|
IN Listening Ahead THIS WEEK:
EARLY MUSIC
BROADCASTS
CHAMBER
CHORAL
CONTEMPORARY
DANCE
EVENTS
OPERA
RECITAL
SYMPHONY
|
to the Classical Music Scene for January 31 - February 13, 2006
By Janos Gereben,
Philharmonia's Tribute to the Violin The violin emerged from obscurity in the Baroque period to become one of the most popular solo instruments. Elizabeth Blumenstock leads PBO as concertmaster and soloist in "The Violin Triumphant," an exploration of the "the nightingale of instruments." February 3, 8 p.m., First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto; February 4, 8 p.m. and February 5, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley; February 10, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; February 11, 8 p.m., Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church, Lafayette; $28-$62, (415) 392-4400, www.philharmonia.org. (M.B.)
Met Broadcasts The 75th season of the Metropolitan Opera's live broadcasts is available in San Francisco only on tiny KUSF-FM, 90.3, but pretty much everywhere else on the Internet. (See www.operainfo.org/stationfinder.) The Saturday 10:30 a.m. (PST) broadcast will have the U.S. premiere of Franco Alfano's 1936 Cyrano de Bergerac on February 4, with Marco Armiliato conducting a cast headed by Sondra Radvanovsky and Plácido Domingo. On February 11, it's Verdi's Traviata, Angela Gheorghiu in the title role and introducing Jonas Kaufman, much acclaimed in Europe, but still new to the U.S. (J.G.) Mozart Fest All of Mozart's operas are being broadcast in chronological order on Kelly Rinne's WHFR-FM program, Tuesdays 1-4 p.m. PST. Next up: Bastien und Bastienne on January 31, Mitridate, Rè di Ponto on February 7 (concluded on February 14). For information, see www.whfropera.blogspot.com. (J.G.)
S.F. Chamber Orchestra Family Concert
AVE (Artists' Vocal Ensemble) This relatively new choral ensemble nearly slipped under the radar, until I heard about the fantastic lineup of professional singers involved, who can regularly be heard singing with many of the Bay Area's leading early music groups. Under the direction of organist Jonathan Dimmock, cofounder of American Bach Soloists, the concert features music from the late medieval era, including Josquin's Missa Pange Lingua, Robert Fayrfax's Magnificat Antiphons, and motets from Dunstable, Dufay, Ockeghem, and others. February 3, 8 p.m., St. Ignatius Church, San Francisco; February 4, St. Mark's Church, Berkeley. $10-$20, (415) 706-6900, www.jonathandimmock.com. (M.B.) Bach in the Haight Jonathan Dimmock conducts Bach's Cantata BWV 165, O heiliges Geist under Wasserbad, and Zelenka's Magnificat, with choir and orchestra. February 12, 5:30 p.m., All Saints' Episcopal Church, San Francisco, free, (415) 706-6900, www.jonathandimmock.com. (J.G.)
New Music Festival Santa Clara University's 2006 New Music Festival features composer Chen Yi, and premieres by Alvin Singleton, Alex Shapiro, resident faculty composer Pamela Layman Quist, and alumnus Samuel Pluta. Artists participating include the S.F. Citywinds, the Los Angeles Flute Quartet, baritone Thomas Buckner, and — coinciding with Chinese New Year — pipa player Min Xiao-fen, zheng master Liu Wei-shan, and the Firebird Chinese Youth Orchestra. February 1, noon, and February 3-4, 8 p.m., Center of Performing Arts, Santa Clara University, $5-$12, (408) 554-4015, www.scu.edu. (J.G.)
ODC Performance Extravaganza Because ODC has only an ancient connection with its original name, rarely will you see it identified as the Oberlin Dance Collective — but here you have it anyway. (Brenda Way founded the company "over there" in 1971, and moved it to S.F. five years later.) ODC's season-opener this year will be something unusual and promising. Called Performance Extravaganza, the free gala will feature a dozen local dance companies, including Kunst-Stoff, Robert Moses' Kin, the Joe Goode Performance Group, and the Dance Brigade. February 5, 3-6 p.m. (reception follows, 6-6:30 p.m.), ODC Dance Commons, San Francisco, free, (415) 863-6606, www.odcdance.org. (J.G.) Black Choreographers Festival "Dancing Into the Future" is the theme of the festival, with the rich heritage of African and African-American music and dance serving as the point of departure. Some of the featured artists: Joanna Haigood (aerial dance), Robert Moses (modern), Deborah Vaughan and the Dimensions Dance Theater (classical/modern), Kim Sims-Battiste and Culture Shock Oakland (hip-hop), and Mahea Uchiyama (Polynesian). Among the free events is a film of the Alonzo King Lines Ballet (February 11, 4 p.m., Artaud) and a dance symposium, with a performance by the Haitian Reconnect troupe (February 18, 4:30 p.m., Malonga Casquelourd Center). February 10-12, Project Artaud Theater, San Francisco; February 17-19, Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, Oakland; $15-$20, (415) 863-9834, www.bcfhereandnow.com. (J.G.)
