Younis Raza

A stellar concert Music often finds itself in a curious double role: it can stand alone or it can support the other arts. The Oakland East Bay Symphony held its spring concert Friday, April 17, and three of the four pieces referenced another form. Led by...

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Two very different programs showed Josef Haydn in different lights last week. And then turned around and delivered stunning modern works. At an April 4 program featuring Thomas Adès’ 2005 Violin Concerto (Concentric Paths), Leila Josefowicz wowed a packed Davies...

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Great black-and-white photographs have an integrity of texture that color would only obscure. In a program titled “Moving pictures, picture music,” the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players subsumed orchestral color for contrast, exploring a wealth of shades from ephemeral to nitty-gritty. Alessandro Solbiati’s 2006 Sestetto à Gérard (Sextet for Gerard) played gossamer phantasms—ghost tones and muted strings—against the solidity of bass clarinet warmed by flute....

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When classical musicians let their hair down Blurring genres, San Francisco’s second annual Switchboard Music Festival entertained the serious, the curious and the jaded for eight hours on Sunday, March 29, with a sundry cast of Bay Area musicians who have broken away from established territories in their search for personal sound. Organized by composer Ryan Brown and bass clarinetists Jeff Anderle and Jonathan Russell, 11 separate programs were held at 24th St.’s...

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Extraordinary pianist thrills crowd in rare appearance In a nod to San Francisco Performances for agility and to their audience for flexibility, the long-awaited Evgeny Kissin recital at Davies Symphony Hall was successfully rescheduled at the last moment. Kissin’s illness...

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Sorelle, a little-known choral gem, mustered strength and flexibility in a program March 1 at the Loper Chapel of Berkeley’s First Congregational Church. The cozy accoustics fit the careful blend of this female octet. Founded 12 years ago by SF Early Music Society’s Meryl Sacks, Sorelle now has as artistic director Marcelle Dronkers, who crafted a lively program spanning from early music to world premiere. As the lights darkened, two voices floated down from the rear balcony singing...

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Categories: music