Classical Music Reviews

Every week, our professional critics attend concerts throughout the Bay Area to let you know what went well...and occasionally what didn't. Let their insights enrich your musical experiences, and feel free to share your own views!

Chamber Music REVIEW
Singing Strings From the Cypress
February 4, 2012
Singing Strings From the Cypress
BY Be'eri Moalem

Composite rhythms in a challenging program highlight a string quartet’s recital in an intimate art gallery.

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Chamber Music REVIEW
San Francisco Performances Into the Soul of Camille Claudel
February 4, 2012
San Francisco Performances
Into the Soul of Camille Claudel
BY Georgia Rowe

In a stunning performance, a new song cycle is born, capturing episodes from the life of a French sculptor.

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Choral REVIEW
Cal Performances Amassing For Glory
February 3, 2012
Cal Performances
Amassing For Glory
BY Anna Carol Dudley

Massive choral forces perform a 16th-century Italian Mass, to splendid effect.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
Marin Symphony Elgar and Symphonies Enlighten at Marin
January 31, 2012
Marin Symphony
Elgar and Symphonies Enlighten at Marin
BY Jeff Dunn

If you ever wondered how today’s symphonies contrast with those of a century ago, a trip to the Marin Symphony to hear Alasdair Neal conduct the orchestra would have been enlightening.

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Opera REVIEW
Long Beach Opera: <em>Maria de Buenos Aires</em> Please Cry For Me, Argentina
January 29, 2012
Long Beach Opera: Maria de Buenos Aires
Please Cry For Me, Argentina
BY Jim Farber

Long Beach Opera’s politicized version of Astor Piazzolla’s surreal “tango operita,” Maria de Buenos Aires treads a fine line.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
Cal Performances Royal Mix From the Across the Pond
January 28, 2012
Cal Performances
Royal Mix From the Across the Pond
BY David Bratman

The Royal Philharmonic and pianist Thibaudet prove that the Hungarian half of its program can stand respectably next to the traditionally weighty Brahms German half.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra English Delights From the PBO
January 28, 2012
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
English Delights From the PBO
BY Jonathan Rhodes Lee

An array of instrumental music, from delightful to incredible, make for an English feast, whipped up by a top guest-chef.

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Recital REVIEW
San Francisco Performances/ Omni Foundation The Passionate Guitar of Zoran Dukić
January 27, 2012
San Francisco Performances/ Omni Foundation
The Passionate Guitar of Zoran Dukić
BY Scott Cmiel

An esteemed European guitarist is cheered to the rafters in his second Bay Area recital.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
Berkeley Symphony The Berkeley Symphony Time Machine
January 26, 2012
Berkeley Symphony
The Berkeley Symphony Time Machine
BY John Lutterman

Dreamlike reveries contrast with straightforward neoromanticism in the Berkeley Symphony’s programming of French and Russian composers.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra REVIEW
California Symphony Food for Thought With the California Symphony
January 24, 2012
California Symphony
Food for Thought With the California Symphony
BY Jeff Dunn

Score one for the California Symphony and cello soloist Joshua Roman, who displays major talent.

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