Arts & Entertainment SFist Reviews: MTT conducts Stravinsky, Bernstein, Ravel. The SF Symphony intended to present Threni this week, one of the few twelve-tone works of Stravinsky. Intriguing, definitely. But visa issues would not let the vocal ensemble EXAUDI, cross the pond, and
Arts & Entertainment SFist Reviews: Gustavo Dudamel & the L.A. Philharmonic The Dude came to town. Not Jeff Bridges, but Gustavo Dudamel, who shares with him the disheveled long hair. The conductor and music director of the LA Phil, a.k.a. The Savior
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews: David Fray The French pianist David Fray is currently performing Beethoven's second piano concerto with the San Frandisco symphony. The series started Wednesday, so you can already read the SF Chronicle's Joshua Kosman's review. Maestro
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews: Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg Music directors in San Francisco are like airports: they must have a TLA. Alongside MTT, we have NSS, aka Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, who heads the New Century Chamber Orchestra. NSS is actually the name
Arts & Entertainment SFist Reviews: Teatro ZinZanni Teatro ZinZanni invited us (read: comped) to their 10th anniversary gala and kids summer camp kick-off party this week. They're launching a circus summer camp to teach kids 9-16yo uni-cycling, spinning plates, or
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews: Pianist Simone Dinnerstein Pianist Simone Dinnerstein is, if you will, the anti-Lang-Lang. When at age five, he was giving his first public recitals, she would not approach the piano for another couple years. When he fast
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews: Mezzo-Soprano Alice Coote The superlative British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote will give her first solo recital in San Francisco tonight at Herbst theater, for SF Performances 30th anniversary season. The theme of the evening: English art songs.
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews: Pianist Simon Trpčeski Simon Trpčeski (pronounced Terp-chess-ki) would have us believe he's just a regular> guy. Don't be fooled, he's such an amazing pianist he's hardly over thirty and has already been invited to perform
Arts & Entertainment Duo Revirado at the Red Poppy Art House The Red Poppy Art House was described to us as SF's answer to NY's (Le) Poisson Rouge, the West Village venue which hosts alt classical music events, and which is so hip it
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews: Composer Victor Kissine Charles Ives was such an avant-garde composer in his time, his place in the musical canon still has to be explained. To us. By MTT. Yet, it's a testament to his lasting influence
Arts & Entertainment Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and String with the NCCO Benjamin Britten visited North America in April 1939, and found more than he hoped for. He came from Britain to perform and present some of his compositions in Canada and the U.S.
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews Composer Elena Ruehr The Cypress String Quartet is a San Francisco based ensemble which has a history of commissioning new works from composers. They established the Call & Response project eleven years ago, in which they
Arts & Entertainment The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at Davies Symphony Hall Despite having one of the best orchestras in the world right here at home, it was a treat to hear the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra in Davies Symphony Hall. The LGO, founded in 1743,
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews SF Symphony Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt Two distinguished visitors come to Davies Symphony Hall this week and the next. First, Herbert Blomstedt will conduct the San Francisco Symphony in a program of Haydn and Beethoven tomorrow through Saturday. Then
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews: Michael Tilson Thomas San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas looks like a laid back conductor on stage: he makes sweeping gestures which sometimes seem (to us, anyway) too vague to contain a beat; often
Arts & Entertainment Grab Gavin Newsom's Ball at Saturday's School Scavenger Hunt You, that's who. And you can, by participating in the Tech Search Party, which offers as a prize an autographed baseball by the Mayor. Other prizes include tickets to a Bon Jovi concert
Arts & Entertainment The Ensemble Parallele's <em>Wozzeck</em> The premiere of Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck on December 15, 1925 opened to a huge success, the composer receiving the wild adulation of the crowd. You'd thought he'd be pleased with himself, having
Arts & Entertainment SFist Reviews: Yo-Yo Ma At The Symphony Yo-Yo Ma is one of the world's most celebrated musicians, his name one of the most recognizable. To wit: he played for millions of people at Obama's inauguration, and has won tons of
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews Pianist Adam Tendler Pianist Adam Tendler will perform John Cage's Sonatas and Interlude, a set of music for prepared piano. John Cage was an avant-garde music composer who pushed the boundaries of music. In 1952, inspired
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews Nathan Gunn Nathan Gunn is hot. So sexy he has to take off his shirt regularly on the opera stage, to the delight of his audience. It got to the point that when he went
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews British Composer George Benjamin Are there red states and blue states for classical music? We thought, sure, there's most likely more classical events on the blue coasts than in the red flyover states. But Anne Midgette, in
Arts & Entertainment Le Cirque du Soleil's OVO Ovo, the Cirque du Soleil show which just opened in the big blue and yellow tent in the parking lot of the Giants stadium, gets its name from the Latin for egg. But
Arts & Entertainment This Weekend in Liturgical Music A few exciting classical music events for this weekend, with some Christmas liturgy ahead of us. Liturgical music during the holiday season is like giving to charity: you have to assuage your guilt
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews Composer William Bolcom William Bolcom composed two third of the pieces in the program presented by the New Century Chamber Orchestra, in a run which opens tomorrow in Berkeley (and repeats Friday in Palo Alto, Saturday
Arts & Entertainment SFist Interviews Joyce DiDonato Mezzo-soprano diva Joyce DiDonato last seduced us here as Octavian in Strauss's Rosenkavalier and is returning on Monday night for her first ever San Francisco Performances recital, with pianist John Churchwell. Joyce made
