Recital

When the exciting new music group Alarm Will Sound visits the Bay Area, tickets are normallyhard to find. 

Nathan Gunn is a refined, elegant singer of art song, and his Cal Performances recital promises to be a highlight, in a Bay Area season that’s just crammed with great singers.

Baritone Thomas Hampson’s artistry guarantees a memorable evening of art songs, by Schumann, Barber, and Michael Hersch.

Khatia Buniatishvili is the real deal, a pianist who is fleet of fingers, yet with a relaxed, musical touch. 

Tanya Tomkins, who’s as fine a cellist in the early-music repertory as you will find, completes her two-part traversal of the Bach Cello Suites at Live at Mission Blue on Sunday.

Polish guitarist Marcin Dylla gave a brilliant and deeply poetic recital in April 2011 and his return to San Francisco is highly anticipated. 

The Assad Brothers are the preeminent classical guitar duo of the last 40 years, having set the standard for technical excellence, sensitive musicianship, and innovative repertoire choices and opportunities to see them together have been dwindling over the past few years.

The recent San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow with the bright tenor voice wowed Mozart lovers last summer with his performance of Tamino in The Magic Flute.

You won’t want to miss Hilary Hahn, who sails into San Francisco Performances with a couple of repertory warhorses and selections from her inspirational “encores” project.

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