tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7165099803778090162024-03-19T01:48:03.177-07:00The Rehearsal StudioA place to exercise ideas before writing about them with greater discipline.Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.comBlogger9634125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-12052214614805421052024-03-18T15:00:00.000-07:002024-03-18T15:00:16.383-07:00The Bleeding Edge: 3/18/2024<p class="p1">There will be only two new events to report for the coming week. However, there is a moderately rich abundance of events that have already been announced on this site. Those previously reported events are as follows:</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">There will be two <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/outsound-presents-march-2024.html">Outsound Presents</a> events this week: The second LSG (Luggage Store Gallery) New Music Series event will take place on Wednesday, followed by the SIMM Series concert on Sunday.</li>
<li class="li1">The Other Minds benefit recital performed by Maki Namekawa and Dennis Russell Davies will take place on Friday.</li>
<li class="li1">The next round of <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-bleeding-edge-252024.html">NEW VOICES III</a> events will take place on Friday and Saturday.</li>
<li class="li1">The <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/center-for-new-music-march-2024.html">Center for New Music</a> will present two performances of the Bay Area premiere of <i>BUTCHER</i> on Saturday and Sunday.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p1">The two previously unreported events are as follows:</p>
<p class="p1"><b>Tuesday, March 19, 7 p.m., Make-Out Room:</b> Once again, Jazz at the Make-Out Room will present a three-set evening. The first set will see the return of guitarist Karl Evangelista, this time leading his Ai-Ai combo. The other performers have not yet been finalized. The second set will be taken by the innovative vocalist Lorin Benedict, who will be accompanied only by Kasey Knudsen on saxophone. Finally, saxophonist Dave Slusser will perform with the Lost Planet trio, which consists of two guitarists, Steve Clarke and Len Paterson, and Tim Vaughan on drums. As usual, the Make-Out Room is located in the Mission at 3225 22nd Street. Doors will open at 6 p.m. There is no cover charge, so donations will be accepted and appreciated.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>Friday, March 22, 7 p.m., Medicine for Nightmares:</b> This will be the usual weekly installment of <i>Other Dimensions in Sound</i> curated by reed player David Boyce. This week he will be joined by saxophonist Philip Greenlief and the Sheldon Brown Trio. Brown alternates between clarinet and bass clarinet. The last time I saw an announcement of his trio, the other two members were also wind players: Joseph Noble on flute, alto flute, and bass flute, and Amber Lamprecht, who plays oboe and cor anglais (as well as different sizes of flute). The venue is located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street. As always, there is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-36763653080452399202024-03-18T11:39:00.000-07:002024-03-18T11:39:17.420-07:00Verve Reissues 1985 Nina Simone Album<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaD4tnTU9ADP2u7pmYUgwlci10-ZCYR8wS4N8zdMHbElfFLeFSh9Hq0KO8Igbb6xGukwHyLrTCQUIlpH2Qrwc26GXwrsArpYsG4zrwsHzOcl30EuhyphenhyphenWBA-133JiQS28yjAFG4jxzvORxcAfS4bDIwPLjw0YFiXbg8XJI9vIAn9afMbPKIHUXccDJ0xyg8j/s800/It%E2%80%99s_Cold_Out_Here.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaD4tnTU9ADP2u7pmYUgwlci10-ZCYR8wS4N8zdMHbElfFLeFSh9Hq0KO8Igbb6xGukwHyLrTCQUIlpH2Qrwc26GXwrsArpYsG4zrwsHzOcl30EuhyphenhyphenWBA-133JiQS28yjAFG4jxzvORxcAfS4bDIwPLjw0YFiXbg8XJI9vIAn9afMbPKIHUXccDJ0xyg8j/s320/It%E2%80%99s_Cold_Out_Here.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">Cover of the album being discussed (courtesy of Crossover Media)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><i>Nina’s Back</i> is an album that Nina Simone released in 1985, after taking some “break time” living first in Barbados and then in Liberia. Verve Records recently reissued the album, which is now available on both CD and vinyl through an Amazon.com <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ninas-Back-Nina-Simone/dp/B0CTHMTDCW">Web page</a>. While some of the tracks reflect back on the 1982 <i>Fodder On My Wings</i> album, the 1985 session involved a larger instrumental ensemble that included both horns and backup vocals by The Waters Family. In other words, the production team was determined to keep up with the changing times! Simone was responsible for all of the arrangements; and, as in the past, she sang while accompanying herself at the piano.</p>
<p class="p1">Where my own tastes are concerned, I have a relatively strong preference for the earlier recordings. With the piano as the primary instrument, Simone could be far more expressive than she was on the later release, where that richer accompaniment is simply not to my own personal tastes. Even if she was in charge of the arrangements, there was just too much of the banal, if not the insipid. Nevertheless, I certainly appreciate the context in which this album was created and its historical context. So I am willing to take what I get!</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-64751380335645378042024-03-18T07:31:00.000-07:002024-03-18T07:33:30.418-07:00Yoshimura Leaps Through Glazunov’s Many Hoops<p class="p1">The high point of yesterday afternoon’s concert in Davies Symphony Hall by the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, led by Wattis Foundation Music Director Daniel Stewart, was the concerto selection. Hiro Yoshimura, one of the ensemble’s four Co-Concertmasters, was the soloist in a performance of Alexander Glazunov’s Opus 82 violin concerto in A minor. Those that take their classical music seriously probably know about this concerto. There is no trouble in finding recordings with any number of familiar violinists (most of whom are of Russian descent). Nevertheless, yesterday afternoon was my first opportunity to listen to the music in performance; and it made for quite a spectacle.</p>
<p class="p1">There are no end of challenges that the composer imposed on the soloist. However, he is also rather well known for his capacity for lush instrumentation, even when the products of his composition efforts come across more as routine than as stimulating. The breadth of that instrumentation in Opus 82 thus made it an ideal platform for not only the soloist but also all the members of the ensemble. This made it the perfect “friends and family” offering for everyone in the audience rooting for someone on the stage.</p>
<p class="p1">In the midst of all that “public appeal,” however, Yoshimura was an impressive, perhaps even outstanding, soloist. He negotiated every difficult passage as easily as if he were falling off a log. At the same time, he knew how to bring just the right level of lyricism to the more expressive passages without making the whole affair sound syrupy. Mind you, regardless of the number of recordings in my collection, this is not music I visit frequently; but Yoshimura’s account of the solo work and Stewart’s balancing of the full ensemble definitely made me sit up and take notice!</p>
<p class="p1">The same could be said of the account of Arvo Pärt’s “Fratres,” which followed the intermission (which had been preceded by the concerto). For those unfamiliar with the music, it is based on a sequence of nine chords in three main voices. The composer has prepared so many different instrumentations that the list on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fratres">Wikipedia page</a> practically fills my screen. The earliest of those versions, composed in 1977, was scored for a string ensemble with two percussion instruments, claves and bass drum. The initial instrumentation is modest; but, as the theme is repeated, it grows in richness to a peak, after which it recedes back into quietude.</p>
<p class="p1">In yesterday’s performance, the level of the dynamics was reflected by the intensity of the lighting. The string ensemble delivered with all the precision that the score demanded. Stewart knew exactly how to keep everything under control to endow the overall “narrative arc” with the expressiveness it merited. (He also had the good grace to acknowledge the minimal, but highly focused, efforts of the two percussionists during the subsequent bows.)</p>
<p class="p1">The entire program was framed by two “war horse” offerings. The overture was Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 26, “The Hebrides,” known more familiarly as “Fingal’s Cave.” (This music used to be familiar to anyone hooked on Warner Bros. cartoons, but that aspect of my past has probably been long forgotten!) This is another composition that highlights a wide breadth of instrumentation, although the resources are far less than those of the Glazunov concerto. Thus, there was much to satisfy “friends and family;” but Stewart’s account was relatively routine.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5P0eaNy2r3KmwQ4SeAKNizGMPHGm6mVr6lzMXBjiF9mGVSNPla6dERQMdkhyphenhyphendUYll_JOJ4L1kW4W2ix79nGdIYofO3mOoh4fYFOQGZbIpVPvT3ZQ65bE0xsZa4zrAAjZ85b-VlmQ2gt4PpHyA6EpYDOty8hboiBV2yR9yGLv0pqnkQib6W3GRUJocw02/s800/Harvard_Theatre_Collection_-_Bakst,_MS_Thr_414.4_(9).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="800" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5P0eaNy2r3KmwQ4SeAKNizGMPHGm6mVr6lzMXBjiF9mGVSNPla6dERQMdkhyphenhyphendUYll_JOJ4L1kW4W2ix79nGdIYofO3mOoh4fYFOQGZbIpVPvT3ZQ65bE0xsZa4zrAAjZ85b-VlmQ2gt4PpHyA6EpYDOty8hboiBV2yR9yGLv0pqnkQib6W3GRUJocw02/s320/Harvard_Theatre_Collection_-_Bakst,_MS_Thr_414.4_(9).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">Léon Bakst’s set design for the first part of Michel Fokine’s “Daphnis et Chloé” ballet, which complements the rhetoric of Ravel’s music (Houghton Library at Harvard University, from <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harvard_Theatre_Collection_-_Bakst,_MS_Thr_414.4_(9).jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, public domain)</p>
<p class="p1">The program concluded with the second of two suites that Maurice Ravel extracted from his score for MIchel Fokine’s one-act ballet “Daphnis et Chloé.” That suite is as much of a “war horse” as is the Mendelssohn overture; but, again, it gives everyone in the ensemble something to do. To be fair, they were all playing their hearts out in those wild measures of the coda of the “Danse générale;” and they certainly deserved the ovation they then received. If Stewart did not bring very much to his interpretation of the score, one could still appreciate the many details through which Ravel’s music spoke for itself.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-55791172243924768072024-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:002024-03-17T10:00:42.530-07:00David Conte to Begin April with Latest Showcase<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPWwXGGVTUTFUV_ncnKBck71wikxuIvSH5vv4Mw9WF1ZJTajh1k62I4vyvaCeU3vSeiQZdiZ6qD7-hX8YabhqEKAsfh6O9l4dV43nwcGh5yO8L-xIbGEWxx7jRaxFYOPMmC8UYUCTTkO5i4wdjy4Q8yPDrC46V2Ztz08wzQBIpUCr6y-mcHsVt2EMdP-G/s450/DavidConte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPWwXGGVTUTFUV_ncnKBck71wikxuIvSH5vv4Mw9WF1ZJTajh1k62I4vyvaCeU3vSeiQZdiZ6qD7-hX8YabhqEKAsfh6O9l4dV43nwcGh5yO8L-xIbGEWxx7jRaxFYOPMmC8UYUCTTkO5i4wdjy4Q8yPDrC46V2Ztz08wzQBIpUCr6y-mcHsVt2EMdP-G/s320/DavidConte.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">Composer David Conte (photographer unknown, from <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DavidConte.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">Prior to the <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/03/sfcm-highlights-april-2024.html">previously reported</a> last round of highlighted events for the spring semester at the <a href="https://sfcm.edu/">San Francisco Conservatory of Music</a> (SFCM), next month will begin with composer <a href="https://sfcm.edu/experience/performances/fas-david-conte-composition-0">David Conte’s Faculty Artist Recital</a>. The program will present some of his latest efforts, along with earlier selections, the earliest having been composed in 2004. The music will be performed by the SFCM Chamber Ensemble, conducted by Joseph Marcheso, along with pianists Paja Cajic and Kevin Korth, cellist Matthew Linamen, violinist Samuel Vargas, violist Zoe Yost, and bass-baritone Christian Pursell.</p>
