Last night we attended The San Francisco Symphony with Herbert Blomstedt* conducting Mozart‘s Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major, K.271 (1777), pianist Garrick Ohlsson, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Opus 64 (1888). Tickets to the San Francisco Symphony season were one of my Christmas presents!
Garrick Ohlsson’s performance was meticulous, transparent, while at the same time masterfully artistic and perfectly nuanced. He and the orchestra were spot on–brilliant!
The Tchaikovsky was transcendent. From the opening clarinet, I was entranced. The french horn melody that opens the second movement is one of my favorite melodies on earth. (I’ve blogged before about my love for Tchaikovsky’s melodic gifts.) The woodwinds, the brass, the timpanist–stunning, stunning performance.
I always knew the San Francisco Symphony is one of the world’s greatest performance organizations, but when you actually experience their work firsthand in Davies Hall, it’s a bit overwhelming. A night to always remember!
* Wikipedia lists his age as almost 85! Certainly his command performance is that of a seasoned maestro, but who can imagine him to be in his 80’s?!