Artist Spotlights

One the eve of the 25th anniversary of S.F. Conservatory's chamber music master's degree program, Bonnie Hampton talks about her life, the founding of the program, and the value of being present every day.

SFCV catches up with Conductor Alan Curtis, who is based in Florence, but is back in the Bay Area this week to lead Handel's Xerxes for Berkeley West Edge.

Much has been made of soprano Measha Brueggergosman’s endearing idiosyncrasies: performing barefoot, sporting a nose ring, and, if you consider it such, practicing and teaching Bikram Yoga. What’s most important is that she is a major artist, blessed with a gorgeous voice, a fine command of language, and a true commitment to musical expression.

Meeting face-to-face after an intense, six-hour rehearsal at S.F. Opera for her role debut as Emilia Marty in Leoš Janáček’s The Makropulos Case, soprano Karita Mattila no doubt would have preferred to luxuriate in a bubble bath. Nonetheless, the great singer-actress, who recently showed her all onstage in Salome, slowly revealed herself. Speaking in the opera house, the diva shared thoughts on her imminent debut, ill-prepared conductors, and life at 50.

Over three decades, he’s refashioned tasty morsels of jazz, country, world, pop, and classical music, but Bill Frisell and his guitars have always flown far above pigeonholes. Frisell spoke to SFCV from the autumnal splendor of the Vermont Studio Center, where he and his wife, painter Carole d’Inverno, were pursuing their crafts for several weeks in the inspiring company of four dozen other artists.

Robert McDuffie is the quintessential American violinist, despite having performed with most major European and American orchestras and founding the Rome Chamber Music Festival. His love affair with American repertoire began with Samuel Barber and is currently manifest in a new piece, commissioned from Philip Glass, which he will perform on Nov. 2 at Herbst Theatre. McDuffie spoke to SFCV, in his soft, southern accent, about his life and work.

As one of the world’s best-known classical guitarists, John Williams has been responsible for both raising the instrument’s profile and expanding its repertoire. Today Williams, 69, has performed and recorded virtually every piece for the standard classical guitar repertoire; he has also championed African, Cuban, and Latin American composers, and collaborated widely. In a recent call from his home in London, he talked about his work and this week’s concert, which marks his 10th appearance for San Francisco Performances.

Ever since arriving in the U.S. 20 years ago Wu Man — the indefatigable, conservatory-trained master of the Pudong School of classical pipa playing — has made it her mission to explore new and diverse avenues for pipa recognition. A one-woman evangelist for her instrument, she converses with natural grace and charm as she recounts milestones in her journey.

Whether it's girdling the globe or picking up an Avery Fisher Career Grant at Lincoln Center, both of which she's accomplished this year, 24-year-old Joyce Yang is particular about choosing both her piano repertoire and her wardrobe. She discusses her choices with SFCV, and reveals how she applies all six of her senses to the keyboard.

Alex Ross, music critic at The New Yorker since 1996, returns to the Bay Area for Cal Performances’ Strictly Speaking series on Oct. 14 to address and sample from his new book. Here, he talks with SFCV about his last tour and the enthusiastic response accorded to his last book, The Rest Is Noise, as well as about what he’ll talk about in October — plus this and that which came up along the way.