Michael Zwiebach

When pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin comes to town, it’s often to play something gnarly or seldom played. In his appearances with the S.F. Symphony this time he’s scheduled for Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

It’s definitely worth the trip to see Glass’ version of Beauty and the Beast ruffle the grace of Cocteau’s imagery.

Here’s your SFCV cheat sheet for the opera – the background, sources, story, controversy, and some interpretive ideas, expertly boiled down to a few minutes by Kaleen Asbo.

If you, or one of the, um, younger people you know, has a short attention span, you’re going to love this mixtape. 

There are dozens of ways to organize musical meter, but only some of them are common in Western classical styles. This week's Playlist samples some of the uncommon ways of organizing rhythm.

Eos Ensemble, made up of members of the San Francisco Opera and Ballet Orchestras, celebrates their 10th anniversary with a Beethoven perennial, the Septet and Stravinsky’s laconic, darkly humorous Soldier’s Tale.