awesome night at the symphony

Jolene and I received an invitation for music bloggers to an event at the San Francisco Symphony. This was a great excuse for us to spend some time in San Francisco...

First, we had drinks at Jade Bar, which has an amazing happy hour...a strong, delish $2 Jade cocktail (no joke...$2!), made up of a "blend of Vanilla Vodka, Melon Liqueur, fresh Lemon, Lime, and Pineapple Juices ". (On a side note; there are rumors that there is a martini bar in Davis that serves up $1 martinis...which I completely believe is false. Must search out to see if this is true...)


We made our way to Davies Symphony Hall to meet up with fellow bloggers, meet the public relations staff at SF Symphony (including the wonderful Louisa Spier, publicist for the symphony), and chat with the charismatic, 27-year-old conductor James Gaffigan and a horn player who did a special Q&A with us. Jolene will be writing a more detailed review about the symphony later on Saturday Matinee, but we had a fun time.

THe SF Symphony is experimenting with "topical" names for each concert, similar to the NYCB naming each evening performance with a common theme. I understand that this is a marketing tool, and can see the value in that. Last night's concert was named "Classical Romance", featuring Romeo and Juliet (Tchaik's version), Strauss' Don Juan, and the Rach 3. I'm not sure if I like the "naming" of these concerts into one pat theme, because I feel that it limits the complex themes of these very different musical pieces (and ballet repertory). It would make more sense to name this concert to something like, "Romance, passion, angst, conflict, jealousy, rage, murder and great music"...that would have been more reflective of the concert and the pieces played. Ah well. I guess the title is too long to print in the programs.

This concert made me think of my SF Conservatory days, when Jolene and I participated in their Summer Music West chamber music program, I think we were 12 years old. IT's great to enjoy great classical music once again; it's amazing how much musical repertoire I've picked up since I've been lucky enough to be studying music all my life. The Rach 3 is always fun to listen to; esp. the first movement, made most famous by the movie Shine.

With the affable James Gaffigan. There is a theory that symphony musicians will strike less if they have a cute conductor (a la Esa Pekka Salonen with the L.A. Phil). Let's see if this happens at SF Symphony, who has experienced a few musician strikes in the past...

Standing in the beautiful auditorium, clutching my press kit.

I think it's great that SF Symphony is outreaching to bloggers and the "younger" technologically-savvy generation, and hiring young musicians and conductors to infuse "fresh" blood into the classical music world. It was a fabulous experience, and I look forward to hearing more of SF Symphony soon.

Met up with fellow bloggers, George, Barce, & Kevin many others...