Jonathan Rhodes Lee

Jonathan Rhodes Lee studied harpsichord in New York, San Francisco, and the Netherlands. He is the author of Film Music in the Sound Era and he currently serves as Assistant Professsor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Articles By This Author

Review

A Rare Treat From a Treble Duo

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - April 20, 2009

You don't very often encounter ensembles specializing in music of the French salon. Even more rarely do you get to hear a pardessus de viol duo. Put those two conditions together and you've got the Catacoustic Consort, whose debut on the San Francisco Early Music Society's concert series (heard Saturday at St.

Feature

Handel’s Little-Known Third Oratorio: The Juicy, Murderous Athalia

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - April 14, 2009

George Frideric Handel is, perhaps, the 18th-century composer most frequently associated with a sin

Review

Handel Flashes By

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - March 3, 2009

After I was admitted to the Conservatory in the Hague, I was allowed to see my adjudication sheet. The director had written one sentence: “He has fast fingers.” Bemused, I showed this to my teacher, who clasped me on the shoulder, and said in the most comforting way possible, “That was not a compliment, my boy.”

Review

Intimate Splendor

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - February 17, 2009

On Valentine’s Day weekend, in four cities, three members of the American Bach Soloists presented a chamber music performance of great variety, including music by such contrasting composers as François Couperin, Heinrich Biber, J.S. Bach, and Arcangelo Corelli. The program selections were a bit disjointed for my taste to say the least, but in the concert I heard Sunday at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco the performers managed to tie things together well enough, balancing fireworks with remarkable poise and an elegant intimacy.

Review

Softness and Grace

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - November 11, 2008

In 1692, one Peter Motteux expressed surprise about having heard trumpets and oboes play elegantly during dinner: "Mr. Showers hath taught [the oboes and trumpets] to sound with all the softness imaginable ...

Feature

Mission Blue's Small-Town Values

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - October 7, 2008

The Bay Area must be one of the few places where fledgling classical music presenters can find support in an already teeming marketplace. Now you can add another newcomer to the list of those you’ve heard of: Live at Mission Blue, a relatively young chamber music series, which opens its fifth season this Saturday evening.

Review

Moving Toward Bach

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - July 22, 2008

The Music at Menlo Chamber Music Festival launched its sixth season Saturday with a reprise of its first year's programming concept: "The Unfolding of Music." Although the title may be a bit opaque (how, exactly, does one "fold" music?), the idea is an ambitious one.

Playing With Fire

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - April 15, 2008

With its latest release on the Dorian label, Musica Pacifica returns to repertoire that has earned it a fiery reputation, the virtuoso Italian repertoire of the mid-18th century.

Review

Unified Musical Pleasures

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - April 1, 2008

The young ensemble Harmonie Universelle adopted the title of its San Francisco Early Music Society concert this weekend from a collection by Johann Pachelbel, "Musicalische Ergötzung," which translates into, roughly, "musical pleasures." Indeed, the program from the early German Baroque period offered a smorgasbord of delights, demonstrating how much variety can be discovered within a unified and