Harpist from the 'Hood and the Kora Destiny, who calls herself "Harpist from the Hood," is a master of the kora. She also plays the Triplett Acoustic/Electric 38-string Neo-Celtic harp, and other instruments, and she is involved in such projects as the SONG — the Strings of a Nubian Groove string quartet. But her heart belongs to the mother of the modern harp, the kora, from West Africa. February 5, 6 p.m., Malunga Casquelord Theater, Oakland, $5 donation (see Black Choreographers Festival, above); February 18, 7 p.m., Oakland Museum of California, $25, (510) 522-5552, www.harpistfromthehood.com. (J.G.)
Pocket Woman Donald Pippin's Pocket Opera opens its 2006 season with what Offenbach called Genevieve of Brabant, but Pippin Englishified as The New Woman. Uniquely, Pippin has been translating, narrating, conducting, and directing ever since his opera-in-English first appeared in the Old Spaghetti Factory ... in 1968. What's Genevieve about? "Scandal 12th-century style shakes the colorful, heretofore placid little town of Ham-on-Rye and a heroine is born. Meanwhile, the army has boarded the Orient Express for Palestine." February 3, 7:30 p.m.; February 5, 2 p.m.; February 10, 7:30 p.m.; Florence Gould Theater, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, $29-$32, (415)972-8934, www.pocketopera.org. (J.G.) Berkeley Opera's Falstaff Berkeley Opera opens its 2006 season with Verdi's final work, Falstaff. Jo Vincent Parks sings the title role, with Jillian Khuner as Alice Ford, Katherine Growdon as Meg Page, and Donna Olson as Mistress Quickly. Jonathan Khuner conducts; Jason Sherbundy is stage director. February 5, 2 p.m., Julia Morgan Theater, Berkeley, $10-$40, (510) 841-1903 and (925) 798-1300, www.berkeleyopera.org. (J.G.)
Photo by Marco Borggreve Brian Asawa Born in Santa Cruz, countertenor Brian Asawa trained with the San Francisco Opera before going on to fame and fortune in opera houses around the world, specializing in Handel, but with a score of other operas in his repertory, as well. Asawa is now coming to the Stanford campus for a recital, followed by a master class. His program includes Vivaldi, Dowland, Schubert, Fauré, Jake Heggie, and Ned Rorem. February 3, 8 p.m., Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford; $10-$20; February 4, noon, masterclass, Campbell Recital Hall, Stanford Music Department, free; (650) 725-2787, www.music.stanford.edu. (J.G.)
Photo by Rick Stockwell
Wendy Hillhouse's Farewell to the Old Campus
Conservatory Orchestra Marin Symphony's Alasdair Neale is guest conductor for the S.F. Conservatory of Music Orchestra's next concert, featuring music by Richard Strauss and Prokofiev. Akimi Fukuhara is the soloist in Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1. February 4, 8 p.m., Hellman Hall, S.F. Conservatory of Music, $10-$15, (415) 759-3475, www.sfcm.edu. (J.G.) Santa Rosa Symphony The conductor search to replace outgoing music director Jeffrey Kahane continues, and one candidate, Bruno Ferrandis, has put together a terrific program, including Berio's Requies and Shostakovich's First Symphony. February 11-13, 8 and 3 p.m., Luther Burbank Center, Santa Rosa, $27-$49, (707) 546-8742, www.santarosasymphony.org. (M.D.T.)
(Janos Gereben is a regular contributor to SFCV; his e-mail address is janosg@gmail.com. Michelle Dulak Thomson is a violinist and violist who has written about music for Strings, Stagebill, Early Music America, and The New York Times. Mickey Butts is executive director and publisher of San Francisco Classical Voice. His writing has appeared in Salon, Food & Wine, The Industry Standard, Wired, Parenting, Sunset, The Nation, and The San Francisco Chronicle.)
|
