Signs of this being a busy month were already surfacing at the end of last month. Now it turns out that the mid-month weekend will be busy enough to warrant separate articles for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday afternoon will see the latest announcement of a Groupmuse event, and there will be overlapping performances in the Civic Center during the evening. Specifics are as follows:
3 p.m., Parnassus Heights: The earliest event will be Virtuoso Duo in Cole Valley. Pianist Ian Scarfe will be familiar to many for his virtuoso talents, and he will be joined by Czech violinist Petr Mašek. Full specifics have not yet been announced, but the program will feature one of the ten violin sonatas composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. There will also be a set of romantic pieces by Antonin Dvořák and a vigorous account of the Hungarian Czárdás. As of this writing, only six of the 25 spots are still available; so those interested in attending should not wait too much longer, after which details about the venue will be provided.
7:30 p.m., Old First Church: Soprano Molly Netter will be the soloist performing with the Voices of Music ensemble. She has prepared a program entitled The Secret Garden, which will begin with the medieval mysticism of Hildegard von Bingen. More familiar will be English folk tunes including “In a garden so green” and “Gather ye rosebuds.” There will also be selections of fiddle tunes from John Playford’s The English Dancing Master. Finally, the program will conclude in the immediate present with the world premiere performance of a composition by Voices of Music Co-Director Hanne van Proosdij. Voices of Music has created a Web page for online purchases between $10 and $63.
Claire Chase with one of her flutes and another in the background (from the SFP Web page for purchasing tickets)
7:30 p.m., Herbst Theatre: For those that prefer the new to the old, San Francisco Performances (SFP) will present a flute recital by Claire Chase. For the most part this will be a solo performance, given the title Density 2036. However, she will be joined by pianist Sarah Cahill to present Terry Riley’s “Pulsing Lifters.” Chase will also play The Holy Liftoff, a solo suite by Riley, as well as solo compositions by Annea Lockwood, Susie Ibarra, Marcos Balter, and Du Yun. SFP has created a Web page for online purchases between $50 and $70.
