April 2025
April concerts and features
In This Program
- Welcome
- Gabriela Montero: Brain Storm
- Four Questions For Pianist Martin James Bartlett
- Community Connections
- Meet the Musicians
- Print Edition
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
Welcome
The San Francisco Symphony is always exploring new ways to reinvent the concert experience—whether through staged productions, multisensory presentations like last season’s collaboration with Cartier of Scriabin’s Prometheus, the experimentalism of SoundBox, or thoughtfully curated programs that explore a unifying theme or idea.
This month, we welcome back conductor Marin Alsop for a program celebrating the music of the Americas, featuring new works by Gabriela Ortiz and Gabriela Montero—who performs her own piano concerto—alongside pieces by Aaron Copland, Joan Tower, and Samuel Barber. Programs like this offer fresh perspectives on familiar works while introducing us to new voices and ideas.
We are also pleased to partner with percussionist and composer Andy Akiho for our second SoundBox program of the season. In a striking fusion of music and visual art, the concert highlights Akiho’s groundbreaking collaborations with sculptor Jun Kaneko, featuring performances on an array of unconventional percussion instruments—including Kaneko’s larger-than-life sculptures.
Looking ahead to our recently announced 2025–26 season, several fascinating programs stand out. The season opens with performances led by James Gaffigan that explore different facets of American music, featuring works by George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Carlos Simon. Later, Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts a program tracing Spanish and Latin American influences, culminating in a new trombone concerto by Jimmy López performed by Principal Trombone Timothy Higgins. And finally, Manfred Honeck brings his own immersive presentation of Mozart’s Requiem, interweaving the music with readings from poetry, biblical texts, and Mozart’s own letters, together with Gregorian chants and other works by Mozart that illuminate this powerful work.
These are just a few of the exciting programs ahead. I invite you to explore the full season lineup at sfsymphony.org/25-26.
Matthew Spivey
Chief Executive Officer, San Francisco Symphony
Brain Storm
Gabriela Montero surges with moments of inspiration • By Web Behrens
A true phenomenon whose musical gifts became apparent before the age of two, Venezuelan-born pianist Gabriela Montero is recognized worldwide as an innovative composer and performer.
This month, she will perform her Piano Concerto No. 1, familiarly known as the Latin Concerto, in a San Francisco Symphony concert of music from the Americas conducted by Marin Alsop. Composed in 2016 and recorded in Chile a few years later, the work “is a chiaroscuro reflection on who we are as a continent, dark and light,” Montero said. “It has all the rhythms, the charm, and the sensuality that people love about Latin America—but unfortunately, those characteristics keep the world from actually noticing what’s really going on. So it’s not a political piece, but it’s a statement: Not everything that glitters is gold.”
Known for adding off-the-cuff codas to her live performances, Montero has a knack for extraordinary improvisation. Some of her discography also features extemporaneous playing, such as Bach and Beyond (2006), Baroque Improvisations (2008), and a 2015 release that consists of her own composition, Ex Patria, along with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and three improvised tracks.
Although improvisation is somewhat of a rarity in the modern classical world, Montero’s spontaneous creations put her in amazing company: Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven were all masters of improvisation. Montero’s facility as an improviser also brought her to the attention of neurologist Charles Limb. He and his team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine had previously studied jazz musicians, but Montero provided them a unique opportunity to study someone steeped in classical composition and performance.
“What they found was really amazing,” she said. “When I improvise, what I call ‘getting out of the way’ means that a different part of my brain is activated—one which doesn’t really have anything to do with music. My visual cortex goes crazy, and that’s what I improvise with. It kind of explains something: When I was a little girl, I would say to my father, ‘I have two brains.’ I’d play the repertoire, and then I’d go into this kind of trance where I improvise, and it’s very complex and I couldn’t explain it. It’s as though I do have two brains.”
Montero’s musical biography begins even before her memories do. Born in Caracas in 1970, she received a toy piano for Christmas when she was seven months old. “All I wanted to do, in my crib, was play this little piano,” she said. By the time she was 18 months old, “I had this repertoire of children’s songs, lullabies, the national anthem of Venezuela. Everything that I heard, everything that my mother would sing to me, I’d go to this piano and reproduce it.”
Her parents quickly recognized they were raising a prodigy, even though no one in their family had musical skill. “It was quite a curve ball for them,” Montero said. “They weren’t at all connected to classical music. But like all loving parents, they tried to make the best decisions possible to guide my talents.”
After eight-year-old Gabriela made her concert debut in Caracas, her family left Venezuela for the United States to pursue private education for their daughter. Still, her path forward was not always smooth. She ended up with a teacher in Miami “who was not the right person for me. It was just closed-mindedness and not understanding the value of spontaneous composition.”
