Arts and Culture
The SF Symphony Passes Baton to Esa-Pekka Salonen
In 2020, Michael Tilson Thomas is turning over the San Francisco Symphony baton to Esa-Pekka Salonen, the much sought-after Finnish conductor/composer, who led the orchestra on Martin Luther King weekend in a program featuring the West Coast premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Metacosmos (2017), Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra (1896), and Four Legends from the Kalevala (1896) by Jean Sibelius, a fellow Finn.
Salonen is a proponent of contemporary music, and advocates for diversity in the present and future of orchestral music. Program notes quote Esa-Pekka as saying “[We] should be leading the way…using all the possibilities that new technology offers without losing the integrity of the organization, which is, of course, to perform orchestral music—live performances for live people”. Sunday’s show was a good preview into this dynamic musician’s vision about the future of symphonic music.
Pre-concert excitement was enhanced by a clear day (the first sunshine after weeks of rain), and folks buzzing around the Tuning Fork Café and Loge Bar. Dozens milled about the Symphony Store where leather bags, shawls, and decorated stainless steel water bottles presented themselves for purchase as apt mementos for this special day.
As the bassoon and oboe tuned up, evoking hints of Metacosmos, smiling ushers greeted audience members including two young women studying instrumental music, a mid-40s gentleman decked out in red pants and an orange REI parka, and a patron so enthusiastic that she sat up with perfect posture for much of the program, literally on the edge of her seat. Though the house was not entirely full of people, it was brimming with energy, and a grand round of applause welcomed Salonen as he acknowledged the audience before beginning Metacosmos with an almost imperceptible lamenting sound. This piece is not for everyone; there are many minor seconds, wandering phrases, sudden dynamic shifts, and such innovations as a percussionist using his fingers to scratch a giant snare drum. Some passages evoked Barber’s Adagio for Strings as did the Strauss which was to follow. When the memory of the first violin’s final note faded, Salonen was greeted with tremendous applause and an excited chatter filled the hall.
Also, sprach Zarathustra was conducted in a beautifully effective manner as well, pianissimos requested with the minutest movement from the baton. This piece is beautiful in its power, and Salonen conducted with such energy that I wondered if he would jump out of his shoes, which were as shiny as the gleaming organ pipes above the orchestra.
The second half felt less inspired and lacking in energy; whether that was the result of much similitude in the program, or in this reviewer’s drowsiness brought on by a warm seat and beautiful tones is not clear, but it did seem that this was the place where the musicians had a little more trouble reading Salonen’s gestures as he led them through Sibelius’ four movements full of nuance. The oboes were fantastic in this piece—and, indeed, all afternoon— and there were a few particularly nice moments from the strings, including several quite moving cello solos.
Esa-Pekka conducts with finesse, passion, and creativity. It was a joy to watch him take the baton in this exciting preview of the future of the San Francisco Symphony. His communication of, and the orchestra’s response to everything from a delicate grace to the most crisp energy was a nice peek into what seems to be a symbiotic interaction between this Music Director Designate and his new symphony orchestra.
One final note: while many in the Bay Area spent the weekend celebrating the legacy of Dr. King, it was disconcerting to observe that the orchestra and most in attendance were ethnically monochromatic. I hope that Esa-Pekka will be a driving force in helping expand ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic inclusion and diverse participation in San Francisco’s orchestral music scene.
* Anne Daniel is a conductor with the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir
Arts and Culture
Book Review: Building the Worlds That Kill Us: Disease, Death, and Inequality in American History
Nearly five years ago, while interviewing residents along the Mississippi River in Louisiana for a book they were writing, authors Rosner and Markowitz learned that they’d caused a little brouhaha. Large corporations in the area, ones that the residents of “a small, largely African American community” had battled over air and soil contamination and illness, didn’t want any more “’agitators’” poking around. They’d asked a state trooper to see if the authors were going to cause trouble.
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Author: David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz, c.2024, Columbia University Press, $28.00
Get lots of rest.
That’s always good advice when you’re ailing. Don’t overdo. Don’t try to be Superman or Supermom, just rest and follow your doctor’s orders.
And if, as in the new book, “Building the Worlds That Kill Us” by David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz, the color of your skin and your social strata are a certain way, you’ll feel better soon.
Nearly five years ago, while interviewing residents along the Mississippi River in Louisiana for a book they were writing, authors Rosner and Markowitz learned that they’d caused a little brouhaha. Large corporations in the area, ones that the residents of “a small, largely African American community” had battled over air and soil contamination and illness, didn’t want any more “’agitators’” poking around. They’d asked a state trooper to see if the authors were going to cause trouble.
For Rosner and Markowitz, this underscored “what every thoughtful person at least suspects”: that age, geography, immigrant status, “income, wealth, race, gender, sexuality, and social position” largely impacts the quality and availability of medical care.
It’s been this way since Europeans first arrived on North American shores.
Native Americans “had their share of illness and disease” even before the Europeans arrived and brought diseases that decimated established populations. There was little-to-no medicine offered to slaves on the Middle Passage because a ship owner’s “financial calculus… included the price of disease and death.” According to the authors, many enslavers weren’t even “convinced” that the cost of feeding their slaves was worth the work received.
Factory workers in the late 1800s and early 1900s worked long weeks and long days under sometimes dangerous conditions, and health care was meager; Depression-era workers didn’t fare much better. Black Americans were used for medical experimentation. And just three years ago, the American Lung Association reported that “’people of color’ disproportionately” lived in areas where the air quality was particularly dangerous.
