A few performances we caught, before the Thanksgiving holidays distracted us from writing them up: Bryn Terfel at Cal Performances, Aida at SF Opera and Yefim Bronfman with the SF Symphony more ›

It's the bane of Jeremy Denk's existence that his terrific credentials as a pianist are most often accompanied by references to his blog. Google lists 63,000 pages under his name, of which 47,000 results still show up if you add 'blog' to the search. Add one with this post, since we're falling to the trope. Again. In a way, that's his fault for writing such a compelling blog, full both of musical insights and of hilarious, deadpan commentary. We've learned a lot about how an artist approaches a piece of music. And the endearing quirkiness is the jam that makes us eagerly swallow the pill of musical structure and theory. more ›

The Fall music season has been launched in orbit with a glitzy gala at the Symphony. This week continues with classical music galore: the other heavy hitter, the SF Opera introduces his new music director, Nicola Luisotti, in Verdi's Il Trovatore, tonight. The all-star cast includes Dmitri Hvorostovksy, Sondra Radvanovsky and the comparatively simple to spell Stephanie Blythe in a story that makes Harry Potter look realistic. We don't go to the opera to watch reality tv, and the arias are sublime. You can check for yourself, for free, at a live simulcast of the War Memorial Opera House performance on a giant screen at the AT&T ballpark on Saturday, September 19th. Also, you can get the pupu platter sampler of the upcoming season, also for free, zilch, zero, nada, with the traditional Opera in the Park concert. Please arrive early, it gets really crowded on the Sharon Meadows lawn, and you don't want to miss SF Chronicle's editor-at-large Phil Bronstein's unintentionally hilarious attempts at a stand up comedy routine, if he's MCing again this year. more ›

We were super-excited when we got the chance to talk with Alex Ross, the New Yorker's resident classical music critic (and blogger). Ross's writing has profoundly affected the way we think about music and music writing in all its genres and forms, and his twin enthusiasm for new classical music of the 21st century along with his deep love of the profoundly musical Icelandic pixie that is Björk always liven up our weekly periodicals reading list. (Thanks for helping set it up, M.C-!) more ›

Cal Performances' biennial Berkeley Edge Fest is dedicated to presenting works of contemporary music and performance. Starting this Thursday (June 7) and running through Sunday June 10 at Zellerbach Hall, the Edge Fest seems to be pushing an anti-Bush theme this year. Oh, they're just giving the people of Berkeley exactly what they want to hear! more ›

Robert Cole, who's been in charge of Cal Performances on the UC Berkeley campus since 1986, announced that he's leaving at the end of the 2008/2009 season. more ›

and is credited with modernizing and popularizing crossword puzzles with witty clues, aesthetically satisfying designs, and pop cultural awareness. Folks like Jon Stewart and Bill Clinton (above, with the puzzle he made in yesterday's paper here) swear by Shortz's puzzles, and you will too (if you don't already) after tonight! more ›

Let us tell you about the birds and the trees. more ›