It's French week at Davies Symphony Hall, with a cheese-eating conductor (Stéph Denève), soloist (Jean-Yves Thibaudet) and composers (Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Roussel and Stravinsky during his Paris years). The orchestra in the pit is the SF symphony, back from their American Maverick tour, and in the wake of the Cleveland Orchestra visit, they sounded as good as ever.

Stéphane Denève is a commanding presence. On the podium, he's a large, towering man. Yet he shows a surprising agility, as if a ballerina was trapped in a bear costume. It might sounds disconcerting or confusing, but the orchestra followed him to the dot.