Previews

Michael Zwiebach - July 13, 2010

Film buffs are celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the release of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho this year, and music buffs are celebrating Bernard Herrmann's film score, one of the most instantly recognizable and highly regarded of all time. This weekend, you can hear the San Francisco Symphony play the score live, synching to a showing of the movie, and if you really want to get the full skin-crawling effect of the musical sequences in this cinematic landmark you probably can't do better.

Marianne Lipanovich - July 12, 2010

Who would think that the “fun” chamber concert at the Carmel Bach Festival will be a ballad opera that is based on an early 18th-century poem about economic theories of the free market and was inspired by the economic downturn in 2008? Hark, The Grumbling Hive, scheduled for the mornings of July 23 and 30.

Lisa Houston - July 11, 2010

Have you ever wondered during a concert what the composer was thinking and feeling while he or she wrote the piece you are listening to? Or what the composer’s home town was like? Or how political events of the day affected the audience’s reception of that work? If you attend Carmel Bach Festival’s “Aha! Beethoven” program, all your questions will be answered in a timely manner amid myriad musical excerpts performed by world-class musicians and singers.

Jasmine Elist - July 11, 2010

At the young age of 16, saxophonist and San Francisco native Rent Romus had already experienced his first taste of producing and putting on shows for fellow artists and musicians. It was this innate passion as well as a love for underground music that inspired Romus to create, 36 years later, the Outsound New Music Summit, a Bay Area-based, artist-organized festival.

Michael Zwiebach - July 9, 2010

If you want to jazz up a birthday party or anniversary, do something unexpected or plan a surprise. Pianist Daniel Glover is doing something like that with the otherwise dull-as-dishwater Frédéric Chopin commemorations this year, by pairing Chopin with Samuel Barber, another anniversary boy. His recital for San Francisco’s Old First Concerts promises to reveal some interesting connections.

Jason Victor Serinus - July 8, 2010

“It’s all about the music, silly!” Certainly that is true for most of the concerts SFCV previews and reviews. But what about Festival del Sole, which, after a private donor dinner the night before, kicks off in Napa Valley on July 16?

Matthew Cmiel - July 8, 2010

I became a fan of Peppino D’Agostino, who will be performing July 11 at the Mendocino Music Festival, through the world of classical music. In 1998, D’Agostino met David Tanenbaum at the Schorndorf Gitarren festival in Germany and received such positive feedback from the encounter that they decided to work together.

Ken Bullock - July 4, 2010

Glimpses of the landscape of American music, as played, sung, and illustrated by projections and narration, will be displayed in a big tent on the headlands at Mendocino, one of the most striking land-and-seascapes on the West Coast. This compound setting for Susan Waterfall’s narrated multimedia program on July 15, “Hallelujah, America!” will be a featured event of the 24th Mendocino Music Festival, July 10-24.

Joseph Sargent - July 4, 2010

The American Bach Soloists’ first annual Academy, held July 5-18 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, offers more than just another summer festival. Sure, the Academy gathers elite faculty performers for enough concerts and lectures to satisfy even diehard fans. But by bringing a select group of emerging professional musicians alongside masters of the trade, the Academy also offers a revealing glimpse into the future of early-music performance.

Jason Victor Serinus - July 2, 2010

“Why is this bar mitzvah different from all other bar mitzvahs?” It’s a question that countless eyes-glazed-over invitees have raised for close to 6,000 years.

In Dan Plonsey’s case, however, some unusual answers may be voiced.