Help me decide which Yo Yo Ma concert to see?

June 10, 2009 at 1:30 AM

Yo Yo Ma will be coming to San Francisco for 10 days Jan 2010!!! I've seen him performed once when I was in college and would love to see him again now that I'm a violinist!

What would you pick?

The question is, do i want to see him:

1. Recital Yo Yo Ma with Emmanual Ax

Program

Schumann

Adagio and Allegro

Schumann

Five Pieces in Folk Style

Peter Lieberson

SFS Commission (World premiere)

Chopin

Polonaise brillante

Schumann

Fantasy Pieces

Chopin

Cello Sonata

2. MTT with Yo Yo Ma

The brilliance of cellist Yo-Yo Ma shines in a program that features two dazzling masterpieces. Brahms’s Concerto for Violin and Cello displays the lavish harmonies of the Romantic era, while Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto—written in 1966—is a superb example of the composer’s late style.

Violinist is: Colin Jacobsen

3. Yo Yo Ma Chamber music

Program to be announced

From LUIS CLAUDIO MANFIO
Posted on June 10, 2009 at 1:45 AM

It's simple! Go to the 3 concerts! If he is going to give a masterclass don't loose it too, I saw one some years ago and it was darn good. His is quite a cultured musician.

www.manfio.com

From Christopher Liao
Posted on June 10, 2009 at 3:45 AM

Nice! I'm also planning to go these concerts as well, probably 1 or 2 of them. I'm in the SF area as well! :)

From PM Rolf
Posted on June 10, 2009 at 4:15 AM

Chris, which ones are you attending? I'm torn, but I really can go to one. :(

From Christopher Liao
Posted on June 10, 2009 at 8:24 PM

I'm in the same dilemma you see... hahaha. It's still early--tickets go up in late August I think...? Until then, all I know is that I'm attending at least one of them. xD

From Ruth Kuefler
Posted on June 11, 2009 at 12:15 AM

What a hard choice! If I had to pick, I'd go to the Shostakovich/Brahms concert. The Brahms double concert is one of my absolute favorite pieces, and the Shostakovich is amazing as well.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on June 11, 2009 at 5:01 PM

I would say, "Definitely see all three if you can. You may never have opportunities like this again." Since you can only go to one concert, I'll give you some observations and suggestions. The playlist for concert #1 looks suspicious to me. Some of the pieces are well known as virtuoso piano pieces. #2 is a solid, good choice. You don't know the program for concert #3 yet, but if you prefer chamber music over concerti, then choose #3. You can't go wrong with any choice. Yo Yo Ma is always great.

From Terez Mertes
Posted on June 11, 2009 at 6:31 PM

I plan on going to 2 of these. I see that the program of Yo-Yo and Emanuel Ax in recital (Tues the 26th) has cheaper tickets, maybe due to being part of Project San Francisco? Tix are $15-$95 instead of $30-$125. The full symphony experience sounds like a good #2, but for me, it's very hard to do a concert on a Thurs pm, so I might make the chamber concert (Yo-Yo with SF Musicians) on Sun at 7pm happen instead. I don't think you could go wrong with any of these. I don't know HOW I'm going to fit two SFS concerts in one week into my schedule, commuting from the Santa Cruz Mountains and taking care of my family at the same time, but if ever there was a time to try and juggle it all, this is it!

From Terez Mertes
Posted on June 11, 2009 at 6:38 PM

You know what's interesting - in my subscription booklet, they don't mention the Brahms Double Concerto. They have instead Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 2, and a short Sibelius piece. Must have been a late change. Oh dear. I really, really love the Brahms Double.

Choices, choices...

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Help me decide which Yo Yo Ma concert to see?

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