Jeff Hudson recommends classical concerts in the region for this week's Sound Advice.
Chamber Music Society With Soprano Carrie Hennessey
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This month’s Chamber Music Society of Sacramento program focuses on music composed in Italy between the early 1800s and early 1900s, including Giuseppe Tartini’s “Devil’s Trill” Sonata, plus works by Niccolo Paganini, Giovanni Bottesini and one of the very few pieces of chamber music composed by Giacomo Puccini, who mostly wrote operas.
There is also a vocal piece by Ottorino Respighi. Most Capital Public Radio listeners are familiar with Respighi’s oft-heard orchestra pieces “Ancient Airs and Dances.” Respighi’s songs are heard much less often, but they’re really lovely, and they’re not as perky and cute as his neo-Baroque orchestral suites.
On this program, Carrie Hennessey will be singing Respighi’s “Il Tramonto” for soprano and string quartet.
- Saturday, March 10, 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Bet Haverim
- Sunday, March 11, 4 p.m. at Capistrano Hall, Sacramento State
Soprano Dawn Upshaw With Pianist Gilbert Kalish
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Soprano Dawn Upshaw has had quite a career – she’s appeared more than 300 times at the Metropolitan Opera, she’s won multiple Grammy Awards, and ten years ago she received a MacArthur “Genius Grants.” Pianist Gilbert Kalish is one of the distinguished elder statesmen of the keyboard in this country, he’s now in his 80s and he and Dawn Upshaw have been doing recitals together for decades.
They will be performing for the New Millennium Concert Series in a program that will include songs by German composer Franz Schubert, Hungarian composer Bela Bartok, English composer Rebecca Clark and American composer William Bolcom, who was a guest of honor at the Mondavi Center a few years ago.
- Thursday, March 15, 7:30 p.m., Capistrano Hall, Sacramento State
Low Strung: The 12-Cello Rock Band From Yale
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During the past 20 years, we’ve seen a number of cello rock bands, including Apocalyptica and Break of Reality, as well as solo cello rock stars like Zoe Keating, who has played in this area several times.
This week, a 12-cello rock band from the East Coast called Low Strung will be giving two concerts in Davis. The members of the group are all students at Yale University, and the local connection is that one of the members of the group is Han-Ah Sumner, who graduated from Davis High several years ago, and once interned at the Davis Enterprise.
This group claims to be the largest cello rock band in the world, and they have done a bit of touring, appearing at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland as well as at a few casinos in Las Vegas.
- Thursday, March 15, 7:30 p.m., Brunelle Hall, Davis Senior High School
- Friday, March 16, 7:30 p.m., Stonegate Country Club, Davis
St. Patrick's Day With Celtic Bands Danú And Goitse
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There are a number of concerts featuring Irish music coming up in the Capital Public Radio listening area during the next few weeks. There will be a double bill of Irish bands at the Mondavi Center on March 17 at 7 p.m. (This will be the first appearance in this area for Goitse.)
The event includes a pre-concert beer tasting organized by the Robert Mondavi Institute of Wine and Food, featuring samples from Bear Republic Brewing, Berryessa Brewing, Figueroa Mountain Brewing, Firestone Walker Brewing, Lagunitas Brewing, Ruhstaller Beer, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Sudwerk Brewing and Yolo Brewing.
Tabla Drummer Zakir Hussain With Floutist Rakesh Chaurasia
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Traditional Indian music can draw a big crowd in the Sacramento area, and tabla artist Zakir Hussain has picked up a following with his multiple appearances here. This time through, he’s performing with flutist Rakesh Chaurasia, who plays a bamboo flute and comes from a family that has produced several famous musicians.
Fans of Indian musicians generally expect to hear a generous set with room for the artists to show how they can improvise a bit within the piece they are performing. (You can read an NPR Music profile of Zakir Hussain here.)
