Chamber

Familiarity in chamber music often evokes warm appreciation, and it was thus Nov. 7 when the Chicago-based Lincoln Piano Trio made one of their many Sonoma County appearances, this time on the Spring Lake Village Classical Music Series. Regularly presented by local impresario Robert Hayden, the Lin...

Chamber

When the ATOS Piano Trio planned their all-Russian touring program at their Berlin home base, it had a strong elegiac, even tragic theme that surely resonated with their Mill Valley Chamber Music Society audience Nov. 4 in Mill Valley. Comprised of Annette von Hehn, violin; Thomas Hoppe, piano; and...

Chamber

When the Berlin-based ATOS Piano Trio entered the cramped Occidental Performing Arts stage Nov. 3, the audience of 100 anticipated familiar works in the announced all-Russian program. What they got was a selection of rarely-plays trios, with a gamut of emotions. Then one-movement Rachmaninoff G Mi...

Chamber

The strong connections between Santa Rosa’s musical community and California State University Chico were on display Oct. 12 as David Rothe, Professor Emeritus in the Chico Music Department, and Ayako Nakamura, trumpet with the North State Symphony, presented a concert titled “Heroic Music for Trumpe...

Chamber

In a minor masterpiece of programming choices the Brentano String Quartet played a Sept. 30 Weill Hall program with an emphasis on refinement, even with a challenging Bartok work in the mix. Dvorák’s Miniatures for Two Violins and Viola (Op. 75a) opened the concert with charm and gentle loveliness,...

Chamber

Marin’s Echo Chamber Orchestra unfurled a glorious tapestry of Mozart, Weber and Respighi music Sept. 30 in San Anselmo’s First Presbyterian Church. The church, located on the grounds of San Francisco Theological Seminary, boasts a ceiling high enough for angels to fly, and its quiet setting and aco...

Chamber

Two thirds of the way through a stimulating 22-concert season the Spring Lake Village Classical Music Series Sept. 5 presented two splendid cello sonatas before 110 people in the Village’s Montgomery auditorium. A duo for more than a decade, East Bay musicians cellist Monica Scott and pianist Hadle...

Chamber

Trumpeter Chris Botti still performs in jazz venues including SF Jazz and The Blue Note, but now appears mostly in cavernous halls or on outdoor stages like the Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center. He brought his unique road show to the packed Weill Hall August 12 in a concert of effusive e...

Chamber

The spirit of 19th century Vienna was present July 29 on the final day of the Valley of the Moon Music Festival. The Festival in the second half of July glittered with innovative programming and the new, old sound of original instruments played by musicians who love music with historic instruments. ...

Chamber

An extraordinary program of chamber music by Brahms and Schoenberg attracted a capacity crowd to the Valley of the Moon Music Festival’s final concert July 29th in Sonoma’s Hanna Center. It opened with a richly expressive reading by Festival Laureate violinist Rachell Wong and pianist Jeffrey LaDeur...

11/7/2018 - LUMINOUS FAURE TOPS LINCOLN TRIO'S SPRING LAKE VILLAGE CONCERT - Terry McNeill
Spring Lake Village Classical Music Series / Lincoln Trio. Desíree Ruhstrat, violin; David Cunliffe, cello; Marta Asnavoorian, piano
Familiarity in chamber music often evokes warm appreciation, and it was thus Nov. 7 when the Chicago-based Lincoln Piano Trio made one of their many Sonoma County appearances, this time on the Spring Lake Village Classical Music Series. Regularly presented by local impresario Robert Hayden, the Lin...

11/4/2018 - ATOS TRIO IN MILL VALLEY CHAMBER CONCERT - Abby Wasserman
Mill Valley Chamber Music Society / ATOS Piano Trio. Annette von Hehn, violin; Stefan Heinemyer, cello; Thomas Hoppe, piano
When the ATOS Piano Trio planned their all-Russian touring program at their Berlin home base, it had a strong elegiac, even tragic theme that surely resonated with their Mill Valley Chamber Music Society audience Nov. 4 in Mill Valley. Comprised of Annette von Hehn, violin; Thomas Hoppe, piano; and...

