Author: Admin

Following the beautiful recording of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony in 2015 – together with his lovely Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture – we could be sure that the Sixth wouldn’t be too far behind.  The Pathétique is now about to be released – and it’s every bit…

In their penultimate program of the 2017-18 season, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony are joined by the sensational young Grammy-winning pianist, Daniil Trifonov, who closes his season-long residency with the Symphony in true Russian style – with the magnificent Piano Concerto No 3 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. “Few artists have burst onto the…

June is the month for impressive productions in San Francisco, and this week sees Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony mount a concert version of Modest Mussorgsky’s dramatic opera, Boris Godunov. With a host of international stars – including soloists from both the Mariinsky and Bolshoi theatre operas – MTT and the Symphony…

San Francisco Opera has gathered a cast of internationally renowned Wagnerian artists for its momentous production of Der Ring des Nibelungen which opens at the War Memorial Opera House next week. Directed by Francesca Zambello, this ambitious staging of all four operas in Wagner’s Ring cycle once again has Donald Runnicles leading the San Francisco…

San Francisco Opera undertakes a production of epic proportions this month – the complete set of four operas which comprise Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. This dramatic co-production with Washington National Opera, which premiered at the War Memorial Opera House in June 2011, is staged by internationally acclaimed director Francesca Zambello. Donald Runnicles, regarded as…

If it’s June at SFJAZZ, it’s Festival time – and this year no less a celebrity than Ahmad Jamal will be on stage at Davies Symphony Hall to launch the celebrations. NEA Jazz Master, Kennedy Center Living Jazz Legend and hugely inspirational figure in the world of jazz, Jamal has made an indelible impression on…

There’s a triple treat in store for San Francisco music lovers this week, as guest conductor Semyon Bychkov leads the San Francisco Symphony and the dynamic piano duo, Katia and Marielle Labèque, in a program of music by Taneyev, Bruch and Tchaikovsky. A close friend of San Francisco Symphony, Semyon Bychkov made his debut with…

It’s Miles Davis all the way at SFJAZZ this week – a celebration of the music of one of the most highly acclaimed and influential artists in the world of jazz. The JAZZ Center pays tribute to this legendary trumpeter, bandleader and composer in four different programs – featuring the Miles Electric Band, pianists Chano…

Usually appearing with the San Francisco Symphony as a guest soloist, violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman fulfills the dual role of conductor and guest artist this week, in a program in which he’s joined by another soloist, the Symphony’s superb Principal Oboe, Eugene Izotov, in a performance of the Concerto for Oboe and Violin by J…

If An Entomologist’s Love Story sounds an unusual title, try the play itself!  The world premiere of a new work by Melissa Ross has just opened at the San Francisco Playhouse, and delivers an intriguing combination of comedy, cynicism, bravado and snappy put-downs – with a touch of poignancy thrown in for good measure. Ross…