Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra opens its season with guest cellist Steven Isserlis in a program of Haydn, Boccherini, and CPE Bach; that's 8, 9, 11, and 12 October, in their usual various locations; details here.
Magnificat performs the Opus Ultimum of Heinrich Schütz 3 - 5 October, in a different town each time; check here for details.
See also Handel's Partenope under Operatic.
Chamber Music
At Old First Concerts, the Jarring Sounds play both early and modern music, including Respighi, Revueltas, Britten, and others; that's 17 October; more information here.
Cal Performances presents the Takács Quartet playing Haydn and Debussy and then, joined by pianist Marc-André Hamelin, the Franck Piano Quintet. That's 12 October; more information here.
Choral Music
Cappella SF is a relatively recent addition to the local arts scene, headed by Ragnar Bohlin, whose skills as a choral director are in evidence every time the magnificent San Francisco Symphony Chorus sings. Their program is called Autumn Light, the idea of which is to move from "a mood of summer brightness to the more pensive state of mind that typifies the change to the fall season." The music includes works by Bach, Rheinberger, Lidholm, Pärt, and Schnittke. That's 4 October in Palo Alto and 5 October at St Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco. More information here. Palo Alto is out of the running for this non-driver, so I'm looking at the San Francisco concert, which possibly overlaps with Magnificat's 5 October performance at St Mark's Lutheran (see under Baroque & Early Music). But the Magnificat concert begins at 4:00, Cappella SF is at 6:00, and the church is right across the street from the Cathedral – maybe I could make both? I could always try for Magnificat in Berkeley on Saturday, but that's when the SF Conservatory of Music's BluePrint concert is happening . . . life is very complicated. . . .
Cinematic
The San Francisco Symphony celebrates Halloween with John Barrymore's 1920 version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, accompanied by Todd Wilson on the organ. More information on that here.
Dance
Cal Performances presents the Australian Ballet in Swan Lake, staged by Graeme Murphy "with reference to the royal love triangle of Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and Camilla" – either that is going to be an inducement for you, or the opposite. Personally I am grateful that we fought a revolution in this country so that we wouldn't have to pay any attention to those people, but I'm not sure how far the production actually goes in "referencing" the Beloved Trio of the Tabloids. Fortunately, judging from the publicity photos (which you may see here, along with further information on the show), the dancers are all much more attractive than the inbred royals, which is an enticement for those as shallow as I am.
Cal Performances presents Sasha Waltz and Guests, dancing to Schubert, with music performed live by pianist Cristina Marton and mezzo-soprano Ruth Sandhoff; that's 24 - 25 October; more info here.
The San Francisco Symphony celebrates Halloween with John Barrymore's 1920 version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, accompanied by Todd Wilson on the organ. More information on that here.
Dance
Cal Performances presents the Australian Ballet in Swan Lake, staged by Graeme Murphy "with reference to the royal love triangle of Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and Camilla" – either that is going to be an inducement for you, or the opposite. Personally I am grateful that we fought a revolution in this country so that we wouldn't have to pay any attention to those people, but I'm not sure how far the production actually goes in "referencing" the Beloved Trio of the Tabloids. Fortunately, judging from the publicity photos (which you may see here, along with further information on the show), the dancers are all much more attractive than the inbred royals, which is an enticement for those as shallow as I am.
Cal Performances presents Sasha Waltz and Guests, dancing to Schubert, with music performed live by pianist Cristina Marton and mezzo-soprano Ruth Sandhoff; that's 24 - 25 October; more info here.
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music's new music series, BluePrint, starts its season with Nicole Paiement leading the ensemble in works by faculty member Elinor Armer and composers who have studied with her (and also Herzgewächse by that presiding genius of the Modern, Arnold Schoenberg). That's 4 October; more information here.
At the SF Jazz Center, the Calder Quartet continues its exploration of Bartok quartets; they will play quartets 2 and 3, and then violinist Iva Bittová will join them for further musical explorations; that's 5 October; details here.
Operatic
San Francisco Opera continues its fall season with Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, and 22 October) and Handel's Partenope (15, 18, 21, 24, and 30 October and 2 November). Both have promising-looking casts; check them out and get further information here for the Verdi and here for the Handel.
Piano
San Francisco Performances presents Rafal Blechacz playing Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin (the latter composer is apparently his specialty). That's 14 October; more information here.
