Living Earth to Host Album Release Concert

Travis Andrews, Lynn Breedlove, and Andy Meyerson taking a break while preparing for their next Roar Shack gig (from the Eventbrite Web page for next week’s performance)

Trust Me is a trio, two of whose members are the duo of guitarist Travis Andrews and drummer Andy Meyerson, known to regular readers as The Living Earth Show (TLES). They have joined forces with vocalist Lynn (also known as Lynnee) Breedlove to create their debut trio album, Why I Like Dead Guys. Breedlove had previously appeared with TLES on COMMANDO (along with four other vocalists). That album was released about four years ago.

The album will be released through all streaming platforms this coming Friday, March 27. However, Trust Me will play an album release show this coming Wednesday, March 25. The performance will take place at The Roar Shack, which is located in SoMa at 34 Seventh Street (just south of Market Street). The entire performance will be for 90 minutes. Admission will be on a Pay What You Can basis with a Web page for purchases.

After the conclusion of the performance, Trust Me will fly to Knoxville, Tennessee, to give the same performance at the Big Ears Festival.

Agustin Hadelich Makes his SFP Debut

Agustin Hadelich and his accompanist, Francesco Piemontesi (from the SFP Web page for last night’s performance)

Last night violinist Agustin Hadelich made his debut with San Francisco Performances (SFP) as a soloist in the Shenson Great Artists & Ensemble Series. Many readers may recall having seen him in Davies Symphony Hall, where he made his last visit in November of 2023, when he was the soloist in the San Francisco Symphony performance of Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 53 violin concerto in A minor. For his visit to Herbst Theatre, he was joined at the piano by Francesco Piemontesi for a program structured around three sonatas for violin and piano. In “order of appearance,” the composers were Claude Debussy Francis Poulenc, and César Franck.

Each of these sonatas was preceded by a sharply contrasting composition. Debussy’s sonata followed “Récit du chant de l’hymne précédent” (recitative on the melody of the preceding hymn), composed in the late seventeenth century by Nicolas de Grigny, organist at the Notre-Dame de Reims cathedral. Poulenc was preceded by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a selection from his Pièces de Clavecin en Concert collection. Finally, the concluding Franck sonata followed the most recent work on the program, a set of three short pieces by György Kurtág composed in 1979.

It would be fair to say that the overall breadth of the program was balanced by the depth of each of the sonatas. The fact is that the only thing the sonatas had in common was an association with the history of French music. That said, Hadelich knew how to evoke just the right rhetorical interpretations for each of those sonatas; and, where Poulenc was concerned, Piemontesi seemed to be enjoying himself as much as Hadelich. Taken as a whole, this was a “no frills” program; but both soloist and accompanist knew exactly how to mine engaging rhetoric from each of the selections. Just as engaging was the encore entitled simply “C.” This was an arrangement for violin and piano of the first piece in Poulenc’s vocal work, Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon.

Hadelich always gives the impression that he enjoys visiting San Francisco, and I am glad to acknowledge that I have enjoyed every one of my encounters with him.

Jordi Savall Turns to Charpentier Choral Music

Cover of the album being discussed

One week from today, Alla Vox will reissue an album of music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier originally released in December of 2025. This is a choral offering with Jordi Savall leading the Choir of La Capella Reial de Catalunya. Instrumental accompaniment is provided by Le Concert des Nations. The primary selection on the album is the composer’s multi-movement setting of the H. 146 Te Deum hymn. This is coupled withe the H. 416 setting of the canticle “In nativitatem Domini.”

H. 146 is given a rich instrumental account, complete with trumpets and drums. There are five vocal soloists: soprano Flore van Meerssche, mezzo Kristin Mulders, countertenor Andrés Montilla-Acurero, tenor Cyril Auvity, and baritone Mauro Borgioni. There is also alternation between the full chorus and a “Petit chœur.” The text is basically a celebratory one, which establishes the overall disposition of the hymn setting itself. On the other hand, as the title suggests, H. 416 is a reflection on the Nativity in which the context is established through three instrumental movements.

Some readers may recall that, this past December, the California Bach Society presented another Charpentier setting of “In nativitatem Domini,” his H. 314. Given that this happened three months ago, I am in no position to “compare and contrast” the two settings! Suffice it to say that there is a generous share of instrumental music to establish the festive mood of the celebration of the Nativity. It also goes without saying that H. 146 is just as festive with its vigorous performance established by the interplay of brass and percussion at the very beginning.

Taken as a whole, the album serves up an entirely satisfying listening experience; and those that cannot wait to listen can pre-order the album through its Amazon.com Web page.

David Garner Faculty Artist Recital on Monday

Composer David Garner (from the Web page for the event taking place next week)

The next Faculty Artist Recital performance to be presented by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music will take place this coming Monday. The faculty member will be David Garner, Professor of Composition, Chamber Music, and Theory. The program will conclude with a world premiere performance of his second “Trio for 5 Instruments.” Harpist Jennifer Ellis will be the only member of the trio to play a single instrument. Tori Hauk will alternate between flute and alto flute; and, in a similar vein, oboist Laura Reynolds will also play English horn. The program will begin with mezzo Christine Abraham singing two song cycles, accompanied by pianist Dale Tsang. The first of these is Three Blake Songs, which Garner composed in 1985, followed by his 2002 Cinco Poemas de Jaime Manrique.

The performance will take place in the Sol Joseph Recital Hall, beginning at 7:30 p.m. this coming Monday, March 23. The venue is located in the 50 Oak Street Conservatory building, a short walk from the Van Ness Muni station. There will be no charge for admission, but there is a Web page for reserving seats. That Web page also includes a hyperlink for livestream viewing (and listening).

Undiplomatic

Sanae Takaichi maintaining her capacity for diplomacy during today’s visit to the White House

According to the Dictionary.com Web page, “undiplomatic” is a British adjective, not an American one. Nevertheless, in today’s news, it is better associated with the President of the United States than with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Al Jazeera has posted a brief video clip recording Sanae Takaichi, the current Prime Minister of Japan, meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. These days, I approach just about any news story about our President with a “Here we go again” prefix. However, as some of us say at Passover, this was a day different from just about all other days. The text below the video clip says it all: “Trump compares Iran strikes to Pearl Harbor as he meets Japan’s PM.” The one thing we learn from this video is that Takaichi clearly understands diplomacy far better than our President ever will!

