Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8

Description

Guest conductor Vasily Petrenko leads the San Francisco Symphony in Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 1-3 at Davies Symphony Hall. Pianist Simon Trpčeski is the soloist for Grieg’s Piano Concerto. These concerts mark the SFS debut for Vasily Petrenko.

A rising young conductor from Russia, 33-year-old Petrenko grew up in St. Petersburg and attended the prestigious St. Petersburg Conservatory. He served as the Resident Conductor for the St. Petersburg State Opera and Ballet Theatre in the Mussorgsky Memorial Theatre from 1994 to 1997 and was the Chief Conductor of the State Academy Orchestra of St. Petersburg from 2004 to 2007. He won numerous international competitions, including the Shostakovich Choral Conducting Competition in St. Petersburg (1997) and Cadaqués Orchestra International Conducting Competition in Spain (2002). In 2006, Petrenko became the Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra—the youngest person ever to hold the position in the Orchestra’s 170-year history. He has also been the Principal Conductor for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain since 2008. Petrenko was awarded the Gramophone Young Artist of the Year in 2007. His debut recording of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony was the winner of the 2009 Gramophone Award for Best Orchestral Recording. In addition to his concert appearance with the San Francisco Symphony, Petrenko’s 2009-10 season highlights include his debuts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Pianist Simon Trpčeski made his San Francisco Symphony debut in November 2004. He last performed with the Symphony in 2006, playing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy. Born in the Republic of Macedonia in 1979, Trpčeski graduated from the University of St. Cyril and St. Methodius in Skopje, and is a prizewinner in numerous international competitions in Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic. He was a member of the BBC New Generation Artist Scheme from 2001-2003, and has performed extensively with orchestras worldwide, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, among others. Trpčeski has recorded four albums with EMI, all of which have received critical acclaim. His first recital recording featuring the works of Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Stravinsky and Prokofiev received Gramophone Magazine’s Editor’s Choice and the Debut Album awards. His upcoming recording with Vasily Petrenko of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos No. 2 and 3 will be released on March 9 on Avie Records.

Following the concert on Friday, April 2 the San Francisco Symphony presents its second Davies After Hours of the season. The post-concert party features composer, conductor and bass and trombone player Adam Theis and the All-Star Jazz Mafia Ensemble. The group will fuse elements of jazz, electronics, and hip-hop in response to the San Francisco Symphony’s performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8, as well as perform other works. This specially convened 12-piece band of piano, bass, drums, horns and violins has been culled from the many talented musicians making up the greater Jazz Mafia collective, which includes members of the Shotgun Wedding Quintet, Shotgun Wedding Hip-Hop Symphony, Brass Mafia and Supertaster, among others. Theis, an avid composer and arranger, is the 2008 recipient of the prestigious Gerbode-Hewlett Grant for Jazz composition. He scored Brass Bows and Beats, an ambitious work for a 60-piece jazz and hip-hop orchestra that debuted for a sold-out audience at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts. Learn more about Adam Theis, the Jazz Mafia and their many associated groups by visiting their website, jazzmafia.com.

On display at Davies After Hours on April 2 will be a show of Modern Salvage Sculptures created by Bay Area artist Lee Tollefsrud. These elegant and balanced pieces are created from found materials, primarily scavenged from the San Francisco Bay. A preview of the artist’s works can be viewed on his website at http://www.leetollefsrud.com/gallery.html