music

Blending the new and old On Thursday, February 11, the Berkeley Symphony performs its third program under the baton of its new musical director and conductor, Joana Carneiro. It’s an unusually...

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Of love and re-birth Earplay entered their 25th season on Monday, Feb. 9, at Herbst Theater with a warm and witty program titled “Ear and There.” Conductor Mary Chun, in remarks before the concert, described the season as one “highlighting the rich, new-music community and the tremendous amount of innovation in the Bay Area.” This group of excellent musicians, despite parlous times, has achieved venerable status, and the program included a list of over 250 modern...

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Exploring contemporary music—five composers, five directions On Sunday, Jan. 31, famed violinist Midori held an all-day workshop in anticipation of her concert next Saturday, Feb. 6 at Herbst Theater. The symposium included panels and a master class, and started with a lecture/demonstration, a...

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Violinist Simonyan delivers the goods The Oakland East Bay Symphony rewarded the faithful Friday night at the Paramount Theater with an exhilarating performance by Mikhail Simonyan. The 23-year-old violinist blistered the air (if not the hairs of his bow)...

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Exotic birds fill Davies Symphony Hall The San Francisco Symphony held a two-week mini-festival to honor George Benjamin, this year’s British composer-in-residence. He personally conducted the second of three programs, held Jan 14 -16, interspersing an early success and a recent piece of his own between Ravel and Messiaen, composers who shaped his work. It was informative to hear a composer amid his influences, drawing our ear to musical lineage and strands of harmonic...

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A program of romantic sweep and subtlety “Music at Kohl Mansion” rang in the New Year with a gala concert on Sunday, January 3, celebrating with the FOG Trio. This Burlingame music series is held at the impressive Kohl Mansion, built in 1914 by the scion of a shipping magnate and willed by his mistress to a convent. Now a religious college preparatory school for girls (Mercy High School), the ornate Great Hall is also the site of a long-running chamber music...

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Categories: music