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Michael Zwiebach

Michael Zwiebach is the senior editor/ content manager for SFCV. He assigns all articles and content, manages the writing staff and does editing. A member of SFCV from the beginning, Michael holds a Ph.D. in music history from the University of California, Berkeley.

Articles by this Author

Feature Article
Living Earth Show Will Make Your Isolation More Bearable This Year
June 30, 2020
Living Earth Show Will Make Your Isolation More Bearable This Year
BY Michael Zwiebach

The experimental duo has just premiered Music for Hard Times, with more online music with film on the horizon.

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Valley of the Moon Music Festival Set to Stream
June 23, 2020
Valley of the Moon Music Festival Set to Stream
BY Michael Zwiebach
Denied its venue by the shutdown, the enterprising festival will present concerts live online.
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Artist Spotlight
Adolphus Hailstork: Bridging Two Worlds
June 23, 2020
Adolphus Hailstork: Bridging Two Worlds
BY Michael Zwiebach

The prolific composer, one of the living giants of American composition, discusses his own idiosyncratic life journey and becoming comfortable with his nonconformist musical style.

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Feature Article
Recommended Streaming for Juneteenth
June 16, 2020
Recommended Streaming for Juneteenth
BY Michael Zwiebach

UPDATED June 17: Music for a holiday that is also a memorial.

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Cal Performances Offers a Chance to Learn a Piece From <em>Revelations</em>
June 9, 2020
Cal Performances Offers a Chance to Learn a Piece From Revelations
BY Michael Zwiebach
Alvin Ailey dancer Hope Boykin will lead a Zoom class later this month.
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Feature Article
Recommended Streaming From the Interwebs
June 2, 2020
Recommended Streaming From the Interwebs
BY Michael Zwiebach

Timely music for an unquiet time.

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Classical Organizations Observe #TheShowMustBePaused
June 2, 2020
Classical Organizations Observe #TheShowMustBePaused
BY Michael Zwiebach
Classical institutions show support for antiracism while continuing the painful examination of our own privilege and silent complicity.
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Feature Article
Why Verdi Struggled With Grand Opera and How He Won
May 26, 2020
Why Verdi Struggled With Grand Opera and How He Won
BY Michael Zwiebach

The composer’s campaign to have a hit at the Paris Opera tells us a lot about writing for big opera houses today.

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An Astonishing and Brave 2021 Season From Long Beach Opera
May 19, 2020
An Astonishing and Brave 2021 Season From Long Beach Opera
BY Michael Zwiebach
The company plans a “Season of Solidarity” that features four ambitious productions.
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Feature Article
Recommended: Music We Think You Should Listen To
May 12, 2020
Recommended: Music We Think You Should Listen To
BY Michael Zwiebach

Fantastic performances from a week spent strolling the internet.

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Renée Fleming’s Latest Gig: Hosting a Music and Science Webinar
May 12, 2020
Renée Fleming’s Latest Gig: Hosting a Music and Science Webinar
BY Michael Zwiebach
Music and Mind Live builds on the star soprano’s longtime interests in practical implications of music-and-the-brain research.
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Santa Cruz Symphony Bends Its 2020–2021 Season in Order Not to Break It
May 5, 2020
Santa Cruz Symphony Bends Its 2020–2021 Season in Order Not to Break It
BY Michael Zwiebach
There will be concerts by Santa Cruz Symphony again, but the orchestra is hedging its bets as to when.
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California Symphony Plans Exciting Surprises for 2020–2021
April 24, 2020
California Symphony Plans Exciting Surprises for 2020–2021
BY Michael Zwiebach
In a finely balanced season, the orchestra will feature a few crowd-pleasers from unexpected sources.
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New Music Resounds Amid the Crisis
April 21, 2020
New Music Resounds Amid the Crisis
BY Michael Zwiebach
National Sawdust, Bang on a Can, and the Center for New Music are just three of the organizations stepping up their game despite financial duress.
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Avery Fisher Career Grants Showcase the Promise of Youth
April 14, 2020
Avery Fisher Career Grants Showcase the Promise of Youth
BY Michael Zwiebach
All three of the awardees have slipped through the Bay Area, and with luck will be back.
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Early Music/Baroque Review
April 7, 2020
American Bach Soloists Grant Us Much Needed Tranquility
BY Michael Zwiebach

Bach wrote a bunch of good tunes. Wouldn’t you like to hear some about now?

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CD Review
March 24, 2020
SF Symphony Illuminates Charles Ives
BY Michael Zwiebach

The orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas lends a helping hand to anyone who’s ever been perplexed by Ives’s symphonies.

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2020 Cabrillo Festival Aims Directly at Contemporary Issues as Well as Music
March 17, 2020
2020 Cabrillo Festival Aims Directly at Contemporary Issues as Well as Music
BY Michael Zwiebach
If you find transcendence at the 2020 edition of this long-running new music festival, it will be earned.
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Feature Article
Facing Crisis, Opera San José Sets Up Relief Fund for Its Musicians
March 17, 2020
Facing Crisis, Opera San José Sets Up Relief Fund for Its Musicians
BY Michael Zwiebach

General Director Khori Dastoor knows firsthand the challenges of being an artist, and it has shaped her responses to the coronavirus shutdown.

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LA Opera Reports Findings on Domingo Harassment Scandal
March 10, 2020
LA Opera Reports Findings on Domingo Harassment Scandal
BY Michael Zwiebach
The opera company summarizes the results of the law firm hired to look into the sexual harassment allegations against Plácido Domingo.
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