At the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, pianist Sarah Cahill plays Gubaidulina, Wolpe, Ravel, Bach, and Couperin; that's on 15 October; more info here.
Cal Performances presents Richard Goode playing Schubert's last three piano sonatas; that's on 26 October; more information here. (For more Schubert, see under Dance for Sasha Waltz and Guests, also at Cal Performances, with dances set to lieder and Impromptus, performed live by pianist Cristina Marton and mezzo-soprano Ruth Sandhoff).
See also the Cal Performances presentation of Marc-André Hamelin with the Takács Quartet, under Chamber Music.
Symphonic
The Berkeley Symphony opens its season with a program that includes the world premiere of Sea Shaped, commissioned by the Symphony from Oscar Bettison, the return of marvelous violinist Jennifer Koh as soloist in the Sibelius Violin Concerto, and Elgar's Enigma Variations. Joana Carneiro conducts. That's 2 October in Zellerbach Hall, and please note that the performance starts at 7:00 – I hope this is a permanent switch on their part to more sensible start times, but I fear it's only because this is the season opener. More information here.
The San Francisco Symphony, and the visiting London Philharmonic Orchestra, are both playing scads of Rachmaninoff. I like him, but he didn't even write that many pieces, and they've seemed so ever-present the last few seasons that he apparently has become for Davies Hall what Puccini is for the War Memorial Opera House – familiarity seems to be killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. Both composers deserve better. On 15 - 18 October you can hear violinist Isabelle Faust as soloist in the Britten Violin Concerto along with your Rachmaninoff. Mahler is also ever-present at the Symphony, but that seems different to me, at least for now: there's still excitement in hearing Tilson Thomas take another journey through these epics. The Mahler 7 is scheduled for 29 - 30 October and 1 November. You can check out the Symphony's whole month here.
The Berkeley Symphony opens its season with a program that includes the world premiere of Sea Shaped, commissioned by the Symphony from Oscar Bettison, the return of marvelous violinist Jennifer Koh as soloist in the Sibelius Violin Concerto, and Elgar's Enigma Variations. Joana Carneiro conducts. That's 2 October in Zellerbach Hall, and please note that the performance starts at 7:00 – I hope this is a permanent switch on their part to more sensible start times, but I fear it's only because this is the season opener. More information here.
The San Francisco Symphony, and the visiting London Philharmonic Orchestra, are both playing scads of Rachmaninoff. I like him, but he didn't even write that many pieces, and they've seemed so ever-present the last few seasons that he apparently has become for Davies Hall what Puccini is for the War Memorial Opera House – familiarity seems to be killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. Both composers deserve better. On 15 - 18 October you can hear violinist Isabelle Faust as soloist in the Britten Violin Concerto along with your Rachmaninoff. Mahler is also ever-present at the Symphony, but that seems different to me, at least for now: there's still excitement in hearing Tilson Thomas take another journey through these epics. The Mahler 7 is scheduled for 29 - 30 October and 1 November. You can check out the Symphony's whole month here.
Shotgun Players present Harry Thaw Hates Everybody, a musical by Laural Meade, directed by M. Graham Smith. It's another take on the ragtime-era story of Evelyn Nesbit. That's 15 October to 16 November at the Ashby Stage. More information here.
Visual Arts
The Berkeley Art Museum presents American Wonder: Folk Art from the Collection, open 1 October to 21 December; details here.
5 comments:
Dear Patrick: Good work, exhaustive and exhausting. The Sarah Cahill program on the 15th at the SF Conservatory, however, has changed and includes the 88-year-old local violin legend Stuart Canin. Here's from the updated webpage:
Schubert
Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 99
Beethoven
Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring"
Mozart
Violin Sonata in E Minor, K. 304
and solo piano works TBA
Performers
Sarah Cahill, piano
Stuart Canin, violin
Gianna Abondolo, cello
Thank you! I will update the entry as soon as I get a chance.
Don't bother with the updating. You still have Willhelm Meister's Apprenticeship to read.
I feel that we all have Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship to read.
True. But we're not all Patrick Vaz, who has read almost everything. I still have to make my way through Goethe's Faust, Parts I und II. I am waiting for the perfect moment, possibly around a Palm Springs swimming pool, where I can pontificate afterwards with my newfound wisdom.
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