Vernaculars Returning to Bird & Beckett

Vernaculars musicians Chris Trinidad, Francis Wong, and Karl Evangelista (from the Bird & Beckett event page for the performance being discussed)

Some readers may recall that this month began with a performance at Bird & Beckett Books and Records by the Vernaculars quartet, whose members are percussionist Jimmy Biala, Karl Evangelista on guitar, bassist Chris Trinidad, and Francis Wong on saxophone. Those musicians will return to that venue this coming Saturday joined by David James, also on guitar, to make a quintet. The performance will be a tribute to free jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock with an encore performance of his final album, Ask the Ages.

For those that do not already know, the venue is located at 653 Chenery Street, a short walk from the Glen Park station that serves both BART and Muni. Admission will be a cover charge of $25, and students will be admitted for $10. Given the limited space of the venue, reservations are necessary and can be made by calling 415-586-3733. The phone will be answered during regular store hours, which are between noon and 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Sunday.

Two More Performances on March 29

Some readers may recall that this month began with the announcement of an Outsound SIMM Series concert taking place on the last Sunday of the month, March 29. That evening performance will be preceded by two mid-afternoon performances. These will both involve American composers, but there will be a broad diversity of genres. Specifics for the afternoon are as follows:

3 p.m., Herbst Theatre: The full title of the program to be presented by the San Francisco Civic Symphony of the San Francisco Civic Music Association will be The American Sound - in celebration of America’s Semi-quincentennial. Pianist Daniel Glover will be the soloist in the performance of George Gershwin’s only piano concerto. Charles Ives’ “Variations on America,” composed for organ, will be presented in the orchestral arrangement by William Schuman. The program will begin with the overture to Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha. The remainder of the program will consist of “The Oak” by Florence Price, Aaron Copland’s arrangement of the folk song “John Henry,” and the first symphony composed by Louis Moreau Gottschalk. The ensemble will be led by Music Director Paul Schrage. There will be no charge for admission; and, as might be expected, donations will be accepted.

4 p.m., Jazz Chez Hanny: Chez Hanny will close out the month with a performance by the Grant Levin Quartet, led by Levin on piano. He will be joined by reed player Noel Jewkes, who will probably alternate among different saxophones and clarinets. Rhythm will be provided by Dwight Augustin on bass and drummer Alcide Marshall.

Pianist Grant Levin

Those familiar with Jazz Chez Hanny probably “know the drill” by now. The venue is Frank Hanny’s house at 1300 Silver Avenue, and the musicians play in the downstairs rumpus room. The price of admission is $25. There will be two sets separated by a potluck break. As a result, all who plan to attend are encouraged to bring food and/or drink to share. Seating is first come, first served; and the doors will open at 3:30 p.m. Reservations are preferred by sending electronic mail to jazz@chezhanny.com. Masks are optional, but attendees should be vaccinated. Vaccination will be based on the honor system. Finally, volunteer efforts for cleaning up after the show are always appreciated.

Belated “Sundays at Ten” Released Yesterday

Hanneke van Proosdij performing Handel’s HWV 375 flute sonata with William Skeen on baroque cello and David Tayler on baroque guitar

Those wondering what happened to this past Sunday’s Sundays at Ten video compiled by Voices of Music (VoM) will be happy to learn that Episode 10 of Season 6, given the title Sperantes is now “in the system.” To appropriate an old Sesame Street idiom, the entire program was “sponsored” by the key of E minor. It was framed by two violin concertos composed by Antonio Vivaldi. The opening video of Augusta McKay Lodge playing the violin solo for the RV 278 violin concerto in E minor is the most recent video to be released by VoM. Chloe Kim was soloist for the concluding concerto, RV 277, given the title “Il Favorito.” (For those that prefer opus numbers, this is the second of the six concertos in Vivaldi’s Opus 11.) The concertos framed a recorder performance by Hanneke van Proosdij. Her selection was the “Minuetto” movement from movement from George Frideric Handel’s HWV 375 in E minor, the second of his three “Halle” flute sonatas.

The electronic mail announcing this release concluded with a quote by Johann Mattheson, who was a close friend of Handel. Mattheson is best known as a music theorist. This particular quote is taken from his 1713 treatise Das neu-eröffnete Orchestre as follows:

E minor is pensive, distressed, and sad; yet in such a way that one still finds some consolation in it; this key has something hopeful about it, whatever one may do with it, for otherwise it cannot tolerate any joy.

Bearing in mind that all twelve of Vivaldi’s Opus 11 concertos have fast-slow-fast structure, one can assume that Mattheson was referring to the slow movements! (To the best of my knowledge, “neu-eröffnete” translates into English as “reopened.” Perhaps Mattheson was writing about an ensemble that had disbanded and was subsequently revived.)

Would it be fair to say that, for the three selections on this program, Lodge, Proosdij, and Kim each had her own way of expressing those characteristics that Mattheson cited? Having revisited portions of this video, I would go at least as far as a decisive “maybe!” On the other hand, I am not sure that music theorists listen to performances the same ways that the rest of us do. (Full disclosure: I took several music theory courses in my student days.)

More importantly, the entire listening experience took only about half an hour; and, as far as I am concerned, that time could not have been better spent!

The Bleeding Edge: 3/16/2026

Another busy week lies ahead! Pamela Z will present the next installment of three performances of Arbeitsklang at Audium on March 19, 20, and 21. In addition, as previously reported, Welsh guitarist Gwenifer Raymond will present her full-evening performance entitled Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark at The Lab on March 20. The following evening, The Lab will showcase music from two recent albums, A Danger to Ourselves and The Patterns Lost to Air. All of the “usual suspects” venues will also be giving performances as follows:

Lisa Mezzacappa with her bass (from the Web page for her performance at Mr. Tipple’s)

Wednesday, March 18, 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club: The Lisa Mezzacappa Quartet will perform two sets. Mezzacappa leads on bass performing with tenor saxophonist Aaron Bennett, Mark Clifford on vibraphone, and Eric Garland on drums. This will be the first of three consecutive programs this week. For those that do not yet know about this venue, Mr. Tipple’s is located at 39 Fell Street, on the south side of the street between Van Ness Avenue and Polk Street.

Thursday, March 19, 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club: The second performance at this venue will be by the Joyce Todd McBride Quintet, led by McBride on piano. The front line will be shared by Ian Carey on trumpet and alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen. Rhythm will be provided by Stacy Starkweather on piano and drummer Scott Amendola.

Friday, March 20, 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club: The last of the “daily” performances at Mr. Tipple’s will be the Beth Schenck Quartet. Schenck leads on saxophone, and she is also a composer. The other members of her quartet will be Mezzacappa, Brett Carson on piano, and drummer Jordan Glenn.

Friday, March 20, 7 p.m., Medicine for Nightmares: That same Friday will also see the next performance in the Other Dimensions in Sound music series curated and hosted by “Boohaabian multi reed player” extraordinaire David Boyce. This week David Boyce will host a visit from a trio that calls itself Spring. The performers are Bruce Ackley on saxophones, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and Zachary James Watkins on electronics. As always, the venue is located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street. There is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.

