Susanna Mälkki returns to San Francisco Symphony
At first glance, this week’s San Francisco Symphony program doesn’t appear especially groundbreaking. Works by Stravinsky and Beethoven are standard fare for this orchestra.
But the concerts of June 9-11 promise one of the special events of the season. The reason? Susanna Mälkki. The great Finnish conductor joins the Symphony this week in Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” and “Scherzo fantastique” and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1. As with Mälkki’s previous appearances with this orchestra, the results are likely to make a big impression.
For many music lovers, Mälkki is more than an outstanding conductor. She’s a hero — one of the few women who have managed to break through classical music’s glass ceiling.
Women continue to make inroads in nearly every field but conducting. They’re leading great democracies (OK, not ours), running major corporations, ushering innovations into the tech world.
Conducting major orchestras? Not so much.
Among the 24 largest classical music organizations in the U.S., only one has a female music director: Marin Alsop, of the Baltimore Symphony. (Alsop last season concluded her 25-year tenure as music director of the Santa Cruz-based Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.)
The situation is better elsewhere, and Mälkki has emerged at the forefront. She’s chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic, and principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut last fall, conducting Kaija Saariaho’s mesmerizing “L’Amour de Loin.”
Mälkki has made frequent appearances at Davies Symphony Hall, beginning in 2012, when she debuted with the orchestra conducting works by Sibelius, Prokofiev and Gérard Grisey. With each return, she has impressed Bay Area audiences with her deep musicality and consummate command of the orchestra.
This week’s appearances promise a potent exploration of the Stravinsky works. And in Beethoven’s youthful concerto, Mälkki will be joined by pianist Garrick Ohlsson, another audience favorite.
DETAILS >> June 9-10 at 8 p.m., June 11 at 2 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $15-$162; 415864-6000; sfsymphony. org.
A VERY MEROLA SUMMER
>> The Merola Opera Program celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, and with events running June 11-Aug. 19, the elite training program for young singers has plenty in store. Merola’s summer kicks off with a 60th Anniversary Concert at Herbst Theatre (June 11, 8 p.m.), featuring the program’s alumni, including Quinn Kelsey, currently singing the title role in San Francisco Opera’s “Rigoletto.” The Schwabacher Summer Concert features opera scenes sung by the class of 2017 (July 6, 7:30 p.m., San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and July 9, 2:30 p.m., Bing Concert Hall, Stanford). Merola will present two fully staged opera programs at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. First is a triple bill of Pergolesi’s “La Serva Padrona,” Holst’s “Sāvitri” and William Walton’s “The Bear” (July 20, 7:30 p.m., and July 22, 2 p.m.), followed by Rossini’s “”La Cenerentola” (Aug. 3, 7:30 p.m., and Aug. 5, 2 p.m.). The season ends with the Merola Grand Finale concert, featuring this season’s participants performing on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House (Aug. 19, 7:30 p.m.). Tickets $25-$70; more information at merola.org.
NEW VENUE FOR WEST EDGE
OPERA >> Audiences who attended West Edge Opera’s productions of “Powder Her Face,” “The Cunning Little Vixen” and “Agrippina” last August experienced them in Oakland’s Abandoned Train Station, a wholly unusual venue. Sadly, the company has learned that it won’t be able to return there this summer: The City of Oakland will no longer grant permits for public events in the Beaux-Arts building. But West Edge has secured another West Oakland venue for this summer’s productions of Ambroise Thomas’s “Hamlet,” Vicente Martín y Soler’s “The Chastity Tree” and Libby Larsen’s “Frankenstein.” Details will be announced as soon as parking and security details are finalized. The floor plan will be identical to the train station, according to artistic director Mark Streshinsky, and shuttles will be available from West Oakland BART. Patrons who have purchased subscription series tickets will not experience a disruption in their seating choices; single tickets for the 2017 season, which runs Aug. 5-20, are on sale now. For more information, call 510-841-1903, or go to westedgeopera.org.