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San Francisco Chronicle
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Review: Hilary Hahn draws a packed house for Esa-Pekka Salonen and S.F. Symphony
Like a slow drumroll, four strikes of the timpani herald the beginning of Beethoven's Violin Concerto. This time, they also announced Hilary Hahn's triumphant return to San Francisco. The American violinist resumed performing earlier this spring after taking a monthslong hiatus due to injury. In past seasons, Hahn had come to the Bay Area most often as a recitalist, which made this San Francisco Symphony concert on Thursday, May 29 — one of Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen's final programs before he departs the orchestra in mid-June — that much more special. More Information Esa-Pekka Salonen's final concerts Esa-Pekka Salonen & Hilary Hahn: San Francisco Symphony. 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 30; 2 p.m. Sunday, June 1. $49-$350. Salonen Conducts Sibelius 7: San Francisco Symphony. 7:30 p.m. June 6-7; 2 p.m. June 8. $49-$179. Salonen Conducts Mahler 2: San Francisco Symphony. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, June 12-14. $145-$399. All shows are at Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-864-6000. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Beethoven's concerto, however, is as ubiquitous as classical music gets. How could it be otherwise, with such singable melodies? The embellishments throughout the solo part, pearly scales and arpeggios, resemble a violinist's warmup — simple in theory and yet almost impossibly difficult to hit in front of an audience. Hahn augmented the concerto's technical scope with her choice of cadenzas, the same substantial ones by turn-of-the-century violinist Fritz Kreisler that she's been playing since her days as a child prodigy. Indeed, this performance wasn't so very different from the recording she made at 18 or even from her earlier German debut with the piece in a now-famous televised concert. This isn't to slight the Hahn of 2025. She was simply that rare young artist who seemed to emerge fully formed — with tasteful interpretations, stellar bow technique and near-flawless intonation. After the orchestra's elegant introduction, Hahn's superpowers were on display from the first ascending octaves through the final chords. The bravura passages, in which she exerted extraordinary control over the dropping of her left-hand fingers, were brilliant and clear. The slow movement's variations were lacy fine, the wispy high notes resounding like tiny, perfect bells. And the musicality was a touch more expressive from the mature violinist. The streams of triplets in the opening Allegro, and the silvery slurs in a dolorous corner of the Rondo finale, seemed more considered. Here and there (and in the encore, Steven Banks' 'Through My Mother's Eyes,' a schmaltzy showpiece with a big heart), the phrases broadened more than they once did. Some three decades into her career and with a full house rooting for her, Hahn appeared to revel anew in this old music. Her fans made an impressive audience for Beethoven's Fourth Symphony in the first half of the program — a performance that, under Salonen's leadership, struggled both rhythmically and dramatically. If the Fourth — a refined work tucked between Beethoven's heroic 'Eroica' and fateful Fifth — is perhaps the least played of the composer's nine symphonies, it's not the piece's fault, only the programmers'. At any rate, the San Francisco Symphony has engaged Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden for a Beethoven cycle covering three seasons, beginning in 2026. Let the Fourth soon sound again.
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Sibelius winner Park Sueye on new milestone in distinctive career
25-year-old takes home first prize at 13th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition At just 25, violinist Park Sueye has already forged a distinctive path in the classical music world, having released five albums since her debut at age 16 in 2017. On Friday, she made headlines by winning the 13th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition -- becoming the third Korean to win the prestigious prize after Yang In-mo in 2022 and Korean American violinist Christel Lee in 2015. Founded in 1965 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius' birth, the Helsinki-based competition is typically held every five years and is widely regarded as one of the most challenging and respected violin competitions in the world. Past winners include legendary figures such as Viktoria Mullova, Leonidas Kavakos and Sergey Khachatryan. In a phone interview with The Korea Herald on Friday as she departed for Greece, Park reflected on the experience with quiet composure. 'I did not have any expectations -- not to mention winning the first prize. I just focused on my music and wanted to leave the stage without regrets,' she said. 'This time, I really felt almost no stress and just enjoyed being on stage. The program was difficult, but I had built a strong routine and trained a lot leading up to the competition.' While the Sibelius win is her first major international competition victory, Park has already carved out an identity through her discography and artistic choices. Her debut recording, Paganini: 24 Caprices, was released in November 2017 when she was just 16. Her sixth album, a solo violin recording titled "Exil!," is set for release in July via BIS Records. It features Bartok's Sonata for Solo Violin, selections from Ysaye's Six Sonatas and other technically demanding works. Why enter a competition now, after already having established herself through recordings? 'I knew there were other chances and I thought I'd give it a try before it was too late,' she said. 'This was my first competition since the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition three years ago -- and I don't plan on entering another.' Despite the win, Park emphasized that her artistic direction remains unchanged. 'Even though I've just won a competition, I plan to keep going as I've been doing - -just steadily believing in myself, as I have for the past few years,' she said. 'I'll continue releasing albums and performing, just as I've always done. I want to stay honest with myself and move forward as a truly sincere musician.' Forty violinists participated in the 13th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. Following the first and second rounds held from May 19 to May 25, six finalists, including Park, were selected. For the final round, Park performed Oliver Knussen's Violin Concerto Op. 30 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Jean Sibelius' Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Her prize includes 30,000 euros ($34,000) in cash, upcoming engagements with Finland's top orchestras, mentorship under violinist Pekka Kuusisto and conductor-violinist John Storgards and a one-year loan of the 1777 Guadagnini violin 'ex Sasson,' facilitated by Beare's International Violin Society. Second prize was awarded to Minami Yoshida from Japan and third prize to Claire Wells from the United States. This year's jury consisted of seven violinists, including Korea's own Lee Sung-ju and Cho Jin-joo, who served as a Kumho Art Hall artist-in-residence in 2015.