Friday, March 20, 8:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: After performing in a quintet on Thursday, Amendola will take his drums over to Glen Park. He will play in a trio led by Knudsen. The remaining member of the trio will be Mat Muntz on bass. The venue is located at 653 Chenery Street. There will be no charge for admission, but visitors should give in to the temptation to buy a book!

Another Disappointing Encounter with Hewitt

2017 photograph of Angela Hewitt in Toronto (photograph by Mykola Swarnyk, from Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)

Once again Chamber Music San Francisco (CMSF) scheduled pianist Angela Hewitt for a solo recital. Those that have followed this site for some time probably know my track record with her past performances. As in the past, I continue to be more than merely satisfied with the precision of her keyboard technique. However, also in the past, she never seems to add expression to that precision.

This season’s program accounted for a broad span of approaches to keyboard music extending from the eighteenth century to the early twentieth. Each half of the program began with a composer from the Baroque period. The opening selection was Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 829 keyboard partita (the fifth in a set of six), composed in the key of G major. The second half began with five relatively short pieces by François Couperin, all taken from the “Sixiême Ordre” in his second Livre de Piéces de clavecin. In the first half of the program, Bach’s partita was coupled with Robert Schumann’s Opus 22, his second piano sonata in G minor. The program concluded with music that nodded to the preceding performance, Maurice Ravel’s suite Le tombeau de Couperin.

As in the past, I found myself impressed with Hewitt’s attention to getting every note in its proper place; but there was little awareness of music emerging from those notes. Thus, there was no sense of dance forms in the music that Bach composed for so many of his keyboard works. Where Couperin was concerned, Hewitt spent too much time leaning on the damper pedal, which particularly muddled one of his most engaging pieces, “Les Baricades Mistérieuses.”

In reviewing the scribbles in my program book, I see that “blur” showed up in my annotations for the selections by Schumann and Ravel. Neither of those composers deserved that description in performance, and Hewitt’s account of Schumann’s scherzo movement was downright incoherent. Where Le tombeau de Couperin is concerned, Hewitt’s only virtue was providing information about how each of the movements was dedicated to the composer’s friends and relatives that died during World War I.

For her encore selection Hewitt shifted from Ravel to Claude Debussy, but her account of “Clair de lune” was no more convincing than any of the preceding selections on the program.

Brahms and the Schumanns

Cover design for the album being discussed (with its own take on trios)

This past Friday harmonia mundi s.a.s. released a new album of music composed during the nineteenth century by a close-knit community of composers. In chronological order of the year of birth, those composers are Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Joseph Joachim, and Johannes Brahms. The entire album is framed by Brahms.

It begins with his contribution to the “F-A-E Sonata,” whose movements were distributed among Robert Schumann, Brahms, and Schumann's pupil Albert Dietrich. That movement was the third of four, which, as is often the case, was a Scherzo. The album then concludes with a full composition by Brahms, his Opus 114 clarinet trio in A minor.

Each of the other three composers is represented by a single composition. The Joachim selection is his Opus 9, the three-movement “Hebrew Melodies,” scored for viola and piano. The other two selections are arrangements for viola and piano by the album’s violist, Tabea Zimmermann. They are works by the two Schumanns, beginning with Robert’s Opus 94 set of “Three Romances,” followed by Clara’s Opus 22, which is also titled “Three Romances.” For all of these selections, the pianist is Javier Perianes; and Jean-Guihen Queyras plays cello in the performance of the Opus 114 trio.

I suspect that some listeners will approach the program for this album with the old joke that “this is the sort of thing that people who like that sort of thing are bound to like.” By way of disclaimer, I am one of those “people!” That said, I appreciate how this album was conceived to provide a particular window on the nineteenth century in Europe. All of the composers have been familiar to me as I have cultivated my listening experiences; but I have to admit that I found the overall design of the album to be an absolute delight, no matter how many jokes may be made about it!

SFCMP to Present Three West Coast Premieres

The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players in performance (from the City Box Office Web page)

The third of the four programs planned by the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (SFCMP) for its 2025–2026 Concert Season will take place in a little less than a month’s time. The title of the program will be Steps Toward Ascent, which may have been chosen to represent the transition from the last century to the present one. Thus, the program will begin in 1926, the year in which Ruth Crawford Seeger composed her “Music for Small Orchestra.” This will be followed by three recent compositions, all of which are at most three years old as follows:

1. Seare Ahmad Farhat: Muzzahaimat (2023)
2. Vivan Fung: Ominous (2024)
3. Steve Reich: Jacob’s Ladder (2023)

This performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 11. The performance will take place in the Taube Atrium Theater, located on the top (fourth) floor of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue. There will also be an Under the Hood conversation hosted by Artistic Director Eric Dudley. This will take place in the same venue, beginning at 6:45 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online through a City Box Office Web page.

David Russell Returns to SFP After 14 Visits

David Russell with his guitar (courtesy of SFP)

Guitarist David Russell has been bringing solo guitar recitals to San Francisco Performances (SFP) since March of 1993. Most, if not all, of these events have been presented in association with the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts, which annually prepares a more extended recital series focusing primarily on guitars. Last night he returned to San Francisco to perform at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.

It would be fair to call last night a “past and present” program. The past was represented by Johann Sebastian Bach, Mauro Giuliani, and Isaac Albéniz. The living composers were Stephen Goss and Gabriel Estarellas. Bach and Albéniz were the two composers that were not guitarists, and the five Albéniz selections were all transcriptions by Francisco Tárrega. Sadly, Russell was more than a little casual in introducing his Bach selections, describing them only as “pieces I enjoy.”

The major work on the program was the San Francisco premiere of Goss’ Don Quijote suite, which he had dedicated to Russell. This consisted of six movements, which Russell described as alternating between “how the world sees the Don” and “how the Don sees the world.” The performance included projected images, which seem to reflect on the movement titles but did little to establish any sense of narrative over the course of the performance. There was no end of spirit in the text of author Miguel de Cervantes, but Goss never seemed to capture any of this spirit in his score.

This was followed by six movements from the Estarellas suite entitled Homage to Charles Chaplin. Scott Cmiel provided an informative paragraph for the program book accounting for what those movements were intended to depict. Sadly, however, none of those depictions registered with much impact, resulting in an extended one-thing-after-another performance that just got drearier and drearier.

Somewhat more spirited was a take on the “Irish Washerwoman” theme. The first word of the title was “Dirty,” and the second was muttered beyond recognition. However, the attempt to depict scrubbing made this an engaging encounter. Russell then revisited the “Dulcinea” movement from Goss’ suite; but I am afraid that, by that time, I had had more than enough of that composer’s music!

