Arts & Culture :: Music

Celebrating Michael Tilson Thomas

Celebrating Michael Tilson Thomas

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Mar 18, 2019

San Francisco Symphony announces 2019-20 season The announcement by the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas of the 2019-20 season marks the track for the departing Music Director's final victory lap at Davies Symphony Hall.

Founding sister of women's music

Founding sister of women's music

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Mar 5, 2019

LGBTQ feminist singer-composer-activist Holly Near, one of the founders of the 1970s Women's Music movement, is profiled in a new "American Masters" episode that premiered on PBS March 1.

More lessons from opera

More lessons from opera

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Mar 5, 2019

"It's nothing to do with loving a man," government prosecutor Mortimer screams at King Edward II at the beginning of George Benjamin's third opera, "Lessons in Love and Violence."

Chamber choir music for all seasons

Chamber choir music for all seasons

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Mar 5, 2019

"Unveiling: New Music from Sweden and America" included some US and world premieres in a smartly produced program featuring an enduringly successful Bay Area composer and a promising new voice from Scandinavia.

Total pop-song coverage

Total pop-song coverage

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Mar 5, 2019

"Live in Hollywood" (Rhino), the long lost/recently rediscovered audio recording from Linda Ronstadt's 1980 HBO concert, is cause for celebration.

Orchestral maneuvers

Orchestral maneuvers

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Feb 26, 2019

Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony and notable guest artists have made February at Davies Hall a month of special events.

More queers for your ears

More queers for your ears

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Feb 26, 2019

Queer male musical acts such as Perfume Genius, Car Seat Headrest, Shamir and John Grant are proving that there's more to gay men's listening habits than disco and show tunes.

Great acoustics

Great acoustics

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Feb 20, 2019

The Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera, the thoroughly renovated fourth floor and basement of the Beaux Arts-designed Veterans Building, opened to enthusiastic praise three years ago. It is home to the 299-seat Diane and Ted Taube Atrium Theater.

Do we hear a waltz?

Do we hear a waltz?

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Feb 12, 2019

Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music," inspired by an Ingmar Bergman movie, endures as one of his most successful shows. It's that "Send in the Clowns" musical, as marketers are quick to remind.

Out of the city & into the sheets

Out of the city & into the sheets

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Feb 12, 2019

Even though Out There is a very urban person, we know that it's very important to get out of the big city every now and then. So we try to get away, and high on our list of destinations are the resorts, eateries and wineries of Sonoma County.

Queer historical choral work out on CD

Queer historical choral work out on CD

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Feb 12, 2019

"Unbreakable," an epic choral work performed with San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus last summer, is now available on CD and streaming platforms.

Getting personal with Steve Grand

Getting personal with Steve Grand

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Feb 12, 2019

Steve Grand will be performing at Feinstein's at the Nikko on Feb. 20 & 21. The openly gay singer-songwriter will present "Up Close and Personal."

Batched Beethoven & Brahms

Batched Beethoven & Brahms

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Feb 12, 2019

Brahms' last piano compositions are often recorded together (at least three new sets have just hit the market) but hardly ever performed complete in recital.

Berkeley muse

Berkeley muse

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Feb 5, 2019

The Berkeley Symphony's 2018-19 season continued last week at Zellerbach Hall with a tribute to composers' responses to literature, prose and poetry.