The Philistine Goes To The Movies: Hilary Hahn Plays Symphony Hall
It's gotta be hard to perform at the symphony in the winter -- a number of musical sneezes and coughs periodically punctuated Wednesday's San Francisco Symphony movie-themed performances, helmed by guest conductor David Zinman. Get well soon, Wednesday night ticketholders!
It was a night of romantic movie themes and orchestral folk music (and one modern piece described in the program as "an aircraft revving for takeoff"), with violinist Hilary Hahn the main star. A poker-faced Ms. Hahn strode out and unceremoniously pulled out a lush and technically stunning Korngold Violin Concerto (which features musical themes written for 1930s and 40s Hollywood movies).
It's kind of refreshing to see someone just stand up and play, without all the facial contortions and back-bendy moves we've grown to associate with Fine Solo Performances (tm). The person behind us said loudly after the performance, "That was so clean!", which we think is about right. Hahn encored with the slow movement of a Ysaye sonata (we didn't catch which number), which was similarly elegant in presentation.
The rest of the performances, our snuggling neighbors, and a review of the Christmas trees in the lobby, after the jump.
Picture of Hilary Hahn after the concert by SFMike. Thanks, Mike! And thanks, SFist Ced, for letting us step into your shoes for a few concerts! More pictures by SFMike after the jump
The orchestra opened with Aaron Copland's Music for Movies, featuring pieces composed for the movie Our Town and a lesser-known movie called The City and in his usual optimistic lots-of-open-strings Americana sound. The couple sitting next to us used that opportunity to start up with some very persistent cuddling, which went on throughout the entire performance (including intermission) and even when one half of the couple's cell phone went off (twice). It's nice to see people so in love (even if they look at you resentfully when you have to ask them to move so you can get back in your seat after intermission, and they have to get up together so they don't have to stop hugging).
The line for people getting Hilary Hahn's autograph after the concert, plus some Christmas trees.
During intermission, we toured the Davies Symphony Hall lobby, which is filled with maybe 10 to 20 Christmas trees sponsored by donors and decorated by children or other nonprofit groups. So many Christmas trees! It smelled so evergreen! The Charlie Brown scraggly award went to the See's Candies tree, and we thought the Rooftop Alternative brass wire ornaments looked particularly swank -- but the hands-down winner for everyone's favorite tree was the SPCA tree decorated with construction paper ornaments with adoptable pets pasted on them.
Okay, back to the concert. We enjoyed the airplane-landing Liquid Marble by Swedish composer Anders Hillborg, whose atonality was tempered by some entertaining scales up and down through the woodwind section, and we thoroughly enjoyed the Kodaly Hary Janos opera suite. You've heard the Viennese Musical Clock before (in Christmas themed ads, mostly), and it's always fun.
The crowd also seemed to enjoy the farcical "The March and Napoleon's Defeat," and romped along with the final two marches as well. Also -- much respect to Ronald Snider, the percussionist who soloed on the badass Hungarian folk instrument the cimbalon (seen below, behind the guillotine-like conductor's podium), which sounded like a Chinese guzheng zither crossed with those guys who play the spoons. We must learn how to play the cimbalon now.
The symphony plays this program again today at 2 p.m., and a shorter version (no Kodaly or Hillborg) on Friday at 6:30 as part of its Friday 6.5 series.