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Park Sueye triumphs at International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition
The 25-year-old becomes second Korean violinist to win, after Yang In-mo's 2022 victory Three years after violinist Yang In-mo became the first Korean to win the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, fellow Korean virtuoso Park Sueye claimed the top prize at the competition's 13th edition, held in Helsinki on May 29. Founded in 1965 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius' birth, the competition is held every five years and is regarded as one of the most demanding and respected violin competitions in the world. Past winners include legendary figures such as Viktoria Mullova, Leonidas Kavakos and Sergey Khachatryan. Park is the second Korean to win the competition, following Yang In-mo's historic win in 2022. 'I'm incredibly happy to have won the Sibelius Competition,' the 25-year-old said after the announcement. 'It was a meaningful journey, and I'm so grateful that I was able to communicate my music through to the very end. It still feels surreal, but I'm grateful for everyone who rooted for me,' she said. While this is her first major win at an international competition, the young violinist has already carved out a distinct identity in the classical music world, with five critically acclaimed albums to her name. She released her debut recording, 'Paganini: 24 Caprices,' in November 2017 at the age of 16, becoming the youngest artist to record the complete set. In an interview with The Korea Herald in May 2023, Park reflected on her evolving identity as both a performer and educator. She described each of her albums not merely as recordings, but as personal milestones -- markers of growth at different stages in her life and career as well as a testament to her transformative musical journey. 'I'm not sure if I would try to record the complete Paganini again when I turn 35. But to be honest, when I listen to my first album, it's already very different,' she said. Her sixth album, a solo violin recording titled 'Exil!,' is set to be released in July by BIS Records. The album features Bartok's Sonata for Solo Violin, selections from Ysaye's Six Sonatas, and other technically demanding pieces. Two years ago, Park began to take her artistic practice beyond the stage. 'I guess I'm a polymath. I feel slightly happier when performing solo, but I have also changed through meeting many people. I'd also like to play in an ensemble and an orchestra, as well as teach,' Park told The Korea Herald. 'I learn a lot from teaching and performing in an orchestra once in a while. All of these experiences enhance my understanding of music.' A total of 40 violinists participated in the 13th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. Following the first and second rounds held from May 19 to May 25, six finalists, including Park, were selected. For the final round, Park performed Oliver Knussen's Violin Concerto Op. 30 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Jean Sibelius's Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Her prize includes 30,000 euros ($34,000) in cash, upcoming engagements with Finland's top orchestras, mentorship under violinist Pekka Kuusisto and conductor-violinist John Storgards, and a one-year loan of the 1777 Guadagnini violin 'ex Sasson,' facilitated by Beare's International Violin Society. Second prize was awarded to Minami Yoshida from Japan and third prize to Claire Wells from the United States. This year's jury consisted of seven violinists, including Korea's own Lee Sung-ju and Cho Jin-joo, who served as Kumho Art Hall's artist-in-residence in 2015.
