Choices for March 27–29, 2020

As I write this it is too soon to tell whether the current cancellation of performances at the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center will extend beyond Friday, March 20. [added 3/16, 10:10 a.m.: Readers probably know by now that cancellations have extended into April. However, while it is likely that none of the events listed below will take place, not all of them have confirmed cancellation as of this writing.] Like many who try to make their plans in advance, I hope that word of any extension will come sooner, rather than at the last minute, although I appreciate the immediacy of the initial decision. Thus, in the interest of planning ahead, I feel it important to observe that, if things go according to plan, the final weekend of this month will, like the first full weekend, be a busy one. (Readers may recall that additional events were added for March 6–8 after my initial summary had appeared!) That being the case, here is the list (or, at least, its “first pass”) for the end of this month:

[updated 3/16, 10:15 a.m.: Cancellation of this event has been confirmed:

Friday, March 27, 6 p.m., Community Music Center (CMC): The month will conclude, as it began, with a Concert with Conversation event made possible through a partnership with San Francisco Performances (SFP). The featured performer will be Cuban pianist and composer Alfredo Rodríguez, brought to public attention by Quincy Jones. Readers may recall that Rodríguez was one of two pianists to launch SFP’s 40th anniversary season this past September.

Following a change of venue at the beginning of this month, the event will return to the CMC Concert Hall, which is located at 544 Capp Street, between Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue and between 20th Street and 21st Street. There will be no charge for admission. However, registration through an Eventbrite event page is strongly recommended. Note, however, that this will not guarantee seating, which will be first-come first-served. There will also be space for walk-up patrons without prior reservations.]

Friday, March 27, 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, March 28–29, 2 p.m., Bayview Opera House: This will be the latest dance event conceived with the live performance of music. The dancers will be the members of Raissa Simpson’s PUSH Dance Company, and they will present the world premiere of Simpson’s The Motley Experiment. The title refers to the Jazz Age painter Archibald Motley, and Simpson has created a multimedia exploration of his work that will amount to an evening-length performance. Multi-instrumentalist Idris Ackamoor has prepared a score for this performance, and the music will be performed live by Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids. Simpson has created a digital landscape, which will serve as the setting for her choreography for fourteen dancers.

The Bayview Opera House is located at 4705 3rd Street. This is located a short walk from a stop for the Muni T line between Newcomb Avenue and Oakdale Avenue. Ticket prices for all performances are $20 for general admission and $15 for the community level (students, seniors, dancers, teachers, purchased through a performer). There are also three higher prices that support the creation of this production: $30 (dance lover), $40 (theatre lover), and $50 (supporter). All tickets may be purchased through a single Eventbrite event page.

[updated 3/16, 10:15 a.m.: Cancellation of these events have been confirmed:

Friday, March 27, 7:30 p.m., Herbst Theatre: SFP will conclude its Great Artists and Ensembles Series with a duo recital by violist Tabea Zimmermann and pianist Javier Perianes, both of whom will be making their second SFP appearance. Their current tour as a duo has been scheduled to take place prior to the release of their album on harmonia mundi Cantilena, which is scheduled for April 17. The program will include selections by Manuel de Falla, Isaac Albéniz, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Astor Piazzolla, all of which are included on the album. The Piazzolla composition, “Le Grand Tango,” was composed for cellist Mstislav Rostropovich; but, since the viola tunes its strings to the same pitches as a cello (only an octave higher), the music is as suitable for viola as it is for cello. The other three selections will be arrangements. The program will begin with two sonatas, Franz Schubert’s D. 821 (“Arpeggione”) sonata in A minor and the second of Johannes Brahms’ Opus 120 sonatas in E-flat major, originally written for the clarinet and then transcribed by Brahms himself for the viola.

Herbst Theatre is located on the first two floors of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue, convenient to public transportation on both Van Ness Avenue and McAllister Street. Ticket prices will be $70 for premium seating on the Orchestra level and in the front of the Dress Circle, $55 for the Boxes, the remainder of the Orchestra, and the remainder of the center Dress Circle, and $45 for the Balcony and the remainder of the Dress Circle. Tickets may be purchased in advance online through a SFP event page.

Friday, March 27, 8 p.m., San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM):  The at the CROSSROADS concert to be presented by the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players will be entitled Prismatic Reflections. The occasion will celebrate the 80th birthday of Dutch composer Louis Andriessen by including two of his works on the program: “Zilver,” composed in 1994, and “Life,” composed in 2009. The program will also include the world premiere of Australian composer David Chisholm’s “deepfake,” as well as recent works by Moya Gotham (“Controller”) and Kamran Adib (“Cosmic Murmur: Whispers of Quantum Foam”). The program will begin with Angelica Negrón’s “Technicolor,” composed in 2008.

This performance will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by the next How Music is Made program facilitated by Eric Dudley. This will involve musical demonstrations from works on the program and a discussion with Chisholm. The venue will be the SFCM Concert Hall; and the building is located at 50 Oak Street, between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street. SFCM is a short walk from the Van Ness Muni station. General admission will be $35. Students, teachers, and arts employees will be admitted for $15. Tickets may be purchased online through an SFCMP event page. Note that there will be a second performance of Prismatic Reflections the following evening at The Flight Deck in Oakland. The program will different from the one presented in San Francisco. Those interested in going beyond the San Francisco city limits will be able to purchase a Weekend Pass through that same event page.]

