San Francisco Symphony rocks out on "Rite"

It wasn't the "big guns" program -- that would be next week with the much-anticipated Mahler Ninth, but this little gem of a concert proved in its own way how well-deserved San Francisco Symphony's reputation is.

Featuring two Starvinsky works, a "Firebird" suite and also his "Rite of Spring," as well as a palate-cleansing interlude with Tchaikovsky's "Little Russian," the evening was satisfying start to finish.

Filmed for a PBS television series, the program was looking in danger of being buried under the massive cables strung between the clouds in the ceiling, and the dozen or so cameras posted around Davies Symphony Hall. But when the orchestra got down to the business of music, the distractions were easily forgotten.

The abbreviated "Firebird" still evinced all the grandeur and excitement-- perhaps even more than had been generated by the Kirov Orchestra when they appeared with their associated ballet company last season.

Drama, however, was the hallmark of the "Rite," over whose more savory passages Tilson Thomas seemed to linger. Perhaps it was a result of having "Firebird" in the same program, but listening to this performance of the "Rite," I heard far more of the Russian folk origins than I had ever noticed before.

It will be well-worth tuning in when the program is broadcast next year!