MUSIC REVIEWS
Sacra/Profana Brings Rare 20th-Century Choral Music to Light
Sacra/Profana’s Founding Artistic Director Krishan Oberoi conducted Ernst Krenek’s atonal “Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae” and Associate Artistic Director Juan Carlos Acosta led Benjamin Britten’s late and decidedly astringent “Sacred and Profane: Eight Medieval Lyrics” Friday at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park.
Read MorePuccini’s ‘Turandot’–Grand Opera Produced in Sumptuous Style
San Diego Opera’s sumptuous, musically resplendent production of Puccini’s “Turnadot” opened Saturday, February 24, in the Civic Theatre.
Read MoreCamarada Brings Rich Tango Program to Balboa Park’s Mingei Museum
The chamber ensemble Camarada’s highly charged “Te Amo Tango” program at the Mingei International Museum on Sunday, February 18, continued San Diego’s infatuation with tango, recently inspired by San Diego Opera’s sexy production of Astor Piazzolla’s tango opera “Maria de Buenos Aires.”
Read MorePatel Leads a Glorious Sibelius Fifth Symphony to Remember
San Diego Symphony Associate Conductor Sameer Patel led a majestic, sonically luxurious account of the Jean Sibelius Fifth Symphony and introduced with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and the orchestra a new violin concerto by Adam Schoenberg.
Read MoreSan Diego Symphony’s ‘Beyond the Score’ Program on Rachmaninoff Prepares Audience for Music History Exam at Next Symphony Concert
Just as Robert Indiana’s familiar 1970 Love Sculpture became an apt symbol of the 1970s, the Swiss artist Arnold Böklin’s evocative painting “The Isle of the Dead” from 1880 captured the darker, mystical imaginings of fin de siècle Europe. Sergei Rachmaninoff turned Böklin’s painting into a dark tone poem, which he also titled “The Isle of the Dead” . . .
Read MoreZukerman Brings Uninspired Tchaikovsky to San Diego Symphony
After the San Diego Symphony rose to such great heights performing exciting, compelling new works in the recently completed “It’s About Time” festival, Pinchas Zukerman’s uninspired evening of standard repertory proved a crashing letdown . . .
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