Reviews

Michelle Dulak Thomson - November 25, 2008
It was a grand design for a concert: two string quartets, one relatively young and the other making its farewell tour, playing three new works (one quartet for each, an octet for the two together), with Mendelssohn's beloved Octet to close. But owing to the death of Johannes Quartet violist Choo-Jin Chang's brother early last week, the ensemble's double bill at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre with
Anatole Leikin - November 25, 2008
Moriz Rosenthal (1862-1946), a great Polish virtuoso and a scathingly acerbic wit, once remarked, on learning that his fellow pianist Artur Schnabel had been rejected by the army as a draftee, "Well, what did you expect? No fingers!" The Brazilian-born pianist Arnaldo Cohen definitely has fingers.
Jason Victor Serinus - November 25, 2008
Moments arise when the usual checklist of critical absolutes gets set aside and you just listen and sit back and enjoy. Such was the case at the first of two fall concerts by the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir (SFBACC).
Heuwell Tircuit - November 25, 2008
The program at Old First Church on Sunday afternoon was titled "Alla Zingarese," but the program of the Laurel Ensemble actually covered the two principal aspects underlying traditional Hungarian music: the native folk music and the better-known Romany traditions.
Kwami Coleman - November 25, 2008
Two groups with like-minded ideals visited Stanford University last week. Imani Winds and Miami String Quartet compelled their modest-sized audience in Dinkelspiel Auditorium to join them on a spirited and inspired, if unfamiliar, musical journey. From the first to the last sounding notes both ensembles played brilliantly, with vigor, dedication, and flair.
Janos Gereben - November 25, 2008
Mahler's 1910 Eighth Symphony, called by some (but surely not by high-minded musicologists) "Symphony of a Thousand," is among the most massive works in all of music.
James Keolker - November 18, 2008

Opera is a demanding art, requiring large forces dedicated to music, drama, and scenic design. And while it is often futile to expect all of these to be equally aligned, the theater gods seemed to be smiling Sunday afternoon for the current San Francisco Opera production of Puccini's La Bohème. In a word, it was perfection.

Michelle Dulak Thomson - November 18, 2008
Music Director Nicholas McGegan began Sunday night's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra concert at Berkeley's First Congregational Church with a theatricality that, for longtime PBO fans, now seems paradoxically "homey." He crept to the podium and put his finger to his lips, urging silence. He didn't quite get it, but went ahead anyway with the opening of Beethoven's Op.
Chelsea Nicole Spangler - November 18, 2008
I walked into Herbst Theatre on Sunday evening expecting the Scandinavian ensemble Trio Mediæval to instantly transport me from sunny San Francisco to twilit Norway, where winter has already begun.
Georgia Rowe - November 18, 2008
The San Francisco Symphony gave its audience an evening of pastoral pleasures Thursday at Davies Symphony Hall. The splendor wasn't limited to Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F Major, "Pastoral," though Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas revived the beloved score in a reading that was remarkably rich in sensuous allure.