Classical music hit highest note with Britten
For better or worse, 2014 was the year people decided that classical music mattered.
Labor strife and institutional woes in Minneapolis, Atlanta, San Diego and elsewhere served as a reminder that symphony orchestras and opera companies play a key role in the culture and economic landscapes of American cities. The brouhaha surrounding “The Death of Klinghoffer” turned opera into a vehicle for geopolitical argumentation and posturing. Composers explored innovative ways of using their art to engage with the world around them.
And through it all, the regular roundelay of musical creation and performance kept on going — new works were written and familiar ones replayed, promising young artists turned into seasoned veterans, and the sounds of our own time and those of long ago continued to delight and incite listeners. Because, as many people have never forgotten, this always mattered. High: San Francisco Symphony’s Britten Celebration ( June 12-29): Sure, it was a few months late (Britten’s centennial year was 2013), but Michael Tilson Thomas and the orchestra more than compensated with a raft of beautifully planned and executed programs. The festivities included music from the ballet “Prince of the Pagodas,” an exquisite Serenade with tenor Toby Spence and hornist Robert Ward, and a semistaged “Peter Grimes” with Stuart Skelton and Elza van den Heever that was nothing short of magnificent. Low: “Klinghoffer” frenzy: There are legitimate questions to be raised about the moral politics of John Adams’ opera “The Death of Klinghoffer,” but they couldn’t be heard above the benighted yowling of the protesters outside the Metropolitan Opera in October, or the cravenness of General Director Peter Gelb’s decision to squelch the planned international broadcast of the piece. He’s leaving: David Gockley made it official with the unsurprising but unwelcome news that he’ll step down as general director of the San Francisco Opera in 2016 — and ensured that he’ll be missed by unveiling the most consistently successful fall season the company has seen in many a long year. He’s staying: Michael Tilson Thomas celebrated his 20th season as music director of the San Francisco Symphony and continued to show why, after a term that would be overstaying for any other conductor, he’s just getting started. He’s coming back: Oboist Eugene Izotov, who was far too good to stay in San Francisco for long as the Symphony’s associate principal, will return as principal in the wake of the tragic death of longtime powerhouse Bill Bennett. She’d better come back: One of the most exciting aspects of the fall opera season was the stellar company debut of soprano Lianna Haroutounian as Tosca. Some of us are counting the days until her return. San Francisco Opera’s fall season: (Sept. 5-Dec. 7) Admittedly, it’s a little silly to plunk an entire season onto a top-10 list — but the alternative would have been to call out each component individually. From the power combo of Sondra Radvanovsky and Jamie Barton in the opening “Norma” and the welcome main-stage premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah” through Christopher Alden’s brilliant staging of Handel’s “Partenope” and right up to the first-rate double-cast “Bohème” that closed the season, this was a fall for the record books. Christian Gerhaher: ( Sept. 30) The German baritone’s local debut recital, an evening of songs by Schubert and Wolfgang Rihm sponsored by San Francisco Performances, turned out to be a probing masterpiece of both programming and execution. Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra: (Oct. 12-13) The twonight run in Davies Symphony Hall by this rising conductor and his orchestra was a jawdropping display of technical virtuosity and interpretive grandeur. Adler Fellows showcase: (Dec. 4) Every year the San Francisco Opera Center promises “The Future Is Now,” but this time — with a remarkably gifted and consistent crew of nine Adler Fellows — they really meant it.