Features

San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti

San Francisco OperaEnters the Age of Luisotti

Jason Victor Serinus - August 24, 2009

The Luisotti era is about to begin. Four years after the maestro made his debut in the War Memorial Opera House conducting La forza del destino, to rave reviews, he assumes his new post as music director of San Francisco Opera.

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Joint Interview With Berkeley Symphony'sNew Director and Its Creative Advisor

Michael Zwiebach - August 18, 2009

The Berkeley Symphony Orchestra was confident it had hit the jackpot when it appointed rising-star conductor Joana Carneiro as its third musical director, after Kent Nagano’s masterful work during 30 years at the helm. Now it appears it’s doubled its winnings with the announcement that native Berkeleyan Gabriela Lena Frank has been appointed Creative Advisor to the orchestra.

Music News: August 18, 2009

Janos Gereben - August 18, 2009

Symphony Programming: Putting It Together

MTT, then a student, leading<br> the Tanglewood Orchestra (1968)

In my imagination, Michael Tilson Thomas' To Do List includes giving great performances, building the orchestra and bringing in new aud

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Attuning Your Kids to Music:Lessons From Anne Crowden

Jeff Kaliss - August 18, 2009

Putting kids in tune with music can be a tricky adjustment. When my piano-teacher mother was raising us, there were fewer distractions vying with the sounds of her practicing Schumann and Chopin and the classical programming of WQXR radio.

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Harry Potter and the Classic Film Score

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - August 11, 2009

For the last couple of weeks, a musical debate has been raging on MuggleNet, the self-appointed “ULTIMATE Harry Potter Fansite.” Nicholas Hooper, the composer who scored the last two Potter films, announced to If Magazine on July 23 that he will not work on the final productio

Music News: August 11, 2009

Janos Gereben - August 11, 2009

A Devilishly Great Faust

Preposterous but true: My two best memories of Gounod's Faust performances come from a gala occasion in Paris 34 years ago and a small regional company's premiere of it on Saturday. A world-class event and Walnut Creek's Festival Opera each hit the spot in its own way.

Dessay and Brewer Triumph at Santa Fe Opera Festival

Georgia Rowe - August 10, 2009

Santa Fe Opera has always exerted a powerful pull on opera lovers from the Bay Area and beyond, and this year was no exception. With five productions offered throughout July and August in the company’s 2,200-seat, open-air theater, the 2009 season — Charles MacKay’s first as general director — offered myriad musical rewards in a congenial setting.