Music in the Shadow of War: Ravel and Bartók at SF Symphony

“More is more.” In many ways, this was the guiding principle of European music in the late 19th century. In the hands of German composers like Gustav Mahler and Richard Wagner, musical works were getting longer and more complex, and required ever-larger orchestras (which meant that music was getting louder, too). Emotional expression was reaching fever pitch. But music wasn’t getting bigger along every dimension just because it could. The “maximalist” German composers were convinced that there were great metaphysical questions that could only be grappled with through music: What is the fundamental nature of reality? What is the point of suffering? Why are we here at all? And music needed to grow in order to assume its weighty vocation. Only then could it offer deliverance from ignorance, and affirm the triumph of the human spirit.

But by the early 20th century, this was all beginning to seem a bit dubious. Political upheaval across Europe was redirecting attention from the metaphysical to the decidedly earthly. The question of national identity was increasingly urgent and contested: in this context, the world-transcending aspirations of the late Romantic composers seemed rather obtuse. And the unimaginable horror that was unleashed following the outbreak of World War I in 1914 cast German paeans to the conquering human spirit in a dim light...

On the Stage

The Reservoir

Theatre | Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Now – October 12 | Tickets

Josh is a hot mess of a queer twenty-something. He’s dropped out of school to get his life together — but can’t manage to stay sober. Struggling with fogginess and memory loss, he finds unlikely allies in his four hilarious grandparents.

Audio Described: October 11

View the Program

More Events

• Little Women | TheatreWorks Silicon Valley | Now – October 12
  • Open Captioned: October 12
• Noises Off | San Francisco Playhouse | Now – November 8
• Around the World Through Dance | San Francisco Symphony | October 11 | View Program
• Kronos Quartet | Cal Performances | October 11

Next Line

• Mark your calendars for October 15: tickets will go live for A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story Told by Jefferson Mays and An Evening with David Sedaris, both coming to Berkeley Rep this winter. Get ready to snag your seats, tickets will sell out fast.
• Opera Scouts are back. San Francisco Opera Guild’s 2025‑26 ensemble of 34 students (ages 12–18) is diving into singing, acting, movement, and more—led by industry pros. Know a kid who can’t stop performing? Sign them up now.