Blogolini

Seriously,  herding fish into the nets of Portuguese fishermen is one of the skills of the Portuguese Water Dog.  I don't think there will be much opportunity to herd fish at the White House.  Herding cats (senators) maybe.  First Lady Michelle Obama announced today that her family will be welcoming a rescued Portuguese Water Dog in April.  Similar to a poodle (the standard version) the breed is known to be almost non-allergenic.  Congrats to John on the Peninsula.  He guessed the breed and won tickets on today's KDFC Lunch Box trivia to hear The 5 Browns next week at The Marin Center. The Obamas are asking for name ideas.  Would you believe Porto?

The wonderfully gifted German violinist Anne Sophie Mutter is featured this week on our KDFC CD of the Week with a tribute to Mendelssohn's 200th birthday.  On the cover of the CD she is wearing one of her signature strapless gowns.  She almost always wears a strapless dress when she performs because she likes the feel of the violin against her naked skin.  I even remember seeing her years ago at Davies in a strapless maternity outfit!  She returns to Davies with the SFS at the end of February.  Can't wait to see what she wears.  Enjoy this gallery of beautiful gowns. 

This Sunday (2/1) at 8pm KDFC will broadcast SF Opera's recent production of Korngold's hauntingly beautiful opera, Die Tote Stadt. You won't want to miss this special presentation of a work that has been compared to Hitchcock's Vertigo.  In the meantime, SF Opera just announced its line-up for the 2009-2010 season.  The season will be the first for new Music Director Nicola Luisotti (pictured).  Maestro Luisotti will conduct Verdi's Il Trovatore which will kick off the season on September 11.  He will also helm Salome, Otello and The Girl of the Golden West.  The season includes Il Trittico by Puccini, Wagner's Die Walkure, Gounod's Faust, The Daughter of the Regiment by Donzetti and Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio.  Mark your calendars for the next two outdoor simulcasts from SF Opera and the SF Giants.  We'll be at AT&T Park once again on Friday, June 5 for Puccini's Tosca and then on Saturday, September 19, catch a free simulcast of the opera's season-opening opera, Il Trovatore. For complete details from SF Opera's news conference, go their website.

KDFC listeners cannot be categorized.  If your image of a KDFC listener is of some tweedy music professor-type with gray hair and a pipe,  get ready to have that image shattered.  While there may be someone out there smoking a pipe  (of what?) I'm happy to say that we have listeners from every conceivable background, education-level, age, ethnicity and geographical circumstance.  Take for example Karl Muller who recently returned from several tours of duty in Iraq  (see photo below).  He now lives in west Oakland in a neighborhood that he describes as only slightly less dangerous than Iraq!  Karl is a fan of all kinds of music but he especially enjoys KDFC when he's creating something out of steel or relaxing in his hot tub.  Karl,  this one's for you.

Last night Jim and I attended a dress rehearsal of "Dracul:Prince of Fire" at Oakland's The Crucible.  Driving home, I kept wondering how in the world I would describe this unique event to you.  One thing's for sure, you're not going to see anything like it anywhere else.  The upshot is I liked it.  It was compelling and so different from your typical ballet fare.  Think of it as the anti-Nutcracker.  The story is loosely based on the idea that Dracula had a dad.  A dad who slayed a dragon and became a vampire.  There's no reason to try and figure out the plot, which is good because it doesn't really add up.  But that's just fine.  The fire is all!  Fire everywhere.  Coming out of the dragon's nose, rimming the stage, at the ends of a baton being spun by a very gifted fire-manipulator.  "Dracul" is a combo-pack of straight-ahead ballet, Cirque du Soleil acrobatics, and, oh, did I mention, the FIRE?  Check out this video for a taste of what's going on this weekend and next at The Crucible.

This is such a simple idea and an easy way to help others this holiday season:

Happy Holidaze! We are excited to announce the Muni Manners Holiday Fast Pass Drive - a simple way for riders to give back to the com-Muni-ty without spending a dime.

How does it work? From Dec 10 through Dec 21, individuals leaving town for the holidays drop off an otherwise wasted Muni Fast Pass, and we donate the transit tickets to local women's shelters to provide those in need with a ride home or transportation to a safe haven. The locations listed below have agreed to host our drop-off boxes. Once collected, Fast Passes will be donated to the La Casa de Las Madres and Asian Women's Shelter in San Francisco. We've spoken to both shelters and they are thrilled to receive the passes for their clients.

