Previews

Beginning tomorrow, and through the weekend, the powerhouse New Century Chamber Orchestra continues to open its repertoire with both new music and great arrangements.

The adventurous nine-member choral ensemble Cantus, along with Theatre Latté Da, will perform works from its recording All Is Calm, a selection of songs, poetry, letters, and journal excerpts relating to the extraordinary World War I “Christmas Truce.”

If there’s a Great American Symphony, it’s Roy Harris’ rugged Third from 1938, a fitting companion for “Decoration Day” from Charles Ives’ Holiday's Symphony also on the program from an intrepid amateur community ensemble, the Palo Alto Philharmonic.

The Japanese guitarist Shin-Ichi Fukuda possesses an astonishingly large repertoire, ranging from the Renaissance to the present day.

Berkeley Symphony and their music director, Joana Carneiro deeply engage contemporary symphonic music in all its diversity. 

Magen Solomon’s San Francisco Choral Artists, having justreceived a favorable review in Fanfare for their recent With Strings Attached CD, should makeanyone’s shortlist of choral concerts to attend.

The Alexander String Quartet visits the Mondavi Center with Schubert quartets on the bill. The Alexanders are a superb, long-standing group which doesn’t get enough credit for their fine music-making.

The Ives Quartet is the second act in the Crowden Music Center’s marvelous Sundays@Four concert series.

This combination ought to make people sit up and take notice: conductor George Cleve and pianist Peter Serkin performing Brahms’ First Piano Concerto. 

The New Esterhazy Quartet's concert is a fascinating way to mull over the Haydn-Beethoven teacher-student relationship, and it will be great to see these fantastic period instrumentalists dig into Beethoven’s masterpiece.