{"id":11973,"date":"2014-05-29T15:19:53","date_gmt":"2014-05-29T22:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=11973"},"modified":"2014-05-29T15:19:53","modified_gmt":"2014-05-29T22:19:53","slug":"incredibly-good-classical-jazz-pianist-will-solo-on-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/incredibly-good-classical-jazz-pianist-will-solo-on-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Incredibly good’ classical-jazz pianist will solo on campus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pianist Kirill Gerstein literally carries a tune \u2014 and a piano music stand. Photo: Marco Borggreve.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

OK, I’ll cop to it \u2014 I\u2019ve been living in a constricted mind-tunnel of my own making.<\/p>\n

Not that strange for a \u201cretiree,\u201d of course.<\/p>\n

Many men just beyond my state of geezerhood have no time for anything fresh because they\u2019re too busy shuffling off to a lab where some kid who can\u2019t shave yet takes blood, or too busy sipping tea laced with aspartame with old ladies thrilled that somebody with different plumbing\u2019s still breathing and will keep \u2018em company, or too busy hoping they can dribble to an easy layup without inducing a stroke.<\/p>\n

I have a radically different agenda, naturally, and it typically involves situating my butt in front of a computer.<\/p>\n

Meeting deadline after deadline after deadline.<\/p>\n

So I not frequently get overloaded writing reviews, concocting columns and desperately seeking not Susan or Madonna or Miley Cyrus but someone who\u2019ll publish my book manuscript.<\/p>\n

Truth is, when it comes to the entertainment world, I don\u2019t recognize the names of three of every thousand performers anymore.<\/p>\n

Until a week ago, to be honest, I\u2019d never heard of pianist Kirill Gerstein.<\/p>\n

But then I was urged to promote the pianist\u2019s 8 p.m. June 5 concert with the San Francisco Symphony at the Green Music Center on the Sonoma State University campus \u2014 in advance.<\/p>\n

So I am.<\/p>\n

Why? Because I listened to some of his stuff on YouTube, and it\u2019s incredibly good (more about that later).<\/p>\n

The Sonoma concert will take place in the state-of-the-art Weill Hall, which, according to the symphony\u2019s website, \u201cboasts outstanding acoustics, artistic wood interiors, and stunning wine country views.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sounds good to me.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old Russian-born Gerstein will be the soloist for Beethoven\u2019s \u201cPiano Concerto No. 2,\u201d with frequent San Francisco guest conductor Charles Dutoit, who\u2019s the main man for the London Royal Philharmonic, leading the orchestra.<\/p>\n

Shostakovich\u2019s \u201cSymphony No. 10,\u201d composed after Stalin\u2019s death in 1953, fills out the bill.<\/p>\n

For those who prefer a more urban setting, three duplicative concerts will take place at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco at 8 p.m. June 4, 6 and 7.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s this guy I\u2019m just beginning to know?<\/p>\n

Gerstein at 14 became the youngest student at Boston\u2019s Berkelee College of Music, where he was a jazz prodigy. His classical interpretations, indeed, display moments when that energetic training shines through.<\/p>\n

His newest album, \u201cImaginary Pictures: Mussorgsky, Schumann,\u201d I\u2019m told, will be released around the time of the concerts.<\/p>\n

As for the YouTube excerpts, though he\u2019s mostly in the background on \u201cSummertime\u201d as jazz stalwart Storm Large makes the tune her own, you certainly know Gerstein\u2019s there.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s utterly brilliant on \u201cOphelia\u2019s Last Dance,\u201d an introspective mash-up of classical and jazz, a nine-minute exercise composed specifically for him that blends tomorrow with yesterday and today \u2014 and adds a touch or two of humor.<\/p>\n

Other YouTube pieces that gave me a glimpse into his excellence include the first movement of Rachmaninoff\u2019s \u201c3rd Piano Concert\u201d and the original 1924 band version of George Gershwin\u2019s \u201cRhapsody in Blue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winners all.<\/p>\n

Bob Dylan knew it decades before I did: The times they are a-changin\u2019. And that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n

Tickets to the June 4-7 San Francisco Symphony concerts with Kirill Gerstein run from $15 to $156. Information: and (866) 955-6040 and gmc.sonoma.edu<\/a>, or www.sfsymphony.org<\/a> and (415) 864-6000.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  OK, I’ll cop to it \u2014 I\u2019ve been living in a constricted mind-tunnel of my own making. Not that strange for a \u201cretiree,\u201d of course. Many men just beyond…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11973","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"