Reviews

The S.F. Symphony did some marvelous multitasking over the weekend. Even as MTT and the orchestra were in Vienna, wowing audiences with Mahler’s music on the first leg of their three-week European tour, the S.F. Symphony Chorus stayed in town to perform a splendid concert.

What do Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (premiere 1689) and Manuel de Falla’s La Vida Breve (premiere 1913) have in common? West Bay Opera does not hesitate to mate such strange, albeit intimate operatic bedfellows.

The NCCO's premiere of featured composer Mark O'Connor's Elevations wasn't the concert highlight — the orchestra's rare ensemble unity made everything sound great.

In a program of difficult Bach cantatas, the singers of the Pacific Collegium — men and boys — came through impressively.

Jennifer Koh and Anssi Karttunen joined the brilliant Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg in piano trios, and duos, that knocked everybody’s socks off.

Denis Matsuev continues to move audiences with his bravura and his sensitive keyboard style.

An ingenious technical kinetic/musical work strives for profundity, but lacks the “wow” factor listeners might have expected.

Symphony Silicon Valley has fun with Stravinsky and a new work by Paquito d’Rivera, with Jon Nakamatsu and Jon Manasse as well-matched soloists.

This strong early-instrument ensemble not only excels in Mozart and Haydn, but also performs an entertaining quartet by the latter’s contemporary (and a near-unknown) John Wikmanson.

Composer and performance artist Meredith Monk’s uncanny ability to express universal truths through highly evocative, elemental sounds has kept her in the forefront of contemporary music for over four decades. Her latest recording for ECM New Series, confirms that her work remains as vital as ever.