Artist Spotlights

The man-of-many-voices Bobby McFerrin reflects on his career start in the Bay Area, his musical legacy from his parents, and his recent innovative CDs.

For her San Francisco recital, a rising star, the mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, selects music that’s both personally meaningful and challenging.

A passionate advocate of contemporary music, as well as a master of the classics, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter talks about composers she venerates.

Coming from a culture that regards classical music as vital to family life, violinist Sarah Chang reflects on her international tours and her 300-year-old instrument that, she says, will outlive her.

Growing up in Spain gave David Russell a love for the guitar, which he has parlayed into a much-lauded career.

Widely recorded and always giving recitals, the Danish recorder virtuoso Michala Petri talks about her love of contemporary music and jazz, and how music lives in in her finger-memory.

The erhu player in the San Francisco Symphony’s Lunar New Year concert is taking his instrument international.

About to visit the Bay Area for a recital, Gil Shaham talks about new works he’ll perform and an unusual flowering of violin concertos in the 1930s.

With wide-ranging gifts and varied interests, soprano Christine Brandes keeps up with politics of antiquity as well as of today.

Now happily at home in San Francisco, Scottish-born conductor Alasdair Neale discusses his vision for the Marin Symphony and the need for a new model of concert-giving.