<p class="p1">The Chamber Ensemble will perform excepts from Conte’s most recent work, a one-act ballet score based on the novel <i>Brokeback Mountain</i>. The excerpts will be the Prologue and first scene. He has also been working on an orchestration of his <i>East of Eden</i> opera; and Pursell will sing Cal’s aria with the Chamber Ensemble.</p>
<p class="p1">The other three selections on the program will be instrumental chamber music. The first of these will be the “Elegy” composed in 2014, performed by Vargas accompanied by Cajic. The remaining two works will occupy the second half of the program. The first of these will be the coupling of aria and fugue movements, composed in 2004, scored for viola (Yost) and piano (Cajic). The program will then conclude with Conte’s 2022 piano trio, his second. The performers will be Vargas, Linamen, and Korth.</p>
<p class="p1">This performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 1. The venue will be the Sol Joseph Recital Hall, located on the lower floor of the SFCM building at 50 Oak Street, a short walk from the Van Ness Muni station. Tickets may be reserved from the <a href="https://sfcm.edu/experience/performances/fas-david-conte-composition-0">event page</a> for this concert. That Web page also includes a hyperlink for live-stream viewing (and listening).</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-89087619548770147402024-03-17T07:59:00.000-07:002024-03-17T07:59:21.558-07:00SFP: An Evening of Chamber Music with Dance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMTxz17eAmmh002CCd7_xEHb39yXggnuYD3U8EroVtYmUbBBR2mb1s9Vi5E2VjI9qFhtsKX55DKyWJxhn1FaU9Go_ExFwn47LNy_K8Nzts9RUnxMpZKZqbSfPfzTNFWhtiXllAqSulnnCxLoiiSqx8S7wPgEr7ZEPS9DJOKZQjkSt4zaOe4xivNA9i8_U/s1707/SFP-CalderQuartet-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1478" data-original-width="1707" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMTxz17eAmmh002CCd7_xEHb39yXggnuYD3U8EroVtYmUbBBR2mb1s9Vi5E2VjI9qFhtsKX55DKyWJxhn1FaU9Go_ExFwn47LNy_K8Nzts9RUnxMpZKZqbSfPfzTNFWhtiXllAqSulnnCxLoiiSqx8S7wPgEr7ZEPS9DJOKZQjkSt4zaOe4xivNA9i8_U/s320/SFP-CalderQuartet-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">Calder Quartet members Tereza Stanislav, Benjamin Jacobson, Eric Byers, and Jonathan Moerschel<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(photograph by Jesse Holland, courtesy of SFP)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">Last night the Calder Quartet returned to Herbst Theatre for their second appearance in the <a href="http://sfperformances.org/">San Francisco Performances</a> (SFP) <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-sfp-202324-shenson-chamber-series.html">Shenson Chamber Series</a>. The quartet, whose members are violinists Benjamin Jacobson and Tereza Stanislav, violist Jonathan Moerschel, and cellist Eric Byers, launched the series <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/10/calder-quartet-partners-with-timo-andres.html">this past October</a>, when they performed with pianist Timo Andres. This time they partnered with the deaf choreographer Antoine Hunter, who performed with two members of his Urban Jazz Dance Company. The title of the program was <i>The Mind’s Ear: Motion Beyond Silence</i>; and, sadly, only one of the two dancers that joined Hunter was cited by name: Zahna Simon (which could only be found in the “press area” of the SFP Web site).</p>
<p class="p1">The high point of the evening extended through the entire second half of the program. Hunter began with a solo performance in total silence. Through his movements, however, he communicated to the audience to encourage them to join him through a series of his motions. This resulted in a “concert experience” that was probably unique to everyone in that audience.</p>
<p class="p1">Following the perfect silence of that episode, the Calder Quartet took the stage to perform the original version of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 130 quartet in B-flat major. That is the version that concluded with the “Große Fuge” movement, which, taken on its own, usually lasts for more than a quarter of an hour. Since this was the last of six movements, Beethoven composed an alternative final movement, an Allegro that is about five minutes shorter. The fugue was then published separately as Opus 133.</p>
<p class="p1">Those that recall my <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/choices-for-march-16-2024.html">preview article</a> for this concert know that Paul Taylor tried to create choreography for this music, and the result was one of the more annoying performances I had to review in my early days as a dance critic! Hunter was perceptive enough to recognize the folly of that undertaking, so he confined his choreography to only three of the movements. One of those was an obvious choice, the fourth, in E-flat major, an Allegro assai identified as “Alla danza tedesca” (in the manner of a German dance). He also created a solo for himself set to the second (Presto) movement in B-flat minor. All three dancers then contributed to the choreography for the “Große Fuge.”</p>
<p class="p1">Calder could not have given a more convincing account of the music. They knew exactly how to pace themselves through the full duration of this extended journey. Where the choreographed movements were concerned, it was clear that their tempo selections accommodated the needs of the dancers. In spite of the extended duration, the pace was such that both dancers and attentive listeners were ready for the final movement, which the Calder players delivered as the wild ride that gave due justice to every note that Beethoven wrote.</p>
<p class="p1">The evening began with a very brief quartet composition by Julius Eastman entitled “Joy Boy.” This was very much a “mood” composition; and it is one that I hope I shall be able to get to know better. It was followed by music that was actually composed for choreography. The work that John Cage entitled “String Quartet in Four Parts” was inspired by an orchestral work created for Merce Cunningham’s dance, “The Seasons.” In following the program, the listener could appreciate how those seasons were ordered, as well as the tonal and rhythmic ambiguities evoked for summer, autumn, and winter. It is only with the emergence of spring that a distinctively clearer rhetoric emerged in the form of a quodlibet. The entire cycle was danced by Simon and the other unnamed Urban Jazz member, making for a thoroughly memorable experience.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-7134355214896045332024-03-16T16:10:00.000-07:002024-03-16T16:10:39.232-07:00SFS Announces 2024–25 Season<p class="p1">Yesterday afternoon the <a href="https://www.sfsymphony.org/">San Francisco Symphony</a> (SFS) released its announcement of plans for the next season, which will began, as usual, this coming September. As many readers probably know by now, Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen will terminate his position as Music Director at the conclusion of that season in June of 2025. However, he will maintain an ongoing partnership with SFS through regular guest conducting appearances and collaborations.</p>
<p class="p1">When I wrote about plans for the new season <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/03/sfs-and-salonen-announce-202324-season.html">about a year ago</a>, I apologized that “it is still too early for program specifics for the new season to appear on the <a href="https://www.sfsymphony.org/calendar">online Calendar</a>.” I am happy to report that this is not the case this year. I am not sure if all events are now online, but it looks like there is a thorough account for this coming September! That means that readers probably have access to most of the details associated with the performances that will begin the new season.</p>
<p class="p1">Salonen will serve as conductor for twelve of the programs in the new season. This will include a somewhat surprising break with tradition. The very first performances will take place one week before the traditional Opening Gala. The Orchestral Series will begin with performances of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem setting on September 19–21. This will be the first SFS performance since 2011, and the soloists will be soprano Leah Hawkins, mezzo Karen Cargill, tenor Mario Chang, and bass Eric Owens. This will be followed by the Opening Gala on September 25. Lang Lang will be the soloist in a performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Opus 22, his second piano concerto in G minor. He will also join his wife, Gina Alice, in that composer’s suite <i>The Carnival of the Animals</i>. Salonen will lead the ensemble in selections from Sergei Prokofiev’s score for the ballet <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>. Specifics for the All San Francisco Concert will be announced later this year.</p>
<p class="p1">The remaining programs that Salonen will conduct are grouped into three segments of consecutive weeks. The first of these will follow the initial round of programs as follows:</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><b>September 27–28:</b> Pianist Alexandre Tharaud will perform the world premiere of a piano concerto by Nico Muhly composed on an SFS commission. The composer drew his inspiration from Baroque practices, and the remaining selections of the program will be similarly retrospective. Paul Hindemith’s “Ragtime (Well-Tempered)” is based on a theme by (you guessed it!) Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach will also be represented by his BWV 537 organ fantasia and fugue in C minor, arranged for (very?) full orchestra by Edward Elgar. The remaining selections will be Paul Hindemith’s symphony “Mathis der Maler,” given its title after the composer’s opera of the same name.</li>
<li class="li1"><b>October 4–6:</b> Violinist Sayaka Shoji will make her Orchestral Series debut. She will perform Dmitri Shostakovich’s Opus 77 in A minor, the first of his two violin concertos. This will be coupled with Johannes Brahms’ Opus 98 in E minor, his fourth symphony.</li>
<li class="li1"><b>October 18–20:</b> The concerto soloist will be Rainer Eudeikis. Readers probably know that he holds the Philip S. Boon Chair of Principal Cello. The music he will perform will be the cello concerto that Salonen originally wrote for Yo-Yo Ma. The program will begin with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 68 (“Pastoral”) symphony in F major, his Opus 68. The program will conclude with Claude Debussy’s “La mer,” which the composer described as “three symphonic sketches for orchestra.”</li>
</ul>
<p class="p1">The second round will consist of three programs organized around the music of Igor Stravinsky. In this case, however, those programs will not be consecutive. Specific dates and content are as follows:</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><b>February 13–16:</b> Pianist Yuja Wang will be the soloist in performances of three Stravinsky works for piano and orchestra, each of which has its own unique aesthetic stance. The titles of the selections are “Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments,” “Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra,” and “Movements for Piano and Orchestra.” (Stravinsky was very specific in the wording of his titles. It is also worth noting, as a “fun fact,” that Stravinsky’s friend, the choreographer George Balanchine, created choreography for both the “Capriccio” and “Movements.”) These pieces will be interleaved with the three compositions in Claude Debussy’s <i>Images pour orchestre</i> collection.</li>
<li class="li1"><b>February 21–23:</b> It would be difficult to overlook “The Rite of Spring” in a series of programs of Stravinsky’s music. So it has been scheduled for the second of the three concerts! It will be coupled with Sergei Prokofiev’s Opus 18 (second) piano concerto in G minor, which was composed one year prior to “The Rite.” The soloist will be Daniil Trifonov. The remaining work on the program will be a new (not yet titled) composition by Xavier Muzik, winner of the 2023 Emerging Black Composers Project Michael Morgan Prize.</li>
