Koopman Leads 18th-Century Delights

Arguably more than any other composer, J.S. Bach has had an almost religious power over musicians, challenging them in mind, body, and spirit. This week, world-renowned early music specialist Ton Koopman returns to the San Francisco Symphony to offer a feast of 18th-century delights, including two of the best-loved orchestral works by that most venerated of composers. The program includes a shattering vision of chaos by Bach contemporary Jean-Féry Rebel, and one of the great musical essays by the father of the symphony, Franz Joseph Haydn. San Francisco Symphony concertmaster Alexander Barantschik takes a solo turn in J.S. Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 1