Only a month ago I was writing about the schedule of events being so busy that serious listeners might wish they could be in two places at once. I now find that the weekend of March 15 will provide an even greater embarrassment of riches. Since the time is not that far in the future, it seems appropriate for readers to consider the options and make plans accordingly.
I have already written about the visit of Rachel Podger as leader of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco on March 15. For those less interested in historically-informed performances, that same evening will feature the debut of a Norwegian rising star. The violinist Vilde Frang will be the soloist in the next Young Masters Series concert presented by San Francisco Performances (SFP). She has prepared a program of three major sonatas, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 376 in F major, Gabriel Fauré’s Opus 13 in A major, and Sergei Prokofiev’s Opus 94 in D major. She will also perform three of Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian dances, each with a different arranger scoring the piano music for violin and piano: Joseph Joachim, Fritz Kreisler, and Paul Klengel. Her accompanist will be pianist Michail Lifits.
This performance will take place in the Concert Hall of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), at 50 Oak Street. It will begin at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 15. All tickets are $38. There is an event page for this concert on the SFP Web site, as well as a Web page for purchasing tickets from City Box Office. The SFP Box Office may also be reached by telephone at 415-392-2545.
The following evening will begin with one of the many free events hosted by the Community Music Center (CMC). Earplay, consisting of Earplayers Peter Josheff (clarinet), Terrie Baune (violin), Thalia Moore (cello), and guest artist Daniela Mineva (piano), along with conductor Mary Chun will return to give another open rehearsal Saturday, March 16. This will prepare two compositions to be performed at the next Earplay recital at the ODC Theater (3153 17th Street in the Mission) on March 18, entitled I owe Very, Very Much to Mozart (a quote from Arnold Schoenberg). One of these will be Josheff’s Waiting, commissioned by Earplay and receiving its world premiere at the ODC concert. The other is a rare performance of Schoenberg’s “Ein Stelldichein” (a rendezvous), composed in 1905. Both compositions are scored for oboe, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano.
This rehearsal will begin at 6 p.m. and is expected to last until 9:30 p.m. It will take place in the CMC Capp Street Concert Hall at 544 Capp Street (also in the Mission). Further information may be found on the CMC event page or by calling CMC at 415-647-6015.
This same evening will also offer the next concert in the current season of the nine-man vocal ensemble Clerestory. This program is entitled Bacchanalia, and it will celebrate the coming of spring and the ancient Greek rites of Dionysus (Bacchus) with songs of food, love, and, of course, drink. The performance will begin at 8 p.m. in the Chorissima Hall of the Kanbar Performing Arts Center (44 Page Street). Tickets may be purchased for $17 with a $10 rate for students and seniors. They are available online at the event page for this concert on the Clerestory Web site. Tickets will also be available at the door, but the price there will be $20.
At that same time listeners with instrumental preferences will be able to attend a solo recital by the Polish guitarist Marcin Dylla. This concert is part of the Dynamite Guitars 2012–13 season of the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts. This recital will also begin at 8 p.m., this time in the Green Room on the second floor of 401 Van Ness Avenue. General admission will be $34, with discounts of up to 50% for seniors and students available. Further information, including a hyperlink for the purchase of tickets, may be found on the event page of the Omni Guitar Concerts Web site.
SFP then continues its activities on Sunday, March 17, with a recital in the Vocal Series by mezzo Isabel Leonard. Leonard is a “Young Masters veteran,” having given her first SFP recital in that series in 2008. She has prepared a highly diverse program, half of the songs in Spanish and the other half in English by American composers. Her accompanist will be pianist Vlad Iftinca.
This performance will again take place in the SFCM Concert Hall this time at 2 p.m. Tickets are $38 and $65. There is an event page for this concert on the SFP Web site, as well as a Web page for purchasing tickets from City Box Office.
Later that afternoon the next concert in the Music in the Mishkan Chamber Series will take place at 4 p.m. The program will feature piano trios by Aaron Copland, Rebecca Clarke, and Felix Mendelssohn (Opus 66 in C minor). It will begin with a duet for violin and piano, the “Euterpe” movement from Joaquín Turina’s Opus 93 suite Las musas de Andalucía (the muses of Andalucía), in which each of the nine classical muses is represented by her own movement.
The performers will be Randall Weiss on violin, Michael Graham on cello, and Marilyn Thompson on piano. The concert, which will last about two hours, will be followed by the usual wine and cheese reception. The venue is Congregation Sha’ar Zahav at 290 Dolores Street at the corner of 16th Street. Tickets are $20 with a special $15 rate for Congregation members. Order may be placed in advance by calling the synagogue at 415-861-6932.
That Sunday will conclude with pianist Jonathan Biss giving a solo recital as part of his Schumann: Under the Influence project. The program will feature two major Schumann cycles, both composed in 1837. In the second half the Opus 6 Davidsbündlertänze will be preceded by Berg’s Opus 1 piano sonata. The first half will present the Opus 12 Fantasiestücke, but five movements from Leoš Janáček’s On an Overgrown Path will be interleaved into the Schumann performance.
This SFP performance will take place in Herbst Theatre (401 Van Ness Avenue) at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25, $38, $55 and $65. There is an event page for this concert on the SFP Web site, as well as a Web page for purchasing tickets from City Box Office.
Comments