Heuwell Tircuit

Heuwell Tircuit is a composer, performer, and writer who was chief writer for Gramophone Japan and for 21 years a music reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle. He wrote previously for Chicago American and the Asahi Evening News.

Articles By This Author

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Review

Start of a New Schubert Cycle

Heuwell Tircuit - September 28, 2009

Avie Records has begun a new series of recordings of Schubert’s late piano works, featuring the estimable pianist Imogen Cooper, who has recorded little in recent years. Volume I is just out, containing five important and varied Schubert compositions on a pair of CDs (AV2156).

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Review

Bargain Beethoven From the Alexander String Quartet

Heuwell Tircuit - September 14, 2009

Beethoven’s music can be played in many ways: by emphasizing its sheer momentum by tearing ahead, or its dramatic dynamic shifts by overdoing the extremes a bit, or its contemplative virtues by taking time to sniff the daisies along the way. These can run to extremes when it comes to his monumental output of 16 string quartets.

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Preview

Leading With Mahler

Heuwell Tircuit - August 17, 2009
Opening the San Francisco Symphony season with Mahler is a safe bet, especially with Michael Tilson Thomas’ passionate advocacy sure to be in force. Thus, his opening series — running September 16, 17, 19, and 20 — offers an all-Mahler program; and indeed, all September’s three weeks feature Mahler’s music.
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Review

A Special Tchaikovsky Dish

Heuwell Tircuit - August 11, 2009
I’d thought I’d seen every possible CD combination, but leave it to Bridge Records to come up with an original, refreshing Tchaikovsky release. The one CD contains the composer’s two largest and most important piano works, played to the tens by virtuoso Vassily Primakov: The Seasons, Op. 37b, and the big Grand Sonata in G Major, Op. 37 (Bridge 9283).

A Little Gem

Heuwell Tircuit - August 3, 2009
Among the gems in the crown of the San Francisco music scene are the Friday evening and Sunday 4 o’clocks at Old First Church. Those offer chamber music and recitals of quality programming by some of the Bay Area’s finer musicians — and at an exceptionally affordable price, too.
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Review

Mozart's Many Midsummer Charms

Heuwell Tircuit - July 20, 2009

Levelheaded dedication flashed on Friday evening at the San Francisco Conservatory’s concert hall, as conductor George Cleve opened this season’s Midsummer Mozart Festival with a display of brilliance. If anything, it all went to prove how much variety Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart produced in his all-too-short lifetime.

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Review

Eos EnsembleAdmirable, but ...

Heuwell Tircuit - July 13, 2009

A program titled “Romancing the Voice” opened Old First Church’s summer season Friday evening, with the Eos Ensemble and guest mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as featured soloist. The basic ensemble of five chamber musicians was made up of violinists Craig Reiss and Mariya Borozina, violist Caroline Lee, cellist Thalia Moore, and pianist Marilyn Thompson.

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Review

Ticklin' the Palate at Old St. Mary's

Heuwell Tircuit - July 6, 2009
Before opening the annual Midsummer Mozart Festival, there’s a tradition that musicians from the festival orchestra get together for smaller chamber music concerts of the great composer’s music. Because the possibilities are nearly infinite as regards instrumentation, anything can turn up as they preach to the faithful.
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Review

Prokofiev in Full

Heuwell Tircuit - June 8, 2009
Prokofiev’s nine piano sonatas form one of the major cycles of the 20th century, and have often been recorded individually. But complete sets in one package are exceedingly rare. So Prokofiev specialist Anne-Marie McDermott’s new set of all nine, in modern sonics, fills an important gap. And her virtuosity and stylish performances are a delight.
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Review

Adventures, in Spades

Heuwell Tircuit - June 8, 2009

Musical repertory is full of masterpieces that rarely get programmed. Largely, it’s a matter of either instrumentation or length. On Wednesday, with a full orchestra and a handful of soloists available, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony concentrated on five of those masterpieces, as part of their “Schubert/Berg Journey.”