Jeff Dunn
Jeff Dunn is a freelance critic with a B.A. in music and a Ph.D. in geologic education. A composer of piano and vocal music, he is a member of the National Association of Composers, USA, a former president of Composers, Inc., and has served on the Board of New Music Bay Area. A photomontage enthusiast, he illustrates his own reviews.
Articles by this Author
Chamber Music REVIEW
May 11, 2013
Using a program trend of multimediazation Pamela Freund-Striplen and the Gold Coast Chamber Players commanded attention of patrons with seven revelatory treats for the ears and eyes.
More about Gold Coast Chamber Players »CD REVIEW
May 3, 2013
A new release by composer Gordon Getty offers terse, melodic, and simplistic piano music that at times evinces a subtle sophistication.
More »
Critics' Picks
May 4 - 9
If you can’t get enough of trombones (see Berlioz’ Te Deum), you can return in May to Davies Symphony Hall for a celebration of Beethoven's middle years, which includes his rarely performed Equali for four trombones.
More about San Francisco Symphony »Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
April 3, 2013
Pugilistic and heartrending compositions battle it out at NCCO’s recital. Between rounds, Anne Marie McDermott’s graceful pianism provides welcome Mozart-relief.
More about New Century Chamber Orchestra »
Critics' Picks
April 14 - 16
The Marin Symphony presents Brahms’s German Requiem, preceded by a beautiful and far more tender elegy to the transience of life by Anna Clyne.
More about Marin Symphony »Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
March 28, 2013
A Berkeley Symphony program of “Idealists” Steven Stucky and Anton Bruckner offers different perspectives on nature.
More about Berkeley Symphony »
Critics' Picks
March 28
Weeks after the San Francisco Symphony plays Anton Brucker's gorgeous Seventh Symphony, the Berkeley Symphony, under the guiding hand of Joana Carneiro, will play his Fourth Symphony.
More about Berkeley Symphony »Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
March 16, 2013
Santa Rosa Symphony offers awesomeness (Penderecki), painful nostalgia (Elgar), and The Encyclopedia of Affect (Tchaikovsky).
More about Santa Rosa Symphony »CD REVIEW
March 15, 2013
Garrick Ohlsson’s latest release features solo piano works from composers whom he feels connected to personally, but the music may be a disconnect.
More »CD REVIEW
March 15, 2013
Soldier Songs from composer David T. Little, hailed for his “punk-classical” dramatic works, brings you face to face with the psychological impacts of modern warfare, and offers a good dose of his postminimalist, rock-infused style.
More »Festival REVIEW
March 9, 2013
The commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising proves an illuminating context for works reflecting a human response to war and the Holocaust.
More about Jewish Music Festival »Festival REVIEW
February 28, 2013
The first concert of the Other Minds Festival #18 juxtaposes music from Greenland, India, and the Faroe Islands.
More about Other Minds »Chamber Music REVIEW
February 22, 2013
Thriving in an area blessed with myriad composers, the Kronos Quartet chooses some novel ones, plus a long-term arranger.
More about Kronos Quartet »Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
February 14, 2013
Pablo Heras-Casado took on the San Francisco Symphony guest-conductorship responsibility with high energy and an attractive program.
More about San Francisco Symphony »Recital REVIEW
February 9, 2013
Play it again, Hilary Hahn: and she does, in a recital populated by encores from a myriad of composers.
More about San Francisco Performances »Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
February 7, 2013
“The Illuminators” program conducted by Joana Carneiro highlights musical associations and narratives with varying success.
More about Berkeley Symphony »Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
January 30, 2013
Charles Dutoit guest conducts, with mixed success, two works of French composers evoking Spain, plus an Elgar work mystifying Britain.
More about San Francisco Symphony »Chamber Music REVIEW
January 26, 2013
Eco Ensemble admirably delivers some unsettling, foreboding music, with a noted film-score composer present.
More about Cal Performances »
Critics' Picks
February 6 - 10
The San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, conducted by Charles Dutoit, perform Hector Berlioz’s Te Deum in colossal mode, along with the Pacific Boychoir.
More about San Francisco Symphony »
Critics' Picks
January 10 - 13
For those living the lush life, the San Francisco Symphony is presenting an all-French program featuring soprano Renée Fleming in orchestral songs by Debussy and Canteloube.
More about San Francisco Symphony »
