There’s a lot coming down the pike in all our lives in 2022, but we can talk about that another time and under other circumstances. For the moment, in the world of classical music, my needs are modest.
I’d like to hear a full 12 months’ worth of live musical performances. No shutdown, no quarantine, no hiatus. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
I’d want that much under any circumstances, but especially given all the mouth-watering musical events on the calendar for the months ahead. Here’s a sampling.
Michael Tilson Thomas and Yuja Wang
After all the disruptions of the past year, including Thomas’ July surgery for a brain tumor, it’s going to feel like old times having these two longtime collaborators back together again.
Thomas is expected to conduct the San Francisco Symphony in Mahler’s First Symphony, which has often elicited some of his most powerful podium work, and Wang is the scheduled soloist for Liszt’s First Piano Concerto.
San Francisco Symphony: Jan. 27-29. $69-$250. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-864-6000. www.sfsymphony.org
‘How Do I Find You?’
Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke has assembled an all-new program of commissioned songs from 17 young composers, reflecting the emotional and personal state of play during the turbulent year of 2020. Among the composers are Caroline Shaw; Kamala Sankaram; Missy Mazzoli; Gabriel Kahane and Huang Ruo; Kirill Kuzmin is the piano accompanist.
Sasha Cooke: “How Do I Find You?”: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30. $25-$50. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-864-6000. www.sfsymphony.org
‘Iphigenia’
A new opera, based on Euripedes’ “Iphigenia in Aulis,” marks a collaboration between two luminaries of the jazz world. The piece boasts a score by the legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter and libretto by bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding, who also performs the title role. Set designs are by architect and known music lover Frank Gehry.
“Iphigenia”: 8 p.m. Feb. 12. $36-$96. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley. 510-642-9988. www.calperformances.org
‘Sophia’s Forest’
This chamber opera by composer Lembit Beecher and librettist Hannah Moscovitch — a portrait of the psychic effects of immigration on a refugee child — was a sensation at its 2017 world premiere at Philadelphia Opera. Now the piece is scheduled to come to San Francisco in a new production by Opera Parallèle, conducted by General and Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and directed by Brian Staufenbiel.
“Sophia’s Forest”: Opera Parallèle. Feb. 24-26. $35-$145. Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St., S.F. 415-626-6279. www.operaparallele.org
‘Prometheus’
One of Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen’s imaginative programming projects for the San Francisco Symphony is due to come to fruition: A two-week exploration of the myth of Prometheus.
The first week of concerts is dedicated to Beethoven’s ballet “The Creatures of Prometheus” — the entire score, not just the often-performed overture. Week two is expected to bring Prometheus-themed orchestral works by Liszt and Scriabin, along with the commissioned world premiere of Fang Man’s “Song of the Flaming Phoenix.”
San Francisco Symphony: Feb. 24-March 5. $69-$250. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-864-6000. www.sfsymphony.org
Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason
The Kanneh-Mason family — one sibling after another blessed with musical talent, artistic curiosity and impossible levels of charisma — has become something of a phenomenon on the classical scene, and this spring the Bay Area expects visits by two of the family’s most prominent members.
Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason plans to start out with a solo recital devoted to music by Mozart, Chopin, Sofia Gubaidulina and others. A month later she is scheduled to be joined by her brother Sheku for cello sonatas by Frank Bridge, Benjamin Britten and more.
Isata Kanneh-Mason: 7:30 p.m. March 7. $45-$70. Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-392-2545. www.sfperformances.org
Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason: 7:30 p.m. April 24. $37-$98. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-864-6000. www.sfsymphony.org
Jakub Józef Orlinski
The renowned Polish countertenor has been acclaimed not just for his superb tone and expressive gifts, but for his dedication to both early and more recent music. In two local recitals, accompanied by pianist Michal Biel, he’ll divide his attention between Purcell and Handel on one hand, and Aaron Copland and Charles Naginski on the other.
Jakub Józef Orlinski: 7:30 p.m. March 11. $32-$84. Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University. 650-724-2464. live.stanford.edu; 3 p.m. March 13. $68. Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley. 510-642-9988. www.calperformances.org
London Symphony Orchestra
One of the world’s leading orchestra’s makes a two-night visit to the Bay Area for concerts conducted by Music Director Simon Rattle. The sojourn begins at Stanford with music by George Walker, Dvorák and Schumann; the next day’s program at Cal Performances features a recent piece by Hannah Kendall along with music by Berlioz, Sibelius, Bartók and Ravel.
London Symphony Orchestra: 7:30 p.m. March 19. $60-$250. Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University. 650-724-2464. live.stanford.edu; 3 p.m. March 20. $45-$225. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley. 510-642-9988. www.calperformances.org
‘Illuminate’
Among the many musical cancellations brought about by the onset of the pandemic, one of the more painful was the scheduled world premiere of this vocal work by California Symphony composer-in-residence Katherine Balch, setting poems of Rimbaud. Now the piece is back on the bill at last, with Music Director Donato Cabrera conducting and a trio of vocal soloists: mezzo-soprano Kelly Guerra and sopranos Molly Netter, and Alexandra Smither.
California Symphony: 7:30 p.m. March 26; 4 p.m. March 26. $44-$74. Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. 925-943-7469. www.californiasymphony.org
‘West Side Story’
Between the death of librettist Stephen Sondheim and the release of Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed new film version, it’s been a busy few months for this urban transplant of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” to the tenements of Manhattan.
Now comes Opera San José to follow through with an operatic take on the piece, conducted by Christopher James Ray and staged by director Crystal Manich.
“West Side Story”: Opera San José. April 16-May 1. $55-$195. California Theatre, 345 S. First St., San Jose. 408-437-4450. www.operasj.org
‘Radamisto’
It’s all too easy, 300 years after the fact, to lose sight of how expressly Handel’s operas were designed to create a sensation and sell tickets. The extravagant vocal showmanship, elaborate stage effects and rather racy plots were meant to bring in audiences.
With a new staged production of “Radamisto,” directed by Christophe Gayral and featuring countertenor Iestyn Davies in the title role, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale plans to pay tribute to that tradition.
“Radamisto”: Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale. April 20-24. $37-$120. Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University. 650-724-2464. live.stanford.edu
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