SFP Art of Song Series to Conclude Next Month

Soprano Miah Persson (from the Web page for tickets to her performance)

The final vocalist in the Art of Song Series will be Swedish soprano Miah Persson. She will be accompanied at the piano by Magnus Svensson. The title of their program will be Nordic Songs.

I suspect that most readers will not be familiar with this repertoire. The composers of the songs will be, in “order of appearance,” Wilhelm Stenhammar, Gösta Nystroem, Jean Sibelius, Emil Sjögren, Ture Rangström, and Edvard Grieg. By way of disclaimer, I can confess that my only encounter with songs by Sibelius came when I was writing about The Sibelius Edition, an entire account of the Sibelius catalog released in thirteen multi-CD volumes. Where Grieg is concerned, the last time I wrote about his vocal works was at the end of April of 2019 as part of my account of the Warner Classics’ 13-CD collection entitled Grieg: Piano, Orchestral & Vocal Works, Chamber Music.

The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 9. The venue will be Herbst Theatre, which many (most?) readers know is located in the heart of the Civic Center at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Ticket prices will be $70, $60, and $50. As those readers probably also know, SFP has created a Web page for purchasing those tickets, which includes an account of all the selections to be performed.

SFS: Rustioni Conducts Dvořák and Brahms

Statue of Antonín Dvořák in Prague with the Rudolfinum behind (from a Wikimedia Commons Web page, photograph by Andrevruas, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license)

Last night in Davies Symphony Hall Daniele Rustioni made his debut as conductor of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS). He prepared a program of two major works, both composed in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. These were presented in reverse chronological order, beginning with Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 104 cello concerto in B minor. The intermission was then followed by Johannes Brahms’ Opus 73 (second) symphony in D major. The concerto soloist was cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, also making his SFS debut.

Brahms was instrumental in launching Dvořák’s career. However, it would be fair to say that the latter honored the legacy of the former by finding his own way of doing things. That “path” eventually led him to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, where, in 1892, he was appointed the directorship of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City. Opus 104 is one of the works he composed during his time in the United States, but it would be fair to say that his Bohemian rhetoric prevailed over any American influences.

The Opus 104 concerto has become an audience favorite, and it would be fair to say that most of the audience members had a personal favorite cellist in mind before Müller-Schott took the stage. Nevertheless, while his performance could not have done a better job in honoring the composer’s legacy, he brought a fresh gust of energy to the outer Allegro movements while finding just the right rhetoric for the middle Adagio movement. That full scope of dispositions emerged readily through the chemistry between soloist and conductor. It would not surprise me if I learned that the coupling of conductor and soloist was a meeting of old friends.

As might be expected, the audience was impressed enough to demand an encore from Müller-Schott. As many may have hoped, he turned to Johann Sebastian Bach for that encore. He performed the final Gigue movement from BWV 1009, the third of the six solo cello suites, this one composed in the key of C major.

The second half of the program was devoted entirely to Johannes Brahms’ Opus 73, his second symphony composed in the key of D major. My past listening experiences have led me to believe that this is the one of the four symphonies that tends to draw the most attention. There is an affability in all four of the movements that departs from much of the tension that plays out in the other symphonies.

However, there is also a cerebral side to Opus 73. Brahms structured it around a motif that could not be simpler: a half-step down followed by a half-step back. That three-note motif begins the symphony, and it surfaces in each of the four movements with decidedly different settings. I have to confess that Brahms’ capacity to make more and more with less and less (thank you, Buckminster Fuller) has made this my favorite of the composer’s four symphonies. Rustioni’s account last night could not have been more absorbing, making me wonder whether Opus 73 might also be his favorite!

A Busy April for Pamela Z

Following up on her residence at Audium, Pamela Z can look forward to a busy April. This will involve not only her own performances but also performances of her works in other settings. There will be four of these events, each in a different setting as follows:

Pamela Z working with her electronic and digital gear

Thursday, April 2, 7:30 p.m., The Forum at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts: Pamela Z has cultivated a skilled talent for processing her vocal work through a diversity of electronic devices. She has developed a repertoire of experimental vocal techniques involving digital processing, looping, and the integration of prerecorded concrete sounds. These are the “building blocks” with which she will create her in-the-moment performance.

Saturday, April 11, 7:30 p.m., San Francisco Public Library, Main Branch: Z will both perform and host a performance entitled Sonic Illuminations. This will be one of several events taking place during the NIGHT OF IDEAS evening. Z will present not only her own music but also compositions by Amanda Chaudhary, Leyya Mona Tawil, and Héloïse Garry. The performance will take place in the Steve Silver Music Library on the fourth floor of the building.

Friday, April 17, 7:30 p.m., San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Cha Chi Ming Recital Hall: Ensemble for These Times will present a program entitled Women Crossing/Liminality. The ensemble commissioned Pamela Z, through which she composed “From.” This single-movement composition has been scored for violin, cello, found-object percussion, tape, voice, and electronics. Preceding composers on the program will include Leilehua Lanzilotti, Sofia Jem Ouyang, and Vivian Fung.

Thursday, April 30, through Sunday, May 3, Steindler Stage at Z Space: The title of the next production by inkBoat is Clouds from a Crumbling Giant: our wild shining days. This event will be directed by Shinichi Iova-Koga, but the performance will involve a generous number of collaborators. One of those collaborators will be Pamela Z!

Earplay: Bennett’s Second Reflection on Ives

Bruce Bennett, Margaret Halbig, Terrie Baune, Ellen Ruth Rose, Thalia Moore, and Tod Brody performing Bennett’s “answer” to Ives’ “Question” (screen shot from last night’s YouTube’s video feed of the Earplay recital)

Last night the Earplay chamber ensemble returned to the Noe Valley Ministry to present the second concert in its 41st season. Some readers may recall that the overall title of the season is Answering The Unanswered Question, inspired by Charles Ives’ enigmatic orchestral composition, “The Unanswered Question.” Bruce Bennett composed an arrangement of this music to begin last month’s concert, and last night saw a second arrangement. This one involved flute (Tod Brody), clarinet (Peter Josheff), violin (Terrie Baune), viola (Ellen Ruth Rose), cello (Thalia Moore), organ (Margaret Halbig), and synthesizer (Bennett).

