San Francisco Symphony 100th Anniversary: Celebrating a Century of Music for the City and the World | Perfect for Classical Music Lovers, Gifts & Special Occasions

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco Symphony, this handsome book is a fitting tribute to the artistic excellence and endurance of that world-class institution. Readers will find "Music for a City, Music for the World" a treasure trove of information about the symphony and how its fortunes intersected with those of its city, the nation, and the world throughout the decades.Organized according to the tenures of the SFS musical directors, the book is filled with colorful personalities, dramatic successes and reversals, intriguing anecdotes, and expert musical discussion. Readers can follow the remarkable and often hard-won achievements of the symphony from before the arrival of its dashing first musical director, Henry Hadley, to the present era of greatness inaugurated by director Michael Tilson Thomas in 1995. In describing this long and sometimes turbulent period, the author brings to life an impressive cast of distinguished figures, such as Pierre Monteux, Seiji Ozawa, Marian Anderson, Meredith Willson, and George Solti, to name but a few. And the engaging text is accompanied by many fascinating photos of symphony members and memorabilia. Lovers of music and history alike will find much to savor in this splendid work.