2015 cultural events

This page lists 61 cultural events I attended in 2015. Movies are listed on my films page, not here. The program index page displays thumbnails of all the printed program images. Cities are in California, except as noted.

Highlights of 2015 to date:

Matchless playing in a matchless setting: Alí Arango playing classical Spanish guitar music in Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. Arango's technical mastery and pure muscianship were astounding; move over, Segovia / Bream / John Williams. And in the unlikely event that one's mind were to wander while he played, one could bask in the glow of Montaner's wonderful building. One of the most memorable concerts of a lifetime of concert-going; wow!
The Ashland production of Pericles: one great theatrical moment after another, with a plot ranging from Gilbert & Sullivan silliness to heart-wrenching pathos.
Kayhan Kalhor (kamancheh) and Erdal Erzinçan (baglama): fabulous playing on wonderful Persian and Turkish string instruments; amazing sounds, a magical evening.

I started keeping event data in the format used by this page in 2010, so data from 2010 to date is accurate. I started keeping appointment calendar data in .txt format in August 2005. I later extracted 2005-2009 event data ex post facto, so data for 2005 to 2009 is less complete and a bit less accurate. I have older pocket calendars and hard copies of event programs going back to 1963, but I have not yet scanned programs for years before 2010 or entered event data for most years before 2005.

Click on a heading below to sort the list accordingly. Click on a Program link to see the printed program for an event. Enter a search string (e.g., "Mahler", "Berkeley", "piano") below to filter the output.

