I've always been a fan of the Takacs Quartet, and this was an opportunity to hear them play my all time favorite string quartet (Ravel's). The rest of the concert featured Julien Labro on the bandoneon, and it was an absolutely delightful occasion for me to hear the bandoneon live for the first time in my life.

This is the reading list for 2024.

We took in a chamber music recital at Stanford's Bing Center tonight with the Junction Trio, with the Beethoven Archduke Trio as the star of the show. In addition, they played John Zorn's Ghosts and Charles Ives' Piano Trio.

I'd always wanted to try a movie concert with live orchestra, and the combination of a truly great Indiana Jones movie plus being outdoors in the summer was too good to pass up. This was a fun night, and it introduced an absolute classic in Raiders of the Lost Ark to the kids. But in retrospect, I probably won't spend the high premium to see it with the live orchestra, even though it's a pretty cool concept.

On a nice, warm, summer evening, we took in an outdoor concert of some romantic favorites at Stanford's Frost ampitheater. It was a perfectly down the middle of the plate performance, and a reminder that the SFS can play at a high level pretty much in their sleep.

We took the whole family to Romeo and Juliet, by far the longest ballet and probably longest performance of any kind that the kids have sat through. They did really well, with only a little bit of fidgeting from the youngest. The ballet itself was amazing as usual - this is probably my favorite music from Prokofiev.

In Disney's The Mandalorian TV show, there is a phrase often recited amongst the Mandalorians. This is the Way. Implicitly, this means there is a right way to do things, and the Mandalorian people will do best to adhere to it. I kept thinking about this today as I recounted an amazing experience at Disneyland while on vacation with the family.

This is the reading list for 2023.

Tonight's seemingly short program was augmented by a surprise tribute performance for Nancy Hellman Bechtle, a long-term former President of the San Francisco Symphony. It was also special to see Michael Tilson Thomas conducting, in what I have to imagine will be one of the last times (if not the final time) I'll see him in person.

This is the reading list for 2022.

We took the kids to the San Francisco Ballet in our annual showing of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. The youngest is still only four, so we had to get a negative test within 48 hours of showtime. With Omicron raging, it was surprising to see that the concert hall was nearly entirely full, but I guess many other parents also wanted to provide a small bit of normalcy to their kids.

In our first indoor concert since Covid began, we got to see my all time favorite violinist, Gil Shaham, play a solo program mostly consisting of Bach. It was a nice little return to normalcy, but it did still feel wierd to be there, and the audience was not nearly full.

It's been a while since I intently listened to a new music album, and this recent release from Hilary Hahn was generally a joy. I think of a Hilary Hahn album as having a very high floor. You know you're always going to get perfect intonation, impeccable articulation and clarity, and a solid and present sound. This album is no exception. Ultimately, the Prokofiev is not my favorite rendition (that would be Vengerov's), but overall it's a very good album of music.

A quick warning that this post is quite morbid. The great conductor Jascha Horenstein is purported to have said, while on his deathbed, "the saddest thing about leaving this earth is never to hear 'Das Lied von der Erde' again" (New York Times and Local 802 AFM). I have been thinking a lot about Horenstein's last words, and how he associated so much with Das Lied. In particular, I started wondering what Mahler symphony I (and others) would choose to listen to while on my deathbed. It struck me that each Mahler symphony has its own unique story and conclusion, and each one would potentially illuminate the personality or outlook on life of the person that chose it.

This is the reading list for 2021.

I was gifted this book by a friend a few years ago, and frankly I didn't try hard enough to get through it. The Storm Before the Storm describes the events of the roughly last 100 years of the Roman republic, before Julius Caesar created the Roman empire. It's stunning to see the parallels between the Roman Republic and our own system of politics.

Absolutely on Music, Conversations with Seiji Ozawa by Haruki Murakami is a series of conversations on classical music between the great conductor Seiji Ozawa and Haruki Murakami. I hadn't heard of Marukami before finding this book, but he is an excellent writer. While Murakami doesn't have any classical training, he has very deep observations and he is a true fan of classical music. The conversation is much more balanced than I would have anticipated. I thought this would be more just a way for Ozawa to recount his life stories, but Murakami more than holds his own in the classical conversations.

