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Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Anthony Tommasini in San Francisco

Here's an event well worth attending next Thursday night between Ring operas. Tommasini, NY Times head classical music critic and the author of a high-regarded biography of Virgil Thomson, will both play some of the composer's works and speak about them at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. At $20, it's a steal.  Details:

CONCERT AND TALK
The Poetry of Sound: The New York Times Music Critic Anthony Tommasini with
Bay Area Rainbow Symphony

Composer Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) was Gertrude Stein¹s closest music
collaborator, composing two operas to librettos by her, Four Saints in Three
Acts and The Mother of Us All. He also wrote ³musical portraits.² While
subjects sat silently before him, Thomson composed their musical portrait,
usually in one session.

In conjunction with the Museum¹s exhibition, Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five
Stories, Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic for The New York
Times and a Thomson scholar, performs a selection of these musical portraits
including those of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Tommasini also offers
his commentary on how Thomson¹s relatively simple music reflects and
resonates with Stein's hermetic writing. He is joined by members of Bay Area
Rainbow Symphony (BARS), who perform some of Thomson¹s works that feature
words by Stein and the music of Erik Satie, one of Thomson¹s major
influences.

DATE:
Thursday, June 16, 2011

TIME:
7 PM

WHERE:
Contemporary Jewish Museum
736 Mission Street (between Third and Fourth streets)
San Francisco, CA 94103

INFORMATION/
PURCHASE:
www.thecjm.org <http://www.thecjm.org> , info@thecjm.org
info@thecjm.org>  or call 415.655.7800.

TICKETS:
$20 general; discounts for Museum members

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