrant ensemble with an utterly unique sound and style. From 1941's shellac 78 rpm discs made over telephone lines to the crystal-clear LPs of the 1950s, Monteux and the Symphony made discographic history.


Due to a technical error, Episode 3, The Monteux Era has been reissued to  your iTunes subscription.  Episode 4, The Jordá Era, is available in your iTunes subscription history.

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5

Perpetually self-conscious, Tchaikovsky worried in spring 1888 that his imagination had dried up, and that he had nothing left to express through music. Vacationing at his home in Frolovskoe provided all the inspiration he needed, and by August, his Symphony No. 5 was complete.

From the Archives: The Jordá Era

A two-year search for Pierre Monteux's successor resulted in the 1954 appointment of Enrique Jordá (1911–1996), an electrifying stage presence and passionate advocate of contemporary music. Jordá's discography with the SFS is modest, but his three RCA Victor albums, together with superb performances of two local composers on the CRI label, bear engaging witness to the San Francisco Symphony of the 1950s and its elegant Spanish-American maestro.

Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major

During a wildly successful tour of the United States in 1928, Maurice Ravel met American composer George Gershwin, and listened to jazz in Harlem and New Orleans.  These influences plus his Basque heritage (already exhibited in his Rapsodie espagnole and Boléro) are easily heard in his Piano Concerto in G major. Ravel modeled it after the light, divertimento-like concertos of Mozart and Saint‑Saëns. The Spanish-tinged jazz riffs of the first movement are followed by a gentle and delicate Adagio, and the concerto closes with a bang in its irresistible finale.

Debussy's "Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien"

In 1911, Claude Debussy wrote the incidental music for a mystery play by Gabriele d'Annunzio.  Written for the Belle Époque figure Ida Rubinstein, who was muse to numerous artists and musicians, the play chronicles the martyrdom of the Roman archer Sebastian, who was killed by his own troupe of archers after being discovered to be a Christian. Rubinstein, said to have owned a black tiger cub and drink champagne out of Madonna lilies, had been a member of the Ballet Russe known for her suggestive roles (including Cleopatra and opposite Nijinsky in Rimsky-Korsakoff’s Scheherazade). Attendance at the premiere of this play was banned by the Archbishop of Paris on threat of excommunication.

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1

First symphonies usually serve as stepping stones on the way to greater things. Tchaikovsky’s First was already great, written in a bold and assured manner the composer would not achieve again until his later symphonies. But even Tchaikovsky admitted the work gave him more trouble than any of his others. He revised it numerous times, and it was rejected several times, before it was finally performed almost twenty years after he began composing. With melodies that look ahead to the Waltz of the Flowers from his ballet The Nutcracker and borrowing music from his Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, the symphony carries the subtitle Winter Daydreams.