SAN FRANCISCO, CA— Music Director Designate Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) in two weeks of concerts, joined by 2019–20 SFS Artist-in-Residence soprano Julia Bullock February 20–22 and violinist Leila Josefowicz February 27–29, 2020 at Davies Symphony Hall. On February 20–22 , Bullock performs works based on poems by notable French Symbolists— Britten’s Les Illuminations , a song cycle set to poems of Arthur Rimbaud from his collection Les Illuminations , and Ravel’s Three Poems of Stéphane Mallarmé , a sequence of three art songs based on poems by Stéphane Mallarmé. The program also features Ravel’s Mother Goose ( Ma Mère l’Oye ) , music from the enchanting ballet based on folk tales by Charles Perrault, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky’s haunting Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary (after Purcell) — a work inspired by a suggestion made by Esa-Pekka Salonen. On February 27–29 , Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the Orchestra in his own Violin Concerto featuring virtuoso violinist Leila Josefowicz, who has championed the work since she gave its premiere in 2009. Completing the program is fellow Nordic composer Nielsen’s kinetic Symphony No. 5 and Beethoven’s 1811 Overture to  King Stephen , written to commemorate the opening of a new concert hall in Budapest.

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY, ESA-PEKKA SALONEN CONDUCTING

Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 8 pm Friday, February 21, 2020 at 8 pm Sunday, February 22, 2020 at 8 pm . Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Julia Bullock soprano . San Francisco Symphony . STUCKY Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary (after Purcell) [First SFS Performances] . BRITTEN Les Illuminations , Opus 18 . RAVEL Three Poems of Stéphane Mallarmé (Trois Poémes de Stéphane Mallarmé) . RAVEL Mother Goose ( Ma Mère l’Oye ) . Tickets: $20–160 . Audio Program Notes: Listen to a free podcast about Ravel’s Mother Goose ( Ma Mère l’Oye ), hosted by KDFC’s Rik Malone . All podcasts are archived, and can be streamed from sfsymphony.org/podcasts , and downloaded from the iTunes store and from soundcloud.com/sfsymphony . . Pre-Concert Talk: Laura Prichard will give an “Inside Music” talk from the stage one hour prior to each performance. Free to all concert ticket holders; doors open 15 minutes before. . Off-The-Podium: A post-concert audience Q&A session with Esa-Pekka Salonen, Julia Bullock, and moderator Mark C. Hanson, will be presented from the stage immediately following the concert on Friday, February 21. Free to all ticket holders. . Broadcast / Archived Stream: A broadcast of these performances will air Tuesday, March 3 at 8 pm on Classical KDFC 90.3 San Francisco, 104.9 San Jose, 89.9 Napa, and kdfc.com where it will be available for on demand streaming for 21 days following the broadcast.

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY, ESA-PEKKA SALONEN CONDUCTING

. Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 10 am (Open Rehearsal) Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 8 pm Friday, February 28, 2020 at 8 pm Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 8 pm . Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Leila Josefowicz violin San Francisco Symphony . BEETHOVEN Overture to King Stephen , Opus 117 . Esa-Pekka SALONEN Violin Concerto . NIELSEN Symphony No. 5, Opus 50, FS 97 . Tickets: $20–160 . Audio Program Notes: Listen to a free podcast about Nielsen’s Symphony No. 5, hosted by KDFC’s Rik Malone . All podcasts are archived, and can be streamed from sfsymphony.org/podcasts , and downloaded from the iTunes store and from soundcloud.com/sfsymphony . . Pre-Concert Talk: Peter Grunberg will give an “Inside Music” talk from the stage one hour prior to each performance. Free to all concert ticket holders; doors open 15 minutes before. . Off-The-Podium: A post-concert audience Q&A session with Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leila Josefowicz, and moderator Mark C. Hanson, will be presented from the stage immediately following the concert on Thursday, February 27. Free to all ticket holders. . Broadcast / Archived Stream: A broadcast of these performances will air Tuesday, March 10 at 8 pm on Classical KDFC 90.3 San Francisco, 104.9 San Jose, 89.9 Napa, and kdfc.com where it will be available for on demand streaming for 21 days following the broadcast.