Reviews

Ken Iisaka - March 14, 2011

To pianists, Chopin’s formidable Études have always seemed akin to waterboarding. Canadian pianist Louis Lortie certainly earned his place among those who attempt them by recording the entire set in 1986, and since then has made the program an important component of his career.

Jeff Dunn - March 14, 2011

A recent BluePrint concert offered a disconcerting, echoing trope in a major new work offered at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, just one piece in a series of experimental works that impressed.

David Bratman - March 14, 2011

I’m a curious cat, intrigued by unusual things, so I went to a double-bass recital as part of the Music at the Mission chamber music series. The lesson of the evening’s repertoire was that composers who write solo pieces for the double bass are apt to be slightly eccentric.

Steven Winn - March 13, 2011

The Berkeley Symphony Orchestra closed its 2010-2011 season with a concert at Zellerbach Hall that both segregated and showcased the ensemble’s considerable musical assets.

Jason Victor Serinus - March 13, 2011

Something special is happening at the Livermore Valley Opera, which has taken the care to stage Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with a cast that does the opera and the company proud.

Jason Victor Serinus - March 13, 2011

To prolonged high-pitched cheers and applause, Munich-born tenor Jonas Kaufmann, 41, strode onto the stage of Zellerbach Hall for his Bay Area debut, offering a unique instrument and experience; one of the most versatile, compelling, and vexing recitals in memory.

Jeff Dunn - March 12, 2011

The latest release from the Bay Brass, an ensemble made up of some of the best musicians in the S.F. Symphony, Ballet, and Opera orchestras offers attractive compositions and more than belies prejudices often conjured up by brass ensembles, with excellent playing and first rate sonics.

Anna Carol Dudley - March 8, 2011

Words and music came together (or didn’t) Sunday in five works sung by Volti and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir — Robert Geary’s gift to creators and performers of new choral music.

Jeff Dunn - March 7, 2011

The S.F. Symphony and Anne Sofie von Otter dressed up their offerings with immensely enjoyable performances of works by Hindemith, Brahms, and a panoply of Scandinavian composers.

Janos Gereben - March 7, 2011

Few operas have been worked over as much as Bizet's Carmen. In the East Bay, where Berkeley West Edge Opera's Carmen Fixation opened Saturday night, the opera company offered a "different" version, with a standout performance by Buffy Baggott.