2016 cultural events

This page lists 66 cultural events I attended in 2016. 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 2016 to date:

The ballet-like movement and poses of conductor Krzysztof Urbanski initially struck me as mannered and distracting, but I soon realized each movement connected very directly to the music. The SFS musicians responded beautifully, producing a splendid performance of Dvorák's From the New World.
Sarah Cahill's program of chaconnes (chaconne à son gout, as P.D.Q. Bach said), a beautifully constructed model of engaging programming.
A breathtaking recital by Kristin Lee and Hyeyeon Park, wonderful playing by both and fabulous sound at Noe Valley Ministry. Flawless intonation by violinist Lee! Truly a special event.
A bounty of artistic riches in Berlin: a truly hair-raising, gripping Elektra at the Deutsche Oper, the Berliner Philharmoniker in the astonishing acoustics of the Philharmonie, and a fabulous Dreigroschenoper in Brecht's Theater am Schiffbauerdamm.
On the Town in SF Symphony's staged concert performance, great fun.
Robert Levin's magical improvisations in Beethoven 3 with PBO, on the edge but right on target, a thrilling performance.

And Feldman. And Eighth Blackbird.

Lowlight:

Christopher Durang's Betty's Summer Vacation at Stage 3 in Sonora. Bari and I both rate it as worst play we've ever seen. We've seen several wonderful productions at Stage 3 in the past, but this one was terrible, actors were inadequate and the material was awful.