<li class="li1"><b>May 23–25:</b> The last of the programs will present what is usually taken to be Stravinsky’s first major achievement, his score for the one-act ballet “The Firebird,” which will be played in its entirety. The concerto soloist will be Isabelle Faust playing Alban Berg’s concerto. The program will begin with the first performances of Magnus Lindberg’s “Chorale.”</li>
</ul>
<p class="p1">That last program will also mark the first of the four weeks that will conclude Salonen’s tenure. The remaining three programs are as follows:</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><b>May 29–June 1:</b> Violinist Hilary Hahn will be the soloist in an all-Beethoven program. Her selection will (of course) be Beethoven’s Opus 61 concerto in D major. This will be coupled with that composer’s Opus 60 (fourth) symphony in B-flat major. As one might guess, both of these pieces were composed in the same year, 1806.</li>
<li class="li1"><b>June 6–8:</b> The program will feature the world premiere of a new work by composer Gabriella Smith. Some readers may recall that her “Tumblebird Contrails” was conducted by Salonen at the Nobel Prize Concert, which took place <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/12/salonen-to-conduct-nobel-prize-concert.html">this past December</a>. He conducted the SFS performance <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/03/yuja-wang-brings-rachmaninoff-to-sfs.html">a little over a year ago</a>. The program will also present two Richard Strauss tone poems, “Don Juan” and “Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks.” The symphony selection with be Jean Sibelius’ single-movement Opus 105, his seventh in C major.</li>
<li class="li1"><b>June 12–14:</b> The “farewell” concert will be familiar to many (most?) SFS concert-goers. The program will consist entirely of Gustav Mahler’s second (“Resurrection”) symphony in C minor, scored for full chorus and orchestra. There will also be two vocal soloists; but, as of this writing, only one has been announced. The mezzo part will be taken by Sasha Cooke.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p1">It is worth noting that Salonen will be adding three world premieres to the SFS repertoire: Muhly’s concerto in September, the Emerging Black Composers project winner in February, and Smith’s latest addition to the SFS repertoire in June. In addition, David Robertson will lead SFS in the world premiere of a new piano concerto by John Adams as part of the January 16–19 performances. Then, during the May 15–17 performances, Dalia Stasevska will conduct a new cello concerto by Anna Thorvaldsdottir with soloist Johannes Moser.</p>
<p class="p1">The roster of the other composers is an impressive one. There will be four debut performances (listed in alphabetical order) as follows:</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">Nicholas Collon (November 7–9)</li>
<li class="li1">Mark Elder (January 24–25)</li>
<li class="li1">Stephen Stubbs (December 6<span class="s1">–7)</span></li>
<li class="li3">Kazuki Yamada (November 15–17)</li>
</ul>
<p class="p3">As might be expected, Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt is schedule to return. He will be in the alphabetical list of returning conductors as follows:</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3">Marin Alsop (April 10–12)</li>
<li class="li3">Herbert Blomstedt (January 30–February 1)</li>
<li class="li3">Elim Chan (March 13–15)</li>
<li class="li3">James Gaffigan (January 9–11)</li>
<li class="li3">Giancarlo Guerrero (May 2–3)</li>
<li class="li3">Paavo Järvi (February 6–9)</li>
<li class="li3">Bernard Labadie (November 21–23)</li>
<li class="li3">David Robertson (January 16–19)</li>
<li class="li3">Dalia Stasevska (May 15–17)</li>
<li class="li3">Robin Ticciati (February 28–March 2)</li>
<li class="li3">Juraj Valčuha (March 27–30)</li>
<li class="li3">Thomas Wilkins (October 25–26)</li>
</ul>
<p class="p3">As usual, there will be other performances in Davies to which SFS does not contribute; and they will be announced in subsequent articles.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-13124779345462476052024-03-16T09:52:00.000-07:002024-03-16T09:52:33.374-07:00String Quartet, Bandoneon, Piano, and Voice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-apc80iTRRDfqRDNanAZqHo-I3yAUlNiGDcw_ogsVUQY2AJb189Hl3kvhexbLuPW4U8RxtF8U41LinKomKT5RZVNZomBEu5bI0jWMH4bdQM07kz7lMBjr8aIQvMyZVct84qmYmnRHRaDExZv1fwTWwGYmgVQzdTpnN6s_7-oVlUgzU3BbBRuhBT675W7/s3000/YAR59691_Takacs%20Assad%20Labro_frontcover_physical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-apc80iTRRDfqRDNanAZqHo-I3yAUlNiGDcw_ogsVUQY2AJb189Hl3kvhexbLuPW4U8RxtF8U41LinKomKT5RZVNZomBEu5bI0jWMH4bdQM07kz7lMBjr8aIQvMyZVct84qmYmnRHRaDExZv1fwTWwGYmgVQzdTpnN6s_7-oVlUgzU3BbBRuhBT675W7/s320/YAR59691_Takacs%20Assad%20Labro_frontcover_physical.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">Cover of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Takacs-Assad-Labro-Dessner-Nascimento/dp/B0CV6WTDLZ" target="_blank">album</a> being discussed (courtesy of A440)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">This month Yarlung Records released an album to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Takács Quartet; and, while there was a certain amount of confusion as to when the album would be available from Amazon.com, there is now a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Takacs-Assad-Labro-Dessner-Nascimento/dp/B0CV6WTDLZ">Web page</a> for purchase of the CD. The title of the album is <i>Takács Assad Labro</i>, indicating that the anniversary was celebrated with “invited guests.” Those guests are vocalist Clarice Assad, who is also a pianist, and bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro. For those that have not been keeping up with the times, the current Takács members are violinists Edward Dusinberre and Harumi Rhodes, Richard O’Neill on viola, and cellist András Fejér, the only remaining founding member of the ensemble.</p>
<p class="p1">The album has seven tracks, none of which involve the string quartet on its own or an “all hands” performance. Three of the compositions are for quartet and bandoneon: “Circles,” by Bryce Dessner, “Meditation No. 1” by Labro himself, and “Clash” by Assad. Assad contributes two other tracks, neither of which involved the quartet. “Luminous” is one of her works for piano and voice in which she accounts for both parts; and “Constellation” was scored for piano and violin and was written for Rhodes. Assad also performs without the quartet (again both piano and voice) in Milton Nascimento’s “Cravo e Canela.” Finally, Rhodes has a solo track performance of Kaija Saariaho’s “Nocturne.”</p>
<p class="p1">This makes for a generous scope of diversity in which all of the performers have an opportunity to ply their technical skills. By way of a disclaimer, I should note that I have been following Assad’s work since I first encountered one of her performances here in San Francisco. Since then, she has moved to Chicago; and I have tried as assiduously as possible to keep up with her imaginative inventions and performances. As a result, I approached this new release with unabashed bias and was not disappointed!</p>
<p class="p1">The fact is that the diversity of the selections makes overall listening a highly satisfying journey. The producers of the album, J and Helen Schlichting, have contributed an informative booklet, which provides an informative account of both the performers and the selections being performed. Given the extent of that diversity, the album deserves multiple listening experiences, each of which is likely to turn up new insights.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-21569839619289001872024-03-16T07:31:00.000-07:002024-03-16T07:31:52.436-07:00Beth Schenck Quintet at Mr. Tipple’s<p class="p1">Early yesterday evening my wife and I headed over to Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club to catch the 6 p.m. set taken by the Beth Schenck Quintet. Schenk led on alto saxophone; and she was joined by tenor saxophonist Cory Wright, Matt Wrobel on guitar, drummer Jordan Glenn, and Lisa Mezzacappa on bass. Wrobel joined Schenck and Wright on the front line, and improvisation was shared relatively equally among the three of them.</p>
<p class="p1">Most of the selections were Schenck originals. Perhaps the most engaging (not to mention personal) aspect of the evening came with the performance of “Dinner with Carla.” This was composed as a memorial to Carla Bley, who died this past October 17. This was the one selection in which Wrobel took the lead, and it also provided Glenn with an opportunity for a solo on his drum kit. The one selection that was not Schenck’s came at the very end of the set, Lee Konitz’ “Palo Alto,” which may have been created during a gig at a long-past Stanford Jazz Festival.</p>
<p class="p1">I enjoyed the intimacy of Schenk’s quintet. It suggested that this was a personal gathering, as well as a musical one. Mind you, I am a sucker for bass solos; so I had a bit of regret that Mezzacappa did not emerge from providing rhythm to exercise those inventive chops that I have previously encountered. Nevertheless, among the jazz, the single malt, and the light supper fare at Mr. Tipple’s there emerged the comfort that comes at the end of a busy day at the end of a busy week.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-40556967908845783412024-03-15T15:12:00.000-07:002024-03-15T15:12:32.784-07:00My Latest Venture into Avant-Garde Jazz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpuVkIRfes4eKeVenBSpoIPNNqqjJ0KUf0pKo-a05MhusaTkJKpLGDP6hPXZMjSIteXZ5CsylBfzDvM5NrwheVPD48EyigdquF6j-4UxjyuVgU63mMmkE9FmKTlXscRshE56SK-uhzgvVc3L4ru3ChWirf_6gQ2ka0wmGGqN757x8paDVmoDp4US19uoL/s800/A_Defiant_Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpuVkIRfes4eKeVenBSpoIPNNqqjJ0KUf0pKo-a05MhusaTkJKpLGDP6hPXZMjSIteXZ5CsylBfzDvM5NrwheVPD48EyigdquF6j-4UxjyuVgU63mMmkE9FmKTlXscRshE56SK-uhzgvVc3L4ru3ChWirf_6gQ2ka0wmGGqN757x8paDVmoDp4US19uoL/s320/A_Defiant_Life.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p3" style="text-align: center;">Cover of the album being discussed (courtesy of Blaser Music)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">Those familiar with my tastes in jazz know that my comfort zone is out there on the “bleeding edge.” Those tastes were first cultivated in my undergraduate days, when John Coltrane’s <i>Ascension</i> album arrived at the campus radio station. I was already familiar with Coltrane, since it was a time when it was impossible to avoid “My Favorite Things” on any jazz radio station; but <i>Ascension</i> was like a bolt from the blue; and it was not long after then that I began to seek out recordings of Eric Dolphy.</p>
<p class="p1">Trombonist Samuel Blaser was born about a decade and a half after Coltrane and Dolphy shook the foundations of adventurous jazz in unanticipated ways. A little over twenty years later, he is now out there on the latest generation of bleeding edge music making, working in partnership with bassist Michael Bates. Together they have been releasing quintet albums, the most recent of which is <i>Book Nine</i>, which, like their two previous releases, is now available through <a href="https://samuelblaser.bandcamp.com/album/book-nine-2">Bandcamp</a>. The other members of the quintet are Michael Blake on tenor saxophone, Russ Lossing on keyboards, and drummer Jeff Davis.</p>
<p class="p1">All of the tracks on the album are original. Blaser contributed three, and Bates was responsible for the remaining eight. The shortest track is Blaser’s “Wings,” which is a little shy of five minutes in duration. For the most part, the lengthier tracks allow inventive takes by all of the quintet members. The longest, and richest, of them is the final track on the album, “It’s Now Dark,” another Blaser original; it explores improvisations for a little under ten and a half minutes.</p>
