Classical Music
Maurizio Pollini, one of the greatest pianists of our time, died on March 23, 2024. Born on January 5, 1942, in Milan, Italy, Pollini's musical talent was evident from a young age. He began studying …
Island civilizationWithin the Coronado Ferry Landing, you will find Coronado Tasting Room. Purveyors of Craft Spirits, Extra Virgin Olive Oils, Balsamic Vinegars, Spices and Gourmet Foods. Every other Wednesday evening, Michael Gonzales (aka Gonzo) and …
The San Diego Symphony concert on Saturday, March 16, started with a rather famous piece of music entitled Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky. You may have heard it once or twice within the …
The opening of The Jacobs Music Center at Copley Symphony Hall will not be happening this spring. The hall was initially scheduled to open in November of 2023 and then in March of 2024. Delays …
I’ve been making a concerted effort to expand my experience of classical music. In my attempts, I’ve come across some stinkers, such as the opera Der Trompeter von Säckingen by Viktor Nessler. I came across it while …
The San Diego Symphony concert on Sunday, February 25, featured two pieces of music for which I have great affinity, one for which I have great respect, and one for which I had no knowledge …
I recently wrote about my favorite concertos and there weren’t any surprises in my selections. There wasn’t a claim that George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F amongst the greatest of concertos. I didn’t claim that Erich Korngold’s Violin …
I have officially passed through the optimism of my youth and have entered my world-weary phase. Often, when I wake up in the morning, I am disappointed to see the same two feet swing out …
The San Diego Opera performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni on Sunday, February 4, was good, overall. It definitely wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great. It was good. The singing was good to pretty good. None of it …
Man did I blow it–big time. On Sunday, January 28, I headed to what I thought was going to be the best concert of the new year. Rafael Payare was conducting the San Diego Symphony …
It is impossible to comprehend the number of classical music compositions that exist. Do we even know ten percent of them? Here’s a fair question. Of Mozart’s 626 compositions do we know 62 of them?We …
Some big-time concertos, such as Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 are coming up in the next few months. I wonder, if I had to pick five “desert …
I was speaking with a friend who is a music professor and a choir director. One of the institutions he works for would like him to build a bigger choir program which he is definitely …
The San Diego Symphony is picking up the pieces of a torn and tattered 2023-2024 Jacobs Masterworks Series. Delays in the renovations of The Jacobs Music Center at Copley Symphony Hall have decimated what was …
2023 was an interesting year in classical music for San Diego. We saw a resurgence of the San Diego Opera. We saw delays in the renovations of The Jacobs Music Center at Copley Symphony Hall. …
“Noel Noel”, the San Diego Symphonies Christmas concert, was fun, festive, and full of holiday spirit. It was everything that December Nights in Balboa Park is not. “Noel Noel” had traditional Christmas songs instead of …