Here in the arts pages, our last few issues have explored the past year's offerings and the year to come in Bay Area culture. We pile it on with 12 more arts events coming soon to a Bay Area venue near you.
1. While most music historians agree that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was gay, living in acute fear of reprisal in homophobic Czarist Russia, today's official Soviet stance still denies what it considers a "slur" against Russia's most famous composer. How then does one tell the story of the composer's life before a Soviet audience? Writer-performer Hershey Felder tackles this question in his musical tribute "Our Great Tchaikovsky," which TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is currently presenting through Feb. 11 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Info: theatreworks.org.
2. & 3. San Francisco Performances presents composer Philip Glass' early masterpiece "Music with Changing Parts," on Tues, Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall. Performing with Glass will be the Philip Glass Ensemble, San Francisco Girls Chorus, and young students from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Prior to that concert, on Fri., Feb. 2, 7:30 p.m. at the Herbst Theatre, Kronos Quartet and pianist Timo Andres discuss "On Playing Glass," offering musical examples. Both: sfperformances.org
4. & 5. Peking Acrobats, featuring live musicians playing traditional Chinese instruments, Jan. 27 & 28; and Circa, "Il Ritorno," an Australian troupe of acrobats, chamber musicians and singers creates circus arts set to the music of a 17th-century opera by Monteverdi. Both at Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley. calperformances.org.
6. Leonard Bernstein's jazz-influenced opera "Trouble in Tahiti," in a world-premiere pairing with Bay Area composer Jake Heggie's "At the Statue of Venus," both from SF's Opera Parallele, Feb. 14-18 at SFJazz. sfjazz.org.
7. Opera Parallele will also present the world premiere of a new opera inspired by the life of heroic American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, Jan. 18 & 20, at the African American Art and Culture Complex in SF. "Harriet's Spirit" features new music by Bay Area-based jazz composer and bassist Marcus Shelby and a libretto by Roma Olvera as part of OP's "Hands-On Opera" program, performing new music-theater works in collaboration with elementary school children. opharrietsspirit.bpt.me.
8. Coming up in the San Francisco Symphony's 2018 season: MTT conducts "Candide"; pianist Daniil Trifonov plays with the orchestra; and the SFS performs the score to "West Side Story" live with the film screening. Look for our ongoing SFS coverage; sfsymphony.org.
9. Gifted pianist Sarah Cahill performs a 100th birthday salute to great late gay composer Lou Harrison, with violinist Kate Steinberg, the Alexander String Quartet and William Winant Percussion Group, Jan. 24 at the Strand Theater. sfperformances.org.
10. The Mynabirds, aka Laura Burhenn, will appear at Cafe Du Nord in SF on Jan. 25 in support of the new album "Be Here Now." The album is politically charged, recorded in just two weeks following the presidential inauguration and the woman's march of resistance last year.
11. Concertmaster Daniel Hope leads the New Century Chamber Orchestra in an all-Mozart program, Jan. 25-28 at various venues. ncco.org.
12. Disgraced conductor Charles Dutoit was set to lead the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra when it plays DSH, Jan. 28 & 29; he's been replaced. But acclaimed soloists Gautier Capucon (on cello) and Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano) remain on the program, part of the "Great Performers" series. sfsymphony.org.