<p class="p1">Those that appreciate attentive listening to both tunes and improvisations are likely to be highly satisfied with this new release.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-37794268121836447982024-03-15T13:05:00.000-07:002024-03-15T13:05:46.905-07:00Mr. Tipple’s Celebrates Tammy Hall<p class="p1">The last time I saw jazz pianist Tammy Hall was <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/08/kenya-moses-at-keys-jazz-bistro.html">this past August</a>, when she was part of the combo that accompanied jazz vocalist Kenya Moses at Keys Jazz Bistro in North Beach. Since that time, Hall has had to deal with some health issues. Thankfully, she has returned to proper health; and that return will be celebrated by four different combos, all of which will be performing at Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club tomorrow evening and night. All profits at the door will be directed to support her medical bills, so all those applauding in the audience should think about supporting the cause through dollars as well! Specifics are as follows; and in the interest of completeness, they will be preceded with information about tonight’s offerings. For those that do not already know, the venue is located in the Civic Center at 39 Fell Street, on the south side of the street between Van Ness Avenue and Polk Street. Tickets may be purchased in advance through the hyperlinks attached to the dates and times:</p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://mrtipplessf.com/calendar/the-beth-schenck-quartet-11/"><b>Friday, March 15, 6 p.m.</b></a><b> and </b><a href="https://mrtipplessf.com/calendar/the-beth-schenck-quartet-12/"><b>7:30 p.m</b></a><b>.:</b> Beth Schenck will play alto saxophone and lead a quintet, whose other members will be Cory Wright on tenor saxophone, guitarist Matt Wrobel, Lisa Mezzacappa on bass, and drummer Jordan Glenn.</p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://mrtipplessf.com/calendar/the-sundra-manning-organ-trio/"><b>Friday, March 15, 9 p.m</b></a><b>. and </b><a href="https://mrtipplessf.com/calendar/the-sundra-manning-organ-trio-2/"><b>10:30 p.m.</b></a><b>:</b> Keyboardist Sundra Manning will lead her organ trio, performing with drummer James Small and Clark Sims on bass; the trio will be joined by saxophonist Howard Wiley.</p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://mrtipplessf.com/calendar/flowers-celebrating-the-great-tammy-hall/"><b>Saturday, March 16, 5 p.m.</b></a><b>:</b> The schedule for the four different combos contributing to celebrate Hall’s return to health will be as follows:</p>
<ol class="ol1">
<li class="li1">5–6:30 p.m.: The SambaDa quartet of Papiba Godinho (guitar and vocals), Annie Stafford (saxophone), Abel Damasceno (percussion and vocals), and Elvis Aeron (bass) will be joined by vocalist Dandha Da Hora.</li>
<li class="li1">6:45–8:15 p.m.: Vocalist Azure McCall will perform with the piano trio of Spencer Allen (piano), Gary Brown (bass), and Sylvia Cuenca (drums).</li>
<li class="li1">8:30–10 p.m.: Allen will remain at the piano to lead the trio of Ruth Davies on bass, drummer Ruthie Price, and Michaelle Goerlitz on percussion, all of whom will provide accompaniment for vocalist Christelle Durandy.</li>
<li class="li1">10:15–midnight: The final set will be taken by vocalist Tiffany Austin, who will be accompanied by Ruth Davies on bass, drummer Deszon Claiborne, and Mike Olmos on trumpet.</li>
</ol>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-64729082930937564882024-03-15T08:11:00.000-07:002024-03-15T08:11:20.429-07:00Jonathan Biss’ Second Schubert Series Recital<p class="p1">Last night in Herbst Theatre Jonathan Biss presented the second of this three <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/11/sfp-to-present-jonathan-biss-schubert.html"><i>Echoes of Schubert</i></a> recitals, which he had prepared for his visits to <a href="https://sfperformances.org/index.html">San Francisco Performances</a>. Each of the programs was structured around one of Franz Schubert’s last three piano sonatas. The second of these, D. 959 in A major, was the only work on the second half of the program. Once again, the program began with one of the impromptus, this time the second of the four D. 935 impromptus, written in the key of A-flat major. This was again followed by a contemporary reflection on Schubert’s late works. This time that selection was Alvin Singleton’s “Bed-Stuy Sonata,” which was being given its second performance.</p>
<p class="p1">In writing about Schubert, Robert Schumann cited the “heavenly length” of many of his compositions, particularly those composed towards the end of his life. D. 959 is definitely a “heavenly length” work, and Biss honored that epithet by taking the repeat in his performance of the opening movement. He also remarked (in passing while introducing the Singleton selection) that, where D. 959 is concerned, “The ambiguity is the point.” While I am not sure I agree with him, I suspect that he would agree with me that this is a far cry from sit-back-relax-and-enjoy music. D. 959 is very much music for exercising Hercule Poirot’s “little grey cells;” and Biss definitely provided that attentive listener with all the exercise (s)he deserved.</p>
<p class="p1">Nevertheless, while I found last night’s “metaphorical journey” more satisfying than the one I encountered in the performance of D. 958 <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/01/jonathan-biss-begins-three-part.html">this past January</a>, I would still like to take issue with the matter of clarity. It goes without saying that there is an almost (?) overflowing abundance of notes that the pianist must play during the course of this sonata. By all rights, Schubert expected us to be aware of all of them; but that expectation was put in jeopardy by Biss’ rather generous use of the damper pedal.</p>
<p class="p1">The fact is that, where these late sonatas are concerned, I have a particular preference for a “period” instrument, where the decay time is faster, making it more difficult for the notes to bump into each other, so to speak. The result is that clarity rises above the dangers of mush that are almost inevitable when this music is played on a contemporary instrument, whatever the technical qualities of that instrument may be. This danger was evident not only in the sonata but also in the middle section of the A-flat major impromptu.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS3gsDOzkwbXhnGhu1INTW4o5Sbno3MyM-olrfBGug7zPWskKpVluXW-f_ccSYOMKXUYlHfQRGF4f914iMzLMIC_Qt4FQ5hklh2ClEECgCT4X8XsdS0mcXKnBkkvwxwu-7kGJqTdpeWie6MayRzPwNscb5jInJ9HkkZ1f2DrGG0ciKkGJb64GtRykKTkyZ/s1600/Bedstuybrownstone1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS3gsDOzkwbXhnGhu1INTW4o5Sbno3MyM-olrfBGug7zPWskKpVluXW-f_ccSYOMKXUYlHfQRGF4f914iMzLMIC_Qt4FQ5hklh2ClEECgCT4X8XsdS0mcXKnBkkvwxwu-7kGJqTdpeWie6MayRzPwNscb5jInJ9HkkZ1f2DrGG0ciKkGJb64GtRykKTkyZ/s320/Bedstuybrownstone1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">The “brownstone” row houses of Bedford-Stuyvesant (photograph by the webmaster of BedStuyGateway.com, from <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bedstuybrownstone1.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, public domain)</p>
<p class="p1">Fortunately, mush was not an issue where the “Bed-Stuy Sonata” was concerned. For those unfamiliar with the “megalopolitan” stretch along the Atlantic coast, the title refers to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, an area with a long (not to mention checkered) history. There is also a significant length to the sonata, which, as Biss observed in his opening remarks, gives little acknowledgement to conventional sonata form.</p>
<p class="p1">Personally, I found the listening experience to amount to an auditory version of stream-of-consciousness literature. To the extent that any of my past encounters may be relevant, I would say that “Bed-Stuy Sonata” comes closer to the wild and free-wheeling extended improvisations by Cecil Taylor than I have ever experienced in through-composed music. I just hope that I get a crack at a <i>second</i> listening experience.</p>
<p class="p1">I suppose it would be fair to say that Singleton’s sonata served up as many eyebrow-raising moments as Schubert’s did!</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-64393988929207071782024-03-14T13:24:00.000-07:002024-03-14T13:24:33.632-07:00SFB to Present a Pair of Latina Choreographers<p class="p1">The title of the final new program to be presented during the current San Francisco Ballet (SFB) season is <i>Dos Mujeres</i>. “Dos” refers to the fact that there will be two new works on the program, and “Mujeres” acknowledges that both of the choreographers are women. The opening selection will be the world premiere performance of “Carmen,” created by Arielle Smith. This will be followed by the SFB premiere of “Broken Wings,” created by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa for the English National Ballet, which first performed it on April 13, 2016.</p>
<p class="p1">The title of “Carmen” is almost always associated with the opera by Georges Bizet named after its title character. That opera was set in and around Seville, but Bizet had never visited Spain when he composed <i>Carmen</i>. Nevertheless, he drew upon at least a few Spanish sources to provide the appropriate “local color.” Smith, on the other hand, is of Cuban descent; so she sought out music that would reflect the influences of rhythms and sounds associated with that country. To this end, she commissioned an entirely new score to be composed by jazz pianist Arturo O’Farrill, whose father, Chico, was born in Havana and who made his living as a jazz trumpeter and composer.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6KPmgdlOkTMe3KJGJP4-aDNXi5QxkSdIBkbnhjN-7uMVT5GXwHDHni67QDwBl1jKUuKV-XUEkEDHpapG1QBDFtib3sTP64Q9Y4wuuxf_GPirOdOMiYfTtitPLOvNkCG8cNHDOKzP9U8JgOFF57OL33TZZAs5DjPXrN8_FJMVUwmL6Tid_It7LixlgUO3f/s1000/BrokenWings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1000" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6KPmgdlOkTMe3KJGJP4-aDNXi5QxkSdIBkbnhjN-7uMVT5GXwHDHni67QDwBl1jKUuKV-XUEkEDHpapG1QBDFtib3sTP64Q9Y4wuuxf_GPirOdOMiYfTtitPLOvNkCG8cNHDOKzP9U8JgOFF57OL33TZZAs5DjPXrN8_FJMVUwmL6Tid_It7LixlgUO3f/s320/BrokenWings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">John-Paul Simoens and Isabella DeVivo performing Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Broken Wings” (© Chris Hardy)</p>
<p class="p1">“Broken Wings” was inspired by the life and surrealist art of Frida Kahlo. The context for the choreography is established through fantastical costuming inspired by Kahlo’s art, with particular attention to skeletons, birds, and flowers. (Some readers may associate this context with Gabriela Lena Frank’s <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/06/revisiting-franks-fridadiego-opera-at.html"><i>El último sueño de Frida y Diego</i></a> (the last dream of Frida and Diego), which was given its <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/06/franks-first-opera-arrives-in-san.html">world premiere</a> by the San Francisco Opera in June of last year. (An example of the pre-Colombian art that inspired Kahlo can be found in a <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/07/narratological-thoughts-about-opera.html">discussion</a> of the narratology behind the opera.)</p>
<p class="p1">Peter Salem composed an original score for “Broken Wings.” However, just as the costuming was inspired by Kahlo, Salem wove both Mexican folk music and mariachi tunes into his score. As a result, the music will include a performance of “La Llorona” by Geo Meneses and Los Macorinos.</p>
<p class="p1">This double bill will given seven performances with dates and times as follows:</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">Thursday, April 4, 7:30 p.m.</li>
<li class="li1">Saturday, April 6, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.</li>
<li class="li1">Tuesday, April 9, 7:30 p.m.</li>
<li class="li1">Wednesday, April 10, 7:30 p.m.</li>
<li class="li1">Friday, April 12, 8 p.m.</li>
