Gaffigan Conducts Beethoven 9 tickets

Beethoven wanted his Ninth Symphony—led here by James Gaffigan—to enact a journey of transformation, exploring themes of struggle and salvation, community and compassion. Although he wasn’t religious in the conventional sense, he found spiritual sustenance in his art. Even in our hyperpolarized times, Beethoven’s Ninth feels like a unifying force across the globe, a cultural common good. For its creator, who drafted, revised, and perfected his final symphony over more than 30 years, its meaning was urgent, immediate, vital: In those decades he saw the humanist ideals of the French Revolution trampled by repressive regimes.

The San Francisco Symphony will dedicate the June 18, 20-21 performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to Michael Tilson Thomas.