Znaider and SF Symphony champion overlooked concerto

” (…) In fact, before Thursday, Feb. 18’s remarkably powerful concert in Davies Symphony Hall, the San Francisco Symphony had never even played the piece [Nielsen’s violin concerto]. So this performance, led by guest conductor Stéphane Denève with a formidable solo turn by violinist Nikolaj Znaider, was both a revelation and a rebuke. (…) After intermission, Denève introduced another, more recent work to the Symphony repertoire. “A Glimmer in the Age of Darkness,” composed in 2005 by the French compose Guillaume Connesson (…) Denève, who commissioned and premiered the piece, gave it a sensitive performance, with sweetly balanced playing by the orchestra. Music from Prokofiev’s ballet “Cinderella,” assembled into a suite by Denève, made an exhilaratingly tart palate-cleanser to end the evening.”