Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall News
concert hall in San Francisco, United States
- San Francisco
- United States of America
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2024-03-25
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2023-09-22 18:12:00
Breaking: SFS Planning Major Davies Renovations
Louise M. Davies Symphony HallPhoto by Lisa HirschUm, wow: San Francisco Symphony is in the early stages of planning major, major renovations to Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. Here are the relevant links:Julie Zigoris, SF Standard: San Francisco Symphony Plans To Transform Parking Lot Into Expansive Performance SpaceSFS web site: San Francisco Symphony enters entitlement process for potential renovations to Davies Symphony Hall. See also the linked PDF.In brief, they're thinking of the following:Expanding into Lake Louise, aka the parking lot, by building a recital hall there.Connecting it to the existing building.Renovating the existing concert hall to reduce the number of seats to about 2100.The SFS web site item says that they're in the very early stages, but they've got collaborative partners lined up already, in the form of Mark Cavagnero Associates (a firm that did the renovations of the Veterans Building for SFO, work at the SFCM campus, and lots more) and […]
2022-05-14 05:19:00
Classical Music News of the Week, May 14, 2022
National Philharmonic Concert Schedule for June 2022National Philharmonic concludes its 2021–2022 subscription season on June 5 at The Music Center at Strathmore with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, a grand-scale work for orchestra, chorus, and vocal soloists originally scheduled for May 2020. Beethoven considered Missa Solemnis to be his greatest composition, and it is also seen as one of the most significant “Mass” settings within the vast classical music repertoire. Music Director Piotr Gajewski leads the National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale, as well as a quartet of soloists that includes soprano Esther Heideman, mezzo-soprano Claudia Chapa, tenor Norman Shankle, and bass-baritone Kerry Wilkerson.In addition, subscriptions to the National Philharmonic’s recently announced 2022–2023 season will go on sale in early June. The season comprises eight classical programs conducted by Music Director Piotr Gajewski, two by Chorale Artistic Director Stan Engebretson, two pops concerts led by Principal Pops Conductor Luke Frazier, and a […]
2021-10-21 19:52:00
Openings at San Francisco Symphony
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall Photo by Lisa Hirsch You might recall that San Francisco Symphony had an unusual number of retirements last season and this, for reasons that surely include existing plans, the pandemic, and - who knows? - a new music director coming in. In addition, principal cellist Michael Grebanier died at 82 after a period of ill health. (See the links below for my previous comments on this.) If you want to follow along with the audition process, the organization's audition page is public and always contains interesting information; I once tipped off a couple of people about a not-yet-announced retirement because I spotted a planned audition. The page is here. As you can see, the preliminary and semi-final rounds of the principal flute and principal cello auditions have been held, with the final rounds coming soon. Watch for guest artists in those […]
2020-09-02 13:53:00
40th Anniversary Celebration?!
Davies Symphony Hall, SF Photo by me Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall is turning 40, and San Francisco Symphony sent out an email celebrating it, which, honestly, has my head on the table. I'm really not sure whether to laugh or cry. Davies is....not a great hall. There've been one or two renovations trying to fix its acoustical problems; get a big orchestra on stage, which happens a lot, and the sound gets pretty congested. There's no restaurant and the refreshments aren't too varied. It sits on a half-story plinth, meaning that at street level, it presents an unfriendly blank face to the world. This photo shows the problem: Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall Uncredited photo received in patron email from SFS The ticketing area is small and crowded and has an amazingly low ceiling; it has always felt rather mean […]
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