St. Petersburg Philharmonic Fetes Russian Music at Balboa

By Ken Herman | March 1, 2014 |

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. . .

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Weilerstein and Barnatan in Rhapsodic Duo Recital

By Ken Herman | January 18, 2014 |

Fans of cellist Alisa Weilerstein who have been following her progress over recent seasons of La Jolla SummerFest and last spring’s solo appearance with the touring Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra brought the highest expectations to her joint recital with pianist Inon Barnatan Friday (Jan. 17) at Sherwood Auditorium. Neither musician disappointed our high hopes, and the chemistry between these accomplished young artists produced a evening of inspired and probing performances.

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