Reviews

Don Kaplan - March 2, 2010
What can you expect from a chorus whose motto is “singing without a net”? Certainly not sea chanteys or singers standing solemnly on risers. Instead, audiences attending Volti’s memorable concert Saturday at St.
Jeff Dunn - March 1, 2010

I’ve covered so many scrape-a-thon concerts of new music featuring the cello that I’ve almost forgotten what a gorgeous, melodious instrument it is. With cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han’s release (on the ArtistLed label) of four duos they commissioned, the lyrical cello returns with welcome suffusion.

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - March 1, 2010
The American Bach Soloists’ presentation of the 1725 version of Bach’s St.
Kwami Coleman - March 1, 2010
What does it mean to be an American? This question — provoked by the Oakland East Bay Symphony’s concert Friday — people have been asking in this country from jump, and we have in our collective memory a wide array of answers.
Scott Cmiel - March 1, 2010
A well-known guitar legend quotes Chopin as saying, “Nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, save perhaps two.” Mark Eden and Christopher Stell, the Eden Stell Guitar Duo, gave evidence on Saturday at the Veterans Building Green Room with their magnificent sound, vivid interpretations, and telepathic ensemble.
Georgia Rowe - March 1, 2010
For mastery of dynamics, unity of utterance, and sheer tonal beauty, aficionados would be hard-pressed to find a more accomplished a cappella ensemble than the Swedish Radio Choir.
Matthew Cmiel - February 28, 2010
It’s hard to know what to make of Thursday's concert at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts. Was it a classical music event that featured The Dodos? Was it an indie rock concert with the Magik*Magik Orchestra? It was just this ambiguity, this realm that falls somewhere between modern classical and indie rock that was probably the goal of the Magik*Magik Orchestra, and their director, Minna Choi.
Dan Leeson - February 26, 2010
At the February 25 San Francisco Symphony matinee, Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt led the orchestra in two polar opposite symphonic masterpieces.
Thomas Busse - February 23, 2010
Wander through the meandering roads of San Francisco's Presidio National Park, pass the George Lucas Pavilion, cross the huge parade grounds where cute vehicles parry in jerky zigzags as San Franciscans learn to operate manual transmissions, and veer off on a smaller path before the main road and you will discover an antique, white barrack newly renovated as an open, two-story gallery space for th
Anna Carol Dudley - February 22, 2010
Berkeley Opera, undergoing some significant changes, is assuring its audience that all is well, by presenting an engaging production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.