Canellakis Conducts Prokofiev & Sibelius

rench pianist Alexandre Kantorow makes his debut with the San Francisco Symphony in Prokofiev's fiendishly difficult Third Piano Concerto, conducted by Karina Canellakis. Prokofiev's music leaps from Paris to Pavlovsk, from the 19th century to the 20th and beyond. Not quite neoclassical, the concerto is too sly to be Romantic, too approachable to be Modern. Sibelius was inspired by nature and by the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, to create his own deeply personal form of folk expression. This fiercely original, arguably autobiographical music reclaimed the cultural birthright of a nascent people--and stirs the hearts of non-Finns, too. Dvorák composed Scherzo capriccioso while mourning his mother. Complex and dynamic, it guides listeners through the many stages of grief to the catharsis of an ecstatic coda.
Concert Extras

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Tix for November 6th 10am rehearsal - https://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2025-26/PROKOFIEV-SIBELIUS-OR
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A preconcert talk by Scott Foglesong, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, will be presented onstage at 6:30pm before each performance. Free to all ticketholders.


Artists

Karina Canellakis
Conductor

Alexandre Kantorow
Piano

San Francisco Symphony


Program

Antonín Dvorák
Scherzo capriccioso

Sergei Prokofiev
Piano Concerto No. 3

Jean Sibelius
Four Legends from the Kalevala