MUSIC REVIEWS
Kronos Quartet at 40 Plays UC San Diego
Forty years ago, the cutting edge Kronos Quartet was single-handedly redefining the string quartet as a performance medium. Tuesday (March 11) Kronos returned to UC San Diego’s Mandeville Auditorium exhibiting a combination of panache and passion . . .
Read MoreA Verdi Opera to Die For
When you combine an ideal cast, sharp direction, a smart period set, and a sympathetic baton in the pit, the result is San Diego Opera’s “A Masked Ball,” which opened Saturday (March 8) at Civic Theatre. This cast list for this gripping but far too infrequently performed Verdi opera looked good on paper, but on stage it was spectacular. . .
Read MoreSt. Petersburg Philharmonic Fetes Russian Music at Balboa
Listening to the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra play Rachmaninoff is to step into a time machine, to enter a sonic world untouched by the anxieties and aggressive urgency of the 20th century. Friday (Feb. 28) at the Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego, maestro Yuri Temirkanov led this orchestra, currently touring North America, in a rewarding program of Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev. . .
Read MoreAnother Minimalist Feat from Art of Élan
From the frightening medieval “Dies Irae” chant to Mozart’s solemn “Requiem” to Elton John’s wistful “Candle in the Wind,” the music of western culture has played a key role interpreting death and loss. Art of Élan took up this challenging topic on Tuesday (Feb. 25) in a concert of striking new compositions . . .
Read MoreBach with a Gallic Twist
Acclaimed French organist Christophe Mantoux returned to the recital series at All Souls’ Episcopal Church in Point Loma on Sunday (Feb. 16) to play a recital devoted to the music of J. S. Bach. Touching on almost every important Baroque genre that Bach championed . . .
Read MoreBrilliant New Soprano Electrifies Donizetti Gem
San Diego Opera opened its production of Gaetano Donizetti’s exuberant opera buffa “The Elixir of Love,” an operatic puff pastry that features the exciting young coloratura soprano Tatiana Lisnic . . .
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