This Sunday (2/1) at 8pm KDFC will broadcast SF Opera’s recent production of Korngold’s hauntingly beautiful opera, Die Tote Stadt. You won’t want to miss this special presentation of a work that has been compared to Hitchcock’s Vertigo.  In the meantime, SF Opera just announced its line-up for the 2009-2010 season.  The season will be the first for new Music Director Nicola Luisotti (pictured).  Maestro Luisotti will conduct Verdi’s Il Trovatore which will kick off the season on September 11.  He will also helm Salome, Otello and The Girl of the Golden West.  The season includes Il Trittico by Puccini, Wagner’s Die Walkure, Gounod’s Faust, The Daughter of the Regiment by Donzetti and Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio.  Mark your calendars for the next two outdoor simulcasts from SF Opera and the SF Giants.  We’ll be at AT&T Park once again on Friday, June 5 for Puccini’s Tosca and then on Saturday, September 19, catch a free simulcast of the opera’s season-opening opera, Il Trovatore. For complete details from SF Opera’s news conference, go their website.

Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and Anthony McGill play during the inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

It was a beautiful buffer; a musical interlude between acts and it has created a lot of listener interest here at KDFC. I’m talking about the quartet piece performed between the swearing in of Vice President Joe Biden and that of  President Barack Obama on inauguration Tuesday. John Williams wrote "Air and Simple Gifts" for an all-star lineup; violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Gabriela Montero.

Tim Smith of the Baltimore Sun had this to say about it "The remarkably intimate interlude opened with a sober, almost melancholy theme, as if to recall the many challenges facing the country. That gave way to a familiar melody, first intoned by the clarinet – the gently uplifting Shaker hymn, "Simple Gifts," used so indelibly by Aaron Copland in his 1944 ballet score Appalachian Spring. The four instruments rhapsodized on that tune before returning to the quiet opening material."

The response to it has been wonderful here at KDFC. I’ve received many emails and calls regarding it and so we decided to place a video clip of that premiere on our video page. Enjoy

KDFC listeners cannot be categorized.  If your image of a KDFC listener is of some tweedy music professor-type with gray hair and a pipe,  get ready to have that image shattered.  While there may be someone out there smoking a pipe  (of what?) I’m happy to say that we have listeners from every conceivable background, education-level, age, ethnicity and geographical circumstance.  Take for example Karl Muller who recently returned from several tours of duty in Iraq  (see photo below).  He now lives in west Oakland in a neighborhood that he describes as only slightly less dangerous than Iraq!  Karl is a fan of all kinds of music but he especially enjoys KDFC when he’s creating something out of steel or relaxing in his hot tub.  Karl,  this one’s for you.

While playing some of the Otorino Respighi’s "The Birds" today I went searching for the source material ("the Birds" is made up of melodies from the 17th and 18th century keyboard pieces) and came across this animation that uses the music from Rameau’s "La Poule" (the Hen).
Enjoy

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Last night Jim and I attended a dress rehearsal of "Dracul:Prince of Fire" at Oakland’s The Crucible.  Driving home, I kept wondering how in the world I would describe this unique event to you.  One thing’s for sure, you’re not going to see anything like it anywhere else.  The upshot is I liked it.  It was compelling and so different from your typical ballet fare.  Think of it as the anti-Nutcracker.  The story is loosely based on the idea that Dracula had a dad.  A dad who slayed a dragon and became a vampire.  There’s no reason to try and figure out the plot, which is good because it doesn’t really add up.  But that’s just fine.  The fire is all!  Fire everywhere.  Coming out of the dragon’s nose, rimming the stage, at the ends of a baton being spun by a very gifted fire-manipulator.  "Dracul" is a combo-pack of straight-ahead ballet, Cirque du Soleil acrobatics, and, oh, did I mention, the FIRE?  Check out this video for a taste of what’s going on this weekend and next at The Crucible.