Saturday, March 28, 7:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: The jazz club! series on Saturday nights will present a visit by the Dmitri Matheny Trio. Matheny will lead on flugelhorn, backed up by Ken French on piano and Ron Belcher on bass. There will be a $20 cover charge for this event. Bird & Beckett is located at 653 Chenery Street, a short walk from the Glen Park station for both Muni and BART.

[updated 3/16, 10:25 a.m.: Cancellation of these events have been confirmed:

Saturday, March 28, 7:30 p.m., Herbst Theatre: The second SFP concert of the weekend will present the Jerusalem Quartet, whose members are violinists Alexander Pavlovsky and Sergei Bresler, violist Ori Kam, and cellist Kyril Zlotnikov. Going a bit against the grain, this ensemble has decided not to include a quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven on their program. The second half of the program will be devoted to the first (in C minor) of the two Opus 51 string quartets by Brahms. The program will begin with Joseph Haydn’s Hoboken III/76 quartet in D minor, sometimes known as the “Fifths” quartet. This will be followed by Dmitri Shostakovich’s Opus 117 (ninth) quartet in E-flat major. Ticket prices will be $70 for premium seating on the Orchestra level and in the front of the Dress Circle, $55 for the Boxes, the remainder of the Orchestra, and the remainder of the center Dress Circle, and $45 for the Balcony and the remainder of the Dress Circle. Tickets may be purchased in advance online through a SFP event page.

Saturday, March 28, 8 p.m., 111 Minna Gallery: One Found Sound (OFS) will present the second concert in its Chamber Music Series. This will be a performance of the entire score for “L’Histoire du soldat” (the soldier’s tale) by Igor Stravinsky. Working with a libretto by C. F. Ramuz, Stravinsky composed a score for a septet of violin, bass, clarinet, bassoon, cornet, trombone, and percussion. (Remember that the title of the entire OFS season is Sounds of 7.) [added 3/16, 10:25 p.m.: This performance will be rescheduled, and tickets will be honored at the future performance. However, those that wish can use the ticket for a tax-deductible donation, credit for a future concert, or for a full refund. An electronic mail address has been set up for ticket-holders to inform OFS of their respective preferences.]

As might be guessed, the 111 Minna Gallery is located at 111 Minna Street, between 2nd Street and New Montgomery Street. (Minna Street is the first street south of Mission Street in SOMA.) All tickets are being sold for $25. They may be purchased online through an Eventbrite event page.

Sunday, March 29, 2 p.m., Taube Atrium Theater: The next event in the current season of the Lamplighters Music Theatre will take a different approach to one of the best known collaborations of music by Arthur Sullivan with words by W. S. Gilbert, The Pirates of Penzance. On this particular occasion, patrons are invited, if they wish, to come in costume, sing along with the Lamplighter principals, and to be a part of the extended chorus. There will be a limited number of librettos available, and others will have the benefit of supertitles. The operetta itself will be presented in full with a professional orchestra plus student players and beautiful costumes. (There will also be a costume contest for participating patrons.)

The Diane and Tad Taube Atrium Theater is located on the fourth floor of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. All tickets are being sold for $45 with a $20 rate for students and children. Unfortunately, tickets are no longer available through City Box Office; but it may still be possible to purchase them at the door.

Sunday, March 29, 4 p.m., St. Mark’s Lutheran Church: American Bach Soloists (ABS) will present Faire is the Heaven,  a program of vocal music with seven vocal soloists adding their resources to those of the American Bach Choir. Among those soloists, tenor James Reese will be making his debut. The selections will consist of a variety of vocal invocations of Paradise. The major works will be Bach’s BWV 106 cantata, Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (God's time is the very best time) and the Musikalische Exequien by Heinrich Schütz. There will also be a cantata by Buxtehude, “Ich suchte des Nachts in meinem Bette” (I searched in my bed at night). Other vocal selections will be by Nicolaus Bruhns and Matthias Weckmann, along with the first of the symphonies composed by Johann Rosenmüller.

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church is located at 1111 O’Farrell Street, just west of the corner of Franklin Street. Single tickets are $98, $74, $56, and $38. ABS has created a Web page for online purchase of tickets.]

[updated 3/17, 1:45 p.m.: This recital has been postponed, and a new date will be announced once it has been settled:

Sunday, March 29, 5 p.m., Noe Valley Ministry: The next recital in the Liederabend (evening of songs) Series presented by LIEDER ALIVE! will feature bass Kirk Eichelberger. He will sing Robert Schumann’s Opus 48 song cycle based on sixteen poems by Heinrich Heine, which he entitled Dichterliebe (a poet’s love). He will be accompanied at the piano by Simona Snitkovskaya, who will also accompany him is a selection of five songs by Sergei Rachmaninoff. In addition Eichelberger has transcribed Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s settings of poems by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy for voice and string quartet. He will perform these with the members of the Romanzen String Quartet: violinists Claudia Bloom and Hazel Keelan, violist Miriam Blatt, and cellist Russ Bartoli.

The Noe Valley Ministry is located at 1021 Sanchez Street, between 23rd Street and Elizabeth Street. Single tickets for all concerts in this series are $75 for reserved seating and $35 for general admission and a $20 rate for students, seniors, and working artists. These may be purchased in advance through Eventbrite. Tickets at the door will be $40.]