In Bennett’s first arrangement, the question was posed by clarinet and answered by piano. Last night each of the instrumentalists had an opportunity to play the “question-asking” motif. This was an engaging way to introduce the ensemble to the audience, providing an overall context for the subsequent combinations of instruments in the following compositions. Those offerings were, as follows:

• “Searching the Way” by Hyo-shin Na: flute, clarinet violin, and cello
• “Haikus Notebook” by Benet Casablancas: flute (alternating with both alto and piccolo), clarinet (alternating with bass), violin, cello, and piano
• “Loki’s Lair” by Mark Winges: flute (alternating with alto), viola, and cello
• “The Wild Party” by Shuying Li: flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, soprano (Chelsea Hollow), and conductor (Mary Chun)

This made for an impressive diversity of repertoire. Each of the composers found just the right duration to make sure that the listening experience would not overstay its welcome. Taken as a whole, the program was a throughly engaging journey through a wide variety of sonorities. The only real difficulty I encountered was that I was never able to make out any of the text that Hollow was singing. Since I livestreamed this performance from home, I have no idea whether the program book included the text by Joseph Moncure March.

Nevertheless, it was the music itself that mattered, and there was more than enough substantial listening to keep me occupied in this second “response” to the “Ives question.”

Dan Tepfer Returning to Noe Valley on March 22

Dan Tepfer (from the Noe Music Web page for his recital this month in Noe Valley)

Some readers may recall that, a little over a week ago, this site announced a solo performance by Dan Tepfer at the Noe Valley Ministry entitled Inventions/Reinventions at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 21. This morning I learned that he will return to that venue the following afternoon. The title of his second program has a similar structure: Goldberg Variations/Variations.

Once again, he will use the music of Johann Sebastian Bach for his own “personal interpretations and spontaneous improvisations.” This time the Bach source will be the BWV 988 set of variations on an aria theme, usually known as the “Goldberg Variations.” Most likely he will provide “improvisational responses” to the “call” of both the theme and variations composed by Bach.

As of this writing, all reserved seats have been sold. However, general admission seating is still available for $45 for adults and $15 for students. A Web page is available for purchasing these tickets online. For those that do not already know, the Noe Valley Ministry is located at 1021 Sanchez Street in Noe Valley.

Spoleto Festival USA Launches Album Series

In the early summer of 1958, composer Gian Carlo Menotti launched the Festival dei Due Mondi (festival of the two worlds) in Spoleto, Italy. He is best known for the one-act Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, commissioned by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) to be broadcast live on television on December 24, 1951. For the better part of my secondary school years, I would watch that performance annually. In 1977 Menotti launched a second festival in Charleston, South Carolina, naming it, appropriately, Spoleto Festival USA.

Over the course of my life, I have known about these festivals in name only. I had written a term paper about Menotti in secondary school; but, by the time I began my freshman year (1963) at the Massachusetts Instutue of Technology, he had pretty much faded into a figure of the past, making Charleston an effort to revive attention. Nevertheless, the festival has outlived its founder, who died on February 1, 2007. While I knew about the festival from time to time by leafing through magazines, I never encountered any specifics about the music being performed.

Cover of the album being discussed (from its Amazon.com Web page)

A little over a month ago, I learned that Phenotypic Recordings would release a series of albums documenting performances at last year’s Spoleto Festival USA. The first of these albums will be released tomorrow with two more releases to follow in April and May, respectively. The title of tomorrow’s release is Live from Spoleto 2025: Orchestra. The Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra is conducted by Timothy Myers, and the concerto soloist is violinist Alexi Kenney.

The concerto is Jean Sibelius’ Opus 47 in D minor, first composed in 1904 and revised in 1905. The “overture” for the program is the world premiere recording of “Stellar,” composed by Nigerian-American Shawn Okpebholo. The “symphony” is the suite of music extracted from Richard Strauss’ opera Der Rosenkavalier. The origin of this suite is somewhat uncertain, but the Wikipedia page for the opera suggests that it was probably arranged by conductor Artur Rodziński, who first performed it with the New York Philharmonic in October of 1944.

“Stellar” is a vigorous burst of energy lasting less than three minutes. Sadly, it is the only track on the album that does not overstay its welcome. Mind you, the Rosenkavalier music was given a fair shake; but, for anyone that has experienced and enjoyed the entire opera, it does little more than revive pleasant memories. Similarly, there is no arguing with Kenney’s violin skills; but, under Myers’ baton, the performance comes across as just another visit to the Sibelius concerto.

Whether the April and May albums of chamber music performances from Spoleto will make a more lasting impression remains to be seen.

Cedille Records to Release Vinci Opera

Cover of the album being discussed (courtesy of Shuman Public Relations)

This coming Friday Cedille Records will release its second recording of a historically-informed performance of an opera from the seventeenth or eighteenth century. This will be a complete account of Artaserse, the final opera by Leonardo Vinci (not to be confused with the other Leonardo), composed in 1730. As was the case with the first release, the performance is by the Haymarket Opera Company, which has been presenting historically-informed operas and oratorios from those two centuries.

Thanks to Ars Minerva, I have already had two past encounters with Vinci’s music. The first of these was a cello concerto performed by American Bach Soloists, but more relevant to this article was my first encounter with a Vinci opera. That opera was Astianatte, which was performed by Ars Minerva in October of 2022, named after Astyanax, who was the son of Hector, the crown prince of Troy, and his wife, Princess Andromache.

The advance material for Artaserse describes the narrative of the opera as a “tale of royal intrigue, murder, secret love, and ruthless ambition.” In other words, it “covers all the bases” of Italian opera seria in the eighteenth century. The opera is in three acts, and the narrative unfolds a plot of conspiracy and murder that makes the entire four-opera cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen seem like a walk in the park. As might be expected, this involves a generous number of characters in conflict, all of whom get to express their intentions through solo arias. Each of the acts fills a single CD, so the overall listening experience is not quite as demanding as most encounters with Richard Wagner.

I have no trouble confessing that none of the six vocalists in this opera were familiar to me. Nevertheless, my past experience with Vinci served me well, allowing me to follow all three acts with a basic sense of how the narrative was unfolding. Conductor Craig Trompeter knew how to keep things moving as each of the vocalists advanced the narrative within a “context” established by the Haymarket Opera Orchestra.

To be fair, however, I have to acknowledge the old saying that “this the sort of thing that people who like that sort of thing will like!” So it is that I began with a citation of my past experiences with Ars Minerva. Those experience prepared me for both the pace of the music and the twists and turns of the narrative. As one who likes “that sort of thing,” I came away with much more than a little sense of satisfaction!

SFP: Plans for 2026 Gift Concert

Yesterday afternoon San Francisco Performances (SFP) announced its annual Gift Concert. The “gift” is that subscribers and donors are entitled to tickets at no charge. However, one week from tomorrow, March 19, seating for the general public in the Orchestra and Boxes will be available at the price of $55. As usual, tickets may be purchased online through an SFP Web page or by calling 415-392-2545. Remaining tickets will be available at the door with a 50% discount for students and 20% off for seniors.