11/3/2018 - ATOS TRIO IN OCCIDENTAL CHAMBER CONCERT - Terry McNeill
Redwood Arts Council / Atos Trio. Annette Von Hehn. violin; Stefan Heinemeyer, cello; Thomas Hope, piano
When the Berlin-based ATOS Piano Trio entered the cramped Occidental Performing Arts stage Nov. 3, the audience of 100 anticipated familiar works in the announced all-Russian program. What they got was a selection of rarely-plays trios, with a gamut of emotions. Then one-movement Rachmaninoff G Mi...

10/12/2018 - HEROIC TRUMPET AND ORGAN MUSIC AT INCARNATION - Jerry Dibble
Church of the Incarnation / David Rothe organ; Ayako Nakamura, trumpet and flugelhorn; Carol Menke, soprano; Laura McLellan, cello
The strong connections between Santa Rosa’s musical community and California State University Chico were on display Oct. 12 as David Rothe, Professor Emeritus in the Chico Music Department, and Ayako Nakamura, trumpet with the North State Symphony, presented a concert titled “Heroic Music for Trumpe...

9/30/2018 - THORNY BARTOK AND ELEGANT MENDELSSOHN FOR THE BRENTANO - Sonia Morse Tubridy
Brentano String Quartet / Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin, violin; Misha Amory, viola; Nina Lee, cello
In a minor masterpiece of programming choices the Brentano String Quartet played a Sept. 30 Weill Hall program with an emphasis on refinement, even with a challenging Bartok work in the mix. Dvorák’s Miniatures for Two Violins and Viola (Op. 75a) opened the concert with charm and gentle loveliness,...

9/30/2018 - ECHO'S RICH MUSICAL TAPESTRY IN MARIN - Abby Wasserman
Echo Chamber Orchestra / Daniel Canosa, Conductor. Dan Ferreira, Clarinet
Marin’s Echo Chamber Orchestra unfurled a glorious tapestry of Mozart, Weber and Respighi music Sept. 30 in San Anselmo’s First Presbyterian Church. The church, located on the grounds of San Francisco Theological Seminary, boasts a ceiling high enough for angels to fly, and its quiet setting and aco...

9/5/2018 - CELLO-PIANO DUO IN HUSKY SPRING LAKE VILLAGE PROGRAM - Terry McNeill
Spring Lake Village Classical Music Series / Monica Scott, cello; Hadley McCarroll, piano
Two thirds of the way through a stimulating 22-concert season the Spring Lake Village Classical Music Series Sept. 5 presented two splendid cello sonatas before 110 people in the Village’s Montgomery auditorium. A duo for more than a decade, East Bay musicians cellist Monica Scott and pianist Hadle...

8/12/2018 - EXTRAVAGANT FUSION OF STYLES AT CHRIS BOTTI BAND WEILL HALL CONCERT - Jerry Dibble
Chris Botti Jazz Band / Chris Botti, trumpet. Musicians TBA
Trumpeter Chris Botti still performs in jazz venues including SF Jazz and The Blue Note, but now appears mostly in cavernous halls or on outdoor stages like the Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center. He brought his unique road show to the packed Weill Hall August 12 in a concert of effusive e...

7/29/2018 - SCHUBERT "MIT SCHLAG" AT VOM FESTIVAL MORNING CONCERT - Abby Wasserman
Valley of the Moon Music Festival / Owen Dalby and Rachell Wong, violin; Andrew Gonzalez and Lauren Nelson,viola; Tanya Tomkins and Madeleine Bouissou, cello; Eric Zivian and Jeffrey LaDeur, piano
The spirit of 19th century Vienna was present July 29 on the final day of the Valley of the Moon Music Festival. The Festival in the second half of July glittered with innovative programming and the new, old sound of original instruments played by musicians who love music with historic instruments. ...