That led to an existential struggle that caused her to question her relationship with music. She stopped playing for a few years. Then out of desperation, she sent a tape to the Royal Academy of Music in London. “I got a full scholarship; they opened up their arms to me. I ended up studying with Hamish Milne, an incredible professor, musician, and human being. So I really consider my music education to begin then, when I was 20.”
At 25, Montero entered another period of uncertainty after winning the bronze medal at the International Chopin Piano Competition. “After that, I started to play less and less. Again, the questions: ‘Why am I doing this? Is this what I want to do? Where am I going with this?’ I always have a lot of questions.” Two years later, she had her first of two children, which naturally led to even more questioning.
Again, Montero emerged from a time of uncertainty through a combination of her own moxie and the grace of finding the right mentor to encourage her. By age 31, she had stopped playing and was considering a career in psychology. But she made a fateful decision one night in Montreal: She attended a performance by Argentine pianist Martha Argerich, whom she describes as “a total original, and a very warm and very generous human being. She’s an icon who’s helped a lot of the younger generation.”
Montero had met her before, many years ago, as a teen. Nevertheless, “I went to see her backstage. She absolutely knew who I was,” she said. “I asked to have a coffee together. I was a new mom, and I wanted to discuss being a woman, being a mother, being an artist—how to reconcile those roles. She shrugged her shoulders and said, ‘Well, I don’t really have much advice, but I’d love to hear you.’”
After some resistance, Montero played for Argerich the next night. “That really shook me out of my sleepiness. It just changed everything. That’s really the second part of my life: From there on, I got on that fast train, and I’ve been on that track ever since.”
Fast forward to the present, and it’s easy to understand why Montero carves out time to mentor a new generation and pay it forward: She recently collaborated with the global music conservatory OAcademy to create the Gabriela Montero Piano Lab, a mentorship program. She meets with her students virtually and in person, in Europe and in the States. “I learn a tremendous amount as well,” she said. “Mentoring and teaching have made my playing develop—it’s an active process on both parts.”
Of her knack for keyboard improvisation, she added, “I don’t plan it; it just happens by itself. It’s fun to see the reactions. It’s a process that’s beautiful when it’s shared.”
Her audience can’t see her visual cortex lighting up when her “second brain” ignites, but they hear the thrilling results as the notes flow from her fingertips. Referring to this singular talent, she admits with a chuckle: “It’s a nice glitch to have.”
A longer version of this article was originally published in Ravinia Magazine, vol. 16, no. 3, the magazine and program book of Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL. Visit www.pmgma.com/read/ravinia-festival to read the full article.
Four Questions For…
Pianist Martin James Bartlett
Martin James Bartlett achieved early success as the winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2014. He was subsequently awarded first place at the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the Prix Serdang in 2022. An exclusive Warner Classics recording artist, his most recent release on the label, La Danse, features works by Couperin, Debussy, Hahn, Rameau, and Ravel.
Tell us a little about what you’re playing in your Spotlight Series recital.
This recital program is very special to me. We begin with Couperin’s bucolic, bubbling Les Baricades mysterieuses, apparently inspired by feet stomping grapes for wine, followed by Rameau’s rambunctious, positively groovy Gavotte and Doubles. Schumann’s Kinderszenen is a piece that has been very close to my heart. It’s such a wonderful journey, full of beauty, wit and charm. It’s a piece that I have so much joy playing, enjoying every masterful twist and turn. In striking contrast, Ravel’s La Valse is always a thrilling culmination. I like programmatically that we begin with two Baroque French dances and end this recital with another French dance but in a wildly different style and mood.
Were there any artists or teachers that had a significant impact on your decision to pursue a career in music?
I have been extremely fortunate to study under wonderful, inspirational professors. I first began lessons at age six with my mother. Within a year she had me ready to continue studying at the Royal College of Music, where I met Emily Jeffrey, with whom I studied for over a decade. She is an incredible pedagogue but also a deeply caring and generous person. She taught me far more than how to play the piano; many important life lessons came through those formative years, and I shall forever be indebted for the dedication and joy that she brought to my musical and personal life.
What’s your routine like on concert days? Do you have any special rituals that help you get ready for a performance?
I’ve tried them all! The preconcert nap, the banana for a potassium fix, the gloves, and warming of hands with a hairdryer…To me the most important thing is to be in a good mindset and depending on the day that can mean different routines and rituals. Sometimes I like to be left alone so I can focus and rest. Sometimes I like to keep nattering with people backstage until it’s time to go on. The one thing I can’t do without is a good night’s sleep, that much is a constant!
