Posts by Ken Herman
Ax and de Waart Provide Splendid Opening of the San Diego Symphony’s January Beethoven Festival
Principal Guest Conductor Edo de Waart led the San Diego Symphony in an inspiring, tautly disciplined all-Beethoven concert this weekend, Jan. 10-12. And as soloist in Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto, Emanuel Ax proved to be maestro de Waart’s ideal partner in crime.
Read MoreArt of Élan pairs Caroline Shaw with Lee Krasner in Abstract Expressionist Gallery at the San Diego Museum of Art
Friday at the San Diego Museum of Art, the musical ensemble Art of Élan offered a short program of music by contemporary American women composers in the museum’s downstairs gallery devoted to art by women Abstract Expressionists.
Read More2019: A Pivotal Year in San Diego’s Classical Music Scene
Every season has its high points and low points, but 2019 became a remarkable year for classical music in San Diego.
Read MoreBach Collegium San Diego Brings Compelling Period “Messiah” to The Conrad in La Jolla
The December 22, 2019, performance by the Bach Collegium San Diego of G. F. Handel’s complete “Messiah” in the Baker-Baum Concert Hall of the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla benefited greatly from the new hall’s splendid acoustics, high ceiling and clean sight lines. Of even greater import, the Bach Collegium’s fresh, insightful approach to 18th-century period performance practice gave it uncanny communicative powers to a 21st-century audience.
Read MoreSan Diego Pro Arte Voices Takes Its Movable Feast of “Texts and Music for Humankind” to Hillcrest’s First Unitarian Universalist Church
Friday at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, Patrick Walders and his San Diego Pro Arte Voices unveiled their latest incarnation of the traditional “Lessons and Carols” format: “Peace/Hope/Joy/Love: An Evening of Texts and Music for Humankind.”
Read MoreThe Baltimore Consort Brings Its Spirited Musical Incarnation of Christmas Past to La Jolla
When the San Diego Early Music Society brought the Baltimore Consort to La Jolla in 2016, their soprano Danielle Svonavec made a strong impression. Her vivacious vocal interpretations and outgoing stage presence enlivened Baltimore’s accomplished but rather staid instrumental quintet. But the addition of the dramatic countertenor José Lemos to the Baltimore roster has clearly raised the ensemble to the next level, and his participation helped make Baltimore’s Saturday La Jolla concert A Glorious Light! one of the more exciting early music programs I have encountered.
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