With live, in-person performances still extremely limited, classical music lovers can be grateful for the wealth of streamed events and recordings coming our way. The virtual fall season goes into full swing this month, and here’s a look at some of the offerings you won’t want to miss.
“At Home” delivery: Cal Performances launches its new At Home series Oct. 1 with top-quality streams from around the world. It’s a must-see lineup of concerts, recitals, talks and more; digital “watch parties” are included with each event. The series is set to run through Jan. 14, with additional programs still to be announced. Here’s what’s coming in October.
Oct. 1: The series begins with violinist Tessa Clark, a Naumburg Award and Avery Fisher Career Grant winner, joined by pianist Andrew Armstrong in a live recital performance from New York’s Merkin Hall. The program features works by Bartók, Ysaÿe, Schubert, Grieg, and Ravel.
Oct. 6: A live-streamed conversation with New Yorker critic Alex Ross, author of “The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century,” and composer John Adams, creator of operas such as “Nixon in China” and “Doctor Atomic.” The talk will focus on Ross’s new book, “Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music.” Viewers can participate in a live Q&A with Ross and Adams. Available for one night only.
Oct. 8: The great German violinist Christian Tetzlaff returns with his namesake string quartet, which includes his sister, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff. The all-Beethoven program features the composer’s String Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 130, with Grosse Fuge in B-flat major, Op. 133, and the String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132.
Oct. 14: Composer-flutist-vocalist Nathalie Joachim and the Spektral Quartet perform “Fanm d’Ayiti” (Women of Haiti), a program melding folk songs, chamber strings, and electronica in celebration of Haiti’s premier female artists.
Oct. 21: Composer Darcy James Argue leads his 18-piece big band, Secret Society, in “Real Enemies,” a jazz-theater work incorporating multi-channel video, text, and music to explore conspiracy theories and the nature of belief. Check in 30 minutes before the performance for a conversation with Argue, Isaac Butler, Peter Nigrini, and Cal Performances executive and artistic director, Jeremy Geffen.
Details: October programs begin at 7 p.m. and most events are available on demand through December; check website for subscription package; $15 single tickets; $30 for 2, $60 per household, $5 UC Berkeley students; 510-642-9988; www.calperformances.org/at-home.
More on tap
Focus on composers of color: For its first virtual presentation of the season, the San Francisco Early Music Society presents Agave Baroque. The American ensemble, which includes members of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, welcomes countertenor Reginald L. Mobley in a program celebrating Black and Latino composers, including Scott Joplin, Florence Price and Black American guitar virtuoso Justin Holland. Details: 4 p.m. Oct. 3; $15; www.sfems.org.
Party Favors: Opera Parallèle is hosting its first-ever virtual gala next weekend. Titled “No Boundaries,” the event includes a new installment in the company’s “Graphic Novel Opera” concept, this one inspired by Jody Talbot and Gene Scheer’s opera, “Everest.” Log on early for the pre-gala reception, which includes a conversation with author-librettist Amy Tan, “Harvey Milk” composer Stewart Wallace, and Opera Parallèle artistic director Nicole Paiement. Details: reception at 5 p.m. ($100), gala at 6 p.m. (free); www.operaparallèle.org.
Stories to tell: Keeping kids occupied during a pandemic has brought a unique set of challenges. “Reading Is Instrumental,” Berkeley Symphony’s latest initiative, can help. The series features live readings accompanied by Symphony musicians. Launched last week with award-winning actress Rita Moreno, new episodes arrive each Friday throughout the fall and will have readers including actor Andy Samberg, Oakland A’s star Marcus Semien, author Maxine Hong Kingston and the Symphony’s music director, Joseph Young. Details: 11 a.m. Fridays; www.berkeleysymphony.org.
Now hear this: Two excellent new recordings, both on the Pentatone label, have arrived. “Unexpected Shadows,” featuring Jamie Barton performing songs by Jake Heggie, demonstrates why Barton has become one of the opera world’s essential artists. Accompanied by Heggie on piano, with contributions from cellist Matt Haimovitz, Barton’s rich-toned voice gives full expression to these songs, set to texts by Gene Scheer, Laura Morefield, Gavin Dillard, and Sister Helen Prejean. Also out now: Missy Mazzoli’s chamber opera, “Proving Up.” With libretto by Royce Vavrek, this dramatic work, set in Nebraska after the Civil War, recalls some of the intensity and brilliance of “Breaking the Waves,” which received an unforgettable production as the centerpiece of West Edge Opera’s 2019 summer season. Christopher Rountree conducts the International Contemporary Ensemble and the cast of Opera Omaha’s 2018 production.
Contact Georgia Rowe at [email protected].
