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Reviews
OPERA
Another Tristan,
RECITAL
Extraordinary Promise
SYMPHONY
Stealing the Show
MUSIC NEWS
New Opera Boss on the Ground, in the Air
Two Isoldes
By Janos Gereben
City Concert
Opera Orchestra
Le vin herbé
(1/9/05)
By Renato Rodolfo-Sioson
Julia Fischer
Oliver Schnyder
(1/8/05)
By Alexander Kahn
San Francisco Symphony
Mark Wigglesworth
Lang Lang
(1/7/05)
By Janos Gereben
Mickey Butts, Executive Director/Publisher
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In the last two issues, San Francisco Classical Voice asked six critics to look back on the best of last year. In this issue, three writers look ahead to the most noteworthy performances in the months through April. Each writer's picks, which by definition are subjective and selective, are identified by the initials of whoever wrote the item, since some picks overlap. We've put the season in chronological order for the convenience of music-lovers planning their schedules. Be aware that there's much more than this happening throughout the Bay Area, so be sure to keep checking SFCV's comprehensive calendar throughout the year.
Emerson Quartet
A promising year for visiting string quartets gets off to an unexpected start on January 13 with the Emerson Quartet bearing Nielsen, Sibelius, and Grieg at Stanford Lively Arts in Palo Alto. It's uncommon repertoire for that quartet. If they believe in it, they will likely make you believe in it as well. (M.D.T.)
Frederica von Stade
Frederica von Stade and composer/pianist Jake Heggie — a duo responsible for some memorable concerts — will perform at a San Francisco Performances family matinee on January 14 in Herbst Theatre. (J.G.)
Jill Grove
Once upon a time (say, in 1995), Jill Grove was in the San Francisco Opera's Merola Program. She went on to sing major roles in some of the world's top houses. On January 15, she returns to the city for a Schwabacher Recital in Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. On the program: Haydn, Barber, Wagner's Wesendonck-Lieder, and de Falla's Seven Popular Spanish Songs. (J.G.)
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
It seems rather odd that the first Bay Area visits of John Eliot Gardiner's Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique should be part of the Mozart-binge of 2006, rather than involving later music. All the same, you could do worse than sit through the last three Mozart symphonies on January 15, or a double bill of the Requiem and the C-minor Mass on January 16 in this company. These are people who treat Mozart as a serious composer. Both concerts are at Davies Hall in San Francisco. (M.D.T.)
Tokyo Quartet
The Tokyo String Quartet comes to Herbst Theatre on January 22 for another outstanding San Francisco Performances concert. The program: Haydn and Bartók quartets, and Mozart's "Stadler Quintet" (in A-major, K. 581), with clarinetist Sabine Meyer. (J.G.)
Magnificat
Magnificat cannot be accused of being unserious about 17th century music. In fact, director Warren Stewart has consistently singled out the best of this century, such as this late January Schütz program, which features pieces from the Symphoniae Sacrae II and the Kleine geistlische Konzerte. Concerts are January 27-29 in Palo Alto, Berkeley, and San Francisco. (M.D.T.)
Berkeley Symphony
The Berkeley Symphony, conducted by associate conductor George Thomson, has a varied and unusual program coming on January 28 in Zellerbach Hall: the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Elliott Carter's Piano Concerto (with Jerry Kuderna as soloist), Edgar Varèse's Octandre, and the suite from Stravinsky's Firebird. (J.G.)
Composer Portrait
Cal Performances has hit upon a terrific idea with its Composer Portrait series, a collaboration with Columbia University's Miller Theatre in New York, where the idea originated and has been running to great success since 1999. Each concert turns the spotlight on a single composer's work. SFCV reviewed the first concert in the series in 2005, featuring composer György Ligeti; the next concerts showcase composers Magnus Lindberg (January 29) and John Adams (March 5) in Hertz Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. (M.B.)
San Francisco Symphony
The Year of the Dog begins on January 29, and the San Francisco Symphony celebrates with its "Chinese New Year Concert" on February 1 in Davies Hall. Among the featured artists: Wu Man, a pipa (Chinese lute) virtuoso, and 18-year-old piano prodigy Yuja Wang. Don't miss the festive preconcert reception in the Davies lobbies. (J.G.)