I had a free day in Munich, so I decided to make the most of it by visiting all the Pinakotheken art museums that Munich has to offer. Munich seems to have embraced modern and contemporary art in particular, and the entire day was educational for me.

During a very quick 2-day trip to Munich, I was able to squeeze in a performance by the Bavarian State Opera at the gorgeous National Theatre. I was not picky on the performance since I only have two days here. I got a very nice ticket (fourth row, near the center) for a performance of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra and Bluebeard's Castle. My luck wasn't perfect; the next day, there is a performance of Mozart's Magic Flute, but unfortunately it is a children's only concert.

Tonight was a vivid reminder of why it's so important to attend concerts live in person. We were completely and joyously surprised by the heartfelt playing style of Sergey Khachatryan. In his hands, Sibelius was the same notes and yet entirely different, a lot more personal and introspective.

This is the reading list for 2020.

For the first time, we attended a formal performance as an entire family (it was Kiki's first show!), seeing Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet with the San Francisco Ballet. The show was as pleasing as always, and we were especially impressed by the beautiful design of scenery on stage.

We attended a violin recital featuring Tessa Lark in a private home in Palo Alto. This is probably as close to true 19th century style salons as we'll get in this day and age, and it all resulted in an unforgettable music experience.

Range by David Epstein is the most influential book I've read in some time. Range discusses the impact and benefits of generalized learning vs. specialization. In particular, it argues that waiting to specialize, and instead embarking on a general, varied field of study and experiences, will lead to better problem solving skills and eventual success.

As part of a family trip through central Europe (Switzerland, Austria, and Germany), we were able to make a stop in Gustav Mahler's composing hut in Attersee, a beautiful lake in Austria.

After seeing the first SFS concert at Frost in several years a few days ago, we took the whole family and the kids to see them again, this time as a picnic. The music is of course still important, headlined by Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, and started with Ravel's Sheherazade song cycle. This experience wasn't as great as the Tchaikovsky with Gil Shaham, but it was still good to be outdoors and have our kids discover Beethoven's best in a great setting.

We took in a summer concert at the newly re-opened Frost Amphitheater at Stanford University. It was an all-Tchaikovsky concert, with Gil Shaham playing the Violin Concerto, and the San Francisco Symphony with Genna New playing the Polonaise from Eugene Onegin and the Symphony No. 5. It was fun to attend an outdoor symphony concert again (I used to go regularly to Ravinia concerts when I lived in Ravinia).

For the second consecutive year, our one trek into the city to see the San Francisco Symphony is in fact a trip to see Gil Shaham. As part of an early Valentine's Day, Celia and I saw Gil Shaham performing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1, Tchaikovsky's fiery Symphony No. 4, and a world premiere piece in Steven Mackey's Portals, Scenes and Celebrations.

I'm using this post to keep a running list of the books that I read in 2019. I'm also going to write a very short review for each book, with just some of my thoughts.

I was listening to the recent Bill Simmons podcast with Stephen Curry, and they had a brief discussion of the best 3 point shooters . Simmons wussed out by choosing the four absolute safest choices (Curry, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, and Klay Thompson). He then later covered by adding “specialists” like Dell Curry, Steve Nash, and Larry Bird. I was disappointed this discussion couldn’t go on much further (Simmons doesn’t want to offend Curry or other potential NBA players that will do his podcast), especially given Simmons’ stature as a basketball historian.

On my first night in Zurich for a week-long business trip, I was lucky to take in a chamber music concert at the Tonhalle Maag, the modern-looking temporary home for Zurich classical concerts. The Kuss Quartet played with soprano Mojca Erdmann a couple of Beethoven quartets mixed with more contemporary-sounding music.

Usually, when I look at the season calendar to figure out which concerts to buy tickets to, I'm choosing between seeing a great soloist or a great orchestral piece. It's very rare that I get to combine those two, especially in a pair that includes my most favored artists. Things have been busy, with the arrival of Kiki 9 months ago and my new job at Google. This was the first and only SFS concert we attended this season. So what a great treat that it was absolutely the perfect combination of Gil Shaham and a Mahler Symphony from the country's best Mahler orchestra and conductor.

I'm using this post to keep a running list of the books that I read in 2018.

Once again, I'm one of Pocket's top 1 percent readers. I write this post literally every year (2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016).

We saw the SF Opera perform Mozart's Don Giovanni today. It was the first time I've seen it live, although the piece has always had a special place in my heart. This was also our first time seeing the SF Opera. The singers were quite good, but I was underwhelmed by the orchestra.

We took in our last San Francisco Symphony concert of the season tonight on April Fool's Day. This was a completely serious affair though, with Mahler's Adagio from the 10th symphony and the 1st symphony. In the end, I'm left only with the affirmation that Mahler is my favorite composer and an inspiration. And I now think that the SFS is the absolute best Mahler orchestra in the US.

In what is becoming a yearly tradition, we saw Gil Shaham live in performance today, this time with the San Francisco Symphony. Shaham played the Barber concerto, one of those pieces that every single violinist absolutely adores. Juraj Valčuha conducted in place of MTT, and the orchestra also played Kammersymphonie by Franz Schreker and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.

It is now my fourth year straight year as one of Pocket's top 1 percent readers (see 2013, 2014, and 2015). I'm even making the same Star Wars episode joke as last year as the title of this post. As always, it's a pleasure getting this annual reminder from Pocket that they produce a wonderful app that I use nearly every day.

Just a few weeks after the Gil Shaham Bach recital, we took in another violin treat with a recital by Hilary Hahn. Seeing both of these virtuosos at the peak of their abilities, and in such a close time range, really clarified for me the differences in their playing styles.

When I was younger, I'd always heard about violinists that would do crazy endurance recitals, like play all 24 Paganini Caprices in a single performance. I never thought anyone would still do this type of concert today. So this was really a special treat for us. We saw Gil Shaham perform all the Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin. I truly think this was one of the most memorable musical experiences I'll ever have.

Jet-lagged from a return flight from China just the day before, we took in a heavy afternoon SFS concert with Mahler's Song of the Earth and Schubert's Unifinished Eighth Symphony.

Yikes. That's the only word I can think of to describe this book. George Orwell's 1984 is truly terrifying. And yet I couldn't put it down - I can't remember exactly, but I devoured this in maybe 4-5 days. It is completely relevant today and not dated at all. I don't even know how to feel, after finishing the book.

Nikola Tesla was of course a gigantic figure in the development of science, physics, and electricity. Bernard Carlson's Tesla, Inventor of the Electrical Age is a good and functional biography of Tesla.

For Celia's birthday, we attended an old standby, Swan Lake with the San Francisco Ballet. It was a good performance, with an excellent lead performance by Sofiane Sylve.

In what has become a yearly tradition, I am once again one of Pocket's top 1 percent readers. I enjoy this email every year, and this year they waited unti February to send it out, meaning they are actually factoring the entire year now (it was previously sent out in mid-December).

Yesterday was my birthday and as celebration, we got a babysitter and did dinner and a concert. It was the first time for just the two of us in quite a few months and certainly very enjoyable. It was also great to take in a concert and from such a great orchestra and soloist. It was my second time seeing the San Francisco Symphony live, but the first time was 15 years ago.

Grantland is dead. Long live Grantland. Like many others, I was shocked and saddened to see the sudden shutdown of grantland.com yesterday by ESPN. Grantland had become a habit, a way of life and thinking for me. I think the best way to move on is to remember what made this site so special.

I just completed a rare weekend where I had very few obligations and all the time in the world. I originally planned to stay in the bay area this weekend to look at housing rentals. But I quickly found out it's still a little too early for an August move-in date. Instead, I decided to spend Saturday hiking Mt. Diablo and Sunday at Half Moon Bay.

Earlier today, I took in a very unique and interesting music experience. I saw the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra, an amateur community orchestra, perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at Southern Pacific Brewing, a microbrewery in the Mission District. It was great to see such as creative and ambitious programming element, especially from a community orchestra. I left the concert a little bit buzzed and with a smile on my face.

Last night, I saw Pinchas Zukerman performing live for the first time. Zukerman is 66, definitely an advanced age for a concert violinist. Unfortunately, we got very little of the peak Zukerman, who was as close in sound and style to Itzhak Perlman as any violinist. Instead, we got a low energy performance of some fairly bland repertoire material.