United States Various: Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano), San Francisco Symphony / Philippe Jordan (conductor). Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco. 27.3.2026. (HS)
Debussy – Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No.5 in F major, ‘Egyptian’
Encore: from Ravel – Ma mère l’Oye
Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique
There is something about French musicians interpreting French music that can transcend expectations. That’s what jumped out from the very first notes played in the San Francisco Symphony concert of music by Debussy, Saint-Saëns and Berlioz.
Despite some audience interruptions (before the first notes, more about that later), Seth Morris’s lucid, luxurious opening flute solo in Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune transported the hall into another world. Jordan’s deft, delicate framing of the orchestra’s contributions extended the mood. The magic continued through the music’s luscious ebb and flow, Jordan and the orchestra finding every nuance between languid and energetic. That aspect of musicianship marked the entire concert: the attention to subtle dynamics that swelled and subsided with a natural feel was notable, as well as the finely drawn surges in tempo and small hesitations that somehow never impeded the flow.
Thibaudet and Jordan made an exotic dance party of Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No.5. It all felt exactly right as Thibaudet’s technical ability made the rapid gestures in the fast finale pop with refreshing clarity. His sense of the perfumed Oriental and Arabic scales (and harmonies) permeated the slow movement with a different vibe.
The opening Allegro animato started in a pensive mood with the orchestra and piano outlining the two contrasting themes gracefully, then rocketing off at a bright tempo. Thibaudet sprinkled quick phrases nicely throughout, whether single melodic lines at the top of the keyboard or double octaves that felt as deft as they were strong. The central Andante offered some of the Middle Eastern flavor the piece’s nickname suggests. Having conceived the concerto while visiting the Egyptian city of Luxor, Saint-Saëns created sinuous tunes that might have accompanied a belly dance or a setting for a modern Arabic love ballad. Thibaudet played them with welcome flexibility, and Jordan got a similar sense from the orchestra. In the Molto allegro finale, Thibaudet layered rapid-fire pianistic flourishes over the orchestra’s persistent, joyful rhythms, culminating with an exhilarating race to a brilliant finish.
As an encore, Jordan occupied a second piano bench to play the bottom half of a four-hand arrangement of ‘Le jardin féerique’ from Ravel’s Ma mère l’Oye. Thibaudet’s version of the harp glissandos at the end put a cherry on the top of a fun excursion.
Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique packed in a great range of tonal colors from the ensemble: every principal in the orchestra supplied picturesque, impressively played solos. The piece’s notorious wildness, which made its earliest performances in 1830 so shocking, took a back seat to Jordan’s sense of poise and balance, all of which shone the spotlight on the orchestra’s ability to paint those colors.
Among the most impressive were Russ de Luna’s pastoral solo on English horn and Associate Principal James Button’s oboe offstage response in the ‘Scene in the Field’. Principal trumpet Mark Inouye moved down a tier to sit with the woodwinds to bring a closer harmony and play his short solo. Bassoonist Joshua Elmore’s heartfelt phrases in the opening and dexterous bounces through the rapid ‘March to the Scaffold’ as well as E-flat clarinetist Yuhsin Galaxy Su’s plaintive cry at the movement’s climax also deserve mention. The trombones and two tubas contributed devastating repeated ‘Dies iraes’ in the ‘Dream of the Witches’ Sabbath’ finale, which built its tension with remarkable playing throughout the orchestra and finished with a flourish.
The orchestra responded alertly to Jordan’s athletic and communicative gestures, robust when needed and appreciably delicate in the more intimate sections.
Jordan showed his dry wit before the concert started when a series of coughs and cell phone outbursts interrupted as he nodded to the flutist to begin the familiar opening solo of the Debussy. After two sharp sneezes from the tier above the orchestra, he removed a white handkerchief to offer to the offender. That drew chuckles and lightened the moment, but a cellphone in the orchestra seats interrupted the next two tries. Even after the piece had started, another cellphone spoke up.
Fortunately, the show found its balance and produced a highly entertaining two hours and 15 minutes.
Harvey Steiman