Arts & Culture :: Music

Recomposing Sondheim

Recomposing Sondheim

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Jan 24, 2018

The songs of composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim have long been fertile ground for reinterpretation by cabaret artists, Broadway babies, and vocalists of all stripes.

Bringing zest to Bernstein's 'Candide'

Bringing zest to Bernstein's 'Candide'

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Jan 24, 2018

The San Francisco Symphony's recent concert performances of Leonard Bernstein's comic operetta "Candide," conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, should have been the icing on the cake in the season-long celebration of the composer's birth centennial.

San Francisco Opera Announces 2018-19 Season

San Francisco Opera Announces 2018-19 Season

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Jan 17, 2018

A recent conversation with San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock centered on the announcement this week of repertory in the Company's 2018-19 Season.

All That (Gay) Jazz

All That (Gay) Jazz

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Jan 17, 2018

American music has produced nothing finer or more advanced than jazz, yet it lurks in the shadows.

Popssical Performers :: String Quartet Well-Strung Returns to Feinstein's at the Nikko

Popssical Performers :: String Quartet Well-Strung Returns to Feinstein's at the Nikko

  • by David Elijah-Nahmod
  • Jan 14, 2018

Well-Strung has graced concert stages around the world. When they appear at Feinstein's, the guys will be performing pop/classical mash-ups.

Precise lightness at the piano

Precise lightness at the piano

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Jan 10, 2018

Stephen Hough has made a name for himself as a polymath.

Solos & sides

Solos & sides

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Jan 10, 2018

With the release of her debut solo disc Change (Kill Rock Stars), Cindy Wilson is the third member of the legendary B-52s to record a solo album.

Winter LGBTQ Pop Playlist

Winter LGBTQ Pop Playlist

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Jan 3, 2018

This winter of 2017-18, whether you're all bundled up and trudging through snow and ice or wearing board shorts and soaking up the sun at the beach, remember that music makes everything better.

SF Opera's 2017 Season Calls It A Wrap

SF Opera's 2017 Season Calls It A Wrap

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Jan 3, 2018

There were hits and misses, a world premiere, directorial missteps and some aging shows, but no egregious flops, and many memorable performances.

Maria Callas uber alles

Maria Callas uber alles

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Jan 3, 2018

With nothing strictly new in it, is Warner's new "Maria Callas - Live Re-Mastered" box-set necessary, let alone important?

Tinsel Tunes 2017

Tinsel Tunes 2017

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Dec 27, 2017

The 10th anniversary edition expanded reissue of Josh Groban's "Noel" (Reprise), one of the biggest-selling Christmas album of all time, now boasts six additional songs, including four newly recorded selections.

SF Symphony earns its hallelujahs

SF Symphony earns its hallelujahs

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Dec 27, 2017

The mighty "Amens" in the final chorus of Handel's "Messiah" still echo in memory, days after personally enjoying a last live concert of 2017 at Davies Symphony Hall with the San Francisco Symphony.

From the jaws of the Moz

From the jaws of the Moz

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Dec 27, 2017

Liner notes to the new Morrissey album "Low in High School" (Etienne) tell us it's "dedicated to Dick Gregory (1932-2017)."

The year's best classical recordings

The year's best classical recordings

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Dec 27, 2017

The best recording of 2017, a year of living dangerously, was of Messiaen's "Quatuor pour le Fin du Temps" ("The Quartet for the End of Time").