A Symphonic Quiz

Janice Glenn, director of ticket services for the San Francisco Symphony, had a dilemma: how to get going with ticket sales for the next season without scooping the organization, which has yet to make its season announcement. Her solution, simple and entertaining, came in the form of a quiz mailed to subscribers. Excuse her advertising excess, and check back with San Francisco Classical Voice Wednesday afternoon, when we'll publish news of the next season's programs. But for now, give these sample questions a try:

* Now 26 years old, this Grammy Award-winning violinist was named "America's Best" young classical musician by Time Magazine in 2001. She debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 13.

* This oratorio by Mendelssohn was greatly influenced by Bach, but its dramatic style borders on the operatic. It premiered to rave reviews and immediately established itself as a choral work second only to Messiah in the public's affections.

* This renowned conductor's extensive discography of more than 90 recordings has earned numerous international honors. He is the music director of the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, and the program director of the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen.

* Originally written as a ballet score but now usually played as a concert piece, this work is based on the Spanish dance of the same name.

Savage, Opera Move Northward

Michael Savage, former managing director of the San Francisco Opera, left the city a few years back by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge into peaceful retirement. A funny thing happened, however: The "retired" Savage planted performance venues wherever he went. First he supervised restoration of the Napa Valley Opera House, then, after Yountville's historic Lincoln Theater was renovated and last year reopened, he became its executive director and is bringing high-quality opera to Yountville — a full-scale production of Mozart's Don Giovanni, with some top Adler Fellows.

On March 3 and 5, Mark Morash will conduct the Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra, Napa Valley Chorale, and a youthful cast, led by Eugene Brancoveanu in the title role, with Elza van den Heever as Donna Anna, Melody Moore as Donna Elvira, and Rhoslyn Jones as Zerlina. For information, see www.lincolntheater.org.

Seattle's Global Wagner Blitz

Seattle Opera General Director Speight Jenkins coupled last year's production of Wagner's Ring with the announcement of a competition to find great Wagner singers of the future. Auditions were held in Berlin, Vienna, London, Paris, New York, and Seattle, followed by the announcement of finalists last week.

International Wagner Competition finalists:

• Carolyn Betty, soprano, auditioned in New York
• Jason Collins, tenor, auditioned in Seattle
• Dorothy Grandia, soprano, auditioned in London
• Paul McNamara, tenor, auditioned in Berlin
• Miriam Murphy, soprano, auditioned in London
• James Rutherford, baritone, auditioned in London
• Andrew Lindsay Sritheran, tenor, auditioned in London
• Carsten Wittmoser, bass, auditioned in Berlin

The competition will be held August 19 in McCaw Hall, featuring eight singers between the ages of 25 and 40, competing for two $15,000 prizes: www.seattleopera.org.

Lowering the Price of Music

Lisa Hirsch's The (High) Price of Music article in last week's San Francisco Classical Voice made a number of suggestions on "economizing." Here are some additional thoughts:

• First, and most obviously, consider standing room tickets. Unfortunately, Davies Hall, Yerba Buena, and the Legion of Honor don't offer this historic approach to saving on musical kopeks, but the War Memorial Opera House does, so opera and ballet productions invite those sturdy of leg.
• Season tickets always average out at a lower price than the same seats bought individually, but of course 10 times $40 is still $400, versus the single-ticket price of $50 or even $60. A simple solution: Pool resources with friends, form a symphonic or operatic fraternity, and save.
• Cashing in on other folks' illness or inability to attend sounds mildly repulsive, but consider that if someone must sell his or her ticket, that person would probably prefer to recoup, say, half of it in a fire sale rather than ending up with a total loss (with the possible exception of donating for tax credit). To find these orphan and widow tickets, look outside the performance venue (not at the box office — that's a no-no), or check Craigslist or Internet lists such as Opera-L.
• You can also use Craigslist, Opera-L, and their ilk to ask for available tickets (at a discount) for a specific concert or performance.

MTT's "Training Orchestra" Goes to Carnegie Hall

Michael Tilson Thomas' New World Symphony, a unique organization serving as the initial professional orchestra workplace for young instrumentalists, opens its 19th season this fall in the Miami Performing Arts Center, a huge step up from its usual venue of a small renovated movie house. Next February, MTT will conduct the New World Symphony in an all-Shostakovich concert in Carnegie Hall, with Yo-Yo Ma as soloist. Other big-name collaborators on the orchestra's schedule: Renée Fleming, in Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs; Thomas Hampson, singing Mahler lieder; and violinist Christian Tetzlaff, in works of Ligeti and Stravinsky. Guest conductors include Manfred Honeck and Roger Norrington. Look for some of these names to show up on the yet-unannounced S.F. Symphony season. If we are lucky.