Author: Admin

There’s an interesting concert at Davies Symphony Hall this week. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony are joined by guest artist Emanuel Ax who plays not one, but two, piano concertos – and they really couldn’t be more different – Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 14  and Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto No 42. Ax, described…

Trumpeter extraordinaire Chris Botti makes a very welcome return visit to SFJAZZ this week, playing in the Miner Auditorium for nine performances – four of which are nearly sold out. This comes as no surprise, since the world’s biggest-selling jazz instrumentalist is as popular here as he is the world over, with sales of over…

It’s customary at this time of year to look back and recall highlights of the past 12 months, but sometimes so much happens that it’s quite a challenge to decide which events to feature in a roll call of achievements. It’s been that sort of year for Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony…

San Francisco Ballet’s magnificent production of The Nutcracker has opened its 2017 season at the War Memorial Opera House – a magical Christmas tradition that will never cease to deliver a warm glow, a frisson of excitement, and a sense of wonder. The 18th century English writer Samuel Johnson, observed that a man who is…

If you need a shot of festive sparkle, and a reminder of what Christmas is all about, the San Francisco Playhouse is only too happy to oblige. A Christmas Story: The Musical is joyful, at times touching, it will make you smile – and laugh out loud. A perfect production for the time of year,…

Mozart’s The Magic Flute is the second production in the Met Opera’s 87th season of Saturday matinee radio broadcasts. It airs on Classical KDFC on December 9 for listeners in the Bay Area.  This series of broadcasts, live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, was launched in 1931, making it the longest-running continuous classical…

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony presents Music for Families at Davies Symphony Hall on Saturday afternoon in a program entitled Stringing it All Together: The Elements of Music Making. In a concert which includes music by Wagner, Mahler, Brahms, Gershwin, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Beethoven, conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser and members of the Symphony…

A 14-year-old pianist who has “… lit up the world of jazz …” (Houston Chronicle) is the star turn at SFJAZZ this weekend.  Appearing with Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland, Joey Alexander – whose love for jazz was initially inspired by the music of Thelonius Monk – is quite obviously a jazz force to be…

In what promises to be a stunning finale to its Fall Season, San Francisco Opera presents the world premiere of John Adams’ Girls of the Golden West – a dramatic and moving portrayal of life on the frontier of the California Gold Rush. It’s a fitting finale to Adams’ 70th birthday year in which performances…

It comes as no surprise that Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony have organized a concert to raise funds for those affected by the recent wildfires. In a magnificent gesture, MTT, the musicians of the Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony Chorus (Director Ragnar Bohlin), members of the San Francisco Opera Chorus (Director Ian…