<li class="li1">Sunday, April 14, 2 p.m.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p1">The program will run in repertory with the <i>next@90 Encore</i> programs, featuring returns of <a href="https://www.sfballet.org/productions/encore-program/"><i>Mere Mortals</i></a> and <a href="https://www.sfballet.org/productions/swan-lake-encore/"><i>Swan Lake</i></a>. All performances will take place in the War Memorial Opera House, which is on the northwest corner of Van Ness Avenue and Grove Street (across MTT Way from Davies Symphony Hall). Ticket prices start at $29, and a single <a href="https://www.sfballet.org/productions/dos-mujeres/">Web page</a> has been created for purchasing tickets for all of the above dates and times. Tickets may also be purchased at the Box Office in the outer lobby of the Opera House or by calling 415-865-2000. The Box Office is open for ticket sales Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-50011895227864909262024-03-13T09:36:00.000-07:002024-03-13T09:36:20.546-07:00Omni Foundation to Release New Kowalski Video<p class="p1">Hopefully, there are readers that recall that, when the Polish virtuoso Mateusz Kowalski made his San Francisco debut in <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/10/mateusz-kowalskis-san-francisco-debut.html">October of last year</a>, that performance was recorded on video. That recital was subsequently released on YouTube in <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/kowalskis-video-premiere-part-deux.html">two videos</a>, one for each half of the performance. This Sunday the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts will release a third video.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBeY5F5Yi-dkVPR6JT7BhePJLm5rSzOpd0VHXOhcx2QNiXDT1meb_LBkCvyB0nWP3fUI4ysWmL8kAquqRY2WHyCqadlZO-uKmrBteUh0OAnhqbGBr6t2tjCEGX2UQ01ntLxR4TtKTCqZ7o2jsxg3R4l3s6TXOXpxb36o9GI_nF3VSs_jU5GVzVxlgl8rTr/s1063/MateuszKowalski2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="1063" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBeY5F5Yi-dkVPR6JT7BhePJLm5rSzOpd0VHXOhcx2QNiXDT1meb_LBkCvyB0nWP3fUI4ysWmL8kAquqRY2WHyCqadlZO-uKmrBteUh0OAnhqbGBr6t2tjCEGX2UQ01ntLxR4TtKTCqZ7o2jsxg3R4l3s6TXOXpxb36o9GI_nF3VSs_jU5GVzVxlgl8rTr/s320/MateuszKowalski2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">Title frame for Mateusz Kowalski’s new video (from its YouTube <a href="https://youtu.be/OyV2hC1QhDA?feature=shared">Web page</a>)</p>
<p class="p1">This video will be much shorter, but it will present another aspect of Kowalski’s virtuosity. His selection will be “La fille aux cheveux de lin” (the girl with the flaxen hair). This music is best known among pianists, since it is the eighth of the twelve compositions that Claude Debussy collected in the first of his two books of preludes for solo piano. Kowalski has prepared his own arrangement for his solo guitar performance. The recording was made at a studio in Gdansk, Poland; and it will be presented in association with The Augustine Foundation, whose Augustine Strings division manages<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Kowalski’s performances.</p>
<p class="p1">All of these videos are streamed through the Omni Foundation’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/omnifoundation">YouTube channel</a>. The premiere of this new video will be live-streamed at 10 a.m. this coming Sunday, March 17. The YouTube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyV2hC1QhDA">Web page</a> for viewing has already been created. There is no charge for admission, which means that these performances are made possible only by the viewers’ donations. A <a href="https://omniconcerts.com/online-series/">Web page</a> has been created for processing contributions, and any visits made prior to the streaming itself will be most welcome.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-87913267022548535062024-03-13T07:21:00.000-07:002024-03-14T06:27:54.659-07:00Balanchine Takes it on the Chin<p class="p1">Last night in the War Memorial Opera House, George Balanchine’s choreographed interpretation of William Shakespeare’s play <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i> returned to the <a href="https://www.sfballet.org/">San Francisco Ballet</a> (SFB) repertoire, this time, hopefully, for a full run of eleven performances. Readers may recall that, all but the first of the performances scheduled for <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2020/03/balanchines-shakespeare-comes-to-sfb.html">the spring of 2020</a> had to be cancelled due to COVID. Since that time, there have been major changes in repertoire under the new leadership of Artistic Director Tamara Rojo. Sadly, the traditions of the repertoire of major twentieth-century choreographers, such as Balanchine, have not fared particularly well (<a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/sfb-british-choreography-disappoints.html">Frederick Ashton</a> having been the most recent casualty); and last night was a particularly disappointing experience.</p>
<p class="p1">The entire evening could be distilled down to a single adjective: boring. The entire first act, which Balanchine conceived as a distillation of the entire Shakespeare play, plodded its way from episode to episode, bringing to mind little more than that one-damned-thing-after-another epithet. Mind you, much of the time is spent with <i>corps de ballet</i> of fairies, who had little to bring to the narrative; but even those ensemble pieces lacked any sense of fresh energy (let alone the ephemeral nature of the characters they were intended to portray). Where the characters themselves were concerned, particularly the twists and turns of the “love quadrangle” was little more than muddle, while the tension between Titania and Oberon was flimsy, and Puck’s intrusions tediously offered little. Only Bottom’s ass-head engagement with Titania allowed for a giggle or two.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtLajoN0SXnRQexJhwq3Hld7nL7OWkc2oFfKajGBExX8zOcuoXEy7oVqBLWfIEuGsTu1p5T66j4w7PRerbJfqjG3oWSGu3CJ6WrsxOM0p0bgwEZxvR4AQBI4hOjosdIFTvoF-FZlnpU4PHLnZt7_WClHxp1RRNvryn2fTCOcYtrOZVPWQRMqh9Tm8h72c/s953/Midsummer.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="953" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtLajoN0SXnRQexJhwq3Hld7nL7OWkc2oFfKajGBExX8zOcuoXEy7oVqBLWfIEuGsTu1p5T66j4w7PRerbJfqjG3oWSGu3CJ6WrsxOM0p0bgwEZxvR4AQBI4hOjosdIFTvoF-FZlnpU4PHLnZt7_WClHxp1RRNvryn2fTCOcYtrOZVPWQRMqh9Tm8h72c/s320/Midsummer.png" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">The divertissement for the second act of <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i> with the corps led by Frances Chung and Angelo Greco (© The Balanchine Trust, photograph © Chris Hardy)</p>
<p class="p1">For those unfamiliar with this ballet, the second act departs from Shakespeare to provide an “entertainment” for the wedding celebration. This basically took the form of a multi-movement divertissement, drawing upon works by Felix Mendelssohn to supplement the music he had composed for the Shakespeare play. However, as had been the case with the fairies in the first act, the dancing came across as little more than routine (an adjective that would never have been applied to Balanchine when he was in charge of the New York City Ballet). The result was, in the immortal words of Dorothy Fields, “as cold as yesterday's mashed potatoes.”</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-56310795239065835422024-03-12T09:31:00.000-07:002024-03-12T09:31:03.374-07:00Concert to Celebrate Persian New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBlZasBSNnSUmjS77cJpgyIp3Nr-AJ3k9Zy4kAYjQVPUryBS_NkGCQrtNEfOCadM2JT5zFOfazMwH2BjrtDDQnsmdlSW-8fVYWqgiUw4voeQZP7VX4d0UcSswGQcmNNqdkaSJFd19g_FUctraNycNiDmZUoCTq_egFpN7I6RjYJChqkELoobZr3xSaCKJ/s960/Nowruz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="960" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBlZasBSNnSUmjS77cJpgyIp3Nr-AJ3k9Zy4kAYjQVPUryBS_NkGCQrtNEfOCadM2JT5zFOfazMwH2BjrtDDQnsmdlSW-8fVYWqgiUw4voeQZP7VX4d0UcSswGQcmNNqdkaSJFd19g_FUctraNycNiDmZUoCTq_egFpN7I6RjYJChqkELoobZr3xSaCKJ/s320/Nowruz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">Poster design for the event being discussed showing (counterclockwise from left) Sahba Aminikia, David Coulter, Zara Houshmand, and Marjan Vahdat (from the Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/264461346701752/">Web page</a>)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">The 836M Gallery will host a celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, next week. The event will feature a performance by the Iranian singer and musician Marjan Vahdat. She will be accompanied at the piano by the gallery’s composer-in-residence Sahba Aminikia. He will also accompany British composer David Coulter, who will be playing a musical saw. The program will also include poetry readings by Zara Houshmand, an Iranian-American poet and writer.</p>
<p class="p1">The 836M Gallery is located in North Beach at 836 Montgomery Street, between Jackson Street and Pacific Avenue. The celebratory events will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 21 and will continue through 9 p.m. Food and wine will also be provided.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-9344392186923447052024-03-11T11:42:00.000-07:002024-03-11T11:42:08.416-07:00The Bleeding Edge: 3/11/2024<p class="p1">This will be a <i>really</i> busy week on the Bleeding Edge with events taking place between today and Saturday. Fortunately, today’s event has already been reported. The full summary of previously reported events is as follows:</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">The <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/center-for-new-music-march-2024.html">Center for New Music</a> will present Dan Flanagan’s program of eighteen new solo works for violin today, the Tuple bassoon duo on Friday, G|O|D|W|A|F|F|L|E|N|O|I|S|E|P|A|N|C|A|K|E|S at noon on Saturday, and <i>The Spoken Word Show</i> that evening.</li>
<li class="li1"><a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/choices-for-march-810-2024.html">The Lab</a> will present its next three-set program on Tuesday, followed by two performances of a program based on works by Robert Ashely on Friday and Saturday, respectively.</li>
<li class="li1"><i></i><a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/choices-for-march-16-2024.html"><i>Leaving a Mark</i></a>, a memorial concert for Mark Alburger, will take place on Saturday.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p1">In addition, an afternoon event was added to the “<a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/choices-for-march-16-2024.html">Choices for March 16</a>” article. If all that were not enough, there are four new events to report between tomorrow and Friday. There are as follows:</p>
<p class="p1"><b>Tuesday, March 12, 7 p.m.,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Bird & Beckett Books and Records:</b> Thanks, primarily, to ECM, I have accumulated a rather satisfying collection of <i>Snakeoil</i> recordings of combo performances led by Tim Berne on alto saxophone. However, my last article about him involved his move to Newvelle Records in <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2021/04/tim-berne-jams-for-newvelle-live.html">April of 2021</a>. This week he will be in San Francisco, and I do not think I have any record of his having visited previously. This will not be a performance by any of his Snakeoil colleagues. Rather, he will lead a trio with rhythm provided by drummer Tom Rainey and Gregg Belisle-Chi on guitar.</p>
<p class="p1">For those that do not already know, Bird & Beckett is located at 653 Chenery Street, a short walk from the Glen Park station that serves both BART and Muni. The price of admission is $20 in cash or Venmo for the cover charge. Given that only a limited number of people will be admitted, 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.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>Wednesday, March 13, 7 p.m., City Lights Bookstore:</b> This will be a celebration of the publication of Rita Bullwinkel’s <i>Headshot</i> presented jointly by City Lights and Viking Press. Bullwinkel will be present for a discussion with Oscar Villalon. There will also be readings by Venita Blackburn, Jennifer Cheng, and Ashley Nelson Levy. However, what makes this a “Bleeding Edge” occasion will be the music provided by Theresa Wong, one of the most adventurous cellists in the Bay Area. I have always felt that City Lights was one of the major landmarks in San Francisco. However, for those not yet aware of the place, it is located in North Beach at 261 Columbus Avenue, just south of the intersection with Broadway.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>Thursday, March 14, 8 p.m., Peacock Lounge:</b> Regular readers are probably more familiar with this venue than they are with City Lights! They probably also know that this week includes the second Thursday of the month, which means that it will be time for the usual three-hour show consisting of four sets. EKG is the duo of Ernst Karel and Kyle Bruckmann. The former works with reality-based audio and experimental nonfiction cinema, while the latter combines his oboe skills with underground noise. Transient is another duo, this time with multi-instrumentalist David Molina performing with drummer and sound designer Kevin Woodruff. The Grotesque duo of Randylee Sutherland and Aimee Hamel performs with strings, reeds, vocals, hand percussion, and tapes. Finally, the Noriegas describes itself as “Berkeley’s worst noise rock band!”</p>
