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Month: January 2024

MORE DRILL TEAMS THAN MAGIC FIRE

MORE DRILL TEAMS THAN MAGIC FIRE

I went for the ballet. Instead came a brief but intense light show of swirling dots, somewhere between microscopic cell colonies and the birth of planets in the cosmos, all operating on speed. The new Tamara Rojo era of the S.F. Ballet was kicked off with Aszure Barton’s splashy “Mere Mortals,” a 70-minute avant-garde socio-political critique with massive cast masquerading as an evening-length ballet. An incredible lithe, pliable dancer (Jennifer Stahl on Jan.27) does showstopping solos and pairings on stage,…

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MTT/GUSTAV: AN ENDEARING LOVE FEST

MTT/GUSTAV: AN ENDEARING LOVE FEST

     The end of an era, it was, but a very sweet one, with well-wishing from countless admirers and nosegays you could almost smell in an inordinately long round of plaudits.           This was a sendoff (at least from subscription concerts) for beloved maestro Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor laureate, leading the San Francisco Symphony in a signature work, Gustav Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 5.            By the end, with the 6-minute standing ovation, there were not many dry eyes…

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FLIGHT OF FANCY, WITH CHARISMA

FLIGHT OF FANCY, WITH CHARISMA

The New Century Chamber Orchestra scored twice over with a multi-media environmental musical package plus Palo-Alto-born guest leader named Alexi Kenney, who is a bona fide inspirational presence. In the Kenney format, forget the old-style spartan stage of such ensembles. His program adds naturalist projections covering every inch of wall and ceiling to supplement recent works by Gabriella Smith, Aaron Jay Kernis and Angelica Negron. The impact was formidable, a true eye-and-ear opener for chamber-orchestra patrons who are usually served…

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MUSIC INSPIRED BY WARTIME

MUSIC INSPIRED BY WARTIME

BERKELEY—-Enterprising local forces brought together a far-reaching program of “Voices of War,” including a trudging Tippett oratorio and a world premiere by the Australian Sam Wu. The ambitious concert under Ming Luke spotlighted the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, with more than 100 (off-campus) singers and a full instrumental ensemble. The highlight was BCCO competition winner Wu’s “the wind blows full of sand,” a sensitive 12-minute outpouring with poetry of Li Po. If the latter sounds familiar, the eighth-century Chinese…

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