Conductor/Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas is celebrating his 23rd year with the San Francisco Symphony. MTT as he is known has long been an advocate of the work of Gustav Mahler. His recordings with the San Francisco Symphony of the Mahler Symphonies are considered amongst the finest recordings of these works ever.
Audiences in Los Angeles and Costa Mesa will get a chance to hear MTT lead the San Francisco Symphony in a program that showcases Mahler’s 5th Symphony. The first performance is at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Tuesday evening. The second performance is at the Renée & Henry Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa on Thursday as part of the Philharmonic Society.
This is arguably Mahler’s best known symphony because of the Adagietto. If you’ve ever seen Death in Venice, you are no doubt familiar with this part of the symphony.
As if this wasn’t enough, violin virtuoso Gil Shaham, who exudes more enthusiasm while playing his instrument than perhaps anyone else in classical music, is joining MTT and San Francisco Symphony for a performance of Berg’s Violin Concerto. The Berg concerto opens each program.
Photo Credit: Kristen Loken