The New York Philharmonic, under the baton of of music director Alan Gilbert, performed Sunday, May 13, on the first of a two-night stand at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, and the thundering applause at the close of its encore performance of Bernstein's "Lonely Town: Pas de deux from On the Town" said it all.

The concert was part of a tour of six California cities and, remarkably, the first US tour for the venerable New York Phil since Gilbert took the reins three years…

I’m sharing with you today the poster design I’ve done for our next orchestra concert. The major work will be Shostakovich’s 5^th symphony besides Bizet Carmen’s second suite and Smetana’s Vysehrad.   I think the poster speaks for itself with the predominant red (traditional revolutionary symbol), and the number 5 trapped between the iconic hammer and sickle suggesting the pressure/oppression Shostakovich had to go through under the regime.…

Two dozen semi-finalists are competing this week (May 7-12) for the notoriety of being top gun at the 2012 Queen Elisabeth Int'l Violin Competition.

Top prize—aka the Queen Fabiola Prize—is 25,000 EUR, a series of concert proposals, and the use of the "Huggins" Stradivari (1708), on loan for a period of three years by the Nippon Music Foundation.

The 12 finalists will be selected Saturday, May 12.

The final rounds will be held May 21-26.

The 15-member jury panel…

A quick-and-easy guide to evaluating a new stick

• Type of Material  Brazilwood (prices usually run between $50 and $200); Pernambuco (priced anywhere from $100 to $10,000 or more); carbon fiber (priced anywhere between $50 and several thousand dollars); fiberglass (usually the lowest-priced option).

• Sound  Look for a bow that will give both a smooth, broad sound and at the same time possesses great clarity of focus and…

Anna Stafford-Heifetz writes:

"I wish someone had held a class on the music business when I was at music school. We learned much about playing our instruments, but almost nothing about the business.

"At 23, Los Angeles seemed like some mysterious force that I could tackle no problem with hard work, discipline, and a brilliantly placed stroke of luck. Soon, I thought, very soon, I would be walking down the golden aisle of fame and fortune, with people dying to meet me and shake…

Times are tough, and money's tight, but you might just want to help this wonderful and worthwhile string program:

http://bit.ly/IiOwlC