<p class="p1">As readers probably know by now, the Peacock Lounge is located in the Lower Haight (sometimes known as Haight-Fillmore) at 552 Haight Street, between Fillmore Street and Steiner Street. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. to enable the first set to begin at 8 p.m. sharp. Admission will be on a sliding scale between $5 and $15. As in the past, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>Friday, March 15, 7 p.m., Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore & Gallery</b>: Reed player David Boyce will perform with special guests Living Room and Black Edgar. Once again, the venue is located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street. As always, there is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-40928164778604393102024-03-11T07:57:00.000-07:002024-03-11T07:57:17.317-07:00SFS Showcases Brass Players (with Percussion)<p class="p1">Last night in Davies Symphony Hall the Great Performers Series of the <a href="https://www.sfsymphony.org/">San Francisco Symphony</a> (SFS) turned “inward.” The program presented SFS musicians primarily from the brass section. The ensemble consisted of six horn players, six trumpeters, four trombonists (one doubling on euphonium), and two tubaists. There were also three percussionists and one timpanist, but most of the works on the program involved only the brass instruments. The conductor was Brad Hogarth, who provided brief but informative introductions.</p>
<p class="p1">This is one of those situations in which it would be wise to begin at the end. Over the course of these brass concerts that I have attended, I have taken an interest in the compositions by Principal Trombone Timothy Higgins. Therefore, it was no surprise that the program concluded with a work that he finished writing in 2022, given the straightforward title “Concert Music for Brass, Percussion and Timpani.” The work consisted of two movements, the first a tribute to Dale Clevenger, the former Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), who had died on January 5, 2022. The second was a tribute to the entire CSO brass section on the occasion of their return to performing after the COVID pandemic. The first movement was particularly poignant, particularly with its wistful nod to “Beim Schlafengehen” from Richard Strauss’ <i>Four Last Songs</i> during the coda.</p>
<p class="p1">The high point of the evening came with the performance of Magnus Lindberg’s “Ottoni.” I realized, with a bit of regret, that I had not encountered any of his music since Yuja Wang played his third piano concerto with SFS in <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2022/10/lindbergs-new-concerto-for-yuja-wang.html">October of 2022</a>. Lindberg has appealed to me for quite some time, particularly for his successful efforts to push the pendulum away from minimalism; so I like to call him an “unabashed maximalist.” While listening, I jotted some notes about his textures being thicker than any composer I had encountered since Charles Ives while also exercising the spontaneity of Ives’ turn-on-a-dime rhetoric. “Ottoni” was the wildest ride I had encountered for quite some time, and I loved every minute of it.</p>
<p class="p1">The other seriously wild ride on the program came from Roger Harvey’s arrangement of Witold Lutosławski’s “Variations on a Theme by Paganini.” The theme (as many will probably guess), comes from the last of the 24 <i>Caprices</i> that Niccolò Paganini composed for solo violin, which was, itself, a set of variations on a relatively short theme. Among many it is best known for the rhapsody that Sergei Rachmaninoff composed for piano and orchestra. Lutosławski, on the other hand, used Paganini’s own variations as a “blueprint,” to which he added his own twists and turns, scoring the results for two pianos. The result was one of Lutosławski’s most prankish efforts, and the brass arrangement made his wild ride even wilder.</p>
<p class="p1">The program also included two composers whose works I had not encountered for quite some time. Gustav Holst was represented by Paul Welcomer’s arrangement of <i>A Moorside Suite</i>, which was originally scored for a full brass band. Welcomer’s introductory remarks about brass band traditions in England were particularly informative, making this offering more than a little sentimental. Alex Bedner, currently a student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, prepared arrangements of four short pieces by the French organist Maurice Duruflé, which were described as “Motets on Gregorian themes.” Since my knowledge of plainchant is both distant and limited, none of the themes were familiar to me; but the listening experience was still an engaging one.</p>
<p class="p1">The weaker selections were the two “urban” offerings. The program opening with music from a suite that Leonard Bernstein compiled from the soundtrack he had composed for <i>On the Waterfront</i>. Between Elia Kazan’s directing and Marlon Brando’s acting, I have to confess that, after seeing this movie several times, I have no recollection of any of the music; and I fear that last night did little to refresh my memory! I was also left cold by Shulamit Ran’s “Chicago Skyline.” Perhaps I have lost my taste for tone poems inspired by urban life!</p>
<p class="p1">As might be expected, the audience refused to leave the house without an encore. The encore was the duel scene from the music that Sergei Prokofiev composed for the full-evening ballet <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>. An all-brass account of that scene worked quite successfully, allowing me to re-create the choreography I had seen so many times in my mind.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-35086466653273182052024-03-10T10:26:00.000-07:002024-03-10T10:26:44.534-07:00SFCM Highlights: April, 2024<p class="p1">April will be the last month of highlighted events for the spring semester at the <a href="https://sfcm.edu/">San Francisco Conservatory of Music</a> (SFCM). Once that month has concluded, just about all of the performances will be end-of-term recitals. Nevertheless, there will be four events during the month of April, each of which will reflect on a different genre of music-making. As usual, each event will have its own <a href="https://sfcm.edu/experience/performance-calendar">Performance Calendar</a> Web page attached to the date of the performance. Each Web page will include a hyperlink for making free-of-charge reservations and a hyperlink for live-stream viewing. Further specifics are as follows:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJpEjh-KL9vmSua8WGIEpGCsX11VOmp7rG-ubg4emu9o8BX2HEdGa84wWs_UMeG7_oRpGiv1taAPaKeUeLZ9VrzWmSZyku9-tf-nHUE_S6PgEjmUNB5NRlE6kf0LC726B_GTXakvNFnG7IaiyMNp2UkZDJplu1WSGDIg4M4Ie7TkPF7LXX26kRJnmkzLVT/s1063/JupiterStringQuartet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1063" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJpEjh-KL9vmSua8WGIEpGCsX11VOmp7rG-ubg4emu9o8BX2HEdGa84wWs_UMeG7_oRpGiv1taAPaKeUeLZ9VrzWmSZyku9-tf-nHUE_S6PgEjmUNB5NRlE6kf0LC726B_GTXakvNFnG7IaiyMNp2UkZDJplu1WSGDIg4M4Ie7TkPF7LXX26kRJnmkzLVT/s320/JupiterStringQuartet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">The members of the Jupiter String Quartet: Meg Freivogel, Daniel McDonough, Nelson Lee, and Liz Freivogel (from the ensemble’s <a href="https://www.jupiterquartet.com/">home page</a>)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://sfcm.edu/experience/performances/chamber-music-tuesday-6"><b>Tuesday, April 2, 7:30 p.m., Barbro Osher Recital Hall, 200 Van Ness Avenue</b></a><b>:</b> As is often the case, the month will begin with Chamber Music Tuesday. Once again, SFCM students will benefit from side-by-side performances with visiting artists. For this final program of the season, those artists will be the members of the <a href="https://www.jupiterquartet.com/">Jupiter String Quartet</a>: violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, Liz Freivogel on viola, and cellist Daniel McDonough. The program will begin with Anton Arensky’s Opus 35 (second) string quartet in A minor, which was scored for violin, viola, and two cellos. Arensky dedicated this piece to the memory of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who had died the previous year; and its second movement is a set of variations on a Tchaikovsky theme. (That movement was subsequently arranged as a “stand-alone” composition for string orchestra, the Opus 35a “Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky.”) The first half of the program will conclude with Nathan Shields’ “Medusa.” The second half of the program will consist entirely of the string octet in B-flat major composed by Max Bruch in the year of his death, 1920. The work was not published until 1996.</p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://sfcm.edu/experience/performances/historical-performance-opera"><b>Saturday, April 6, 7:30 p.m.</b></a><b>, and </b><a href="https://sfcm.edu/experience/performances/historical-performance-opera-0"><b>Sunday, April 7, 2 p.m.</b></a><b>, Barbro Osher Recital Hall, 200 Van Ness Avenue:</b> The Historical Performance program will present two performances of George Frideric Handel’s last opera, <i>Serse</i> (HWV 40). Students from the Voice program, led by Marcie Stapp, will be accompanied by the Baroque Ensemble, led jointly by Corey Jamason (who will conduct) and Elisabeth Reed. The opera will be sung in Italian.</p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://sfcm.edu/experience/performances/rjam-big-band-recital"><b>Thursday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., Barbro Osher Recital Hall, 200 Van Ness Avenue</b></a><b>:</b> This will be the end-of-term concert by the Roots, Jazz, and American Music (RJAM) ensemble, which will be led by the Executive Director of RJAM program, Jason Hainsworth. Program details have not yet been announced. However, students in the winds and strings programs will join the ensemble for a collaborative performance.</p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://sfcm.edu/experience/performances/sfcm-orchestra-6-0"><b>Saturday, April 27, 7:30 p.m., Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall, 50 Oak Street</b></a><b>:</b> Edwin Outwater will lead the final program of the season to be presented by the SFCM Orchestra. The program will feature two SFCM alumni, beginning with the world premiere performance of “Acequia” by Nicolás Lell Benavides, who graduated in 2014. This will be followed by Peter Lieberson’s <i>Neruda Songs</i> cycle, which will be sung by 2013 graduate mezzo Nikola Printz. The second half of the program will present two compositions by Maurice Ravel. The first of these will be the <i>Rapsodie espagnole</i> suite, followed by “La valse,” which had been planned for performance by Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes but was never choreographed. As might be guessed, the relationship between Diaghilev and Ravel quickly deteriorated and (at least according to Harold C. Schonberg) Diaghilev challenged Ravel to a duel!</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-73280250171630388702024-03-10T07:50:00.000-07:002024-03-12T10:18:41.273-07:00VoM Closes Season with Diverse Concertos<p class="p1">Last night <a href="https://voicesofmusic.org/index.html" target="_blank">Voices of Music</a> (VoM) concluded its 2023–2024 concert season with a program whose full title was <i>Virtuoso Concertos: Music of Vivaldi, Bach & Telemann</i>. Both of the latter composers were represented by only a single selection on the program, and the one for Johann Sebastian Bach was not even a concerto! Rather, it was the opening Sinfonia movement from the BWV 42 cantata <i>Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats</i> (on the evening, however, of the same Sabbath). <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBj2axf5PZZlbzOF0MQPIonX3INqd1Njf4b7_FjM4qhGGl3j3JIioHM_WrX4IzkAFCITf3uP1KbnbhowejPG7kH3MZfE-injzhm2qpnF3L4mIo9l_KyJxPvOvwSl55pznZZxLyOE5kk3z0lUl5skpm5lMlgOf8wePci8GbnGW8FKCj1ropfAenFHwodFA/s5000/Hanneke%20Recorder%20Concerto%202024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2813" data-original-width="5000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBj2axf5PZZlbzOF0MQPIonX3INqd1Njf4b7_FjM4qhGGl3j3JIioHM_WrX4IzkAFCITf3uP1KbnbhowejPG7kH3MZfE-injzhm2qpnF3L4mIo9l_KyJxPvOvwSl55pznZZxLyOE5kk3z0lUl5skpm5lMlgOf8wePci8GbnGW8FKCj1ropfAenFHwodFA/s320/Hanneke%20Recorder%20Concerto%202024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hanneke van Proosdij taking her bow after performing a Telemann concerto (courtesy of Voices of Music) <br /></div><div><p></p>
