Esa-Pekka Salonen
Photo: Minna Hatinen, courtesy of San Francisco Symphony
(Get used to seeing this photo a lot)
Last week's SFS program, with MDD Esa-Pekka Salonen and soprano Julia Bullock, was wonderful:
- Stucky, Funeral Music for Queen Mary, after Purcell;
- Britten, Les Illuminations
- Ravel, Three songs to texts by Mallarme and Mother Goose Suite (Ma Mere l'lye)
The first thing I have to say is that I have never much cared for Mother Goose, but apparently it was because I'd never heard Salonen conduct it. This was utterly beguiling from beginning to end. Beyond a doubt, it helped that I was sitting in Row J; the last time I heard it at Davies I was in the first tier even though I was reviewing. That was in 2006; the conductor was Leonard Slatkin, and he didn't go a great job with anything on the program, including a weirdly dull Pictures at an Exhibition.
The Stucky is a terrific piece, true to the Purcell but also unusually orchestrated, winds and brass plus piano and harp. The Britten was fantastic, so very beautifully sung by Julia Bullock. Once again I could only marvel at the variety and brilliance of Britten's string writing. Bullock is one of E-PS's "creative partners", so I am looking forward to hearing her regularly in the next few years.
The Ravel/Mallarmé was completely new to me and I liked it a lot. It's really a chamber piece, for piano, string quartet, flute, piccolo, and some clarinets (Carey Bell and Jerome Simas were both up there, with Simas juggling three instruments.)
Joshua Kosman has a much longer review and I agree with him 100% except that I have always loved Les Illuminations and its gnomic text.
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