San Francisco Chronicle
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Esa-Pekka Salonen's final S.F. Symphony concerts off to a dramatic start
Esa-Pekka Salonen and the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony are making the most of their remaining concerts together. That much was clear on Friday, May 23, at Davies Symphony Hall, as the outgoing music director led the first in a monthlong series of performances marking the end of his tenure with the orchestra. The weekend's program, which repeats through Sunday, May 25, is anchored by a dramatic but nuanced reading of Igor Stravinsky's 'The Firebird' and highlighted by soloist Isabelle Faust's beautiful and well-characterized playing in Alban Berg's Violin Concerto. Like he did in 2022 performances with the Symphony, Salonen has elected to present Stravinsky's complete ballet score, rather than the popular suite from 1919 that cuts about 25 minutes of music. This decision means scenic moments that require inventiveness to pull off in concert feature alongside musical highlights. More Information Esa-Pekka Salonen's Final Concerts Salonen Conducts 'The Firebird': San Francisco Symphony. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 24; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 25. $49-$199. Esa-Pekka Salonen & Hilary Hahn: San Francisco Symphony. 2 p.m. Thursday, May 29; 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 30; 2 p.m. Sunday, June 1. $49-$350. Salonen Conducts Sibelius 7: San Francisco Symphony. 7:30 p.m. June 6-7; 2 p.m. June 8. $49-$179. Salonen Conducts Mahler 2: San Francisco Symphony. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, June 12-14. $145-$399. All shows are at Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-864-6000. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit On Friday, these extended scenes crackled with energy and purpose, driven by Salonen's vivid dramatic imagination. The performance brilliantly elucidated the work's overall structure, with the conductor masterfully restraining even the fully orchestrated moments. This careful pacing built tension until the inevitable climax in the 'Infernal Dance,' which the musicians delivered with maximum ferocity. Although interpretations generally adhere to Stravinsky's plentiful metronome markings, Salonen pushed the tempo at the acceleration into the fast coda of the dance, adding to the excitement. Alternatively, in the finale, he slowed the tempo down to the specified molto pesante (very heavy) but held the last chord for almost a full 10 seconds as the orchestra built the sound in a finely graded crescendo. In the concert's first half, Salonen conducted the first Symphony performance of 'Chorale,' a 2002 work by his longtime friend and fellow Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg, who conceived the piece as an intro to Berg's Violin Concerto. It takes off from the same J.S. Bach chorale harmonization that Berg used, but Lindberg reimagines it with a dense and intricate orchestration style that is characteristic of his work. Salonen imparted refinement to a score that could easily suffer from being overplayed by a less attentive conductor. The orchestra handled the incredibly difficult runs in the woodwinds and strings with utmost clarity. The work concludes with a beautiful if unconventional cadence to a sustained major chord, anticipating exactly the manner in which Berg ends his piece. The Austrian composer's 1935 concerto demands a soloist like Faust, who was all in on characterizing the musical material and sharing it, rather than seizing control and showing off. The piece is a portrait of Manon Gropius, who died at 18; she was the daughter of architect Walter Gropius and Alma Mahler Werfel (composer Gustav Mahler's widow). In a performance as good as Friday night's, the music captures the moods and manners of the girl so vividly that a listener can almost see her. The passionate but highly contrasting first movement played to Faust's strengths. From the opening arpeggios, rendered almost shyly and with minimal vibrato, she deployed a variety of tone and phrasing that Salonen and the orchestra only amplified. This performance had exquisite balance and clarity, with even the forceful brass-heavy moments making their point without going over the top. The second movement opens wildly but shifts in the middle to a set of variations on the Bach chorale 'Es ist genug' (It is enough). Though mainly quiet, this is the emotional center of the piece, played here with extraordinary intensity. Toward the end, concertmaster Alexander Barantschik took up the theme and then handed it off seamlessly to Faust, who extended the melody into her instrument's upper reaches as the orchestra sank down to a cadence. It was a breathtaking way to take leave of Berg's masterpiece. As is his custom when acknowledging applause, Salonen joined the first row of violins, rather than standing in front of them. But during Friday's encore bow, the orchestra didn't stand as requested, giving him the solo moment he had tried to dodge. He seemed a bit surprised, but he shouldn't have been. The Symphony musicians know how special this time with Salonen has been, and they're marking the end of an era in the best way they can. Up next, Salonen partners with violinist Hilary Hahnr in concerts Thursday-Sunday, May 29-June 1, followed by the conductor leading Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 7 on June 6-8.
The Herald Scotland
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Beneditti entrances young and old in SCO finale
Keith Bruce four stars JOHANNES Brahms and child star violinist Joseph Joachim were friends from their teenage years, although well into their maturity when Brahms composed a concerto for him to play. Felix Mendelssohn was a published composer at 13 and conducted the precocious Joachim in London when the violinist was 12. There was plenty in the SCO's season finale programme to inspire the many young people in the audience, attracted by Scotland's classical star, Nicola Benedetti. The Brahms Violin Concerto has long been a staple of her repertoire, the rhythmic dance of the closing movement perhaps identified with her as much as any piece of music. Partnered with the chamber orchestra and conductor Maxim Emelyanychev, the concerto was heard as a beautifully-integrated whole, and her dialogue with guest first oboe Jose Masmano Villar in the slow second movement as much of a highlight. There is still an arresting ferocity in Benedetti's first entry at the start of the work, and mature precision in her statement of the chords played across three strings now accompanies the expressive intensity that her fans, young and older, love in her playing. Emelyanychev ensured that every dynamic detail of the rich orchestration was heard in immaculate balance with his soloist. After the interval, the conductor's skills were even more in evidence on Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony, an old war horse brought to vibrant new life. Whether or not the opening bars conjure up images of Romantic ruins at the foot of the Royal Mile – and despite the stormy weather depicted in sound being a long way from the current climate – this is music most people already know. Few, however, will have heard the clarinet's statement of the opening theme so perfectly placed in the mix, or the cellos recapitulation of the melody in the slow movement so richly-toned. Alert young eyes might also have spotted the viola section cope with their leader's broken string with slick professionalism. The SCO strings added an exquisite encore of the second of Edvard Grieg's Elegiac Melodies, Last Spring. It was a poignant tribute to the orchestra's former principal cello David Watkin, who become a much-loved teacher at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland when illness cut short a stellar playing career, and who died aged 60 last week.
