In Wednesday’s (6/20) San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman writes, “Of all the celebratory novelties Davies Symphony Hall has witnessed during the centennial season of the San Francisco Symphony that is now winding down—the special concert programs, the return of the American Mavericks Festival, the wonderful historical explorations—I think none has been so important, or so revelatory, as the concert series by visiting American orchestras. … The visits by the country’s other top ensembles—six of them, in a skillfully planned series of appearances extending from October through this month—shone a light on the current state of the American orchestral scene with a sharpness and definition that we rarely see on the West Coast.” The six orchestras were those of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia. “The terms of the assignment were simple and straightforward. Each orchestra was invited to play two concerts under its current music director, and to include in its program at least one major work commissioned by the orchestra. … The ultimate lesson from all of this, though, was to reinforce the well-established fact that imagination, resourcefulness and daring are the essential ingredients to success in this realm—far more so than technical prowess or a venerable pedigree.”
Posted June 20, 2012