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
01/14/16 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Krzysztof Urbański, conductor Emanuael Ax, piano	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 'From the New World' Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 'Emperor'
01/17/16 @ 16:00	Chamber	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Sarah Cahill	Noe Valley Ministry	San Francisco	Program	Händel: Chaconne Wolpe: Dance in the Form of a Chaconne Jacquet de la Guerre: Chaconnes Gubaidulina: Chaconne Couperin, François: La Favorite: Chaconne Clay: Chaconne Purcell: Ground Nielsen: Chaconne
01/23/16 @ 19:30	Theater	Gem of the Ocean	Marin Theater Company	MTC	Mill Valley	Program	Wilson: Gem of the Ocean
01/26/16 @ 12:30	Chamber	Noontime Concerts	Peter Wyrick, cello Britton Day, piano	Old St. Mary's	San Francisco	Program	Debussy: Cello Sonata Fauré: Three Pieces Poulenc: Cello Sonata
01/31/16 @ 16:00	Chamber	Old First Concerts	Ives Collective	Old First Church	San Francisco	Program	Hindemith: Quartet Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin de temps
02/01/16 @ 19:30	Chamber	Earplay	Mary Chun, conductor	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Wolpe: Piano Sonata Sawyer: Masquerade Ran: Perfect Storm Imbrie: Earplay Fantasy
02/05/16 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Kristian Bezuidenhout, fortepiano Nicholas McGegan, conductor	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Mozart: Symphony No. 27 Mozart: Concerto for Fortepiano No. 23 Mozart: Symphony No. 39
02/06/16 @ 19:30	Opera	Otello	Verismo Opera	Hillside Club	Berkeley	Program	Verdi: Otello
02/07/16 @ 15:30	Chamber	Out of the Box	Martha & Monica	Zbelow	San Francisco	Program	Feldman: Patterns in a Chromatic Field
02/11/16 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Nicholas McGegan, conductor Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Händel: Overture to An Occasional Oratorio Händel: Arias from Ariodante Händel: Water Music Suite No. 1 Händel: Arias from Alcina Händel: Music for the Royal Fireworks
02/15/16 @ 19:00	Chamber	Cal Performances	Eighth Blackbird	Hertz	Berkeley	Program	Hand Eye Cerrone: South Catalina Norman: Mine, Mime, Meme Honstein: Conduit Andres: Checkered Shade Hearne: By-By Huey Cooper: Cast
02/18/16 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Stéphane Denève, conductor Nikolaj Znaider, violin	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Connesson: A Glimmer in the Age of Darkness Prokofiev: Music from Cinderella Nielsen: Violin Concerto
02/22/16 @ 13:00	Chamber	Earplay Trio	Earplay Trio	Knuth	San Francisco	Program	Mozart: from Divertimento, K. 563 Festinger: Double Take Kodály: Intermezzo Ran: Perfect Storm Hindemith: from String Trio No. 1
02/27/16 @ 20:00	Chamber	SF Opera Lab	SF Opera Lab	Wilsey	San Francisco
02/28/16 @ 16:00	Chamber	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Hyeyeon Park, piano Kristin Lee, violin	Noe Valley Ministry	San Francisco	Program	Bach/Busoni: Chaconne Ysaÿe: Violin Sonata No. 2 Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy Beethoven: Violin Sonata 'Kreutzer'
03/04/16 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin Nicholas McGegan, conductor	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Arne: Overture to King Arthur Zelenka: Hipocondrie Heinichen: Concerto, S. 235 Tartini: Violin Concerto Rameau: Suite from Les Fêtes de l'Hymen
03/06/16 @ 15:00	Chamber	VoiLa Viola	Justin Ouellet, viola Karen Rosenak, piano	Private	San Francisco	Program	Mendelssohn: Viola Sonata Bowen: Phantasy Porter, Quincy: Larghetto from Suite for Viola Alone
03/10/16 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Charles Dutoit, conductor Nikolai Lugansky, piano	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Ravel: Mother Goose Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Fauré: Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite
03/10/16 @ 18:30	Benefit	ASAP	Glynn Washington	Beatbox	San Francisco	Program
03/11/16 @ 20:00	Recital	SFCM Alumni Artist Insights	Ann Moss, soprano	SFCM Recital Hall	San Francisco	Program	Wade: Full Fathom Five Heggie: Newer Every Day Dylan/Moss/Bailey: You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go Heggie: from The Book of Nightmares Mitchell: A Case of You Heggie: My True Love Hath My Heart
03/13/16 @ 18:00	Benfit	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Lieder Alive	Noe Valley Ministry	San Francisco	Program	Schumann: Märchenerzählungen Schumann: from Liederkreis, Op. 39 Brahms: Songs Mahler: from Des Knaben Wunderhorn Erickson: Songs
03/14/16 @ 19:30	Chamber	Earplay	Earplay	ODC	San Francisco	Program	Aird: The Four-Handed Game Kwong-Brown: Unwinding Bielawa: Drone in D Chang: Monk Wolpe: Trio in two parts
03/25/16 @ 20:00	Cabaret	Twisted Cabaret	Frank Olivier, juggler	Great Star	San Francisco		Frank Olivier: Twisted Cabaret
04/01/16 @ 19:30	Concert	Chór Filharmonii Narodowej	Henryk Wojnarowski, conductor	Filharmonia	Warsaw PL	Program	Moniuszko: Msza łacińska Penderecki: Agnus Dei Górecki: Totus Tuus Świder: Crego chesz od nas Panie Zieleński: Magnificat
04/07/16 @ 20:00	Opera	Elektra	Deutsche Oper	Deutsche Oper	Berlin DE	Program	Strauss: Elektra
04/08/16 @ 20:00	Concert	Konzerthausorchester	Thomas Sanderling, conductor Josef Śpaćek, violin	Konzerthaus	Berlin DE	Program	Beethoven:: Violin Concerto Weinberg: Symphony No. 5
04/09/16 @ 19:30	Ballet	Staatsballett Berlin	Duato/Kylián	Schiller Theater	Berlin DE	Program	Duato: Static Time Kylián: Click-Pause-Silence Duato: White Darkness
04/10/16 @ 20:00	Concert	Berliner Philharmoniker	Seiji Ozawa, conductor Peter Serkin, piano	Philharmonie	Berlin DE	Program	Mozart: Serenade 'Gran Partita' Beethoven: Music from Egmont Beethoven: Choral Fantasy
