John Adams/Alarm Will Sound
Cal Performances features the last of its groundbreaking "Composer Portrait" collaborations with Columbia University's Miller Theatre, this one a concert focusing on the works of John Adams from a 20-year span: China Gates, Chamber Symphony, Gnarly Buttons, and Scratchband. The players, Alarm Will Sound, come to the Bay Area for the first time. The New York Times recently wrote, "Alarm Will Sound is about as close to being a rock band as a chamber orchestra can be. It is the Kronos Quartet writ large." March 5, 3 p.m., Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley campus, $32, (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkeley.edu. (M.B.)

BluePrint
The San Francisco Conservatory's consistently excellent BluePrint Project winds up its fourth season with a program exploring the later echoes of Alban Berg's "lyrical modernism." Besides Berg's own Seven Early Songs (in their later orchestration), the program includes Frank Martin's spare and beautiful Ballade for viola and chamber orchestra, Brian Cherney's 1991 Apparitions for cello and chamber ensemble, and Olga Neuwirth's Marsyas for solo piano. March 10, 8 p.m., pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m., Hellman Hall, San Francisco Conservatory, $10-$15, (415) 759-3475, www.sfcm.edu. (M.D.T.)

California Bach Society
Orlando Gibbons and John Dowland wrote music for the highly musical court of James I, founder of the Stuart dynasty in the 17th century. The California Bach Society presents these works, composed for voices and viols, in a program titled "Do not repine, fair sun." March 3, 8 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Berkeley; March 4, 8 p.m., All Saints' Episcopal Church, Palo Alto; March 5, 4 p.m., St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, San Francisco; $10-$25, (415) 262-0272, www.calbach.org. (J.G.)

Hespérion XXI

Jordi Savall returns to Berkeley with his exhilarating Spanish ensemble, playing works that mark the 400th anniversary of Cervantes' Don Quixote, and featuring his wife, soprano Montserrat Figueras. A second (sold-out) concert on March 11 in Berkeley explores the spread of sacred and secular music from Europe to the New World. March 9 and 11, 8 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley, $52, (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/presents/. (M.B.)

Belcea Quartet

The Belcea is rapidly proving itself one of the great young string quartets. On March 5, it brings Mozart to San Francisco's Herbst Theatre — the quartets K. 499 and 465, paired with Britten's valedictory Third. The String Quartet in D Major (K. 499) is probably the least-played of the great Mozart quartets, and the Britten is his last masterpiece. March 5, 7 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $26-$44, (415) 392-2545, www.performances.org. (M.D.T.)

Renaissance a Cappella vs. Oscar Time
Who's afraid of the Academy Awards? Not the choral group Soli Deo Gloria, which is scheduling a concert called "Latin Elegance" at the exact time the Oscar telecast begins. The attraction: music of Palestrina, Spain's Morales and Guerrero, with guest conductor Chad Runyon. March 3, 7:30 p.m., First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto; March 4, 5 p.m., St. Gregory of Nyssa, San Francisco; March 5, 3:30 p.m., St. Gregory of Nyssa, Piedmont; $13-$18, (888) 734-7664, http://www.sdgloria.org. (J.G.)

Haydn Singers
A new choir is hitting the scene, the Haydn Singers, with a name that's certainly not overused in these parts. Its debut concert, directed by Paul Flight, features the rarely heard Mozart works Misericordias Domini (K.222) and the Missa Brevis in F (K.192), in celebration of you-know-whose birthday. The program also includes some choral pieces, part-songs, and the Salve Regina in G minor, all by their namesake composer. March 10, 8 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, Palo Alto; March 11, 8 p.m., Church of St. Mary Magdalen, Berkeley; $10-$15, haydnsingers@yahoo.com, www.haydnsingers.org. (M.B.)

New Orleans Klezmer
Coming directly from the stricken city's first post-Katrina Mardi Gras, the New Orleans Klezmer All Stars open Oakland's 21st Jewish Music Festival, which runs through March 26. March 4, 8 p.m., First Congregational Church, Oakland, $22-$26, (415) 276-1511. www.jewishmusicfestival.org. (J.G.)

