Artist Spotlights

Erin Wall, who made her San Francisco Symphony debut in 2004, has become something of a Bay Area favorite since then. The Canadian soprano returns for two S.F. Symphony programs in May and June. Here, she talks about working with MTT — the singer's conductor — the freedom of new repertoire, and the challenges ahead.

After 29 years with the San Francisco Symphony, violist Geraldine Walther left to join the Takács Quartet. She returns on June 6 for a performance at the Herbst Theatre. Here, she talks about the Brahms she wants to play before kicking the bucket, the challenge of performance in a quartet, and why mowing the lawn can be more rewarding than learning French.

Kent Nagano, who stepped down as musical director of the Berkeley Symphony, returns, as conductor laureate, to lead the Berkeley Akademie on May 20. Here, he talks about his programming philosophy, working with Messaien and Frank Zappa, and entertaining at home — and home for Nagano always means California.

Violist Kazuhide Isomura, founding member of the Tokyo String Quartet, talks about his obsession with string quartet literature, becoming more spontaneous over the years, and rehearsing in different languages.

There's no one quite like Laurie Anderson. Here, the performance artist talks about her upcoming performance of Delusion, the mystery of how our minds work, her love of books and desire to write, and how "talking about music is like dancing about architecture."

Stephen Hough wears a lot of hats — here, the "pianist's pianist" and blogger talks about his upcoming performance and tribute to Alfred Cortot and Paris, how he starts the day, nearly becoming a priest, and everything from hats to pudding.

New Yorker writer Alex Ross talks about the Golden Age of music and composing to "embrace the millions," whether or not there should be rules surrounding concert hall decorum, writing for music, and his respect for jazz.