SYMPHONY REVIEW
Portrait Of The Teenager
As A Post-Serial Composer
May 21, 2000
By Janos Gereben
Anthony Cheung, who gave up on conventional tonality when he was 13, received applause approaching ovation Sunday in Davies Hall at the premiere of his Portrait of the Artist as a Tormented Young Madman. He wrote the brief work for an orchestra of Mahlerian proportions two years ago, at age 16. By then he'd passed beyond the stage of "beyond tonality": he was writing good, exciting music, "new" and yet instantly accessible to the "family audience" in the hall today.
Stunning Display of Virtuosity
Youth Symphony flourishes with Neale
Joshua Kosman, Chronicle Music Critic
Tuesday, May 23, 2000
Anyone still uncertain about what Alasdair Neale's departure after next season will mean for the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra need only have listened to a few minutes of Sunday afternoon's superb concert in Davies Symphony Hall. The young musicians of this ensemble, ranging in age from 12 to 20, provide a thrilling example of musical virtuosity and artistic maturity. The string sections in particular boast a plushness and cohesiveness that many a more seasoned orchestra might envy; the woodwind and brass players rise to every challenge with ease; and the percussionists alternate between quiet mastery and blazing bravura.