In early February, I interviewed Donato Cabrera, Resident Conductor at the SF Symphony and guest conductor for the February 28 SFCMP concert. In the interview, Cabrera discusses the differences between the American and European conducting traditions, the dangers of overspecialization, challenges facing the new music community in the United States, and how he thinks works by living composers should be programmed. You can read the interview on SFCMP’s blog.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

SFCMP kicked off its 40th season with a characteristically eclectic program that reminded me why the concert producer has been able to draw loyal subscribers for decades. The pieces on the program showed an appreciation for the phenomenon of the concert as a social event belonging to a specific community, and the concert reflected the eclectic spirit of American new music. (more…)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players presented their final concert of the 2009/2010 season tonight, 26 Apr 2010, at the Herbst Theater in downtown San Francisco. On the program were pieces by Greek composer Manolis Manousakis, American Tan Dun, Chinese Guo Wenjing, and Frenchman Philippe Hurel. This program was presented coherently and engagingly, because proper attention was paid not only to selecting and preparing the music, but also to lighting, staging, and technological aspects—a rare achievement. (more…)

Recently, I interviewed conductor/composer Christian Baldini for the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. Christian is conducting a piece by French composer, Philippe Hurel for SFCMP’s upcoming concert on April 26. Baldini is an Argentine musician by birth, currently teaching conducting at UC Davis near San Francisco.

Interestingly enough, in the process of the interview, we discovered we have some things in common, including a love of contemporary music and new opera!