The Rehearsal Studio

Jean-Guihen Queyras with his cello (photograph by Marco Borggreve, courtesy of SFP) Once again, this will be the month when San Francisco Performances (SFP) presents its annual Gala, which will celebrate the beginning of its 47th season.

As was observed this past Sunday, the first Saturday of next month will be shared by the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) and San Francisco Performances (SFP) with the first performance in the afternoon and the second in the evening.

The major event of this week has already been announced.

Mira Nadon, principal with NYCB, preparing to perform “Pithoprakta” (from an article by Gia Kourlas for todays New York Times) I see from a Web page for today’s New York Times that Suzanne Farrell is teaching the choreography for “Pithoprakta” to the curr…

Apparently, as a regular user of the Dictionary.com Web site, every morning my Inbox gets a “Word of the Day” message.

Photograph of Lang Lang by Xin Qiu (courtesy of San Francisco Symphony) Last night saw the first solo piano recital of the season in Davies Symphony Hall.

Lorin Maazel on the cover of the forthcoming box of his Complete Warner Edition I usually do not write about recordings that will be released more than a week in the future.

The first Saturday of next month will be shared by the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) and San Francisco Performances (SFP).

Berta Rojas with her guitar and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera (from the SFP Web page for their coming performance) The first performance in the San Francisco Performances (SFP) Guitar Series will feature a debut.

2008 photograph of Michael Tilson Thomas by Jbitman (from Wikimedia Commons, public domain) I find it somewhat interesting that both Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) and I made moves to the Bay Area around September of 1995.

Cellist Jennifer Kloetzel and pianist Allegra Chapman (from the O1C Web page for their coming performance) The only performance to be presented this month by Old First Concerts (O1C) will take place two weeks from today (which is basically the middle of t…

Unless I am mistaken, the last time the Alonzo King LINES Ballet performed with the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) In Davies Symphony Hall, they provided King’s choreography for the performance of the one-act ballet version of Maurice Ravel’s suite Ma mère…

Yesterday afternoon saw the first of three performances by the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) in Davies Symphony Hall.

Hopefully, at least some readers may recall that performances at The Lab this month will not begin until Thursday, October 15, which will be the first of two weeks of diverse offerings.

In about a month’s time, the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra (SFCCO) will present the second of the two programs it has prepared for this year.

United States President Donald Trump meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Korean Demilitarized Zone in Panmunjom, South Korea, on June 30, 2019 (photograph by Kevin Lamarque for Reuters) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/30/trump-calls-…

David Ambrosio playing his bass and drummer Russ Meissner Some readers may recall that the summer of last year saw the return of the Dave Scott Quartet to Chez Hanny.

Unless my search engine has not been behaving itself, there has not been a Bleeding Edge confined entirely to a busy weekend since this past May.

The first act of Giuseppe Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra concludes with an intense crowd scene.

Early last week I was able to attend the first San Francisco Opera (SFO) performance of the season, which had been delayed due to a strike by the SFO Orchestra.

Some readers may recall that next month will conclude with the first San Francisco Symphony (SFS) performance by conductor Elim Chan since her appointment as Music Director Designate earlier this year.

Yesterday evening was my only opportunity to venture into the San Francisco Opera performance of Thea Musgrave’s account of the turbulent Elizabethan period, Mary, Queen of Scots.

Gallery of the performers contributing to this year’s Death by Aria program Once again, Halloween will be celebrated by the annual Death by Aria concert.

Now it is the news!

Many readers probably know by now that the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) All San Francisco Concert provides a subsidized price for Bay Area nonprofit, social services, and grassroots organizations.

Alchemist Quintet members John Kiskaddon, Michele Walther, Michael Gold, and Ted Burik (possibly from their performance at Mr.

I am beginning to think that anyone interested in seriously following the work of jazz pianist Satoko Fujii should prepare to be a world traveler.

Yesterday evening saw the first “official” concert performance in the new season of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS).

Composer Shawn Okpebholo (photograph by Gregory Schreck, from an WEKU Web page from May 28, 2024, for an interview with the composer) In a little less than a month’s time, San Francisco Performances (SFP) will begin its Art of Song series with a recital by

Cellist Mike Block in a duo performance with Yacouba Sissoko playing his kora At the beginning of next month, Noe Music will host two performances performed by an “international” trio.

In the wake of the San Francisco Opera (SFO) Orchestra strike at the beginning of this month, performances in the War Memorial Opera House finally got under way yesterday evening with the first (which should have been the fourth) performance of Giuseppe V…

The “Nativity” cover for the Pastorales de Noel album (courtesy of PIAS) It seems as if celebrating the spirit of Christmas through music gets earlier and earlier by the year.

Tchaikovsky and Mahler “face off” on the San Francisco Philharmonic poster for the first concert of its season of “Titans” (from the Groupmuse Web page for this performance) Early next month will mark the beginning of the new season of the San Francisco P…

This continues to be a busy month.

The first half of this month has been relatively quiet, and things will begin to rev up in the Civic Center over the course of the coming week.

The Montenegrin Guitar Duo of Goran Krivokapić and Danijel Cerović (screenshot of their performance of BWV 812 in Montenegro) Readers may recall that it was almost exactly a month ago when Omni on-Location released a video of the Andalusian Guitar Quartet…

Last night saw the first performance in Davies Symphony Hall for the new San Francisco Symphony (SFS) concert series.

Next month will see the third production in the 104th season of the San Francisco Opera (SFO).

Music Director Jory Fankuchen conducting the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra (from the Eventbrite Web page for purchasing tickets) The San Francisco Chamber Orchestra (SFCO), led by Music Director Jory Fankuchen, will begin its latest MainStage Concerts s…

Once again, philosopher George Santayana is in the spotlight with his best-known aphorism, “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.”

Photograph of Antonín Dvořák’s funeral in Prague on May 5, 1904 (from Jarmil Burghauser’s catalog of Dvořák’s works and the reason for the “B” catalog numbers) I have now listened to the final four CDs in the Warner box set of 42 CDs of recordings made by…

Poster design for the coming American Bach season San Francisco performances of the 2026–2027 season of American Bach will get under way in a little less than a month’s time.

The New York Times is 175 years old: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/insider/new-york-times-175-anniversary.html Even in San Francisco, I still follow its content.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressing the European Parliament with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney on the right (photograph by Jean-Christophe Verhaegen for Agence France-Presse, from an Al Jazeera Web page) Some readers may re…

Some readers may recall that yesterday’s article about the Warner box set of the recordings made by Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam was described as a “modest” account of Anton Bruckner, because it was limited

Nvidia CEO Jenson Huang doing his best to listen patiently to United States President Donald Trump (screen shot from an Al Jazeera video) I realize that this may sound a little brash.

This week will be even busier than the last.

I am beginning to feel a sense of “gradual attrition” as I work my way through the Warner box set of the recordings made by Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.

Kasey Knudsen with her saxophone (from the Photos Web page on her Web site) Some readers may recall that I last wrote about saxophonist Kasey Knudsen to announce her appearance at Bird & Beckett Books and Records near the end of this past July.

Readers may recall that last week’s annual Old First Concerts (O1C) performance by jazz pianist Mike Greensill and a bevy of his friends felt like he was nearing the end of the road.