Thursdays at 9:00 pm
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony onstage at Davies Symphony Hall (Photo: Stefan Cohen)
Weekly concerts recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco
Since its beginning in 1911, the San Francisco Symphony has been known for innovative programs that offer a spectrum of traditional repertory and new music. Today, the orchestra’s artistic vitality, recordings, and groundbreaking multimedia educational projects carry its impact throughout American musical life. Under Michael Tilson Thomas, music director from 1995 to 2020, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director since 2020, the orchestra has been praised for its musicianship, for innovative programming, for bringing the works of American composers to the fore, and for bringing new audiences into Davies Symphony Hall.
The San Francisco Symphony program is part of the WFMT Orchestra Series.
There are no upcoming broadcasts at the moment.
Aimard Plays Bartók
June 29, 2023
Season Finale: Music by Boccherini, Bartók, Montgomery, and Respighi conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Ólafsson plays Adams
June 22, 2023
Vikingur Ólafsson plays John Adams' Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? under the baton of music director Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Nathalie Stutzmann
June 15, 2023
The Atlanta Symphony’s new music director Nathalie Stutzmann conducts music by Brahms and Tchaikovsky.
Dudamel Conducts Mozart & Mahler
June 8, 2023
Los Angeles Philharmonic’s charismatic music director Gustavo Dudamel visits Northern California to lead the SF Symphony in music by Mozart and Mahler.
Josefowicz Plays Stravinsky
June 1, 2023
Music director Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the SF Symphony and violinist Leila Josefowicz in music by Stravinsky and Ogonek.
Wang Plays Liszt
May 25, 2023
Superstar pianist Yuja Wang performs Franz Liszt’s First Piano Concerto under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas.
Clyne’s ‘Sound and Fury’ & Beethoven 9
May 18, 2023
Daniel Stewart conducts the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus plus soloists Michelle Bradley, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Mario Chang, and Rod Gilfry.
Morlot Conducts Ravel and Higgins
May 11, 2023
Ludovic Morlot conducts Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite and the world premiere of a concerto written by and starring Timothy Higgins, the orchestra’s principal trombonist.
Demarre McGill
May 4, 2023
Chicago-born flutist Demarre McGill joins music director Esa-Pekka Salonen and the SF Symphony to perform Notturno by the orchestra’s former music director, Michael Tilson Thomas.
Salonen & Bronfman
April 27, 2023
Esa-Pekka Salonen leads works by Richard Strauss, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Anders Hillborg in a recital featuring pianist Yefim Bronfman.
Pekka Kuusisto
April 20, 2023
Music director Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the SF Symphony and guest artist Pekka Kuusisto, violin in music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Bryce Dessner, and Franz Schubert.
Jeremy Denk & Claire Chase
April 13, 2023
Music director Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the SF Symphony and guest artists Jeremy Denk, piano, and Claire Chase, flute in music by Claude Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, and Kaija Saariaho.
Music by Kendall, Chin, Beethoven
April 6, 2023
Season Premiere: Music director Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the San Francisco Symphony in works by Hannah Kendall, Unsuk Chin, and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Tilson Thomas: Mahler 9
June 30, 2022
Season Finale: Michael Tilson Thomas, the orchestra's music director laureate, conducts Mahler's Ninth Symphony.
Tilson Thomas: Mahler 7
June 23, 2022
Tilson Thomas, the orchestra’s music director laureate, conducts Mahler’s Seventh Symphony.
Shaham and Tilson Thomas
June 16, 2022
The orchestra’s music director laureate welcomes esteemed violinist Gil Shaham for a program of music by Sergei Prokofiev, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and a world premiere work by Steven Mackey.
Herbert Blomstedt
June 9, 2022
Veteran conductor Herbert Blomstedt conducts the Pastoral and Scottish Symphonies.
Salonen Conducts Strauss, Sibelius, and Thorvaldsdottir
June 2, 2022
The SF Symphony music director Esa-Pekka Salonen leads a mixed-rep program.
Conductor Jaap van Zweden
May 26, 2022
The NY Phil music director is on the West Coast to conduct the SF Symphony and principal clarinet Carey Bell in music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Anton Bruckner.
Sergey Khachatryan Plays Sibelius
May 19, 2022
Violinist Sergey Khachatryan joins guest conductor Dima Slobodeniouk and the SF Symphony to play the famed Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto. Music by Ludwig van Beethoven and contemporary composer Jörg Widmann rounds out the program.