Date	Category	Description	Performers	Venue	City		Works
01/16/15 @ 18:30	Concert	San Francisco Symphony	John Adams, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor Elvis Costello, narrator	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Adams: Grand Pianola Music Stravinsky: L'Histoire du soldat
01/18/15 @ 16:00	Chamber	SF Early Music Society	Pallade Musica	Church of the Advent	San Francisco	Program
01/19/15 @ 19:30	Chamber	Earplay	David Milnes, conductor	ODC	San Francisco	Program	Cowell: 26 Simultaneous Mosaics Bouchard: Bref Kasem: Niebla y Luz Lang: Frag Aberdam: Figurines Campion: Descent Shearer: Intermezzo Eshima: Es MUSK Sein Kim: EarBrush
01/24/15 @ 17:00	Theater	The Waiting Period	Brian Copeland	Marsh	San Francisco	Program	Copeland: The Waiting Period
01/25/15 @ 16:00	Chamber	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Emil Miland and Friends	Noe Valley Ministry	San Francisco	Program	Merlet: Prelude, Interlude, Postlude Forest: Rachel's Dream Wade: Full Fathom Five Conte: Aria and Fugue Harrison: Suite for cello and piano Coward/Heggie: Coward Cabaret Rachmaninoff: Vocalise Chopin: Cello Sonata (2nd mvt.)
02/06/15 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Nicholas McGegan, conductor	Calvary	San Francisco	Program	Telemann: Sinfonia from Schwanengesang Bach, Johann Christoph: Herr, wende dich Bach, Johann Ludwig: Trauermusik
02/08/15 @ 14:00	Theater	I Am My Own Wife	Steven Abbott	Cinnabar	Petaluma	Program	Wright: I Am My Own Wife
02/12/15 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Herbert Blomstedt, conductor Peter Serkin, piano	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 19
02/25/15 @ 21:00	Recital	Noche de Guitar Española	Alí Arango, guitar	Palau de la Música Catalana	Barcelona	Program	Tárrega: Capricho Árabe Tárrega: Recuerdos de la Alhambra Sor: Variations on a Theme by Mozart Malats: Serenata Española Barrios-Mangoré: La Catedral Roderigo: En los Trigales de Luca: Güajiras de Lucia Ruiz-Pipó: Canzió y Danzon No. 1 Albeniz: Asturias Táarrega: Gran Jota
02/28/15 @ 21:00	Recital	Barcelona 4 Guitars	Barcelona 4 Guitars	Palau de la Música Catalana	Barcelona	Program
03/02/15 @ 13:00	Chamber	Prague Castle Midday Concerts	Chamber Ensemble	Lobkowicz Palace	Prague	Program
03/04/15 @ 19:30	Concert	Prague Symphony Orchestra	Graeme Jenkins, conductor Jiří Bárta, cello	Municipal House	Prague	Program	Vaughan Williams: Fantasy on a theme by Thomas Tallis Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 Haydn: Lord Nelson Mass
03/05/15 @ 19:00	Concert	Royal Czech Orchestra		Colloredo Mansfield Palace	Prague	Program
03/11/15 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Ton Koopman, conductor	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Händel: Royal Fireworks Music Haydn: Sinfonia Concertante Haydn: Symphony No. 103 'Drum Roll'
03/13/15 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Rachel Polger, violin/leader	SF Jazz	San Francisco	Program	Vivaldi: Concerto for 4 Violins, Op. 3, No. 4 Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 Violins, Op. 3, No. 8 Vivaldi: Concerto for Violin, Op. 4, No. 8 Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 Violins and Violoncello, Op. 3, No. 11 Vivaldi: Concerto for Violin, Op. 9, No. 12 Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 Violins and Violoncello, Op. 3, No. 2 Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 Violins, Op. 9, No. 9 Vivaldi: Concerto for 4 Violins and Violoncello, Op. 3, No. 10
03/14/15 @ 18:00	Recital	Ann Moss	Ann Moss, soprano	Private	San Francisco	Program	Heggie: The Book of Nightmares Wade: Full Fathom Five Cabaret songs
03/16/15 @ 19:30	Concert	Earplay	Mary Chun, conductor	ODC	San Francisco	Program	Riley: String Trio Bauer: Pas de Deux Jones: Archaeology Festinger: Double Take Tacke: im Rückblick Chen Yi: Happy Rain on a Spring Night
03/22/15 @ 17:00	Recital	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Susanne Mentzer, mezzo soprano	St. Mark's	San Francisco	Program	Clarke: Three Irish Country Songs Berlioz: La Captive Massenet: Elégie Loeffler: Quatres Poemes Beethoven: Scottish and Irish Songs
04/04/15 @ 17:00	Theater	Lear's Shadow	Geoff Hoyle	Marsh	San Francisco	Program	Hoyle: Lear's Shadow
04/12/15 @ 16:00	Concert	SF Early Music Society	Ensemble Mirable	St. Mark's	San Francisco	Program	Vivaldi: La Primavera Barbella: Sonata Terza Corelli: Trio Sonata Mancini: Sonata Ottava Gabrieli, Giovanni: Sonata XXI Turini: Sonata a Tre Frescobaldi: Toccata VIII Vivaldi: Trio Sonata Scarlatti, Alessandro: Sonata Nona Cazzati: Ciaccona
04/16/15 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor Igor Levit, piano	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Haydn: Symphony No. 44 'Mourning' Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9 Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi u'un faune Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
04/17/15 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Nicholas McGegan, conductor	SF Jazz	San Francisco	Program	Mozart: Overture, Arias, Contradanses Rossini: La cambiale di matrimonio
04/18/15 @ 13:00	Indian	Ali Akbar Khan birthday tribute	Arjun Verma, sitar Nilan Chaudhuri, tabla New Maihar Band Mahesh Kale, vocal Alam Khan, sarod	AACM	San Rafael	Program
04/19/15 @ 19:00	Recital	Dubravka Tomšič	Dubravka Tomšič, piano	SF Jazz	San Francisco	Program	Haydn: Piano Sonata, Hob. XVI:52 Beethoven: Piano Sonata op. 53, 'Waldstein' Chopin: Fantasie Chopin: Nocturnes Chopin: Andante Spianato Chopin: Grande Polonaise Brilliante
04/26/15 @ 16:00	Concert	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Clerestory	St. Mark's	San Francisco	Program
05/01/15 @ 20:00	Theater	Cops and Robbers	Jinho 'The Piper' Ferreira	Marsh	San Francisco	Program	Ferreira: Cops and Robbers
