Major talent watch: Mikko Franck, who will conduct the premiere of
Einojuhani Rautavaara's opera, "Rasputin" next year, brought another of
the composer's works, "Adagio celeste" to Davies Hall tonight, in his
debut with the San Francisco Symphony.

Premiered in Helsinki earlier this year, the "heavenly Adagio" is a
brief, beautiful work, anchored in slowly pulsing notes. Added to other
Rautavaara experiences, the Adagio has clinched my travel plans to the
Finnish wilderness... although not in the winter.

It's rare that you hear a new work and know that it's done right, but
Franck created that impression effortlessly. Shorty, stocky and ridiculously
young (23 - eight years younger than Midori, the eternal "child prodigy"
featured on the program), Franck conducted the opening Adagio, the
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and a luminous Sibelius "Four Legends" with
a seasoned, mature combination of firmness and sensitivity.

He even managed to help Midori over some strangely overblown opening
phrases (Mendelssohn as Mahler?), to a settled, consistent, stellar
performance.  Franck may well be the most promising kid conductor since
Simon Rattle emerged from high school.

Standing with effort, and perching on a stool for most of the evening,
Franck is still showing the effect of severe childhood illnesses. He
turned to the violin at age 5 and started reading orchestral scores while
bedridden at 7. He started conducting studies at 16 at Sibelius Academy,
and received his diploma in less than a year when the famed institution
determined that "there is nothing else they can teach him."

Apparently, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Stockholm and the Swedish
Radio Symphony Orchestra shared the faculty's high opinion because they
both wanted him as their chief conductor. Franck felt that he is not
ready to settle down, but earlier this year accepted an offer to be music
director of the Belgian National Orchestra in Brussels.

In his spare time, Franck has already led performances of schedule "The
Magic Flute,"  "L'Elisir d'Amore," "Don Giovanni," "La Boheme" and
"Khovanschina" in Finland, "La Traviata" in Oslo and "Carmen" at the
Royal Stockholm Opera.

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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