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
The violin emerged from obscurity in the Baroque period to become one of the most popular solo instruments. February 3-11, Elizabeth Blumenstock leads PBO in "The Violin Triumphant," an exploration of the "the nightingale of instruments," in Palo Alto, Berkeley, San Francisco, and Lafayette. (M.B.)
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 for the February 11-13 set at the Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa, including Berio's Requies and Shostakovich's First Symphony. (M.D.T.)
Chamber Music San Francisco
Chamber Music San Francisco will present two concerts of performances by winners of the Guzik Foundation Award, given to the most talented youngsters from among hundreds of contestants in 300 music conservatories throughout Russia. Local resident Nahum Guzik, a Russian emigré, industrialist, and philanthropist, sponsors the program, which offers $1,000 awards to each of the 100 finalists and a U.S. tour for the four top winners. Featured on February 18-19 in the Legion of Honor's Florence Gould Theater in San Francisco: pianist Nareh Arghamanyan, 16, from Vanadzor, Armenia; pianist Dinara Nadzhafova, 16, from Kharkov, Ukraine; pianist Ilya Petrov, 20, from Krivoy Rog, Ukraine; and violinist Evgeni Sviridov, 16, from St. Petersburg, Russia. (J.G.)
Volti
Volti is its usual laid-back self on February 19-20 in Berkeley and San Francisco (and February 25 in Sacramento), leavening a program of commissioned world premieres by composers Jacob Avshalomov, Eric Lindsay, and Eric Moe with Irving Fine's rarely heard choral song cycle, The Hour-Glass. (M.D.T.)
Oakland East Bay Symphony
Michael Morgan conducts the Oakland East Bay Symphony on February 24 in Oakland's Paramount Theater, at a concert featuring Dvorák's Stabat Mater. Soloists include soprano Hope Briggs, mezzo Lisa van der Ploeg, tenor Kalil Wilson, and bass Craig Phillips. (J.G.)
American Bach Soloists
Pairing old and new, ABS is breaking with its usual all-early-music programming in a concert titled "The Great English Choral Tradition," featuring 16th to 20th century works, a consort of viols, and Vaughan Williams' Mass in G Minor. Concerts are February 24-27 in Belvedere, Berkeley, San Francisco, and Davis. (M.B.)
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 — most of these pieces 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, twice). There are few chances to hear this music performed live, so don't miss this one. Concerts are in Palo Alto, Berkeley, San Francisco, and Lafayette. (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." Concerts are March 3-5 in Berkeley, Palo Alto, and San Francisco. (J.G.)
Belcea Quartet
The Belcea is rapidly proving itself one of the great young string quartets. On March 5, they bring Mozart to San Francisco's Herbst Theatre — the quartets K. 499 and 465, paired with Britten's valedictory Third. K. 499 (called the "Hoffmeister") is probably the least-played of the great Mozart quartets, and the Britten is that composer's last masterpiece. (M.D.T.)
San Francisco Symphony Chamber Players
The S.F. Symphony's chamber music series features top Symphony musicians performing the music of Mozart, Franck, and Arensky on March 5 at the Florence Gould Theatre at San Francisco's Palace of the Legion of Honor. (J.G.)
Hespérion XXI
Jordi Savall returns to Berkeley with his exhilarating Spanish ensemble, playing works on March 9 in Berkeley that mark the 400th anniversary of Cervantes' Don Quixote and feature 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. (M.B.)
Takács Quartet
Just a reminder that the Geraldine Walther-enhanced Takács is following up its Bay Area visit last fall with a second appearance on March 12 at Hertz Hall on the UC Berkeley campus, featuring Beethoven's Opp. 18/3, 59/2, and 127. Anyone suffering from Geraldine withdrawal or interested in great quartet playing is urged to attend. (M.D.T.)
London Philharmonic
Kurt Masur is leading the London Philharmonic on tour, arriving in Davies Hall on March 12, for a concert of the Mahler Symphony No. 1 and the Khachaturian Violin Concerto. The soloist in the concerto is Sergey Khachatryan. If the name looks similar to the composer's, it's because both are Armenian and closely related. The composer died in 1978, however, while the violinist has just turned 21. (J.G.)
San Francisco Symphony
Mstislav Rostropovich, a close friend of the late composer, conducts the works of Dmitri Shostakovich at two San Francisco Symphony subscription series concerts, March 22-25 and March 30-April 1 at Davies Hall. The second set features the Violin Concerto No. 2 (with SFS concertmaster Alexander Barantschik as soloist), and the Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar. (J.G.)
