Reviews

Did Hollywood success spoil Erich Korngold? Not according to a new CD of his must-hear symphony, with its lush Romanticism.

Christopher Theofanidis’ First Symphony is engaging and emotional, and will give sound systems a good workout.

An eclectic musical evening showed lines blurring between classical, academic, popular, live, and electronic.

Northern Sinfonia is the first to cut a disc with Hans Gál’s First Symphony: at turns wry, yearning, jesting, or ceaselessly melodic. It’s paired with a “cute and perky” Schubert symphony.

A season ending performance of the challenging Missa Solemnis offers an evening of individual beauties interspersed and some disjointed moments.

A documentary cracks open a window on “sacred monster” Carlos Kleiber, that eccentric, passionate, and difficult conductor.

Francesca Zambello’s powerful and explicitly feminist Ring Cycle is a magnificent achievement for her and the entire S.F. Opera organization.

Andrew Davis’ CD, with goosed-up sonics, journeys to Holst’s overexplored Planets and also contains two less-known works inspired by Morocco and Japan.

Though they sing for love, members of the International Orange Chorale are masters of their craft, as shown by their luminous concert of Scandinavian music.

George Crumb and Peter Sellars' creation for Dawn Upshaw — The Winds of Destiny — offers a deeply affecting experience, one that inhabits your being long after the music stops.