Catalyst Quartet members Karlos Rodriguez, Paul Laraia, Abi Fayette, and Karla Donehew Perez (photograph by Ricardo Quiñones, courtesy of SFP)

This year the program will present both vocal and chamber music. The vocalist will be mezzo Nikola Printz, who is no stranger to San Francisco. This past October she was one of the participants in Death by Aria, the Halloween-themed concert produced by pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg. The instrumentalists for the concert will be pianist Terrence Wilson and the members of the Catalyst Quartet: violinists Abi Fayette and Karla Donehew Perez, Paul Laraia on viola, and cellist Karlos Rodriguez.

Catalyst will begin the program with a performance of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Opus 5, given the title Fantasiestücke. Printz will then sing “Sorrow Song and Jubilee” by Libby Larsen. This will be followed by Noah Luna’s arrangement of “Goin’ Home,” a spiritual-like song using the principal theme from the Largo movement of Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 95 (ninth) symphony in E minor. Printz will conclude the program with a performance of Edward Elgar’s Opus 37, his Sea Pictures song cycle in an arrangement by Donald Fraser.

This concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7. It will take place in Herbst Theatre, whose entrance is on the ground floor of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue, located on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. This venue is excellent for public transportation, since that corner has Muni bus stops for both north-south and east-west travel.

SFS Programs for April, 2026

Next month the diversity in San Francisco Symphony (SFS) performances will extend beyond Davies Symphony Hall. Fortunately, all of the dates and times will have hyperlinks to facilitate ticket purchases. As usual, tickets may also be acquired at the Box Office, which is at the entrance to Davies on the south side of Grove Street, between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street.

Thursday, April 9, Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, 7:30 p.m.: Canadian conductor Bernard Labadie will return to Davies. His last visit was in November of 2024, when he devoted his program entirely to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He will return with a program featuring two major choral compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. The program will begin with the BWV 249 Easter Oratorio and conclude with the BWV 243 setting of the Magnificat text in D major. The latter will be preceded by an “overture,” which was originally composed for the beginning of the BWV 29 cantata Wir danken dir, Gott. Both choral offerings will include the SFS Chorus, whose Director is Jenny Wong. The vocal soloists will be soprano Joélle Harvey, countertenor Hugh Cutting, tenor Andrew Haji, and baritone Joshua Hopkins.

Saturday, April 11, 2 p.m.: The first event that will depart from Davies will take place in the Visitacion Valley Branch of the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL). It will be an afternoon of chamber music performed by SFS musicians. Program details have not been finalized, and there will be no charge for admission.

Sunday, April 12, 2 p.m.: The venue for the second “remote” performance will be the Gunn Theater at the Legion of Honor. This is part of a series of performances to showcase the 1742 Guarneri del Gesù violin on loan to Alexander Barantschik and the San Francisco Symphony from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Barantschik will perform with cellist Peter Wyrick and Anton Nel on piano. The program will be “framed” by Joseph Haydn and Franz Schubert. The Haydn trio will be Hoboken XV/18 in A major; and the Schubert selection will be his first piano trio, D. 898 in B-flat major. The other works on the program will be Cécile Chaminade’s Opus 89, her “Thème Varié” composed in the key of A major. This will be followed by Carl Czerny’s Opus 33, “La Ricordanza, Variazioni sopra un Tema di Rode,” inspired by the French violinist and composer Pierre Rode.

Sunday, April 12, 2 p.m.: At exactly the same time there will also be a chamber music performance in Davies. The second half of the program will present Johannes Brahms’ Opus 60, his third piano quartet in C minor. The first half will be decidedly different, beginning with Steve Reich’s “Music for Pieces of Wood,” followed by the octet composed by Jean Françaix. The remaining work will be selections from the Danish String Quartet ECM New Series album Last Leaf.

Wednesday, April 15, 7:30 p.m.: The next Shenson Spotlight Series concert will be a recital by violinist Nathan Amaral. This accompanist at the piano will be Sophiko Simsive. This program will be framed by two duo sonatas, beginning with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 378 sonata in B-flat major and concluding with César Franck’s only violin sonata. The “middle” composer will be Francisco Mignone, represented by his second “Valsa de esquina” composition.

Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday April 19, 2 p.m.: Simone Young will return to the Davies podium, and cellist Gautier Capuçon will return as concerto soloist. The concerto will be Camille Saint-Saëns’ Opus 33, his first cello concerto in A minor. The “overture” will be the first performance of “The Space Between Stars,” composed by Ella Macens. The second half of the program will serve as a “nod across the street” to the San Francisco Opera House. Young has prepared her own compilation of excerpts from Richard Wagner’s four-opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen (the ring of the Nibelung).

Sunday, April 19, 7:30 p.m.: Violinist Joshua Bell will return to Davies. He has prepared a program of three sonatas: Franz Schubert’s D. 574 in A major, Edvard Grieg’s Opus 45 (his third) in C minor, and Sergei Prokofiev’s Opus 94b (his second) in D major. He will be accompanied at the piano by Shai Wosner.

Saturday, April 25, 2 p.m.: This will be another performance for SFPL. This one will take place at the Merced Branch. It will be another afternoon of chamber music performed by SFS musicians. Program details again have not been finalized, and there will be no charge for admission.

Pianist and conductor Yuja Wang (from the Web page for her SFS performance at the end of April)

Sunday, April 26, 7:30 p.m.: Pianist Yuja Wang will return to Davies. However, she will also serve as the Director of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. She will begin by leading the ensemble in a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s first (“Classical”) symphony. She will then take to the keyboard while conducting a performance of a suite for piano and orchestra by Alexander Tsfasman. Following the intermission, she will return to Prokofiev with a performance of his Opus 16 (second) piano concerto in G minor.

Guitarist Teicholz Gives Faculty Artist Recital

Guitarist Marc Teicholz (from the Conservatory Web page for last night’s performance)

Yesterday evening I decided to check out the latest performance livestreamed from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. This was a Faculty Artist Series recital, the faculty member being guitarist Marc Teicholz. He shared the performance with pianist Eric Zivian.

Note that I did not used the verb “accompanied.” This was a program in which both Teicholz and Zivian gave solo performances. The music performed involved a coupling of Frédéric Chopin’s Opus 28 collection of 24 solo piano preludes accounting for all the major and minor keys with a similar collection composed by Sergio Assad for solo guitar entitled 24 Preludios Chopinianos. Zivian would play each of the preludes, and Teicholz would then play the Assad prelude in the same key. Assad’s account of the eighth of the preludes in F-sharp minor (Molto agitato) was basically a transcription of Chopin, while the other selections were more inventive, reflecting the mood rather than the exact notes.

