Be'eri Moalem

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

Articles By This Author

ivesquartet_wide.jpg
Review

The Ives Have It

Be'eri Moalem - October 28, 2008
Any ensemble that calls itself the Ives Quartet had better not play like sissies, as Charles Ives himself would threaten. "I don't write music for sissy ears," he used to quip. When an audience member once booed a dissonant piece, he stood up and shouted back, "Stop being such a God-damned sissy!
robair.gino_wide.jpg
Review

Respite in the Unusual

Be'eri Moalem - October 14, 2008

For those seeking respite from overplayed classics (See Jeff Dunn's feature), there are a handful of daring ensembles in San Francisco that specialize in new and unusual pieces. While the mainstream presenters lure audiences with Mozart or Beethoven, the marketed draw for sfSoundSeries' Sunday night concert at the ODC Commons was Gino Robair’s Percussion Potluck.

meyer.edgar_small.jpg
Review

Belying Bluegrass and Bach

Be'eri Moalem - October 7, 2008
Used to be that the mention of bluegrass conjured up thoughts of a throng of senior citizens sitting in folding armchairs listening to foot-stomping, string-twanging folk music. The mention of Bach conjured up a dark church and powdered wigs.
juilliardstring_wide.jpg
Review

Still Packing a Punch

Be'eri Moalem - April 15, 2008
Oh, my virgin ears. Was that a portamento in Haydn? Did he just play that open string on purpose in the middle of that phrase? Haydn didn't ever mark sul ponticello, did he? The Juilliard String Quartet, revered relics of a previous generation and a vanishing style, are still kickin' after all these years.
bach.michael_small.jpg
Review

Meeting of the Minds

Be'eri Moalem - March 11, 2008
Four composers were seated onstage Thursday at the outset of the Other Minds Festival in Kanbar Hall of the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. German cellist, composer, and inventor Michael Bach was dressed in simple concert black.

The Concertmaster Conundrum

Be'eri Moalem - June 12, 2007
The New Century Chamber Orchestra’s concertmaster-conductor search has brought forward some of the classical music world’s top violinists as candidates to lead the ensemble. The search has also highlighted the concertmaster’s role. Is he/she a conductor? A soloist? A member of the first violin section? A chamber musician?

Free but Frazzled

Be'eri Moalem - April 24, 2007
F-A-E, or Froh Aber Einsam (Free but lonely), was the motto of the legendary violinist Joseph Joachim (1831-1907), who collaborated with both Schumann and Brahms.
kronosqtetNEW_wide.jpg
Review

The Multilingual Kronos

Be'eri Moalem - April 17, 2007
What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual.What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language? American. (Here the old joke stops.) What do you call someone who speaks many, many languages?

Beautifully Unsatisfying

Be'eri Moalem - March 27, 2007
The casinolike Paramount Theatre in downtown Oakland is an architectural marvel. Its Art Deco interior, if not beautiful or elegant, is bold and stunning. The opposite was true of the music at the Oakland East Bay Symphony’s concert on Friday night — it was mostly beautiful and elegant, but not bold and stunning.