What are some of your interests outside of music and how do they influence your creativity and artistic expression?
I’ve been very interested in cooking in the last years. Since I received my first paycheck, I would venture out to try new restaurants and cuisines. I’ve been inspired, and for the sake of my bank balance, to attempt to recreate some of these delicious experiences at home! When I’m not at the piano you can often find me pottering around the kitchen, no recipe in sight, improvising dishes for friends and family—usually with a glass of wine in hand.
I take much inspiration from visual art. On rest days I like to take a stroll through the National Gallery in London. To be able to travel from the Renaissance through Impressionism within an hour is my version of artistic time travel! I’ve also recently embarked upon a pilgrimage to see all the known works of Caravaggio. That’s brought me to Rome and Valletta thus far and it’s been awe-inspiring and enlightening.
Community Connections
Ruth’s Table
Ruth’s Table is a vibrant neighborhood arts hub in San Francisco, dedicated to fostering creativity and community with a focus on accessibility and inclusion. Through regular intergenerational programs like Gen Blend, Creative Reuse Arts Workshop, Figure Drawing, and Curious Minds Memory Café, Ruth’s Table provides opportunities for people of all skill levels, cultural backgrounds, ages, and abilities to engage in the arts, all offered free of charge.
Ruth’s Table also connects with Mission District residents through multilingual programs and hosts annual community celebrations for Pride, Día de los Muertos, and Lunar New Year, featuring music, food, and art-making in a festive, culturally rich environment.
Additionally, Ruth’s Table hosts Radical Resilience, an exhibition showcasing the work of artists living with disabilities who are deeply committed to their art practice. The annual gallery takeover is a community arts bonanza, celebrating artwork developed in workshops and creative engagements by participants from all backgrounds, from coast to coast.
Next up: Rooted (April 10–June 6), a group exhibition curated by artist Jun Yang featuring Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander artists from across the Bay Area.
Ruth’s Table is a creative engagement program of Front Porch Community Services. For more information, visit ruthstable.org.
Meet the Musicians
Blair Francis Paponiu • Associate Principal Flute, Catherine & Russell Clark Chair
Blair Francis Paponiu joined the San Francisco Symphony at the beginning of the 2023–24 season. She was previously a member of the Naples Philharmonic in Florida and the Austin Symphony. She won second prize in the 2020 National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition.
How did you begin playing the flute?
I started in middle school band in Columbia, South Carolina. We had to choose if we wanted to play a woodwind or a brass instrument, and I chose woodwind. Then, the band director gave me a flute headjoint and a clarinet mouthpiece, and it came down to which I could make a sound on. I could easily make a sound on the flute headjoint, and not very much at all on the clarinet mouthpiece—and that was that!
Who were your most influential teachers?
All of my band directors in middle and high school, as well as my first private teacher, Cynthia Hopkins. Then I studied with Jennifer Parker-Harley at the University of South Carolina, followed by graduate school with Marianne Gedigian at the University of Texas at Austin, and postgrad with Robert Langevin, who is the principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic.
What type of flute do you play?
I play a Brannen flute with a silver body and a gold Lafin headjoint. I also have a Burkart piccolo, and most recently added a Miyazawa alto flute to the family!
Do you remember your first concert with the Symphony?
I was a guest principal in October 2022 for the complete Firebird ballet with Esa-Pekka Salonen. It was amazing and powerful—the suite is performed most often, so to do the full ballet was a really big treat. Not only is the first flute part full of color and magic, but the writing for every instrument in the orchestra is so intricate and interesting. [The live recording of this performance is available from SFS Media on all major streaming platforms.]
Do you have a preconcert routine?
I usually like to take a nap after a good lunch. I’ll do a nice warmup so that I can get into my sound and feel good in the body. Staying calm and focused in the moments before a concert is crucial for me so that I can perform at my best
Can you tell us about your family?
My husband, Radu Paponiu, was appointed Music Director the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra last fall. We met when I was I was playing in the Naples Philharmonic in Florida and he was associate conductor there. He is also a violinist and we enjoy playing chamber music together. My parents are absolutely amazing and have been the most supportive people I could ever ask for. In South Carolina, I have an older brother who just had a baby with his wife—my niece has been our newest obsession, and she’s already showing a big interest in music.
What do you find special about a live orchestra?
There is nothing like hearing an orchestra live! The sheer possibility of sounds and colors combined with the visual movement of the musicians makes for a unique and unforgettable experience.
Photo: Blair Francis Paponiu performing at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital as part of Music in the Wards. Photo: Christopher M. Howard
Print Edition
