Author: Admin

Great news for jazz lovers – the SFJAZZ Collective’s new album will be released on 13th March! True to tradition, the album features the music of the artist (or artists) to whom the Collective pays tribute in a particular season, and during the group’s residency at SFJAZZ last October they celebrated the 50th anniversary of…

In the second part of his back-to-back concert program with the San Francisco Symphony this month, Music Director Designate Esa-Pekka Salonen leads a performance in which violin virtuoso Leila Josefowicz plays Salonen’s own Violin Concerto, which he wrote for her. Also in the program are the Beethoven Overture to King Stephen, and Carl Nielsen’s Symphony…

Music Director Designate Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the San Francisco Symphony in the first of two February programs this week, featuring soprano Julia Bullock. The program opens with a work which is new to the Symphony – Steven Stucky’s Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary (after Purcell) – written in 1991 for the Los Angeles…

San Francisco Ballet is well known for its innovative and creative programming, ably slotting contemporary and experimental works into its schedule between the traditional classical and ‘story’ ballets which form part of every season. The Company’s 2020 season provides as fascinating a mix of versatility as any we’ve seen in recent years, and this week…

Georges Bizet’s Carmen is regarded as one of the most popular operas ever composed, thrilling audiences the world over. This revival by English National Opera, however, is Carmen with a difference – a bold and gritty production by Catalan director Calixto Bieito, which was first staged at ENO in 2012. In 1872 Bizet was invited…

In the latest global screening of productions direct from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Bolshoi Ballet presents a new staging of one of the best-loved works in the classical repertoire – Giselle. This new – and “exquisitely faceted recreation” (The New York Times) – is the work of internationally renowned choreographer Alexei Ratmansky. Regarded…

In his final season as Music Director, Michael Tilson Thomas leads the San Francisco Symphony in two programs this month – the first of which takes place this week, and features the World Premiere of MTT’s own work, Meditations on Rilke, with Artist-in-Residence mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and bass-baritone Ryan McKinny. Also on the program are…

One of the joys of the Christmas season is Handel’s Messiah – and the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus present this magnificent work at Davies Symphony Hall this weekend. This performance, conducted by Chorus Director Ragnar Bohlin, features the harmony of 100 voices, with soloists Lauren Snouffer (soprano), countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, tenor Ben Bliss…

With the passing of Latvian conductor, Mariss Jansons, the world of classical music has lost a towering figure. Maestro Jansons passed away at his home in St Petersburg at the age of 76 on 30th November. Born in Riga – the son of conductor Arvīds Jansons – he studied in St Petersburg, assisting Yevgeny Mravinsky…

Visually sumptuous, vibrant, and set to a gorgeous score, Raymonda is one of the delights of the classical repertoire. The Paris Opera Ballet production opens next week. This tale – based on a medieval legend – was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa, with a libretto by the author and columnist, Countess Lidia Pashkova, and set…