Safeway, 2300 16th St & Potrero Ave
Safeway, 2020 Market St & Church St
Safeway, 15 Marina Blvd & Laguna St
One Market Lobby @ the Market St entrance

Smooth riding,
SF Muni Ladies
Angelie Agarwal & Julie Hayes

Once again we're participating in the Gingerbread House competition at the Palace Hotel. KDFC's entry this year (photo below) is adorable, with little marzipan mice exploring a music stand with white chocolate music and a cello in yummy chocolate gingerbread.  The concept is the brainchild of our Marketing guru, Val Robichaud and pastry chef Sarah I. Joos.  They call it "Midnight Mouse" and everything is made of gingerbread. Stop by the Palace Hotel at 2 New Montgomery Street in SF through December 31st and vote for the KDFC Gingerbread design.  Your vote will help our chosen non-profit organization, Music in Schools Today, win $2000!

On this Thanksgiving Day, I'd like to thank our great KDFC listeners.  Thanks for making KDFC the most successful classical station in the country.  Be sure to have KDFC on during your turkey feast on Thursday.  The wonderful Linda Bruno will be filling in for me from noon to 4:00 and you can hear Ray White in the morning with Nicole LaCroix bringing you great music in the evening hours.  I also want to thank my neighbor and friend Sandy van Broek for sending me the photo of my own personal theater in Italy!  Obviously that double "c" was one of those pesky masonry typos!

US News and World Report just published the names of America's Best Leaders and our own Michael Tilson Thomas made the list.  This will come as no surprise to anyone who is a regular attendee at Davies Symphony Hall or, for that matter,  to anyone living in the Bay Area.  In his 12 seasons with the SFS, MTT has brought a wonderful excitement and creative innovation not only to the orchestra but to the community in general. And not a little glamor too.  Here's MTT on his musical mission:

"If I had to say, 'Who am I going to impress from here onward? Am I going to be playing for the experts or the guys at the gym?' I'll pick the guys at the gym," Thomas says. "I want them to feel there is something in this music for them. You don't have to know anything special to love classical music. If you are alive and in tune with your own feelings and the way in which those feelings are changing all the time, then classical music is for you."

Read the entire profile.

Thanks to everybody for their great composer campaign slogans. Here are a few choice ideas:

Bach to Basics
There's No Bizet Like Show Bizet
Bach to the Fugueture
Smitten with Smetana
Dvorak for the New World
Haydn: No Surprise
Vote Offenbach: Yes We Can-Can
We Love Ludwig!

And don't forget to vote for the 2009 KDFC Classical All-Stars right now at www.kdfc.com.

As part of our KDFC Classical All-Star voting we're asking you to provide some catchy campaign slogans for the "candidates". You can send yours here by clicking "Leave a Comment" or just e-mail me at dnicolini@kdfc.com. We've already received a good number of really fun ideas.  Here's just a few: 

-Hands Up for Handel
     James Nemechek

-Tippecanoe and Tchaikovsky Too!
     Margaret Winters                                                   

-Vivaldi, Man for All Seasons
     Gerald Asp

-Ich Bin Ein Beethovener!
     James Dorman

Thanks to all our clever campaign strategists. Don't forget to vote early and often.  You'll automatically be entered to win some All-Star CDs!

          *thanks to Martie Muldoon

I just asked a Lunch Box trivia question about the new Secret Service code names for the Obama family. Here they are:

Barack/Renegade
Michelle/Renaissance
Malia/Radiance
Sasha/Rosebud

Anyway, it got KDFC listener Michael Horn wondering "If you were in the White House, Dianne, what would your code name be?"  Good question.  Well, "princess" comes to mind immediately.  And our webmaster, Bob McDiarmid has taken to calling me "Goddess".  Also acceptable.  'Course I wouldn't have any say in the name the Secret Service chose for me so it would probably be something more accurate like "Pizza Queen" or "Big Whiner".  How 'bout you?  Any thoughts? 



Rosebud and Radiance

I first met Kip Cranna when he and I were judging an opera lip-synching contest years ago at what  I think was  the SF County Fair. If you attended one of the great SF Opera outdoor simulcasts, you saw the super-fun "Kip-Cam"  introductions on screen with Kip interviewing the stars of the opera, the conductor, even the make-up people.  Kip has been with the opera for years and just received a special medal from the opera for his long and distinguished service.  Here's a guy who knows everything and everybody in the world of opera.  You'll be able to ask him anything on November 18 at Soluna Cafe and Lounge.  He'll be on hand to prepare us for the performance of Elixir of Love that night.  Hope you can join Kip and me for this annual KDFC Night at the Opera.  Get great orchestra and dress circle seats at a special discount.  Plus we throw in the reception at Soluna!  Use this not-so-secret code:  KDFC9  Order your tickets now.