It has been a while since I last found myself confronting what I had previously called “the flood of physical mannerisms that Zivian exhibits, presumably to convey his personal attachment to the music he is playing.” Sadly, yesterday evening those mannerisms were as abundant as ever. The good news was that Teicholz delivered guitar performances that were as engaging as they were disciplined. (The same can be said of Assad’s talents as a composer.)

The intermission took place at the halfway mark, following the first twelve couplings of preludes by the two composers. By that time I had had enough. There is only so much Zivian I can endure over the course of any recital program.

The Bleeding Edge: 3/9/2026

Poster for Pamela Z’s performance of Arbeitsklang

This week will be much busier than the last. Pamela Z will give another three performances of Arbeitsklang at Audium on March 12, 13, and 14; and tomorrow will be the rescheduled date for the “dialogue” between Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste and Evicshen at The Lab. There will also be six newly announced events at venues familiar to most readers as follows:

Wednesday, March 11, 11:30 p.m., Salesforce Park: The “Rooftop Jazz” series will continue with a performance by the Kasey Knudsen Trio. Knudsen leads on saxophone with rhythm provided by Sam Bevan on bass and drummer Eric Garland. There will be two one-hour sets and no charge for admission.

Thursday, March 12, 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club: This will be another performance led by Knudsen; her rhythm will be provided by John Wiitala on bass, drummer Akira Tana, and Rumi Abe on piano. For those that do not yet know about this venue, Mr. Tipple’s is located at 39 Fell Street, on the south side of the street between Van Ness Avenue and Polk Street.

Friday, March 13, 7 p.m., Medicine for Nightmares: This week David Boyce will host a visit from a trio that calls itself Sand Ghost. Saxophonist Nore Free leads, supplemented by special effects. Rhythm will be provided by Cassandra Firmin on drums and bassist Melissa Mohlenhoff. As always, the venue is located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street. There is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.

Saturday, March 14, 12 noon, Center for New Music: This will be the monthly G|O|D|W|A|F|F|L|E|N|O|I|S|E|P|A|N|C|A|K|E|S event with the usual opportunity to enjoy vegan pancakes while listening to “bleeding edge” music. It appears that this month there will be five sets with “bleeding edge” eccentricities in the names as follows:

1. Forrest Friends (visiting from Seattle)
2. L X Rudis
3. An Electribe Called Quest (Heartworm and Vankman)
4. Birdspanker
5. Wiledeman

Admission will be $10 with a $6 rate for members and students. For those that do not yet know, the venue is located at 55 Taylor Street, just north of Market Street.

Saturday, March 14, 2 p.m., San Francisco Public Library, Golden Gate Valley Branch: This will be a two-set program. The first set will be performed by the Khachapuri Trio, whose members are clarinetist Beth Custer, David James on guitar, and cellist Jess Ivry. They will perform original compositions along with arrangements of music by composers including Chick Corea, Julius Hemphill, and Kurt Weill. The Lizard Point is the duo of Conor Devlin and Geoffrey Scott. They take their name from the opening track of the Brian Eno album Ambient 4: On Land. Library performances do not charge for admission. For those not familiar with the venue from past articles, it is located at 1801 Green Street in Pacific Heights.

Sunday, March 15, 7 p.m., Artists’ Television Access: The venue has described this event  as a presentation of “Jurassic electronics and hand-held projection.” Michael Wertz will create the results of “live” drawing, performing with collaborators Andy Cowitt, Michael Zelner and Nat Swope. Admission will be $7 or $10. The venue is located in the Mission at 992 Valencia Street.

Engaging Mahler From SFS Youth Orchestra

The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra on the stage of Davies Symphony Hall (from the Web page for yesterday’s performance)

Yesterday afternoon the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) Youth Orchestra presented the fourth of the five programs prepared for this season. The second half of the program was particularly ambitious, devoted entirely to Gustav Maher’s fourth symphony, composed in the key of G major. In many ways this may be his most “affable” symphony, with each of the four movements having its own upbeat rhetoric. The last of these brings in a soprano, singing a text from the Des Knaben Wunderhorn extolling the virtues of “the heavenly life.”

Conductor Radu Paponiu had clearly internalized the durational scope of each of the four movements, each of which has its own story to tell. Unfortunately, in the final movement Hannah Cho’s soprano voice was too weak to hold its own against Mahler’s rich instrumentation. Mind you, Mahler himself had scaled back his resources to accommodate the soprano line. However, Cho could not rise above the ensemble to say her piece. Whether this was a problem with her own vocal strength or Paponiu’s control of dynamic levels must be left as a choice to be made by the attentive listener!

The intensity of Mahler’s symphony was balanced at the beginning of the program by Jean Sibelius’ best-known tone poem, “Finlandia.” The relationship between conductor and ensemble could not have been better. The music is a panorama of changing dispositions, and Paponiu knew who to evoke each of the moods from his attentive ensemble. Jennifer Higdon’s “blue cathedral” tone poem had its own panorama, with an opening progression recalling Aaron Copland’s rhetoric. Nevertheless, it had little to offer the attentive listener other than its overall brevity.

Taken as a whole, the program fared well through the chemistry of Paponiu’s engagement with his ensemble, making the afternoon another engaging encounter with the “next generation” of orchestral musicians.

McGill to Conclude SFP Shenson Series

Anthony McGill with his clarinet (from his SFP Web page)

Readers may recall that The Shenson Great Artists and Ensembles Series presented by San Francisco Performances (SFP) will conclude at the beginning of next month. The program will be the last in the three duo performances in the series. Clarinetist Anthony McGill will be accompanied at the piano by Gloria Chen.

The recital will be structured into two halves, each associated with a different nationality. The first half will present three French composers, beginning with Claude Debussy’s “Première rhapsodie” and concluding with Camiile Saint-Saëns’ Opus 167 sonata in E-flat major for clarinet and piano. Between these “bookends” will be a performance of the last piece of chamber music composed by André Messager, the “Solo de concours” composed for clarinet and piano in 1899.

The second half will present a coupling of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. The performance will begin with Fantasiestücke (fantasy pieces), Schumann’s Opus 73, a collection of three short pieces composed explicitly for clarinet and piano. This will be followed by Brahms’ take on the same instrumentation, the second of the two Opus 120 clarinet sonatas, both dedicated to the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld.

The performance will take place in Herbst Theatre at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. As usual, it will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 3. Tickets are being sold for $85 for premium seating in the Orchestra and the front and center of the Dress Circle, $75 for the Side Boxes, the center rear of the Dress Circle, and the remainder of the Orchestra, and $65 for the remainder of the Dress Circle and the Balcony. As usual, SFP has created a Web page for purchasing tickets online.