Left Coast Ensemble
This enterprising chamber ensemble with a decided bent for new music presents a typically brilliant old-and-new program on March 23 in Mill Valley and March 27 in San Francisco, juxtaposing the West Coast premiere of Thomas Adès' Piano Quintet with performances of Britten's first string quartet and one of Haydn's best-known quartets, Op. 76/2. (M.D.T.)
Vadim Repin
A Vadim Repin violin recital is something not lightly to be missed, and this one at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley on March 26 has the added attractions of pianist Nikolai Lugansky as partner and the late, great Schubert C-major Fantasy on the program. (M.D.T.)
Elvis Costello With the San Francisco Symphony
The restless, genre-jumping legend (and now classical music composer) mixes his popular songs with his first full-length orchestral work, Il Sogno ("The Dream") on March 27 at Davies Hall. The 2004 Deutsche Grammophon release was recorded with Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Orchestra, and the piece is in San Francisco on tour following its 2004 premiere in New York. (M.B.)
Sergey Khachatryan
I agree with my colleague Janos Gereben that this is a young violinist to watch, but suggest hearing him in recital March 29 at the Florence Gould Theatre in San Francisco's Palace of the Legion of Honor rather than with the London Philharmonic playing his near-namesake Khachaturian's rather overheated Violin Concerto earlier in the month. (M.D.T.)
Brentano Quartet
Can we stand any more Mozart at this point? Well, of course we can. The Brentano Quartet, with violist Hsin-Yun Huang as guest, play three of Mozart's string quintets on April 2 at Hertz Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. This is another "quartet to watch," and its leader, violinist Mark Steinberg, has lately been making a solo name for himself as a recital partner with pianist Mitsuko Uchida. Their first recording together? Mozart, of course. (M.D.T.)
San Francisco Symphony
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in Mahler's Rückert-Lieder? Go, everyone, to the San Francisco Symphony's April 13-15 concerts at Davies Hall, whether the surrounding music of Webern (Six Pieces) and Ives (New England Holidays Symphony) appeals to you or not. It does to me, but the Mahler ought to appeal to everyone, because Hunt Lieberson is the woman born to sing this music. (M.D.T.)
Midori
I ought to have known that Midori was not the ordinary flash-and-no-substance sort of prodigy when over one summer (at age 13) she learned and then performed the Berg Violin Concerto at Aspen in the space of three weeks. Now she's taken up new music in a big way, and her two appearances via San Francisco Performances are about the most interesting thing happening in the coming months. The first, on April 15 at the Jewish Community Center's Kanbar Hall in San Francisco, includes two lectures and a masterclass on contemporary violin music. The second, on April 27 at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre, is an uncommonly offbeat recital of music by Judith Weir, Isang Yun, Alexander Goehr, György Kurtág, and Witold Lutoslawski. That's unexpectedly interesting behavior from someone recording for Sony. Anyone interested in the future of music should consider attending both events. (M.D.T.)
Barbara Bonney
For years now, soprano Barbara Bonney comes as a "package" to San Francisco Performances, giving a recital (April 18, with pianist Malcolm Martineau, singing Mozart, Schubert, Quilter, Copland, and Barber) and then, on April 19, offering her unique, inimitable "master class for the masses," allowing anybody from the audience to come right up on stage and do some singing. Both appearances are at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre. (J.G.)
(Mickey Butts is executive director and publisher of San Francisco Classical Voice. His writing has appeared in Salon, The Nation, Food & Wine, The Industry Standard, Wired, The Financial Times, Business 2.0, Parenting, Sunset, San Francisco, Via, and The San Francisco Chronicle. 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.)
©2006 Mickey Butts, Janos Gereben, and Michelle Dulak Thomson, all rights reserved
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Both Mickey Butts and Michelle Dulak Thomson read all e-mails sent to editor@sfcv.org. Mickey oversees the overall quality of the site, assigns and edits features, and manages overall operations and all business-related issues; Michelle assigns and edits all reviews, assigns and edits features, selects photos, and edits the main page. (Richard copyedits articles and oversees production.) To reach either Mickey or Michelle individually, click on our names in the list above. (To reach SFCV founder and emeritus editor Robert Commanday, send e-mail only to bob@sfcv.org.) Items relevant to the Music News column should also be directed to Janos Gereben at janosg@gmail.com.
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