The Elixir of Love: "It's saucy, it's sweet, it's a stream of laughs and lovely melody...you just can't ask for more."
        –San Francisco Chronicle       

Check out our Nemorino, Ramon Vargas, singing the famous tenor aria from "Elixir":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qvhEkOkGgg

Calling all musicians!  If you've ever dreamed of working with someone like Yo-Yo Ma, here's your chance. Yo-Yo's latest CD is "Songs of Joy and Peace". It was our KDFC CD of the Week last week. Take a look.  On it, he plays the melody of Nona Nobis Pacem.  This track can be downloaded now through January 5th and used to make creative variations of the track.  As entries are received, the on-line community will vote for their favorites.  From the top entries, Yo-Yo will personally choose the winner of the contest and he or she will have the opportunity to record with him  The contest is hosted on IndabaMusic.com and at yo-yoma.com.

Another incredible night of music on Wednesday.  This time with Angele Dubeau and La Pieta at Yoshi's SF.  I remember when we first started playing their CDs.  We almost always commented about the fact that they were all women.  Now that seems so incidental.  They're just great musicians with Dubeau leading the way on violin.  I swear she can play anything, from tango to jazz to Vivaldi and Gluck and movie music in between.  We even got some Rolling Stones for an encore, believe it or not.  Pictured above is Dubeau with myself and our wonderful Marketing Director Val Robichaud.

A great show here at the KDFC studios last night with cellist Zuill Bailey.  These special lobby concerts just keep getting better and last night's concert was incredible.  Not only is Zuill an amazing cellist but he is so engaging and personable.  He walked us through one of the Bach Suites for Solo Cello, talking about how he approaches each of the "dances" that make up the suite.  But this wasn't some pedantic lecture.  He described why he loves the cello  (the only intrument you have to hug to play!)  and what makes his very old cello (1693) so unique. You can get an idea of the fun we had last night be clicking the video at www.kdfc.com.


 

Get the first word on future Intimate Concerts by joining Club KDFC.  (We never share your name!)

This story is so strange but apparently this is not a new phenom; they do it in Japan all the time.  What is it?  A musical road.  An asphalt road with grooves of varying sizes carved precisely so that when you drive over it at 55 mph you "hear" a tune.  In the case of this groovy road in Lancaster, California the tune is The William Tell Overture.   Take a listen: 


 
Silliness for sure but kind of fun!

With our Alphabet Soup Week underway, it got me thinking about the inspiration for great music.  What motivates a composer to create? The sheer beauty of the Amalfi Coast inspired me to wish I were a composer so I could capture it all in some art form.  I guess I'll settle for the art of digital photography.  (Yes, I was able to recover my deleted photos. Not inexpensive, BTW)  Our 24 hours in Positano were marked by a very dramatic "Tempesta di Mare" with thunder and lightning all night long.  Turned out to be the only non-sunny day of our trip. Guarda!

People always tell me I have a great job.  They're right.  Who wouldn't love sharing gorgeous music with the Bay Area and the whole world every day?  Just one of the many perks is the interaction with KDFC listeners who are a continual source of friendship and support.  Why, only today I reached out to anyone who had accidentally deleted all the photos from their camera.  Turns out I'm not the only one who's done this.  It also seems entirely possible that I'll be able to retrieve them.  Great news!  Tante grazie to everybody.  Watch this space for a photo or two when I get them back from cyber space.

Just wanted to let you know that I'm off on my dream vacation for the next two weeks.  Rik will be filling in for me.  (Be nice to him, he's the hardest working man in show business.)  So, this trip is my birthday gift to myself but I'm letting my husband come along.  We're going to Rome for a couple of days where I"ll catch up with my cousin Patrizio, not to mention some other folks like Julius Caesar and Michelangelo!  Then it's down south to the Amalfi Coast.  We're hoping to do some serious relaxing and not-so-serious hiking. Jim and I have a low tolerance for museum strolling and an even lower tolerance for waiting in line.  Nevertheless we have reservations for the Galeria Borghese in Rome.  It's supposed to be spectacular.  But not surprisingly, our main activity will be a whole lot of eating and drinking.    Talk to you on October 9th!