Posts by Ken Herman
Soprano Ellie Dehn and Violinist Augustin Hadelich Gloriously Raise the Bar for Mainly Mozart
The stars were out at Saturday night’s Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra concert at the Balboa Theatre. Coloratura soprano Ellie Dehn sang with breathtaking authority in Mozart’s unjustly overlooked choral gem “Davide penitente,” K. 469, and violinist Augustin Hadelich played a mesmerizing account of Beethoven’s beloved Violin Concerto in D Major.
Read MoreMainly Mozart Orchestra Delivers Haydn and Mozart to Cherish
Mainly Mozart Festival Music Director Michael Francis offered two Mozart Piano Concertos and Haydn’s Symphony No. 49 on Thursday’s Balboa Theatre program. Not surprisingly, virtuoso pianist Anne-Marie McDermott proved the perfect choice of soloist to play the two Mozart concertos back to back .
Read MoreMichael Francis and Mainly Mozart Orchestra Illuminate Superb Mendelssohn Fifth Symphony
To headline Saturday’s opening concert of Mainly Mozart’s 2019 Festival Orchestra series, Music Director Michael Francis sagely featured pianist Jeremy Denk in a thrilling account of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C Major, K. 467.
Read MoreDiversionary’s “Significant Other”: a Significant Production, but a Glib Vehicle
The excellent cast of Diversionary Theatre’s new production of “Significant Other” by Joshua Harmon and the sophisticated direction of Anthony Methvin are the more winning aspects of this superficial play.
Read MoreChicago’s Kontras Quartet and Malashock Dance: A Smashing Pas de Deux
Chicago’s outstanding Kontras Quartet has returned to San Diego in “High Strung” at the Lyceum Theatre, a stimulating collaboration between Art of Élan and Malashock Dance. In April, 2018, Art of Élan brought noted jazz virtuoso Branford Marsalis and the Kontras Quartet for an exciting concert at the Music Box in Little Italy, so I…
Read MoreCristian Măcelaru Closes the San Diego Symphony Season on a High Note
Cristian Măcelaru returned Friday, May 24, 2019, to lead the San Diego Symphony in its final program of the 2018-2019 season: traditional repertory such as Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, as well as a new work by the American composer Sean Shepherd.
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