Anne-Sophie Mutter at SFS

* Notes *
Anne-Sophie Mutter gave the US premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina's second violin concerto, In tempus präsens, with San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, yesterday. The piece was played again tonight, and has a shimmering, yet compressive quality, filled with bumblebees and crickets. Mutter played cleanly and with much vigor. The violas, cellos, and basses sounded lovely, as did the percussion section, particularly the gong. It was a bit difficult to hear the harpsichord, even though it was amplified. The trombones and tuba sounded strangely sputtering, though this is probably not due to their skills as players.

The second half of the program consisted of Ravel walzes, first the rather dull Valses nobles et sentimentals, which were played nicely. La Valse, on the other hand, was exuberant, both delightful and wry.

* Tattling * 
The audience was well-behaved, though there were quite a few fidgety children present.