Previews

Xuefei Yang

Scott Cmiel - November 10, 2009

When Chinese guitarist Xuefei Yang was 15, John Williams heard her play in Beijing and was so impressed that he gave her his own guitar. Yang has g

Preview

At the Symphony: A Real Circus

Jaime Robles - November 10, 2009

Among the cornucopia of holiday events this year, the “Cirque of the Season with the San Francisco Symphony” seems likely to enthrall all members of the family and fill everyone with wonder and amazement.

Preview

Nearing the Finish Line

Joseph Sargent - November 10, 2009

Performing the entire corpus of Joseph Haydn’s 68 (count ’em, 68) string quartets is a feat that some professional string players might equate with finding the Holy Grail, or winning Olympic gold.

Preview

Fresh Genius on the Make

Rebecca Liao - November 10, 2009

Have you heard? Barneys is opening up an additional store in the Mission District for more cutting-edge customers.

OK, I’m kidding. But the imprint of the Los Angeles Philharmonic on the exciting Berkeley Symphony Orchestra concert coming up Dec. 3 is a lot like finding a stash of Balenciaga in an independent boutique.

Preview

PBO's Reason for the Season

Chelsea Nicole Spangler - November 9, 2009

The holiday sales are on, airlines are offering special home-for-the-holidays rates, and pop versions of holiday tunes have already hit the radio airwaves and are playing in malls. Many bemoan the commercialization of the holiday season, and long for a return to a remembered (or perhaps only imagined) past.

Preview

Christmas Pieces, Brand New and Wonderfully Old

Joseph Sargent - November 9, 2009

Traditional December choral concerts, with their well-worn carols and holiday themes, can be great for lifting the spirits. But for concertgoers who want more than just another sing-along, San Francisco Choral Artists’ upcoming program, “Old Chestnuts, New Fire!,” offers a tantalizing alternative.

Brentano String Quartet

Lisa Hirsch - November 3, 2009

The award-winning, Princeton-based Brentano String Quartet has a proven ability to create unusual programs.This year, the quartet brings to Cal Performances a program of two lyrical masters of the quartet form, in which Franz Schubert's Quartettsatz, D. 703, and Quartet in G Major, D.

Preview

Picasso Quartet

Michael Zwiebach - November 3, 2009

It might just be worth an hour or two to check out the new Picasso String Quartet at Noe Valley Chamber Music this weekend.

Preview

NCCO Showcases Bolcom

Michael Zwiebach - November 3, 2009

The upcoming New Century Chamber Orchestra concerts will introduce the music of this year’s “featured composer,” William Bolcom. A major name in American music, Bolcom is one of the old guard whose compositions, from the rags like Graceful Ghost and Galloping Ghost to the Songs of Innocence and Experience, have become staples in the American music repertory.