Reviews

Its former music director leads the S.F. Symphony in a novel overture, a grand organ symphony, and a little-known Rachmaninov concerto.

A superprolific Armenian-American composer said that ideas “persecute him,” causing him to write every day. This CD offers a range of his works, with their high-quality tunes and, in one work, effective drama.

A concert by the CSO under the baton of Riccardo Muti offered two thrilling evenings in one: a great orchestra, led by a superb conductor, presenting two fascinating new works, and textbook (but vibrant) readings of evergreen classics.

The San Francisco Ballet presented a varying program — ranging from Mark Morris' Beaux and wayne McGregor's Chroma to Christopher Wheeldon's Number Nine — that seemed oddly fitting for the day it fell on, Valentines Day.

Steeped in jazz, esteemed pianist Kirill Gerstein tackles classical works, and the result is a draw.

When is a piano recital more like a sumptuous feast, followed by a glittering ball? When the artist is Leif Ove Andsnes.

Ensemble Paralléle's production of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, newly trimmed and reorchestrated with the help of Jacques Desjardins, is a triumph of improvement over previous productions.

A ground-breaking new-music ensemble is still epically cool, releasing its first CD set in four years.

The S.F. Symphony's concert entirely devoted to Bruckner’s massive Fifth Symphony, offered a time-bending experience for those utterly engaged by the work.

Scott Joplin’s historically significant ragtime opera is reconstructed and heard anew, if not in an ideal performance.