Reviews

In a stunning performance, a new song cycle is born, capturing episodes from the life of a French sculptor.

The strong-fingered, highly rhythmic, and coolly emotional pianist Joyce Yang chooses a crafty program for her debut disc.

If you ever wondered how today’s symphonies contrast with those of a century ago, a trip to the Marin Symphony to hear Alasdair Neal conduct the orchestra would have been enlightening.

Long Beach Opera’s politicized version of Astor Piazzolla’s surreal “tango operita,” Maria de Buenos Aires treads a fine line.

A magnificent, fantastically controlled string quartet marches up the mountain with four Shostakovich quartets, plus a heartfelt bonus work.

An array of instrumental music, from delightful to incredible, make for an English feast, whipped up by a top guest-chef.

Dreamlike reveries contrast with straightforward neoromanticism in the Berkeley Symphony’s programming of French and Russian composers.

The Royal Philharmonic and pianist Thibaudet prove that the Hungarian half of its program can stand respectably next to the traditionally weighty Brahms German half.

An esteemed European guitarist is cheered to the rafters in his second Bay Area recital.

A fascinating, rarely heard Czech symphony by Josef Suk meditates on death, and is well worth a hearing.