ArtsSF

Illuminating the otherwise underlit transition from summer stuff to the fall concert season, a four-concert splash of Debussy’s chamber music in San Francisco was welcome indeed, lighting up the night with as few as four performers each night, commemorating 100 years since the fascinating innovator’s death. Composer Claude Debussy, as much as any one, had ushered in the era of modern music—plain and simple, he marched to another drummer. He broke with the strict dictates of the Theory of Harmony…

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        SANTA FE, NM—Now in its 46th season, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival remains a monumental achievement, assembling elite players from all over in repertoire both neglected and beloved. Take the recent Mozart-Chausson program, for starters. Much as in the Brandenburg concertos by Bach, Ernest Chausson revived a concerto-grosso practice and  created a rare late-19th-century work with a duo doubling as  both soloists and ensemble members. Modern artists like Emanuel Ax rave about playing it, even though the piano…

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MENLO PARK, CA—The Menlo miracle is that for three weeks every summer, a dozen or so musicians turn out on any given date and play repertory well into the night, despite the summer doldrums all over. Instead of repeating the overplayed potboilers, it’s about  presenting unfamiliar chamber works by name composers of the 20th century in very  creative programming indeed. The July 31 foray to Budapest by Music@Menlo featured the crack Calidore String Quartet as well as Anthony McGill, clarinet…

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