05/08/15 @ 20:00	Chamber	Morrison Artists Series	Afiara String Quartet	McKenna	San Francisco	Program	Mozart: String Quartet No. 19 'Dissonance' Festinger: String Quartet No. 3 Schumann: String Quartet, Op. 41 No. 1
05/16/15 @ 20:30	Theater	Black Virgins Are Not for Hipsters	Echo Brown	Marsh	San Francisco	Program	Brown: Black Virgins Are Not for Hipsters
05/17/15 @ 16:00	Concert	Bluegrass Music Jamboree		Mill Valley Community Church	Mill Valley
05/18/15 @ 19:30	Concert	Earplay	Mary Chun, conductor	ODC	San Francisco	Program	Harrison: Threnody for Carlos Chávez Galindo: Plink! Josheff: Big Brother Peterson: Brief Encounters Na: Ocean/Shore 2 Lucero: El Castillo Interior: The Interior Castle Bennett: twasome Tzortzis: Emak-Bakia
05/20/15 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra Adams, Samuel: Radial Play Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante
05/31/15 @ 16:00	Chamber	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Mobius Trio	Noe Valley Ministry	San Francisco	Program	Clay: a place that inhabits us Becker: Last Light Ravel: String Quartet II, arr. White Randall-Myers: Making Good Choices Reynolds: Edges Assad: Kindergarten
06/03/15 @ 12:45	Sports	SF Giants baseball	Pirates vs. Giants	AT&T Park	San Francisco
06/04/15 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Charles Dutoit, conductor	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Ravel: Alborada del gracioso de Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain Ravel: L'heure espagnole
06/13/15 @ 16:15	Sports	SF Giants baseball	Diamondbacks vs. Giants	AT&T Park	San Francisco
06/25/15 @ 12:45	Sports	SF Giants baseball	Padres vs. Giants	AT&T Park	San Francisco
06/26/15 @ 20:00	Theater	Each and Every Thing	Dan Hoyle	Marsh	San Francisco	Program	Hoyle: Each and Every Thing
07/29/15 @ 12:20	Recital	Bach at Noon	George Fergus, organ	Grace Church	Mantattan NY	Program	Bach: Organ works
08/12/15 @ 12:45	Sports	SF Giants baseball	Astros vs. Giants	AT&T Park	San Francisco
08/14/15 @ 19:15	Sports	SF Giants baseball	Nationals vs. Giants	AT&T Park	San Francisco
08/21/15 @ 19:00	Theater	Equivocation	Murphys Creek Theater	Black Bart Playhouse	Murphys	Program	Cain: Equivocation
10/01/15 @ 12:45	Sports	SF Giants baseball	Dodgers vs. Giants	AT&T Park	San Francisco
10/07/15 @ 19:00	Lecture	JCCSF Arts & Ideas	Niall Ferguson, author	JCC	San Francisco
10/09/15 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Nicholas McGegan, conductor	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Scarlatti, A.: La Gloria di Primavera
10/11/15 @ 16:00	Chamber	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Premiere Saxophone Quartet	St. Mark's	San Francisco	Program	Gershwin: Three Preludes Carlson: Absolute Music Carlson: Incendiary Devices Barber: Souvenirs
10/13/15 @ 19:30	Sports	Golden State Warriors basketball	Warriors vs. Nuggets	Coliseum Arena	Oakland
10/15/15 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Susanna Mälkki, conductor Christian Tetzlaff, violin	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Mussorgsky/Shostakovich: Prelude to Khovanshchina Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5
10/25/15 @ 16:00	Chamber	SF Early Music Society	Archetti	St. Mark's	San Francisco	Program	Händel: Concerto Grosso Op. 3 No.3 Bach: Concerto for Two Violins Brescianello: Concerto for Oboe and Violin Bach: Concerto for Harpsichord Händel: Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 5 Bach: Concerto for Oboe and Violin
10/30/15 @ 13:30	Theater	Sweat	Oregon Shakespeare Festival	Bowmer	Ashland OR	Program	Nottage: Sweat
10/30/15 @ 20:00	Theater	Happiest Song Plays Last	Oregon Shakespeare Festival	Thomas	Ashland OR	Program	Hudes: Happiest Song Plays Last
10/31/15 @ 13:30	Theater	Pericles	Oregon Shakespeare Festival	Thomas	Ashland OR	Program	Shakespeare: Pericles
10/31/15 @ 20:00	Theater	Long Day's Journey into Night	Oregon Shakespeare Festival	Thomas	Ashland OR	Program	O'Neill: Long Day's Journey into Night
11/04/15 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Bizet: Music from Carmen Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 'Organ'
11/12/15 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Richard Egarr, conductor	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.1 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.3 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.5 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.4
11/18/15 @ 18:00	Opera	Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg	San Francisco Opera Mark Elder, conductor	Opera House	San Francisco	Program	Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
11/20/15 @ 20:00	World	Kamancheh/baglama recital	Kayhan Kalhor, kamancheh Erdal Erzinçan, baglama	Herbst	San Francisco	Program
11/22/15 @ 16:00	Concert	SF Early Music Society	Baltimore Consort	St. Mark's	San Francisco	Program	Songs, Dances and Fancies for Shakespeare
11/24/15 @ 19:00	Opera	Lulu	Metropolitan Opera	Metropolitan Opera	New York NY	Program	Berg: Lulu
12/04/15 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Nicolas McGegan, conductor	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Purcell: Te Deum and Jubilate Purcell: Suite from Distressed Innocence Händel: Duet from Cecilia, volgi un sguardo Händel: Ode for St. Cecilia's Day
12/08/15 @ 12:30	Chamber	Noontime Concerts	Alexander String Quartet	Old St. Mary's	San Francisco	Program	Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 3 Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59 No. 3
12/13/15 @ 16:00	Chamber	VoiLaViola	Justin Ouellet, viola Hillary Nordwell, piano	Private	San Francisco	Program	Mozart: Andante Sohn: Lullaby Fuchs: Sonata Pastorae Schumann, Clara: Ballade Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata