SFCV RSS Feed Integration

She drew global attention to her win in Moscow in the International Tchaikovsky Competition 15 years ago, but violinist Jennifer Koh has since developed a reputation as a standard bearer for the nonstandard repertoire. A closer look at her performance programming reveals her conviction that there’s a vital link between past and present. Here she talks with SFCV about her choices.

Chanticleer began its 33rd season this week with “Out of This World,” a program built around music referencing the stars, the planets, and the heavens. The men’s chorus drew principally on music of the Renaissance, Romantic, and modern eras, and delivered a performance that was varied in content, well-nuanced, and crowd-pleasing.

An oft-expressed frustration of the new-music scene is that world premieres generate eager support, but repeat performances of these works are far more elusive. Against these odds, Bay Area composer John Adams has managed to defy expectations with his Violin Concerto. The Berkeley Symphony will perform this modern classic with Music Director Joana Carneiro and Grammy-nominated violinist Jennifer Koh on Sept. 23.

In her 33-year career as a professional violinist, Anne Akiko Meyers, 40, has amassed a unique resumé that includes a debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 12 and recent tours with Il Divo and Chris Botti. Shortly before she launches her new CD with an Oct. 4 concert, she discusses her childhood debut on The Tonight Show, bowing problems associated with pregnancy, and her love of the old and embrace of the new.

Minority groups have the unenviable task of celebrating their uniqueness while demonstrating that they have a great deal in common with everyone. Small wonder, then, that classical music and the LGBTQ community found each other. The partnership displays its accomplishments as the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony opens its season with the ever-popular Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

San Francisco Opera’s current production adopts Goethe’s ironic distance, but works against so much of what Massenet does with the music. On the other hand, it boasts an extremely strong cast, headed by Ramón Vargas and expertly conducted by Emmanuel Villaume. Everyone should hear Villaume’s stunning ensemble of singers and players.

The multitude of musicians and aficionados swarming, free of charge, through the San Francisco Conservatory last Sunday afternoon displayed how far the annual Chamber Music Day has outgrown the chamber it began in.

When you combine a lot of great Bay Area instrumentalists with a lot of Bay Area institutions of higher learning, you wind up with way more concerts than you can conceivably get to. But if you like your J.S. Bach, here's one you might want to consider.

One of the recent Merola Program stars-in-waiting, Heidi Melton is a soprano with a big career ahead of her singing the big Wagner roles. You can wait to shell out $100 to see her at the Metropolitan Opera, a football field away from your seat, or you can hear her sing in this recital.

The Red Poppy Art House is a nice space for music and Charith Premawardhana and Classical Revolution have done a great job presenting young and inspiring acts there. This week, they bring in another strong group of musicians, the Vinca Quartet.