'Stanford Live' Beckons Summer With SF Symphony Crescendo

PALO ALTO, CA — Stanford is noted for a lot of distinctions. But this summer caps off the start of a season filled with crescendos at the university's Frost Amphitheater, as legendary San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas waves the batons of retirement in his final year.

Tilson Thomas will take Stanford outdoor concert goers back to their classical music roots by featuring Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 with violinist Gil Shaham for a rare July 10 performance.

The symphony announced a new partnership with Stanford to present an annual series of concerts at the newly-renovated arena on campus. Conductor Gemma New of New Zealand leads the symphony in concerts featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on July 13 and 14.

The Frost Amphitheater opens in 2019 with a history as storied as Tilson Thomas' career, which started with The City's premiere cultural ensemble 45 years ago, along with other venues such as the likes of Carnegie Hall. Palo Alto's 1937-built, open-air arena begins its new era with an upgrade to welcome a diverse lineup of concerts and events presented by Stanford Live, including those staged by the San Francisco Symphony.

“The San Francisco Symphony is thrilled to strengthen our relationship with Stanford University as we begin our first season in the beautiful and beloved Frost Amphitheater,” said Symphony President and Stanford alumna Sakurako Fisher. “Our orchestra has a great history at Frost, and this series serves as a wonderful opportunity for the broader Bay Area community to, once again, enjoy our music under the sun and stars in this historic tree-lined bowl."

The symphony's relationship with the Stanford University community has been a long and fruitful one. In 1913, only two years after its founding, the ensemble performed its first concert for Stanford students in Assembly Hall. The hallmark orchestra made its debut at Stanford’s Frost Amphitheater four years after its opening as part of Stanford's 50th anniversary celebration in 1941, with Music Director Pierre Monteux conducting. For decades there, the arts institution performed benefit concerts conducted by the renowned Arthur Fiedler. Most recently, the symphony and Tilson Thomas were featured in the celebratory performance commemorating the grand opening of Bing Concert Hall in January 2013.

"We have found a wonderful collaborator in the San Francisco Symphony,” said Chris Lorway, Executive Director of Stanford Live/Bing Concert Hall. “They are committed to bringing the highest level of musical experiences to audiences, which aligns beautifully with our mandate at Stanford Live. These annual concerts will also provide Stanford an opportunity to engage further with the local community as we collectively build Frost into the preeminent outdoor music venue on the Peninsula.”

Stanford Live — selected as a Hewlett 50 Arts Commission award recipient from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation —stages a diverse 2019-20 lineup, including more than 50 events. Performances starting in the fall will take place in Bing Concert Hall and Studio, Memorial Auditorium, Memorial Church and the Frost Amphitheater.

Other summer concerts feature Joe Russo’s Almost Dead on Aug. 17, Lionel Richie on Aug. 24 and The National on Sept. 1.

Lorway reflected on the magnitude of this summer's productions with Patch.

"Being outside creates a welcoming experience and opens things up to more families," Lorway told Patch. "People bring their blankets and food to have picnics."

And given this is the place of the many finer, cultural things in life, these picnics will probably make up more than the average basket.

"I'm sure people here will have their own touches," he said.

As a fitting tribute to providing once-in-a-lifetime performances, the amphitheater has hosted the Boston Pops, guitarist Eric Clapton, rock band Jefferson Airplane and singer-songwriter Joan Baez, who happens to reside in neighboring Saratoga. The Grateful Dead's live performance brought out 12,000 concert enthusiasts, who no doubt will always remember Jerry Garcia's signature laid-back style.

But this year, Stanford Live takes part at a memorable place in history for the entire San Francisco Bay Area by bringing Tilson Thomas to the stage, among other notable artists found here with more information. Lawn tickets go for $30 and cost half that for children under age 18. Reserved seats cost $75. Tickets for the symphony show may be obtained by calling 415-864-6000 or by visiting https://www.sfsymphony.org.

“Music has a unique and powerful way of connecting us, inspiring us and building community. We are incredibly happy that we can broaden our musical community even further with the combination of the wonderful setting of the Frost Amphitheater and the fantastic musicians of the San Francisco Symphony," Tilson Thomas said.

Presenting more than 220 concerts for a collective audience of 450,000 at its Davis Symphony Hall home, the symphony is widely considered to be among the most innovative arts institutions in the United States. Under the artistic direction of Tilson Thomas since 1995, the orchestra is a leading presence among American orchestras at home and around the world. It's celebrated for its artistic excellence, creative performance concepts, active touring, award-winning recordings and standard-setting education programs.

Last December, the San Francisco Symphony announced Esa-Pekka Salonen as its designated music director upon Tilson Thomas announcing he was stepping down. Salonen will begin his appointment as the symphony's 12th director in September 2020, at which time Tilson Thomas will become the orchestra’s first music director laureate, an honorary position for his notable body of work.

"From my very first encounter with the San Francisco Symphony in 1974, I was aware of the daring spirit of this orchestra and this city. That spirit has been very much at the center of our long and meaningful relationship. When you come into an orchestra, you sense the personal qualities in that orchestra. It takes a very special environment of people who have worked together and deeply trust one another to make music magical, and that is what has happened these last 25 years," Tilson Thomas, 75, said of his weaning away from the symphony."This season is very much about celebrating the relationships we have built together. Fortunately, my new and unique relationship as music director laureate of the San Francisco Symphony will allow me to continue to work with my esteemed colleagues for years to come on projects close to my heart.”

Those who have revered his work over the years even collaborated while reflecting on his legacy. The chemistry between the conductor and his players came up as a re-occurring theme.

"With Michael, the SF Symphony has earned a reputation as an ensemble of risk takers who play with passion and absolute abandon,” said violinist Melissa Kleinbart, the chairwoman of the Orchestra’s Players’ Committee. “Over the past two decades, it has grown into an ensemble of musicians who approach each performance as an opportunity to create something magical, memorable, and meaningful, always willing to try to something completely new."

Tilson Thomas is a native to Los Angeles in a household run by his father as a Broadway stage manager and his mother a middle school teacher. The conductor is considered a champion of modern American works.