7/29/2018 - PASSIONATE BRAHMS-SCHOENBERG MUSIC CLOSES VOM FESTIVAL SUMMER - Abby Wasserman
Valley of the Moon Music Festival / Monica Huggett, Sara Bleile and Susannah Foster, violin; Tanya Tomkins, cello; Kate Van Orden, bassoon; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Sadie Glass, horn; Eric Hoeprich, clarinet; Christian De Luca, piano
An extraordinary program of chamber music by Brahms and Schoenberg attracted a capacity crowd to the Valley of the Moon Music Festival’s final concert July 29th in Sonoma’s Hanna Center. It opened with a richly expressive reading by Festival Laureate violinist Rachell Wong and pianist Jeffrey LaDeur...

7/28/2018 - PRAGUE AND VIENNA PALACE GEMS HIGHLIGHT VOM FESTIVAL CONCERT - Sonia Morse Tubridy
Valley of the Moon Music Festival / Monica Huggett and Rachell Wong, violin; Marc Schachman, oboe; Sadie Glass, horn; Andrew Gonzalez, viola; Christian de Luca, fortepiano; Kate Van Orden, bassoon; Eric Hoeprich, clarinet; Tanya Tomkins, cello; Eric Zivian, piano. Apprentices TBA
The remarkable Valley of the Moon Chamber Music Festival presented a concert called “Kinsky Palace” July 28 on their final Festival weekend in Sonoma’s Hanna Center. Two well-known treasures and one lesser gem were programmed. Starting the afternoon offerings were violinist Monica Huggett and Fest...

7/22/2018 - INNOVATIVE CHAMBER WORKS IN HANNA CENTER CONCERT - Sonia Morse Tubridy
Valley of the Moon Music Festival / Augusta McKay Lodge and Susanna Foster, violin; Lauren Nelson, viola; Tanya Tomkins and Madeleine Bouissou, cello; Eric Zivian, Jeffrey LaDeur and Christian De Luca, piano
The Valley of the Moon Music Festival presented a July 22 concert featuring three giants: Haydn, Schubert and Schumann, composers who altered music of their time with creative innovations and artistic vision. In the fourth season the Festival’s theme this year is “Vienna in Transition”, and VOM Fes...

7/21/2018 - VIENNA INSPIRATION FOR VOM FESTIVAL PROGRAM AT HANNA CENTER - Nicki Bell
Valley of the Moon Music Festival / Kyle Stegall, tenor; Nikki Einfield, soprano; Augusta McKay Lodge, Sarah Bleile and Anna Presler, violin; Phyllis Kamrin, viola; Tanya Tomkins, cello; Eric Zivian, piano. Apprentices TBA
A music-loving audience filled Sonoma’s Hanna Center Auditorium July 21 to begin a record weekend of three concerts, produced by the Valley of the Moon Music Festival. The Festival’s theme this summer is “Venice in Transition – From the Enlightenment to the Dawn of Modernism” Prior to Saturday’s m...

7/15/2018 - VANHAL QUARTET AT VOM FESTIVAL DISCOVERY AT HANNA CENTER - Abby Wasserman
Valley of the Moon Music Festival / Marc Schachman, oboe; Tekla Cunningham and Carla Moore, violin; Kati Kyme and Toma Iliev, viola; William Skeen and Tanya Tomkins, cello; Eric Zivian, piano
A near-capacity crowd of 220 filled the Sonoma Hanna Boys Center Auditorium July 15 for the opening concert of the fourth Valley of the Moon Music Festival. This Festival presents gems of the Classical and early Romantic periods performed on instruments of the composer’s era, which presents a few ch...