An “All-American” Evening in Detroit

Yesterday evening my wife and I once again shared our dinner with a live-streamed performance by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). The advance material I received described the program as a celebration of “a wide variety of American musical cultures.” That variety included multiple conductors. Three of the selections had “roots” in American spirituals. They were conducted by Alice McAllister Tillman, Artistic Director of the Brazeal Dennard Chorale, a vocal ensemble with two vocal soloists performing, tenor Darrius Washington and bass Brandon Hodges. Accompaniment by DSO was augmented by pianist Alvin Waddles.

The set was introduced with an instrumental fanfare, “Fanfare for Universal Hope” by James Lee III. However, it was the spirit behind the words that drew listener attention. Tillman’s command of the vocal work was consistently precise, but it was her capacity to modulate intensity that maintained that attention. The foundation for these performances may have been “traditional;” but, in the context of the currently global political climate, the music provided an almost comforting sustenance to get beyond governance that often feels as if it has been reduced to petty whims. Indeed, for all I know, those whims had been taken as Lee’s target for “universal hope.”

Carl Van Vechten’s photograph of William Grant Still restored by Adam Cuerden (available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division, from Wikipedia Web page)

These opening selections amounted to an “overture in several movements.” They were followed by the usual “ingredients” of a concert program. The “concerto” for the program was “Troubled Water,” composed by Carlos Simon for trombone and orchestra; and the symphony that concluded the program had the title “Autochthonous.” This was the fourth of the five symphonies composed by William Grant Still.

I must confess that, in this performance, the concerto drew far more of my attention than the symphony did. One reason may have been that it began with a duo for trombone and piccolo. The second movement cited the spiritual “Steal Away,” given a throughly engaging solo violin performance. The final movement then explicitly evoked the concerto’s title by incorporating another spiritual, “Wade in the Water.” Each of these movements said what it had to say without straining the patience of the listener, while the Still symphony seemed to be so wrapped up in structural details that even the most attentive listener would grow tried prior to the conclusion.

March will End with Outsound SIMM Series

The Doctor Bob duo preparing medications for the end of this month

Readers may recall that this month came in like a lion with a two-set SIMM (Static Illusion Methodical Madness) Series program. It turns out that the lion will still be roaring at the end of this month, which will conclude with a second SIMM series program. This will be a single-set program featuring the return of Doctor Bob, the duo of Bob Marsh (voice and cello) and David Michalak, who will, once again, divide his attention among a lap steel guitar, a skatchbox, and a phantom harp.

They will be joined by a diverse sextet performing (for this occasion) as The Outpatients. The front line will include two saxophonists, Kersti Abrams on alto and Jeff Hobbs on tenor, alternating with both cornet and violin, along with trombonist Ron Heglin. Rhythm will be provided by Cindy Webster, alternating between singing saw and hurdy-gurdy, and drummer Andre Custodio on both goblet and wave drum.

As always, the SIMM Series performance will take place at the Musician’s Union Hall, which is located at 119 Ninth Street, just below Market Street. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 29. Admission will be on a sliding scale between $10 and $25.

Igudesman and Malkovich Take on Criticism

Violinist Aleksey Igudesman performing at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart in Germany (from his Wikimedia Commons Web page, photograph by Alexander Blum, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license)

Last night violinist Aleksey Igudesman returned to Davies Symphony Hall. His last appearance was almost exactly a decade ago, when he was performing in a duo with pianist Hyung-ki Joo. It would be fair to say that their mission was to explore the comic side of “serious” music.

His return to Davies was a much more extended offering. With violin in hand, he also conducted the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) for the performance of a comedy with music entitled The Music Critic. The only dramatic role in this offering was the title one, taken by John Malkovich.

The selections performed by SFS were relatively short in duration. Nevertheless, they covered a wide span of music history with a keyboard prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach (reworked as accompaniment for “Ave Maria”) at one end and a tango composed by Igudesman at the other. Most of the selections were “played straight;” but I have to confess that my sympathies were won over to Malkovich when Igudesman began conducting the first movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Opus 13, his first symphony in D minor. After only a few minutes, Malkovich shouted “Shut up!”

As the program progressed, I found myself wondering if Igudesman’s approach to criticism had been inspired by one of my favorite books. For those that have not yet already guessed, that book was the Lexicon of Musical Invective, written by Nicolas Slonimsky. This goes hand-in-hand with my equally favorite quotation by Johannes Brahms: “If there is anyone here whom I have not insulted, I beg his pardon.” Both Brahms and Slonimsky were clearly winking at their readers. Malkovich and Igudesman recognized those winks and took them as the ideal point of departure for last night’s performance.

That said, SFS did justice to most of the music, which was “played straight.” They were attentive to Igudesman’s leadership, and he knew how to maintain that attention. Thus, while there was no end of raucous humor, there were also quieter moments during which we could reflect on why listening to music can be such an enjoyable experience.

March to Conclude with Unique Chamber Music

Many readers probably know by now that two guitarists will share the final program of the month presented jointly by San Francisco Performances and the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts. Guitarist JIJI made her San Francisco debut under those joint auspices, and she will return to San Francisco at the end of this month. This time she will share the program with her former teacher, Jason Vieaux.

The program will be an extensively diverse one. At one end there will be contributions by two composers from the Baroque period, Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti. BWV 998 is in three movements: Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro. It was written for lute or harpsichord but has found its way into the guitar repertoire. The most recent work to be performed will be the San Francisco premiere of “Four Paths of Light,” which Pat Metheny composed by Vieaux.

The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 28. It will take place in the Taube Atrium Theatre, which is located on the top floor of the Veterans Building in the War Memorial complex (more specifically, the building on the southwest corner of McAllister Street). All tickets are being sold for $70, and a Web page has been created for purchases.

Myriad Trio members Demarre McGill, Julie Smith Phillips, and Che-Yen Chen (from the Groupmuse Web page for their performance)

At that same time on the same date, Chamber Music San Francisco will present a performance of the Myriad Trio. This is a somewhat unconventional ensemble, whose members are flutist Demarre McGill, Che-Yen Chen on viola, and harpist Julie Smith Phillips. They created their ensemble in order to perform Claude Debussy’s “Sonate en Trio.”

This performance will begin exactly at the same time on exactly the same date. However, the venue will be the Presidio Theatre, which is, literally, “on the other side of town!” The street address in 99 Moraga Avenue. Groupmuse has created a Web page for purchasing tickets. The price of admission will be $20 with a four-dollar discount for Supermusers.