Reviews

Loren Ludwig - September 20, 2011

The Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble presented early Latin American church music at Mission Dolores, with moderate success.

Benjamin Frandzel - September 19, 2011

A warm, clear, vibrant recording by the Cypress String Quartet explores how American composition evolved.

David Bratman - September 19, 2011

Is it the performer or the audience who “makes” music? Fluxus wants listeners to think about it.

Lisa Hirsch - September 18, 2011

A recital of wind quintet pieces that ought to have enticed seems hampered by inconsistent execution and odd programming choices.

Trista Bernstein - September 17, 2011

Thomas Hampson got young S.F. Conservatory singers to dig deeper into themselves and reveal the character behind the aria.

Anna Carol Dudley - September 17, 2011

Mark Morris' Dido and Aeneas was a treat for both eye and ear in its return to Cal Performances Friday night in Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall. And the star of the performance was Morris.

Michelle Dulak Thomson - September 16, 2011

Dance music from Rameau’s operas never bores, and always glitters. Concert des Nations plays its heart out for conductor Jordi Savall in these excerpts.

Jeff Dunn - September 15, 2011

It has been 20 years since one of the best-regarded modern cello concertos has been played here. And it took the same wizard, Yo-Yo Ma, who played it then to show us now how to do it right; matched by MTT and the S.F. Symphony for quality in a spectacular evening of all-German repertoire.

Matthew Cmiel - September 13, 2011

Concerts around the Bay Area often achieve an incredibly high quality. We should go to more of them, to experience things outside our comfort zone.

Thomas Busse - September 13, 2011

Opera San José’s sumptuous new production of Idomeneo marks a step forward for the South Bay company.