Paiement & the Masters – UCSC Nov. 18 and 20
The soaring quartets, orchestra and choral passages of Beethoven's mighty Mass in C Major join Mozart's Symphony No. 40, in an evening of definitive musical bravura— with maestra Nicole Paiement at the helm—for two concerts, Friday November 18 and Sunday November...
Lunch @ MOMA
The excuse was the outstanding de Kooning retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art, a sleek exhibition setting that lives up to its classically modern name. But the first thing we did was head up to the 5th floor Terrace cafe for a delightfully civilized early...
Xerxes, the opera
Proving how easily a 250-year-old opera can provide musical epiphany, George Frideric Handel came to San Francisco last week with his delectable pastiche of arias, recitatives, and impossible vocalese —the opera Xerxes. It was probably one of Benjamin Franklin's...
Monday @ Soif
My friend Mateo scarfed down two orders of the Cajun fried oysters while I took my time over this deeply comforting appetizer of sautéed fresh porcinis on toast dusted with parmesan reggiano and topped with a fried egg. It was all the better with a glass of Birichino...
Wine you need to try
Write this down: Palacios "Petalos" Mencia. Now go to Soif. Say out loud the words you wrote down. Wait for a glass of scarlet wine to arrive. Swirl, sniff and drink. Be amazed.
Inside the Flame
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.