I’m a curious cat, intrigued by unusual things, so I went to a double-bass recital as part of the Music at the Mission chamber music series. The lesson of the evening’s repertoire was that composers who write solo pieces for the double bass are apt to be slightly eccentric.
The Vienna Philharmonic began its Berkeley residency Friday with a concert that showed off its versatility. The three composers, all from within Vienna’s cultural orbit, were aesthetically different from each other: high Classicism from Franz Schubert, wallowing Romanticism from Richard Wagner, and violent modernism from Béla Bartók.
Rhythmic vitality ruled Saturday at the Redwood Symphony concert, led by guest conductor Joyce Johnson-Hamilton, in a program designed to warm the hearts of music lovers who prefer the just slightly unusual.
The Miró Quartet offered more than a chance to test a theory on "late style" on Sunday in Burlingame, played divergent works with the utmost dedication and coordination, enveloping without overwhelming the intimate space of Kohl Mansion’s hall.
In Music@Menlo's latest concert in this year’s winter series, festivals co-director and pianist Wu Han, Alessio Bax, and Anne-Marie McDermott performed fairly indulgent music from the turn of the 20th century, all of it written for two pianos.
In a S.F. Symphony performance of John Adams' El Niño, conducted by the composer, revealed itself to be an oratorio for the turn of the new century in a concert of warm Christmas music that was, rightfully, warmly received.