As the audience in the classical music hall gets grayer and grayer, the San Francisco Symphony does what it can to stay ahead. But it too gets older too, turning 100 tonight. The centenarian does not look any the worse for wear though, with a year-long celebration that kicks off in high gear featuring a grand gala with virtuosos Lang Lang and Itzhak Perlman.

Any one of these guys would be more than enough to headline a season opener, but you don't turn 100 every year, so you get two shots of superstardom with your cake.

MTT, Lang-Lang and the orchestra will repeat some of the evening program tomorrow for lunch -most likely hungover from the post-concert bash so pay no heed to the blood shot eyes-, in a FREE outdoors concert in front on City Hall at noon. Lang-Lang plays the Liszt piano concerto, which totally fit his über-romantic style, and Liszt himself would be 200 years old next month. Coincidence? We think not. The orchestra will also perform Britten's Young Person Guide to the Orchestra (MTT conducting this clip!) not because you need to be introduced to the different families of instruments, but to better honor and feature the SF Symphony musicians sections by sections. After all, they're the ones making the noise.