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Not even Philharmonia could resist the Mozart anniversary, but theirs is a concert with a difference: Besides the familiar favorites (the "big" G-minor Symphony, No. 40, and the Clarinet Concerto with Eric Hoeprich as soloist), the March 3-11 concerts feature soprano Cyndia Sieden tackling four of Mozart's best concert arias. This is underperformed music, and with some reason — many of the parts are spectacularly difficult to sing. Popoli di Tessaglia, among other things, contains the highest note Mozart ever asked a singer to hit (a G in alt). There are few chances to hear this music performed live, so don't miss this one. March 3, 8 p.m., First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto; March 4-5, First Congregational Church, Berkeley; March 10, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; March 11, Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church, Lafayette; $28-$62, (415) 392-4400, www.philharmonia.org. (M.D.T.)

Marin Symphony
Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto, alternately bleak and frenetic, seems a natural match for soloist Leila Josefowicz's unusually intense brand of violin playing. With it on this weekend's program are Ingram Marshall's Bright Kingdoms (a Magnum Opus commission) and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade. March 5 and 7, 7:30 p.m., Marin Civic Center Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, San Rafael, $24-$57, (415) 479-8100, www.marinsymphony.org. (M.D.T.)

London Philharmonic's Visit
Kurt Masur is leading the London Philharmonic on tour, arriving in Davies Hall for a concert of the Mahler Symphony No. 1, and the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with soloist Sergey Khachatryan. If the name looks similar to the composer's, it's because they are both Armenian and in fact are closely related. The composer died in 1978, however, while the violinist has just turned 21. March 12, 7 p.m., Davies Hall, San Francisco, $20-$89, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org. (J.G.)

Lyric Tosca
Popular as Puccini's Tosca is, it is grand opera difficult to produce, especially for small companies. San Francisco Lyric Opera is nevertheless putting on this "really big show" with a talented young cast, low prices, and free admission for children. Barnaby Palmer conducts, Heather Carolo is the stage director. Duana Demus sings the title role, tenor Ben Bongers is Cavaradossi, and baritone Roberto Gomez is Scarpia. March 3, 4, 10, 11, at 7:30 p.m., Florence Gould Theater, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, $15-$28, children under 12 free, (415) 392-4400, www.sflyricopera.org. (J.G.)

Old and New Music for ODC Season
ODC/Dance San Francisco, proud owner of a major new dance facility (see Music News), begins its 35th season this week with three programs, each featuring a world premiere and an impressive amount of new and commissioned music. Besides such classical works as Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in D, used by company founder/director Brenda Way in her Part of a Longer Story, Arvo Pärt's Trisagion for KT Nelson's Floating Ridge, and piano music by Milhaud for Nelson's Shenanigans, new music abounds. There's Marcos Zarvos' Nepomuk's Dances composed (for the Ethel String Quartet) for Nelson's Stomp a Waltz, Ara Anderson's music for Way's Time Remaining, Phil Kline's work for Nelson's Lost at Sea, Jack Perla's music for Way's On a Train Heading South, and more. Opening night is March 2, 7 p.m., look here for detailed schedule through March 19, Yerba Buena Center Theater, San Francisco, $15-$40, (415) 978-2787, www.odcdance.org. (J.G.)

Brian Fischer and Yayoi Kambara in ODC's new season
Photo by
RJ Muna

_________________________

RECITAL

Conservatory Graduate Recitals
Free and easy (for the listeners), students of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music are holding forth in the school's Hellman Hall with a veritable plethora of recitals. Here are just a few of the many: violinist Frederica Steffens, March 3, noon; violinist Joyce Lee, March 3, 8 p.m.; voice recital by Trista Cunningham, March 4, 5 p.m.; voice recital by Justin Smith, March 4, 8 p.m.; cellist Adaiha MacAdams-Somer, March 5, 11 a.m. All free, (415) 564-8086 for information. (J.G.)

Rachmanov Plays Schubert
Dmitry Rachmanov, a pianist praised by Classical Voice for his "virtuosity, concept, and total professionalism," will perform Schubert's Moments musicaux, D. 780; Sonata in A major, D. 664; and Sonata in D major, D. 850 during his next visit to San Francisco. March 12, 3 p.m., Old First Church, San Francisco, $12-$15, (415) 474-1608, www.oldfirstconcerts.org. (J.G.)

_________________________

Many more events are listed in the SFCV Calendar.

(Janos Gereben is a regular contributor to SFCV; his e-mail address is janosg@gmail.com. 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. Michelle Dulak Thomson is a violinist and violist who has written about music for Strings, Stagebill, Early Music America, and The New York Times.)

©2006, all rights reserved