<p class="p1">The concerto by Georg Philipp Telemann was particularly distinctive, however, because it provided Director Hanneke van Proosdij to depart from her harpsichord bench and take up her recorder. TWV 51:F1 is a concerto for that instrument, and its second (Allegro) movement almost literally sparkled with an abundance of virtuoso turns. Many of us first came to know music through the “simplicity” of a recorder; but there is no dismissing its role in the history of early music. Furthermore, because it <i>is</i> an early instrument, the command of those virtuoso passages must be met with not only intricate fingerwork but also scrupulous breath control. Proosdij could not have been a better “commander” in her account of Telemann’s score.</p>
<p class="p1">The remaining five selections on the program were all concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. While I did not need any reminder of how prolific Vivaldi was, I still had to make note of the fact that, in my listening experience, all five of those concertos were “first encounters.” Two of those concertos tend to be seldom performed because they were composed for winds, and each half of the program had one of those concertos.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p class="p1">The first of these was the RV 535 concerto for two oboes in D minor, performed by Marc Schachman and Pablo O’Connell, and it served up just the right balance between playing together and exchanging motifs. In the second half Schachman performed with bassoonist Andrew Schwartz to present the RV 545 concerto in G major. This may well have been my first encounter with virtuoso music performed on a baroque bassoon, and the sonorities of that concerto could not have been more engaging. The two oboists also returned as soloists for the final concerto, RV 557 in C major, originally composed for two oboes and three violins. This was rearranged so that one of the violin solo parts was taken by recorder, and the middle Largo movement was rescored for mandolin (performed by Director David Tayler) and harpsichord. The other soloist featured during the evening was violinist Augusta McKay Lodge (also serving as concertmaster), playing the RV 728 concerto in E minor.</p>
<p class="p1">Taken as a whole, the evening was a thoroughly engaging journey of discovery, emphasizing, once again, that music from the Baroque period was a far cry from “more of the same!”</p></div>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-13151090181926783252024-03-09T10:00:00.000-08:002024-03-09T10:00:56.573-08:00SFJAZZ will End Month with Unconventional Duo<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1s3Blnm3jvvQu2qghPplzH3HfPWkBbjQlgVtn88wx7d6jXCl8AAzjhwdWVfjUbPaScU2XlocSv2tRXafmWghMNi4eqJGhwKajHHWg07EiQCcaXaFmF-Hgnfwj_2watgohVADLFFAHkAnpDhppSbkKINE4W2deCzjdBM-WPRQGv1dMwZYTwSlHIuc59VE3/s1920/nataliecressman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1920" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1s3Blnm3jvvQu2qghPplzH3HfPWkBbjQlgVtn88wx7d6jXCl8AAzjhwdWVfjUbPaScU2XlocSv2tRXafmWghMNi4eqJGhwKajHHWg07EiQCcaXaFmF-Hgnfwj_2watgohVADLFFAHkAnpDhppSbkKINE4W2deCzjdBM-WPRQGv1dMwZYTwSlHIuc59VE3/s320/nataliecressman.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">Natalie Cressman and Ian Faquini (from the SFJAZZ <a href="https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/23-24/natalie-cressman-ian-faquini/">Web page</a> for this concert)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">This is a month of “themed performances” presented by <a href="https://www.sfjazz.org/">SFJAZZ</a>. The first of these is the series of <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/tammy-l-hall-to-curate-sfjazz-series.html">Discover Jazz “classes”</a> curated by Lead Teaching Artist and pianist Tammy L Hall, which began this past Wednesday. The following evening saw the first of five programs prepared in celebration of <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2024/02/sfjazz-to-celebrate-womens-history-month.html">Women’s History Month</a>. If all that were not enough to keep the adventurous jazz lover occupied, there will be three final offerings in the Joe Henderson Lab at the end of this month.</p>
<ol class="ol1">
<li class="li1">Natalie Cressman, who is both a trombonist and a vocalist versed in jazz, Brazilian music, and the Afro-Cuban tradition, will return to SFJAZZ for the first of these two programs. She will give a duo performance with Brazilian guitarist Ian Faquini, who is also a vocalist. (He also has the advantage of being able to sing while playing his instrument!) They will use the program to preview their forthcoming new album while also reminding listeners of their 2022 album <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NLBFX4K/ref=sr_1_2"><i>Auburn Whisper</i></a>.</li>
<li class="li1">The second show will be a performance by the Orrin Evans Trio. Pianist Evans will perform with Robert Hurst on bass and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. The title of his program will be <i>The Red Door</i>, which is also the title of the album released by Smoke Sessions in 2023. That album was compiled from recordings he had made over the previous three years, so this is likely to be a retrospective program!</li>
<li class="li1">The third show will be presented by pianist Ethan Iverson, leading a trio whose other members are Reuben Rogers on bass and drummer Gerald Cleaver. This will be Iverson’s first visit to SFJAZZ in six years. It is unclear what to expect from this virtuosic leader, but he has entitled his program <i>Every Note Is True</i> (as if any of us would expect less from him)!</li>
</ol>
<p class="p1"><i>Connections</i> will be given two performances, at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., respectively, on Thursday, March 28; and readers should be informed that the 7 p.m. concert is almost sold out. The Evans Trio performances will take place at the same times on Friday, March 29. The Iverson trio will give four performances on Saturday, March 30, at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and on Sunday, March 31, at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. All tickets may be purchased online through the <a href="https://www.sfjazz.org/calendar/?month=3.2024">March Calendar Web page</a>. The SFJAZZ Center is located at 201 Franklin Street, on the northwest corner of Fell Street.</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-32064102758924477932024-03-08T10:19:00.000-08:002024-03-09T08:11:55.051-08:00Michèle Walther to Join Trio at Music on the Hill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGWBO-AvSPBEu2wgAQxBtv6JPnJaqAhnYaEQ_qwl0lKnxAybfqQNCHpHdQXgw9UJAPBclGAg0qvAJFziQqQ0bMmTfyz8b389_dcnikOTwUL7nEqtAHor_IEM6v1Lp3UA3CYsfDCayqNDm0Ct4GkwufJxdRBilsmSu86YzsWjungRg4XE5XkAjrPEXr1GY/s940/Daniel-Michele-Ava.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="940" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGWBO-AvSPBEu2wgAQxBtv6JPnJaqAhnYaEQ_qwl0lKnxAybfqQNCHpHdQXgw9UJAPBclGAg0qvAJFziQqQ0bMmTfyz8b389_dcnikOTwUL7nEqtAHor_IEM6v1Lp3UA3CYsfDCayqNDm0Ct4GkwufJxdRBilsmSu86YzsWjungRg4XE5XkAjrPEXr1GY/s320/Daniel-Michele-Ava.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p3" style="text-align: center;">Daniel Hallett, Michèle Walther, and Ava Soifer (from the Eventbrite <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ava-and-friends-tickets-855659399297">event page</a> for the performance being discussed)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">According to my archives, I have not been aware of the <a href="https://www.musiconthehill.org/home">Music on the Hill</a> chamber music series since <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2022/11/december-to-begin-with-alternative.html">November of 2022</a>, when I learned about it through violist Michèle Walther, who was performing in a recital with the Town Quartet. In a little over two week’s time, Walther will return to the venue in Diamond Heights, this time performing with a somewhat imaginative trio. The pianist will be Ava Soifer; but, what makes the group “imaginative” is the third member, Daniel Hallett, who will be playing marimba.</p>
<p class="p1">Program specifics have not yet been announced. However, the repertoire will be an interleaving of duets and trios. Compositions will include works by three twentieth-century composers: George Gershwin, Darius Milhaud, and Astor Piazzolla. There will also be selections by the less familiar (and probably contemporary) composers Sheridan Seyfried and Glenn Stallcop. <b>[added 3/9, 8:10 a.m.:</b></p><p class="p1">The program has been announced. There will be four groups, three duos and one trio. Specifics are as follows:</p><p class="p1"><b>Marimba and Piano</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li class="p1">Darius Milhaud: Marimba Concerto: First movement</li><li class="p1">Stefan Wick: Two movements from <i>Particles</i>: "Reel" and "Reflex"</li><li class="p1">Rihards Zalupe: Dance for Marimba and Piano</li></ul><p><b>Violin and Marima</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Astor Piazzolla: Two movements from <i>Histoire de Tango</i>: "Nightclub 1960" and "Café 1930"</li><li>Astor Piazzolla: "Libertango" arranged by Kana Omori</li></ul><p><b>Violin, Marimba, and Piano</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Glen Stallcop: <i>Midsummer Night</i></li><li>Sheridan Seyfried: Trio</li></ul><p><b>Violin and Piano</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>George Gershwin: Selections from <i>Porgy and Bess</i> arranged by Jascha Heifetz</li><li>Astor Piazzolla: Milonga en Re<b>]</b><br /></li></ul><div><div><div>
