MAHLER’S SYMPHONIC FAREWELL TO US ALL

MAHLER’S SYMPHONIC FAREWELL TO US ALL

ROHNERT PARK, CA—After 12 years, the Santa Rosa Symphony is bidding au revoir, or perhaps adieu, to Music Director Bruno Ferrandis. Never one to skimp on challenges, the French conductor programmed the fiendishly difficult 81-minute Mahler Ninth Symphony—an apt adieu for the composer himself—along with a contemporary concerto. In this go-round of the  Ninth of 1910,  for all but the first movement I’d give glowing reviews. The rustic country dance of the second movement went spiritedly, rowdy enough to contrast…

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12 BALLET WORLD PREMIERES: AND NO STUMBLES

12 BALLET WORLD PREMIERES: AND NO STUMBLES

What a way to end a ballet season! By any conventional measure, the 12 world premieres within a month unreeled by the San Francisco Ballet in its “Unbound” Festival were a cheeky challenge and a collective success. Though costly, time-consuming and for performers undeniably fatiguing, the final   ticket income was well above budget, with near sellouts at the Opera House prevailing for programs like the “Björk Ballet.” Undeniably it showed off the creativity of youngish choreographers (48 or younger, mostly)…

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BJÖRK, AND OTHER NEW BALLETS

BJÖRK, AND OTHER NEW BALLETS

The Opera House doors flew open this week  for the throngs converging on the “Unbound D” program of world premieres. They were no doubt swelled by pop music fans anxious to savor the “Björk Ballet,” named after the mercurial pop singer featured on the sound track. But the flamboyant “Björk Ballet” by Arthur Pita had a double appeal: It is as futuristic as a Star-Trekky sci-fi special. The Marco Morante designs alone, with bizarre masks and costumes composed of little…

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THIRD SET OF PREMIERES: MORE BALLET DIVERSITY

THIRD SET OF PREMIERES: MORE BALLET DIVERSITY

The third segment  of the S.F. Ballet’s remarkable rapid-order clutch of a dozen world premieres this spring offered surprise and adventure. It showed in Program C that a traditional abstract ballet  can indeed radiate affection; that the SFB has an amazing roster of (unsung) males; and that an American troupe can hatch a first-rate Spanish ballet. The Spanish ballet created by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa rang with atmosphere and authenticity, displaying somber glimpses of the bullfight culture, with pas de deux…

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S.F. BALLET: NEW WORKS WITH STORY LINES, AND A TRUE BALLERINA

S.F. BALLET: NEW WORKS WITH STORY LINES, AND A TRUE BALLERINA

The stunning “Unbound” festival of the S.F. Ballet got added traction with its second program of premieres featuring inventive choreography, intriguing plot lines  and some brilliant dancing. We had barely voiced our complaints this week about sterile, plotless ballets than this fresh-baked cornucopia “Unbound B” arrived from the SFB, as if tailor-made to silence snarky critics. This is a program to see and see again before its May 4 bow-out, showing some of the best new dance creations and interpretations  of recent…

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BOUND TO OUR SMARTPHONES, SAYS WHEELDON IN DANCE

BOUND TO OUR SMARTPHONES, SAYS WHEELDON IN DANCE

Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon took on our smartphone mesmerization in his new social-critique ballet, “Bound to…” It was a memorable shot across the bow leading off the S.F. Ballet’s supremely ambitious “Unbound” festival of 12 premieres by  choreographers still under 50,  all unveiled in about a week. Ballet pointe shoes were put aside in favor of sporty flats. “Bound to…” To what? Bound to our cell phones of course, as we wander about staring at our hand-helds, oblivious to all the life around…

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SMUIN’S PICKETT, CANIPAROLI STELLAR

SMUIN’S PICKETT, CANIPAROLI STELLAR

The most arresting moment in the Smuin Ballet’s spring program came in the pas de deux of “Oasis,” choreographed by Helen Pickett, until recently head of the Atlanta Ballet. Here the couple (Erica Felsch and Robert Kretz) played out a dream-fantasy, almost as if swaying underwater, vicariously inviting us all  to put ourselves in that ethereal spotlight to the restless mystery music of Jeff Beal, adroit in its tasteful percussion. Pickett gives us fleeting figures flitting by in the dark, and…

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Circadian Quartet: From Another Galaxy?

Circadian Quartet: From Another Galaxy?

The four musicians arrived from some unfamiliar far-off planet, I think, perhaps grads of some galactic conservatory, and the results could not have been more refreshing. The secret of the Circadian Quartet is breaking with routine and pushing the envelope. The players will set aside their strings in favor of drumming, hitting a tamtam or tambourine, and singing some Russian folk song. A narrator will intersperse some poetry about love, even translated lines from the 14th-century Persian legend Hafez. If…

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LERA’S IRON-MAN FEAT WITH “LABYRINTH” ON PIANO

LERA’S IRON-MAN FEAT WITH “LABYRINTH” ON PIANO

Like a whirlwind out of the East, Lera Auerbach blew into San Francisco and took away many a breath with her piano recital. This was one of the most forceful, demonic outpourings of sheer energy since the millennium. The 44-year-old  pianist-composer from the Russian-Siberian border area is a mystic, a poet, a formidable powerhouse-pianist and a composer. She introduced her own absolutely unique world premiere piece, “Labyrinth,” and preceded it with Mussorgsky’ “Pictures at an Exhibition.” If “Pictures” is a…

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A ‘FROM THE TOP’ FAREWELL

A ‘FROM THE TOP’ FAREWELL

In his gala farewell, credit conductor Steven Schick with both audacity and high performance standards. Schick was a good 30 seconds into Caroline Chen’s ultra-soft, ethereal piece “Cold Mountains, One Belt, Heartbreak Green” when he stopped the music, as the players were a bit out of sync with each other. He apologized to his public and started all over again, citing the need for a good recording for the composer’s collection. How many dare to stop rather than plow ahead,…

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