Out There :: Creation Stories

We've got advance word on composer-pianist-conductor Thomas Ades' San Francisco Symphony conducting debut this weekend (March 5-7). SFS has performed many of Ades' works, but his conducting the SFS, in a program that features one of his own works, is entirely new.

One of the pieces he is leading is his concerto for piano and moving image "In Seven Days," with Kirill Gerstein on the keys, and video art by Tal Rosner. (Rosner designed a video installation for Britten's "Four Sea Interludes" that was a highlight of the SFS' Britten Festival last June.) This is the first time that the SFS is performing "In Seven Days."

The entire program that Ades has put together is quite interesting. In addition to his own work, which is made up of seven movements that follow the "Genesis" story of creation, all of the pieces he has chosen focus on themes of creation and draw on various mythologies. The program includes Milhaud's "La Creation du monde," which draws its story from African folk mythology; Sibelius' tone-poem "Luonnotar," derived from Finnish mythology (featuring Dawn Upshaw); and Charles Ives' "The Unanswered Question," a work centered around what the composer calls "the perennial question of existence." Sounds like Out There's cup of creation-myth tea, so we'll be there in Davies Hall. Tickets/info: sfsymphony.org.

Hob-nobbin'

We love Nob Hill. It's a place you can go where you really know you're in SF. Consummate consort Pepi & Out There took the 1 California up the hill last week for a scrumptious dinner at Osso Steakhouse, where we partook of the so-called "O" Menu. This turned out to be quite a feast: Skillet-roasted chorizo cheese bread; Caesar salad with garlic croutons & shaved reggiano cheese; petite bone-in (osso) filet mignon, cooked medium rare; crispy potatoes & vegetables; and chocolate macchiato mousse. All of this washed down by a very nice Rutherford Ranch Cabernet (Napa, 2012).

Since the reopening of the Masonic Center right next door this past fall, Osso has become a place to spot featured bands and performers pre- and post-show. Here's the beef: Osso's New York steaks are dry-aged off-premise for four to six weeks in a controlled environment. This gives them primo flavor. Besides steaks, menu items include Yellowtail Carpaccio, seafood skillets, the "O Burger Bar" and several classic sides, including lightly creamed spinach and Ciopollini Fritti.

The restaurant's Art Deco-inspired environment put OT right in the mood. And among the clubs and businesses located in Osso's harboring Gramercy Towers, we found the suite for Friends of Dorothy travel services. We felt right at home. Info: ossosteakhouse.com.

Hated for Loving

Members of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC ) will offer a preview of composer Jake Heggie's "For a Look or a Touch" during a concert in the lobby of the Contemporary Jewish Museum/SF (CJM ) on Sun., March 29, 3-4:30 p.m. They will present numbers from this upcoming choral opera based on the true love story of two Jewish men who were persecuted by the Nazis for being homosexual. Kip Neven, who plays Gad Beck, a survivor who became a Jewish resistance fighter and later rescued over 1,000 Jews from death; and SF Opera Adler Fellow Hadleigh Adams, who plays Beck's doomed lover Manfred Lewin, will be joined by members of the SFGMC to sing excerpts from the opera, and lead a brief discussion of the history behind the opera. Free with museum admission; info: [email protected] or (415) 655-7881.

The SFGMC will present the entire work For a Look or a Touch at Davies Symphony Hall on April 1 & 2. The CJM is a co-sponsoring organization for these concerts.