The Great American Songbook has a unique way of bridging gaps between musicians and listeners from all different backgrounds. Singer, pianist, and standards ambassador Michael Feinstein and acclaimed classical soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet serve as a perfect example. As a duo, they’ve found common ground in this popular repertoire by the likes of Richard Rodgers, Irving Berlin, and especially the Gershwin brothers.
An enthusiastic audience at Davies Symphony Hall on Tuesday, May 20, discovered just how well these two superstars in their respective genres can mesh. Feinstein and Thibaudet co-headlined a special one-night-only concert with the San Francisco Symphony under the baton of longtime Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, and the performance was by turns entertaining, educational, and moving.
Feinstein has recently made headlines for decidedly non-celebratory reasons. His Kennedy Center engagement with the National Symphony Orchestra, “A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride,” scheduled for this week, was canceled by the Trump administration.
So Tuesday’s program was triumphant in contrast, commencing with an energetic orchestral overture before Feinstein and Thibaudet walked onto the stage flashing winning smiles and sporting matching sparkly tuxedo jackets with satin shawl collars.
Seated at interlocking Steinway grand pianos, the pair faced one another as they started into a rendition of Berlin’s “I Love a Piano,” featuring Feinstein’s impassioned singing.
Given Feinstein’s impeccable credentials, including as host of the onetime public radio series Song Travels, it seemed safe to assume that he’d do all of the talking. But both musicians spoke with welcoming rapport for a show that felt like a natural extension of their Gershwin Rhapsody album, released last year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue.
As founder of the Great American Songbook Foundation, Feinstein shared stories of his musical acquaintances going back decades, from conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein to lyricist Irving Caesar, whose popular song “Tea for Two” concluded the first set of the evening. Feinstein also spoke about his six years as personal assistant to lyricist Ira Gershwin, older brother and primary songwriting partner of composer George.
Thibaudet reflected on his upbringing as a French conservatory student. Sharing an anecdote about George Gershwin and Maurice Ravel, the pianist served as something of an audience surrogate — someone with an appreciation of American Songbook standards if not Feinstein’s comprehensive knowledge.
In a way, it was not unlike an evening at Feinstein’s San Francisco nightclub at Hotel Nikko. But the orchestra, with Lockhart at the helm, really made it an event.
Thibaudet performed the third movement from Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F with proper symphonic accompaniment. (He mentioned that he first played the piece at age 14.) And the second-half Gershwin Fantasy was a tour de force, stuffed with favorites like “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “I Got Rhythm,” and “Embraceable You” and bookended by the original two-piano arrangement of Rhapsody.
An encore of the Gershwins’ “Love Is Here to Stay” ended the program on a poignant note. It was George’s last composition, and Ira completed the lyrics posthumously, Feinstein pointed out. He posited that the song is about the brothers’ relationship. But when he crooned the opening lines — “It’s very clear / Our love is here to stay / Not for a year / But ever and a day” — it was hard not to think about the power of timeless standards, too.
This story was first published in Datebook in partnership with the San Francisco Chronicle.
