Previews

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Preview

Pulling Back the Veil

Joseph Sargent - October 12, 2009
The enterprising young choral ensemble Chalice Consort sure dreams big.
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Preview

Our Italian Maestro's German-Opera Debut

Janos Gereben - October 8, 2009

Is it possible to think of Richard Strauss' 1905 Salome as a great, overwhelming wall of sound, with singers struggling to be heard?

Cadenza: New Beginnings

David Bratman - October 7, 2009
The former Santa Cruz Chamber Orchestra is kicking off its first season under a new name with two energetic and attractive modern works for strings and trumpet: Arthur Honegger’s Symphony No. 2 and Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1, the latter with pianist Brenda Tom.

Itzhak Perlman and the San Francisco Symphony

Michael Zwiebach - October 7, 2009
You may not have heard Edward Elgar's Introduction and Allegro for String Orchestra, Op. 47, which opens Itzhak Perlman's concert with the San Francisco Symphony next week. But its neo-Baroque form and polyphonic wizardry make an interesting counterpoint with the following work on the program, Bach's Violin Concerto No. 2.

Earplay

Michael Zwiebach - October 7, 2009

It's not hard to imagine a small organization like Earplay having a "now what?" moment in the wake of the economic devastation that dried up foundation grants, donations, and other sources of arts funding. But the determined new-music group came up with a winner of a fundraiser.

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Preview

Anonymous 4 Reveals Sacred Secrets

Lisa Petrie - October 5, 2009

If vocal chant is the most pure, devotional form of music (as was thought in the Middle Ages), then Anonymous 4 is its guardian angel.

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Those Sensitive Salzburgians

Rebecca Liao - October 5, 2009
On most weekdays, you can probably hear a collective groan on Interstate 80 from commuters traveling to and from the Sacramento area.

BluePrint Festival of New Music

Michael Zwiebach - September 29, 2009

The BluePrint Festival is the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's ongoing 20th century/ new music series, and it takes advantage of the Conservatory students' technical prowess and their fearlessness in approaching unusual music.

This season Music Director Nicole Paiement organizes several concerts for mixed forces, including artists from other disciplines.

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Preview

A Family Affair:Katona Twins With Nomura

Brian Gleeson - September 29, 2009
For families with young children, deciding whether to enjoy live music together is usually a matter of priorities. Weekends scheduled with wall-to-wall soccer matches, birthday parties, and assorted play dates can seem like a frenetic sprint to Monday morning.

Add to that mix the sometimes-daunting challenge of discovering an appropriate live classical music performance for children.

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Preview

Berkeley Symphony Vivifies the Immigrant Experience

Jeff Dunn - September 29, 2009
You’re stuffed into a car trunk with three people for so many hours that, when you’re let out into the dark night, your eyes don’t work at first. To your horror, you discover you’ve been dumped off in a cemetery in a foreign country. To the sound of ghostly church bells, bizarre yellow dots flash before your eyes.