San Francisco Symphony Takes a Mixed Turn After Elim Chan’s Triumph

A review published by San Francisco Classical Voice in partnership with the San Francisco Chronicle describes the San Francisco Symphony’s June 12 concert at Davies Symphony Hall, led by guest conductor Tianyi Lu, as an uneven follow-up to Elim Chan’s acclaimed debut as the orchestra’s music director designate. The program opened with Zhiân by Iranian Canadian composer Iman Habibi, a work inspired by Iran’s 2022 protests and the slogan Woman, Life, Freedom. While the review notes the piece’s dark atmosphere and vivid orchestral colors, it finds its repeated central motif less musically engaging over time. The evening’s strongest moment came from Spanish violinist María Dueñas in Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto. Her warm phrasing, brilliant technique, and rich sound turned the lush, cinematic concerto into the highlight of the concert. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade closed the program with strong individual solos and colorful orchestral passages, though the review found the interpretation somewhat rigid and uneven. Overall, Lu was seen as a conductor in command, but the program itself lacked the cohesion and vitality needed to follow Chan’s recent triumph.

Read the full story at SF Classical Voice →