Be'eri Moalem

Be'eri Moalem (www.beeri.org) is a violist, teacher, writer, and composer.

Articles By This Author

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Review

Grandmotherly Inspiration

Be'eri Moalem - May 10, 2009
The Presidio is a dark corner of the City by the Bay, surrounded by thick forest, ancient military architecture, and a memorial cemetery. It’s one of the few places on San Francisco’s map where the relentless grid of straight roads gives bending way to some of the steep hills.
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Review

Beating Expectations

Be'eri Moalem - May 4, 2009

On Thursday the Ives Quartet ended a season of high-quality playing with interesting programming, all in a friendly atmosphere at St. Mark’s Church in midtown Palo Alto. An intriguing new work by Dan Becker provided food for thought.

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Review

Musical Marathon

Be'eri Moalem - March 30, 2009
What are music stands and electric guitars doing on the same stage? Purple lights along with sheet music? T-shirts and blue jeans plus violins and violas? A better question might be: Why should this still come as a surprise? For the Switchboard Music Festival continues to combine various distinct musical genres, amassing them into a day of performances.
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Preview

Call and Response

Be'eri Moalem - March 30, 2009
The Cypress Quartet is rethinking the traditional concept of concerts, in which the musicians play a piece typically written some 150 years ago, the audience listens and then claps their hands, the performers bow, and everyone goes home. The Cypress is turning that experience into a two-week project that involves the entire community.
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Review

Life Patterns

Be'eri Moalem - February 10, 2009

A concert that features only one composer is a fascinating opportunity, not only to get a thorough picture of that composer’s style, but also to track changes in it over time. San Francisco State University’s 60th birthday retrospective of Richard Festinger presented what, to me, seemed like two different approaches to music — yet still in the same basic style. I later noticed that the two perceived methods came from two different time periods: one from the 1990s, the other from last few years.

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Review

The Kronos Approach

Be'eri Moalem - February 3, 2009
The mention of "new music" still repels many who listen to "classical music" (whatever that label means).
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Review

Generous Osiris

Be'eri Moalem - January 13, 2009
The Osiris Trio is not the sort of ensemble that will blow you away with pyrotechnics and dazzling execution, or with overflowing energy. Yet for natural and honest music-making, Osiris provided generously in its Sunday recital at Kohl Mansion in Burlingame. Many of today's best groups seem to leap out of their seats and give 120 percent to grab the audience by the lapels.
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Review

Viva la Revolution

Be'eri Moalem - December 16, 2008
"Music didn't always use to be so [bleepin'] pretentious," whispered one of the "concert" goers as he stood on the sidewalk, rolling a cigarette while listening to the Brahms G-minor Piano Quartet. As the performers started to play the Alla Zingara "Gypsy" movement, listeners whistled, whooped, and yelled "Yeah!
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Review

Beauty All Around

Be'eri Moalem - November 18, 2008
Most of Stanford Lively Arts' concert presentations avoid Memorial Church, perhaps because its acoustics are a bit too lively. But cellist Christopher Costanza finds the church's atmosphere "absolutely perfect ...
Feature

Eat, Sleep, Music

Be'eri Moalem - October 28, 2008
You know you are at a music conservatory when you are sitting in a history class and, in addition to the professor's voice, you can also faintly hear a soprano wailing in the next room, a violinist practicing fast licks in the room across the hall, a trumpet being blown in the room below, and a double bass rattling the ceiling from the room above.