So, what does all this mean? Authors David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz don’t seem to be too optimistic, for one thing, but in “Building the Worlds That Kill Us,” they do leave readers with a thought-provoker: “we as a nation … created this dark moment and we have the ability to change it.” Finding the “how” in this book, however, will take serious between-the-lines reading.
If that sounds ominous, it is. Most of this book is, in fact, quite dismaying, despite that there are glimpses of pushback here and there, in the form of protests and strikes throughout many decades. You may notice, if this is a subject you’re passionate about, that the histories may be familiar but deeper than you might’ve learned in high school. You’ll also notice the relevance to today’s healthcare issues and questions, and that’s likewise disturbing.
This is by no means a happy-happy vacation book, but it is essential reading if you care about national health issues, worker safety, public attitudes, and government involvement in medical care inequality. You may know some of what’s inside “Building the Worlds That Kill Us,” but now you can learn the rest.
Arts and Culture
‘Giants Rising’ Film Screening in Marin City Library
A journey into the heart of America’s most iconic forests, “Giants Rising” tells the epic tale of the coast redwoods — the tallest and among the oldest living beings on Earth. Living links to the past, redwoods hold powers that may play a role in our future, including their ability to withstand fire and capture carbon, to offer clues about longevity, and to enhance our own well-being.
By Godfrey Lee
The film “Giants Rising” will be screened on Saturday, Jan. 11, from 3-6 p.m. at the St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, located 100 Donahue St. in Marin City.
A journey into the heart of America’s most iconic forests, “Giants Rising” tells the epic tale of the coast redwoods — the tallest and among the oldest living beings on Earth. Living links to the past, redwoods hold powers that may play a role in our future, including their ability to withstand fire and capture carbon, to offer clues about longevity, and to enhance our own well-being.
Through the voices of scientists, artists, Native communities, and others, we discover the many connections that sustain these forests and the promise of solutions that will help us all rise up to face the challenges that lay ahead.
The film’s website is www.giantsrising.com. The “Giants Rising” trailer is at https://player.vimeo.com/video/904153467. The registration link to the event is https://marinlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/673de7abb41279410057889e
This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Marin City Library and hosted in conjunction with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and St. Andrew Presbyterian Church.
All library events are free. For more information, contact Etienne Douglas at (415) 332-6158 or email etienne.douglas@marincounty.gov. For event-specific information, contact Zaira Sierra at zsierra@parksconservancy.org.
Activism
‘Resist’ a Look at Black Activism in U.S. Through the Eyes of a Native Nigerian
In 1995, after she and her brothers traveled from their native Nigeria to join their mother at her new home in the South Bronx, young Omokha’s eyes were opened. She quickly understood that the color of her skin – which was “synonymous with endless striving and a pursuit of excellence” in Nigeria – was “so problematic in America.”
By Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez
Throughout history, when decisions were needed, the answer has often been “no.”
‘No,’ certain people don’t get the same education as others. ‘No,’ there is no such thing as equality. ‘No,’ voting can be denied and ‘no,’ the laws are different, depending on the color of one’s skin. And in the new book, “Resist!” by Rita Omokha, ‘no,’ there is not an obedient acceptance of those things.
In 1995, after she and her brothers traveled from their native Nigeria to join their mother at her new home in the South Bronx, young Omokha’s eyes were opened. She quickly understood that the color of her skin – which was “synonymous with endless striving and a pursuit of excellence” in Nigeria – was “so problematic in America.”
That became a bigger matter to Omokha later, 15 years after her brother was deported: she “saw” him in George Floyd, and it shook her. Troubled, she traveled to America on a “pilgrimage for understanding [her] Blackness…” She began to think about the “Black young people across America” who hadn’t been or wouldn’t be quiet about racism any longer.
She starts this collection of stories with Ella Josephine Baker, whose parents and grandparents modeled activism and who, because of her own student activism, would be “crowned the mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” Baker, in fact, was the woman who formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, in 1960.
Nine teenagers, known as the Scottsboro Nine were wrongly arrested for raping two white women in 1931 and were all released, thanks to the determination of white lawyer-allies who were affiliated with the International Labor Defense and the outrage of students on campuses around America.
Students refused to let a “Gentleman’s Agreement” pass when it came to sports and equality in 1940. Barbara Johns demanded equal education under the law in Virginia in 1951. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in 1966. And after Trayvon Martin (2012) and George Floyd (2020) were killed, students used the internet as a new form of fighting for justice.
No doubt, by now, you’ve read a lot of books about activism. There are many of them out there, and they’re pretty hard to miss. With that in mind, there are reasons not to miss “Resist!”
You’ll find the main one by looking between the lines and in each chapter’s opening.
There, Omokha weaves her personal story in with that of activists at different times through the decades, matching her experiences with history and making the whole timeline even more relevant.
In doing so, the point of view she offers – that of a woman who wasn’t totally raised in an atmosphere filled with racism, who wasn’t immersed in it her whole life – lets these historical accounts land with more impact.
This book is for people who love history or a good, short biography, but it’s also excellent reading for anyone who sees a need for protest or action and questions the status quo. If that’s the case, then “Resist!” may be the answer.
“Resist! How a Century of Young Black Activists Shaped America” by Rita Omokha, c.2024, St. Martin’s Press. $29.00
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