San Francisco might seem like an unlikely place for a Mahler tradition to take root. Mahler’s epic, heaven shaking symphonies don’t exactly match up seamlessly with the casual atmosphere of the Bay Area, its progressive politics, and foggy, clement summer days. But, that is exactly what has happened in San Francisco since Michael Tilson Thomas…

Who would’ve thought that there’s an up-and-coming conductor with a mop of Gustavo Dudamel-like hair who is younger than Dudamel himself? Well, the 26-year old Robin Ticciati is just such a fellow. Starting this fall, Ticciati begins his first season as principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Since 2007, he has been the music…

One of the loudest splashes at this year’s Mostly Mozart Festival (now in its 43rd year) was made with “A Flowering Tree,” an opera written by John Adams as a commission in 2006 by Lincoln Center for the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. Originally premiered at the New Crowned Hope festival in Vienna, Austria, this…

Richard Rodzinski, president of the Van Cliburn Foundation and John Giordano, chairman of the jury, subjected themselves to numerous questions by the press. Here’s a compilation of some of the questions and answers (some of which wandered away from the questions). This conversation took place before the final round. I just haven’t had enough time…

After a long wait, the audience again took their seats in Bass Hall to hear the who the winners of the Van Cliburn Competition are. So, here are the jury’s decisions: Gold: Haochen Zhang, Nobuyuki Tsujii Silver: Yeol Eum Son Crystal: not awarded Steven De Groote Memorial Award for the Best Performance(s) of Chamber Music:…

I’ve only got a few minutes to collect my thoughts about the six concert in the final round of this competition. Nobuyuki Tsujii gave the recital portion with pieces by Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt. He did very well (especially considering that a Japanese TV crew just stopped in as well as more Japanese press and…

For those of us who wanted to hear how quietly a pianist can play in a concert hall, Di Wu answered our prayers. The Chinese pianist used the softest, lightest, most delicate touch in her performance of Bach’s Toccata in F-sharp minor, BWV 910. Her playing forced the audience to listen so intently that no…

Today was a two-fer with one final round concert in the afternoon and another in the evening. The afternoon’s concert reflected an increased attendance, and the hall was almost filled to capacity. Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang opened his recital program with Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, which showed off…

After the concert on Friday, I went the press room and then went around Bass Hall on the way to my hotel. Just at that moment, Van Cliburn was leaving the hall. Stanislav Ioudenitch, the 2001 Gold Medal winner and his daughter are next to Van Cliburn. I understand that Ioudenitch’s daughter is a fine…