Previews

Now you can hear Clarice Assad’s chamber orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition again, played by the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, along with the premiere of the composer’s Pandemonium for String Quartet and String Orchestra.

Tanya Tomkins, who’s as fine a cellist in the early-music repertory as you will find, completes her two-part traversal of the Bach Cello Suites at Live at Mission Blue on Sunday.

Over at the S.F. Conservatory, they’ve got the home-grown, student-run Hot Air Festival Marathon. 

Polish guitarist Marcin Dylla gave a brilliant and deeply poetic recital in April 2011 and his return to San Francisco is highly anticipated. 

Lara Downes plays with the Brooklyn-based band Build at the Mondavi Center March 23. Watch a brand new video for Tango of her new CD Exiles' Cafe.

San Francisco Chamber Orchestra Artistic Director Ben Simon always concocts a hook that appeals to me and puts me in the mood to hear a concert.

The Assad Brothers are the preeminent classical guitar duo of the last 40 years, having set the standard for technical excellence, sensitive musicianship, and innovative repertoire choices and opportunities to see them together have been dwindling over the past few years.

The always-recommendable Ives Quartet is playing one of their recent commissions on this concert. 

The recent San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow with the bright tenor voice wowed Mozart lovers last summer with his performance of Tamino in The Magic Flute.

In a good production, Osvaldo Golijov and David Henry Hwang’s 80-minute opera Ainadamar packs one heck of a punch.