<p class="p1">The Diamond Heights venue is St. Aidan’s Church at 101 Gold Mine Drive. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 24. Single tickets are being sold for $20 and may be purchased online through an Eventbrite <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ava-and-friends-tickets-855659399297">event page</a>. Further information about Music on the Hill can be provided through the About Us <a href="https://www.musiconthehill.org/about">Web page</a> on the Music at the Hill <a href="https://www.musiconthehill.org/home">Web site</a>.</p></div></div></div>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-1190863931861263572024-03-07T12:08:00.000-08:002024-03-08T10:48:35.489-08:00David Russell to Return to Omni This Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UQQ_63q9_K2H6dBoBYZxcKnhy8zzfeSemwW5IdpKW1LrfOTK4AogoKK85GKzkSL8MYSIXAK3TAwqxD9CayXuegGmsoS3CSwxp0KwwZd3MOEj94gxOzRQWteENZ18Ic-p6m80shE4P66en2FNTg2E9-VVXODpMLHAM6phnPvH2bn9vfGA5ZVpqBJLwytI/s2560/DR-cloister-with-guitar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1441" data-original-width="2560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UQQ_63q9_K2H6dBoBYZxcKnhy8zzfeSemwW5IdpKW1LrfOTK4AogoKK85GKzkSL8MYSIXAK3TAwqxD9CayXuegGmsoS3CSwxp0KwwZd3MOEj94gxOzRQWteENZ18Ic-p6m80shE4P66en2FNTg2E9-VVXODpMLHAM6phnPvH2bn9vfGA5ZVpqBJLwytI/s320/DR-cloister-with-guitar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">David Russell in the cloister of one of the Spanish churches where his performances have been recorded on video (courtesy of the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">The <a href="http://omniconcerts.com/">Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts</a> will host David Russell’s next visit to San Francisco. Many readers probably know by now that he has been a regular visitor, and his repertoire is known for both its breadth and its virtuosity. As of this writing, program details have not been announced. However, the contributing composers have been identified. As usual, this is a diverse list, as broad in the nationalities of the composers as in their historic periods. To avoid any bias, the composers will be listed in alphabetical order as follows:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Johann Sebastian Bach, José Brocá, Francis Kleynjans, Benedetto Marcello, Francisco Tárrega, and Federico Moreno Torroba. <b>[added 3/8, 10:45 a.m.:</b></p><p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">Program details have now been announced. Selections for the first half of the program will be:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li class="p1" style="text-align: left;">Brocá: Pensamiento</li><li class="p1" style="text-align: left;">Marcello: Sonata (four movements)</li><li class="p1" style="text-align: left;">Torroba: Castillos de España <br /></li></ul><p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">The intermission will be followed by another three composers</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li class="p1" style="text-align: left;">Bach: BWV 1034 sonata (transcribed by Russell)</li><li class="p1" style="text-align: left;">Kleynjans: Arabesque en forme de Caprice (dedicated to Russell)</li><li class="p1" style="text-align: left;">Tárrega: Gran Jota<b>]</b><br /></li></ul>
<p class="p1">Those familiar with Russell probably recall his performances in Herbst Theatre. However, for this recital, he will visit St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, where, unless I mistaken, he last visited in <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2017/02/program-announced-for-david-russells.html">2017</a>. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 23. The church is located at 1111 O’Farrell Street, just west of the corner of Franklin Street. General admission will be $60, and tickets may be purchased online through a City Box Office <a href="https://www.cityboxoffice.com/orderticketsarea.asp?p=13803&a=9657&src=&_ga=GA1.1.1142468548.1709840848&_gl=">event page</a>. There is a special discounted rate for K–12 attendees, but they will be required to make arrangements by calling City Box Office at 415-392-4400. (General admission tickets may also be purchased by phone.)</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-5095299141183671152024-03-07T08:37:00.000-08:002024-03-07T08:43:09.525-08:00Shenson Spotlight: Violinist Alexandra Conunova<p class="p1" style="text-align: center;"></p><p class="p1" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2HgSsrcs_CKbFC7QC6XRncakPmXU4vbZJ9HdiN8EPD_nX4FjCC5U-qZF8-GKEJ-YxibLZzhfmt68rEvf5bk4f1soduYdLg5YTlJHMGGt0gtl3sGyOGIEO9a2fTXY1pFFkC92pZVG4qLFRkSFPkTJTRiG2_4eOJh9EXsWE8DgoPDjzqmfdoZWL1H8g_Tn/s5000/Conunova-by-Anoush-Abrar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3333" data-original-width="5000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2HgSsrcs_CKbFC7QC6XRncakPmXU4vbZJ9HdiN8EPD_nX4FjCC5U-qZF8-GKEJ-YxibLZzhfmt68rEvf5bk4f1soduYdLg5YTlJHMGGt0gtl3sGyOGIEO9a2fTXY1pFFkC92pZVG4qLFRkSFPkTJTRiG2_4eOJh9EXsWE8DgoPDjzqmfdoZWL1H8g_Tn/s320/Conunova-by-Anoush-Abrar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Violinist Alexandra Conunova (photograph by Anoush Abrar, courtesy of the San Francisco Symphony) <br /><p></p><p class="p1">Last night in Davies Symphony Hall, violinist Alexandra Conunova was the third recitalist in the third season of the <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/12/sfs-announces-2024-spotlight-series.html">Shenson Spotlight Series</a>, presented by the <a href="https://www.sfsymphony.org/">San Francisco Symphony</a>. Conunova is Moldovan, and she was accompanied at the piano by Tamila Salimdjanova, who was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The major work on the program, however, was Norwegian, Edvard Grieg’s Opus 45, the last of his three sonatas for violin and piano.</p>
<p class="p1">Grieg completed this sonata in 1887. It may be worth noting that, while the first two sonatas were composed in a matter of weeks, Opus 45 took him several months. It is a major undertaking with a rich thematic vocabulary and no end of technical challenges for the soloist. (Since Grieg’s primary instrument was the piano, the accompanist was probably already familiar with many of rhetorical turns.) Conunova gave a fierce account in rising to the many challenged presented to her in her score pages. By the time things had calmed down in the coda of the final movement, the attentive listener had journeyed with her through a vast landscape of themes and developments.</p>
<p class="p1">Ironically, Johan Dalene played this same sonata <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/search/label/Grieg">a little over a year ago</a>, when he presented <i>his</i> Shenson Spotlight Series recital; and Randall Goosby played it at <i>his</i> Spotlight recital <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2022/04/randall-goosbys-engaging-debut-recital.html">the preceding year</a>! Equally interesting is that Stella Chen, who will be the final Shenson recitalist, played the Opus 13, second, sonata in her San Francisco debut with Chamber Music San Francisco <a href="https://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2023/03/stella-chen-brings-schubert-to-cmsf.html">almost exactly a year ago</a>. Grieg’s chamber music seems to have fared well here in the Civic Center, if not elsewhere!</p>
<p class="p1">The Grieg sonata was preceded by the opening selection, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 261. This was an Adagio movement in E major composed for violin and orchestra. Its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adagio_in_E_for_Violin_and_Orchestra_(Mozart)">Wikipedia page</a> claims that it may have been written to replace the slow movement in the K. 219 (fifth) violin concerto. Most likely, Conunova played the duo arrangement prepared by Paul Klengel in the early twentieth century. This was one of those joys-of-unfamiliar-Mozart selections, which made for an excellent opening gesture.</p>
<p class="p1">Conunova followed her Grieg performance with more familiar selections from the “war horse” category. The first of these was a dynamite account of Camille Saint-Saëns Opus 28, the Rondo capriccioso preceded by an Introduction. She played this without any score pages, possibly to avoid setting them on fire with her dynamic rhetoric. The program then concluded with Franz Waxman’s “Carmen Fantasie.” This music originated in Waxman’s score for the movie <i>Humoresque</i>. After seeing the film, Heifetz asked Waxman to expand his efforts into a piece he could include in his performances. It was originally composed for violin and orchestra, but Heifetz seems to have arranged it for piano accompaniment. Last night it served as the “punctuation mark” at the conclusion of the program!</p>
<p class="p1">The encore selection was Béla Bartók’s <i>Romanian Folk Dances</i> suite, six short movements originally composed for solo piano and given an abundance of arrangements, including one for small orchestra (which was given a separate number in András Szőllősy’s catalog). The offering allowed the performers to return to their Eastern European roots. The music was probably familiar to many (most?) in the audience, providing just the right spirits to send us all on our way home!</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-50766662471670268072024-03-06T14:52:00.000-08:002024-03-06T14:52:11.838-08:00Craft Reissues Historical Art Blakey Album<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRvcbxA0axB-3aqv8vTPc6tMP3fsdSsaPuS5kLFAAGocYqysJekCDSOgByS5vFhUMeJMEhcMUqYnSoIvJD4GBV2dTAmZ19m1Fw6zYzWyNIADj3gt55W1W4TJoYQ5KZHLvsN3tDfABm1hFvu33km8HUW7HwPxZHTd-TNcw3xYXW_JP8NsnyHrCvlR5G0hj/s317/original-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="314" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRvcbxA0axB-3aqv8vTPc6tMP3fsdSsaPuS5kLFAAGocYqysJekCDSOgByS5vFhUMeJMEhcMUqYnSoIvJD4GBV2dTAmZ19m1Fw6zYzWyNIADj3gt55W1W4TJoYQ5KZHLvsN3tDfABm1hFvu33km8HUW7HwPxZHTd-TNcw3xYXW_JP8NsnyHrCvlR5G0hj/s1600/original-cover.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p class="p4" style="text-align: center;">Cover of the album being discussed (from the album’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravan_(Art_Blakey_album)">Wikipedia page</a>)</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: left;">My latest encounter with a Craft Recordings vinyl reissue of a significant jazz classic involves the <i>Caravan</i> album. This was the first release by Riverside Records to feature drummer Art Blakey leading his Jazz Messengers. The ensemble was a sextet; and the roster of musicians contributing to the recording sessions, which took place on October 23 and 24 of 1962, read like a roll call of jazz giants. Those five giants of jazz are (in the order given on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravan_(Art_Blakey_album)">Wikipedia pag</a>e for the <i>Caravan </i>album) are as follows:</p>
<ol class="ol1">
<li class="li1">Freddie Hubbard (trumpet)</li>
<li class="li1">Curtis Fuller (trombone)</li>
<li class="li1">Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone)</li>
<li class="li1">Cedar Walton (piano)</li>
<li class="li1">Reggie Workman (bass)</li>
</ol>
<p class="p1">The new <i>Caravan</i> vinyl has now been added to the options on the Amazon.com <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravan_(Art_Blakey_album)">Web page</a> for the album. As expected, the other options account for both CD and MP3 releases. The album consisted of six tracks, three of which were composed by Messengers. Hubbard provided the final track, “Thermo;” and Shorter contributed “Sweet ’n’ Sour” and “This is for Albert.” The opening track is Juan Tizol’s “Caravan;” and the other standards are “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” and “Skylark.” There are two alternate-take tracks for “Thermo” and “Sweet ’n’ Sour;” but they are only available on CD or MP3.</p>
<p class="p1">From a personal point of view, I am delighted to add this to my collection (in a version that includes the bonus tracks). It was only when I learned more about the Messengers that worked with him that my interest in Blakey was piqued. I suspect that many of those hooked on vinyl will be happy that Craft has allowed them to enhance their collections. However, from my personal analytic viewpoint, I am less interested in the assets and liabilities of audio technologies and more interested in those alternate takes. Learning about how the music gets made makes listening all the more stimulating!</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-55442562422336204752024-03-06T09:12:00.000-08:002024-03-06T09:12:40.327-08:00InterMusic SF to Launch Free Concert Series<p class="p1">One week from this coming Sunday, InterMusic SF will partner with Classical California KDFC to present a free concert series. These will be relatively intimate offerings, showcasing the best of the Bay Area’s small ensemble musicians and soloists. The title of the series is <i>Listen Local</i>, and performances will take place in the Cha Chi Ming Recital Hall of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. This is located on the top floor of The Bowes Performing Arts Center, which is at 200 Van Ness Avenue. Demand is likely to be high. I received the first announcement from InterMusicSF almost exactly 24 hours ago; and, as of this writing, tickets for the first two concerts in the series are already sold out! Fortunately, Eventbrite has created a “<a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/listen-local-kdfc-intermusic-free-concerts-3153259">home page</a>” for the entire series, where hyperlinks for tickets to future performances will be posted. (With any luck, this site will be able to notify readers about those future performances sufficiently in advance!)</p>Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.com0