6/6/2018 - COMMANDING CHOPIN AND DEBUSSY IN SLV RECITAL - Terry McNeill
Spring Lake Village Classical Music Series / Laura Magnani, piano
Concerts at the classy Spring Lake Village Retirement Home in Santa Rosa have admission limited to residents and a few guests, but the chance to hear a first cabin North Bay pianist June 6 brought a Classical Sonoma reviewer into the audience of 100. The crowd numbers were unusually low due to a ba...

5/12/2018 - FINAL VOM MUSICIANS CONCERT IN SCHROEDER A SCHUBERT DELIGHT - Terry McNeill
Valley of the Moon Music Festival / Tanya Tomkins, cello; Eric Zivian, piano; Kyle Stegall, tenor; Joseph Maile, violin
It's rare to have the opportunity to compare in a short period two performances of the same major Schubert work, in this case the great B Flat Piano Trio, D. 898. The chance came May 12 when the Valley of the Moon Festival musicians played it in Schroeder, just over a month since the Hall’s residen...

4/14/2018 - VIRTUOSO CELLO AND GUITAR TRANSCRIPTIONS AT RAC SEBASTOPOL CONCERT - Terry McNeill
Redwood Arts Council / Boris Andrionov, cello; Dimitri Illarionov, guitar
Listeners and yes even music critics usually prepare for a concert with research, checking recorded performances, looking at artist biographies and even reviewing sheet music. This was a difficult task for the April 14 Redwood Arts Council concert in Sebastopol’s Community Church, as the performers...

4/8/2018 - TRIO NAVARRO'S POPULAR FARE IN SCHROEDER HALL CONCERT - Terry McNeill
Green Music Center / Victor Romasevich, violin; Jill Rachuy Brindel, cello; Marilyn Thompson, piano
Long time Classical Sonoma readers may recall many Trio Navarro concert reviews that lauded their virtuosity and interest in rarely played repertoire. The April 8 concert in Schroeder Hall before 85 chamber music fans featured sterling performances but had a mostly conservative menu of popular trio...

3/31/2018 - VOM FESTIVAL TRIO CHARMS WITH CHAMBER MIX, AND HUMMEL - Terry McNeill
Valley of the Moon Music Festival / VOM Festival Musicians: Tanya Tomkins, cello; Monica Huggett violin; Eric Zivian, piano.
At the core of the group of Valley of the Moon Music Festival (VOM) musicians is an ensemble of trios and duos, and as a trio March 31 Festival founders cellist Tanya Tomkins and pianist Eric Zivian joined British violinist Monica Huggett for a chamber music concert in the Green Music Center’s Schro...

3/2/2018 - ADVENTUROUS BACH AND PENDERECKI IN MUTTER-ORKIS WEILL RECITAL - Terry McNeill
Mastercard Performance Series / Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; Lambert Orkis, piano
German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter returned to Weill Hall March 2 in a recital curiously different than her appearance on the same stage several years ago, and also dissimilar to a recent San Francisco concert with a heroic Respighi Sonata performance. On a rainy night before 700 fans Ms. Mutter ...

2/25/2018 - BEETHOVEN'S MAJESTY IN TAKACS QUARTET CONCERT - Terry McNeill
Mastercard Performance Series / Takács Quartet. Edward Dusinberre and Károly Schranz, violin; Geraldine Walther, viola; András Fejér, cello. Marc Andre Hamelin, piano
Greatness in a single musical composition carried the day Feb. 25 when the Takács String Quartet played Beethoven in Weill Hall. Sweeping aside two first half pieces, the Takács tackled Beethoven’s penultimate Quartet, the monumental C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131, written in 1826. From the first notes (<...

2/18/2018 - KIM-PETERSEN DUO SHINE IN MILL VALLEY CHAMBER RECITAL - Abby Wasserman
Mill Valley Chamber Music Society / Bomsori Kim, violin; Drew Petersen, piano
“Bomsori” means “the sound of spring” in Korean, and violinist Bomsori Kim’s sound is like spring - fresh, clarion, and nuanced. Her expressiveness and obvious pleasure in engaging with audiences is substantial, and she partnered with pianist Drew Petersen in a Feb. 18 recital for the Mill Valley C...

