Reif-er Madness

German conductor Christian Reif, 30, showed off his talents with the Santa Barbara Symphony at the Granada.

Reif, who studied at Juilliard in New York and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, was on the top of his form, having just completed a three-year post as resident conductor of the San Francisco Symphony.

The entertaining program featured Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Gilbertson‘s Graffiti, charismatic Cuban-American cellist Thomas Mesa in Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Mozart’s Overture to La Clemens di Tito, and, for the finale, the Viennese master’s timeless and captivating Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major.

A delightful evening, with Gilbertson appearing onstage explaining his work.