The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: Concert Review

  • Jeffrey Kahane conducts SFS

    * Notes * Jeffrey Kahane is in town to conduct San Francisco Symphony in a program of Mozart and Mendelssohn. Kahane replaces Bernard Labadie, who withdrew due to a scheduling conflict. The evening began with Mozart's Haffner, which was played with a sprightly charm. This was followed with Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, with…

  • Robertson conducts St. Louis Symphony

    * Notes * The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra came to San Francisco for two performances at Davies Hall, the first of which occurred yesterday evening. David Robertson had the musicians well in hand, they seemed entirely together and produced a gorgeous, clear sound. The performance started with Christopher Rouse's Rapture, which has an apt title and…

  • Outwater conducts SFS

    * Notes * Edwin Outwater is conducting San Francisco Symphony in a program of Gounod, Duncan Sheik, Claude Vivier, and Poulenc this week. Gounod's rather swirly Ballet Music from Faust sounded lovely, especially the woodwinds during the Danse antique (Allegretto). Duncan Sheik's Song Suite from Whisper House, arranged by Simon Hale, involved two amplified vocalists (including…

  • Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky Orchestra

    * Notes * Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra performed two concerts as part of San Francisco Symphony's Great Performers Series last Sunday and Monday. The second performance began with the Royal Hunt and Storm from Act IV of Berlioz's Les Troyens. The first horn was particularly lovely, producing a smooth, milky sound, though the second…

  • Kissine & Tetzlaff at SFS

    * Notes * San Francisco Symphony just finished 4 performances a program that included a world premiere of Kissine's Post-scriptum and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with Christian Tetzlaff. The musicians seemed quite focused during the Kissine, they were clearly paying a good deal of attention to Michael Tilson Thomas on the podium. The result was a diaphanous…

  • Jordi Savall conducts PBO

    * Notes * Jordi Savall started his run of six performance with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco last Friday. The program, entitled "The French Suite in Europe," began with the Suite du Ballet de Stockholm by Guillaume Dumanoir and Anonymous. The orchestra started off quite crisply and the concertmaster, Carla Moore, played boldly. The brass…

  • Blomstedt conducts Mozart’s Linz

    * Notes * Last night Herbert Blomstedt conducted Mozart's Symphony No. 36 and Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 at San Francisco Symphony. The former sounded rather jolly, the dynamics were clear and the tempi restrained. The oboe sounded particularly good in the first and third movements. The brass was hazy in the second movement, but the following…

  • Chailly conducts Beethoven’s 7

    * Notes * Last Monday Riccardo Chailly lead Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in a program of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 and Symphony No. 7 at Davies Hall in San Francisco. The pianist was Louis Lortie, whose playing is precise and music box-like. One almost felt that he was some sort of mechanized toy that was carefully wound…

  • Staatskapelle Berlin plays Beethoven Piano Concertos

    * Notes *Last weekend the Staatskapelle Berlin performed all five of Beethoven piano concertos paired with works by Arnold Schönberg at Salle Pleyel. Friday night started off with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, a cheerful, almost Mozartian piece. Daniel Barenboim played straightforwardly, without any bravado. The woodwinds had a certain whimpering quality,…

  • The Tallis Scholars sing Josquin’s Missa De beata virgine

    * Notes * The Tallis Scholars started their latest US tour in Berkeley yesterday evening. The first half of the program consisted of Josquin's Missa De beata virgine, which was sung with remarkable clarity. The nine singers were perfectly synchronized under the direction of Peter Phillips. After the intermission we heard impeccable singing of Nesbett's Magnificat.…