04/11/16 @ 16:00	Theater	Dreigroschenoper	Berliner Ensemble	Theater am Schiffbauerdamm	Berlin DE	Program	Weill: Die Dreigroschenoper
04/17/16 @ 16:00	Chamber	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Agave Baroque	Noe Valley Ministry	San Francisco	Program
04/20/16 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor Ingrid Fliter, piano	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Rameau: Music from Pygmalion Haydn: Piano Concerto in D, H. XVIII:11 Biber: Battalia à 9 Beethoven: Symphony No. 2
04/28/16 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Nicholas McGegan, conductor	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Beethoven: Leonora Overture No. 3 Beethoven: Elegischer Gesang Beethoven: Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt Mendelssohn: Hymn of Praise
05/01/16 @ 19:00	Chamber	Cal Performances	Kronos Quartet	Zellerbach	Berkeley	Program	Riley: Sun Rings
05/08/16 @ 16:00	Chamber	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Livia Sohn and Friends	Noe Valley Ministry	San Francisco	Program	Britten: Phantasy Quartet Beethoven: String Trio Bach: Cello Suite No. 3 Berio: Sequenza VII Mozart: Oboe Quartet
05/16/16 @ 19:30	Chamber	Earplay	Earplay Jonathan Khuner, conductor	ODC	San Francisco	Program	Fung: Birdsong Bacchetto: Redintegration Wolpe: From Here on Farther Hyla: My Life on the Plains
05/25/16 @ 12:45	Sports	SF Giants baseball	Padres vs. Giants	AT&T Park	San Francisco
05/26/16 @ 19:30	Theater	Chester Bailey	ACT	Strand	San Francisco	Program	Dougherty: Chester Bailey
05/28/16 @ 20:00	Concert	San Francisco Symphony	Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Bernstein: On the Town
06/02/16 @ 10:00	Rehearsal	San Francisco Symphony	Alexey Stadler, cello Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
06/12/16 @ 14:00	Theater	Betty's Summer Vacation	Stage 3	Stage 3	Sonora	Program	Durang: Betty's Summer Vacation
06/24/16 @ 19:15	Sports	SF Giants baseball	Phillies vs. Giants	AT&T Park	San Francisco
06/25/16 @ 20:00	Opera	The Magic Flute	Cinnabar Theater Mary Chun, conductor	Cinnabar	Petaluma	Program	Mozart: The Magic Flute
08/17/16 @ 12:45	Sports	SF Giants baseball	Pirates vs. Giants	AT&T Park	San Francisco
08/26/16 @ 19:45	Concert	Open Mike	Center for New Music	Center for New Music	San Francisco	Program
09/22/16 @ 20:00	Concert	San Francisco Symphony	Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor Eugene Izotov, oboe The Swingles, vocals Michael Fabiano, tenor	Davies	San Francisco	Program	Marcello: Oboe Concerto Berio: Sinfonia Verdi: Arias Verdi: Te Deum
09/25/16 @ 12:00	Chamber	San Francisco Music Day		War Memorial	San Francisco	Program
10/06/16 @ 20:00	Video	Open screening		ATA	San Francisco
10/14/16 @ 20:00	Films	Bay Area Bizarre	Oddball Films	Oddball	San Francisco	Program
10/16/16 @ 19:00	Chamber	Music on the Hill	Ariel Ensemble	St. Aidans	San Francisco	Program	Glière: Four Pieces Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 Rubstov: Divertimento Borodin: String Quartet No. 2
10/18/16 @ 20:00	Opera	The Makropulos Case	San Francisco Opera	Opera House	San Francisco	Program	Janacek: The Makropulos Case
10/21/16 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Nicholas McGegan, conductor Robert Levin, fortepiano	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 'Pastoral'
10/22/16 @ 20:00	Theater	The Hard Problem	ACT	Geary	San Francisco	Program	Stoppard: The Hard Problem
10/23/16 @ 16:00	Chamber	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Thalea Quartet	Noe Valley Ministry	San Francisco	Program	Haydn: String Quartet Op. 76 No. 1 Riley: Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector Mendelssohn: String Quartet Op. 80 No. 6
11/04/16 @ 20:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Rachel Podger, violin & leader Gonzalo X. Ruiz, oboeo	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Veracini: Overture No. 6 Vivaldi: Violin Concerto 'L'inquietudine' Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe Tartini: Concerto for Violin Vivaldi: Chamber Concerto Bach: Suite No. 1
10/28/16 @ 13:30	Theater	Roe	Oregon Shakespeare Festival	Bowmer	Ashland OR	Program	Loomer: Roe
10/28/16 @ 20:00	Theater	Yeoman of the Guard	Oregon Shakespeare Festival	Thomas	Ashland OR	Program	Gilbert & Sullivan: Yeoman of the Guard
10/29/16 @ 13:30	Theater	Vietgone	Oregon Shakespeare Festival	Thomas	Ashland OR	Program	Nguyen: Vietgone
10/29/16 @ 20:00	Theater	Richard II	Oregon Shakespeare Festival	Thomas	Ashland OR	Program	Shakespeare: Richard II
11/10/16 @ 20:00	Films	Betty Boopathon	Oddball Films	Oddball	San Francisco	Program
11/11/16 @ 19:00	Recital	Henry Butler	Henry Butler	SF Jazz Lab	San Francisco	Program
11/13/16 @ 16:00	Chamber	Noe Valley Chamber Music	Friction Quartet Jenny Q. Chari, piano	Noe Valley Ministry	San Francisco	Program	Schumann: Piano Quintet Akiho: Piano Quintet
11/15/16 @ 12:30	Recital	Noontime Concerts	William Wellborn, piano	Old St. Mary's	San Francisco	Program	Beethoven: Piano Sonata WoO 47 No. 2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata Op. 10 No. 3
11/17/16 @ 20:00	Films	Computeresque	Oddball Films	Oddball	San Francisco	Program
12/01/16 @ 19:00	Concert	Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra	Nicholas McGegan, conductor	Herbst	San Francisco	Program	Händel: Joshua
12/09/16 @ 19:30	Theater	All the Rage	ACT	Strand	San Francisco	Program	Moran: All the Rage
12/11/16 @ 16:00	Chamber	SF Early Music Society	Archetti	First Unitarian	San Francisco	Program	Händel: Arias Manfredini: Concerto per Santissimo Natale Scarlatti, A.: Cantata Pastorale Telemann: Concerto Torelli: Concerto in forme di Pastorale Bach: Cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen