Centennial Gala Concert on PBS Great Performances

In September 2011 the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas launched the Orchestra's milestone Centennial Season with a celebratory gala concert dubbed "Fanfare for a New Century." It was recorded and will now be presented as a two-hour special, San Francisco Symphony at 100, by Great Performances and PBS on Friday, March 30 at 9PM. It will air locally in the San Francisco Bay Area on KQED TV at that time. Also on KQED TV on Sunday, April 1 at 1:00PM it will be re-broadcast immediately following the noon showing of an hour-long documentary about the San Francisco Symphony's first century. Both will be repeated on KQED Life on Monday, April 2 beginning at 7:00PM. The broadcast is hosted by Bay Area author Amy Tan and directed for television by Gary Halvorson and features MTT conducting the Orchestra and two of the leading artists of our time, violinist Itzhak Perlman performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor and pianist Lang Lang performing Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. The concert opens with Aaron Copland's vivid portrayal of American prairie life, the Billy the Kid Ballet Suite and concludes with Britten's orchestral showpiece The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Capping off the concert is an encore of Bay Area composer John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine featuring moving images of San Francisco projected throughout Davies Symphony Hall.

Woven into the concert footage, San Francisco Symphony at 100 includes historical documentary features narrated by Amy Tan highlighting the Orchestra's early beginnings, its rich history of touring and its commitment to young people and innovations in media.

Two days after the national broadcast, on April 1st, San Francisco Symphony at 100 will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray with additional bonus historical features. (Note: the DVD and Blu-ray versions will not feature Lang Lang's concert performance.) Pre-orders for the DVDs and Blu-rays are currently being accepted at the Symphony's e-store at sfsymphony.org/store and will be shipped immediately following the April 1 release date. www.pbs.org/gperf

Category:

Music

Tags:

• LANG LANG
• GREAT PERFORMANCES
• SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
• SFS
• MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS
• MTT
• JOHN ADAMS
• ITZHAK PERLMAN