The Bleeding Edge: 1/22/2018

Things are definitely back up to speed. As a matter of fact, this week has definitely gone into overdrive. There will be five additions to those events already taken into account, which are as follows:

• San Francisco Performances’ PIVOT Festival: music recitals on January 24 (music of Lou Harrison) and January 26 (pianist Timo Andres)
• January 26–28: busy weekend offerings from Paul Dresher and The Lab
• Center for New Music (C4NM): concerts on January 17 and 28
• January 27: last concert of the month at the Red Poppy Art House

As might be guessed, the additional gigs for the week will overlap many of those already reported. Specifics are as follows:

Wednesday, January 24, 6:30 p.m., C4NM: In a last-minute addition to the Events Calendar, cellist Robert Howard will give a recital accompanied by pianist Elizabeth Schumann. The program will consist entirely of twentieth-century compositions. Howard will give solo performances of György Ligeti’s solo sonata (1941) and Krzysztof Penderecki’s solo composition of Mstislav Rostropovich, entitled, appropriately enough, “Per Slava.” Schumann will accompany Howard in the cello-piano duo movement from Olivier Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps (quartet for the end of time). This quartet is essentially a suite in which each movement has a programmatic title. The movement for cello and piano is entitled “Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus” (praise to the eternity of Jesus). The other duo selection will be Benjamin Britten’s Opus 65 sonata, which was also written for Rostropovich.

C4NM is located at 55 Taylor Street, half a block north of the Golden Gate Theater, which is where Golden Gate Avenue meets Market Street. General admission tickets will be sold for $20 with a $15 charge for C4NM members. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance online through a Vendini event page.

Wednesday, January 24, 8 p.m., The Bindery: This will be the monthly Experimental Music Night gig. As usual there will be four sets of groups whose names are often as interesting as the music they make. The first two groups on the program will be Shadow Revolutions and Radio Healer. They will be followed by a solo set by Surabhi Saraf. Finally, the digital synthesis work of Jonathan Crawford will be given real-time visual accompaniment by NOS Visuals, the performing name of Osman Koç.

The Bindery is located in Haight-Ashbury at 1727 Haight Street. Doors will open at 7:45 p.m. Admission will be $5 and will be restricted to those age 21 or older.

Thursday, January 25, 8 p.m., Luggage Store Gallery (LSG): This week’s LSG Creative Music Series concert will follow the usual two-set format. The first set will be taken by the Sarkamere trio of Josh Marshall on saxophone with rhythm provided by Matt Chandler on bass and Daniel Pearce on drums. They will be followed by a solo improvisation set taken by guitarist Lenny Gonzalez. LSG is located at 1007 Market Street, across from the corner of Golden Gate Avenue and Taylor Street; and admission is on a sliding scale between $8 and $15.

Friday, January 26, 8 p.m., Old First Presbyterian Church: Old First Concerts (O1C) will present a solo piano recital by Jason Chiu, which will feature a performance of Lowell Liebermann’s Opus 29 “Gargoyles.” He will also play the Opus 6 Fantasy Pieces by the earlier American composer Charles Tomlinson Griffes. The program will begin with Ludwig van Beethoven’s WoO 80 set of 32 variations in C minor, followed by Robert Schumann’s Opus 17 fantasia in C major.

The Old First Presbyterian Church is located at 1751 Sacramento Street on the southeast corner of Van Ness Avenue. If purchased in advance online from an O1C event page, general admission will be $23 with a discounted rate of $18 for seniors aged 65 or older. Tickets for full-time students showing valid identification will be $5; and children aged twelve and under will be admitted for free. There is also a discount available for those parking at the Old First Parking Garage at 1725 Sacramento Street, just up the street from the church.

Saturday, January 27, 7:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: The next jazz performance at this shop will be given by a quintet that calls itself The Lost Shapes. The front line is shared by Kasey Knudsen on alto saxophone and Darren Johnston on trumpet. Rhythm is provided by Mark Clifford on vibraphone, Safa Shokrai on bass, and Jason Levis on drums.

Bird & Beckett is located at 653 Chenery Street, a short walk from the Glen Park station for both Muni and BART. The collections of books and records are pretty impressive, so be prepared for the urge to buy something there! Available information indicates that, while there is no explicit charge for admission, donations will be greatly appreciated with a recommended about between $10 and $15.