American Mavericks: MTT, Emanuel Ax, and John Adams

Two world premieres by Bay Area residents round out the American Mavericks concerts. Mason Bates, who is also the Project San Francisco composer, brings his individual style of electronica and choral writing to Mass Transmission. And John Adams introduces Absolute Jest, featuring the St. Lawrence String Quartet and based on fragments of Beethoven scherzos. Rounding out the evening is pianist Emanuel Ax with the SFS in Feldman’s work of free-floating rhythms and slowly evolving sounds, Piano and Orchestra. The Orchestra reprises its highly praised performance of Varèse’s Amériques.

"Eventually, someone was bound to grow up so immersed in genre-mixing that they would get both sides of the [classical and electronica] equation right. Bates has... The most impressive thing is how comfortably his two idioms mix."— SYMPHONY MAGAZINE

Conductor/Performers:

Michael Tilson Thomas
conductor

Emanuel Ax
piano

St. Lawrence String Quartet

San Francisco Symphony Chorus

San Francisco Symphony

Program:

Mason Bates
Mass Transmission (San Francisco Symphony Commission)

John Adams
Absolute Jest (San Francisco Symphony Co-commission)

Feldman
Piano and Orchestra

Varèse
Amériques