2/18/2018 - POWERHOUSE TANEYEV QUARTET IN TRIO NAVARRO CONCERT - Sonia Tubridy
Trio Navarro / Victor Romasevich, violin; Jill Rachuy Brindel, cello; Wayne Roden, viola; Marilyn Thompson, piano
Now in their 26th year of presenting chamber music as artists in residence at Sonoma State University, members of the Navarro Trio have performed, over the years, piano trios both famous and rarely performed, including many contemporary works. Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G Minor, K. 478 opened the Fe...

2/11/2018 - NOVEL AND FAMILIAR WORKS FROM THE TILDEN TRIO - Terry McNeill
Dominican University of California Guest Concert Series / Tilden Trio. June Choi Oh, piano; Sarn Oliver,violin; Peter Wyrick, cello
North Coast chamber music fans have the luxury of two fine resident piano trios, with the frequently performing Trio Navarro at Sonoma State, and the Tilden Trio at San Rafael’s Dominican University. The Tilden plays less often, but their Feb. 11 performance brought several hundred to Angelico Hall ...

2/9/2018 - BERLIN WIND QUINTET'S NOVEL PROGRAM SCORES IN WEILL CONCERT - nicholas xenelis
Mastercard Performance Series / Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. Walter Seyfarth, clarinet; Marion Reinhardt, bassoon; Michael Hasel, flute; Andreas Wittman, oboe; Fergus McWilliam, horn; Steven Hough, piano
Driving into the Green Music Center parking lot Feb. 10 I knew there was something unusual taking place since the lot was nearly full. Was another event going on this same night? A large crowd in Weill Hall isn’t expected for chamber music, in this case with the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. S...

2/3/2018 - A COMPLETE ARTISTIC PACKAGE IN FLEMING'S WEILL HALL RECITAL - Vaida Falconbridge and Mary Beard
Mastercard Performance Series / Renée Fleming, soprano; Helmut Höll, piano
The diva Renée Fleming strode on the Weill Hall stage Feb. 2 in her first couture gown of the evening, a gray and swirling cream strapless sheath with flamboyant coordinating stole. For this concert, Ms. Fleming stayed to somewhat lighter fare, foregoing heavier dramatic and coloratura arias for a v...

1/27/2018 - VIVID GERMAN ROMANTICISM IN VOM FESTIVAL CONCERT IN SCHROEDER - Terry McNeill
Valley of the Moon Music Festival / Eric Vivian, piano; Tanya Tomkins, cello; Eric Hoeprich, clarinet; Catherine Manson, violin and viola
Though not new to Sonoma County, the Valley of the Moon Music Festival (VOM) concerts are relatively recent in the Green Music Center’s Schroeder Hall. So the first of three spring concerts Jan. 27 provided a picture of what’s in the repertoire leading up to their Festival this summer at Sonoma’s Ha...

1/21/2018 - ECLECTIC ANDERSON & ROE TRANSCRIPTIONS CAPTIVATE WEILL HALL AUDIENCE - Nicki Bell
Green Music Center / Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe, piano
From the first moment when Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe walked Jan. 21 on the Weill Hall stage and spoke to the audience about their two-piano program, it was clear that an afternoon of drama, humor, virtuosity, warmth, transcendence and excitement was in store. This dynamic and mesmerizing ...

1/20/2018 - BALCOM TRIO HIGHLIGHTS DELPHI'S RAC CONCERT IN OCCIDENTAL - Sonia Morse Tubridy
Delphi Trio / Jeffrey LaDeur, piano; Liana Bérubé, violin; Michelle Kwon, cello
The Redwood Arts Council audience first met the Delphi Trio (Jeffrey LaDeur, (piano), Liana Berube (violin), and cellist Michelle Kwon) in 2013, and subsequent concerts in the same Occidental hall have become crowd favorites. The January 20th program before a capacity audience seemed to have enthus...