Recital

Chopin, and nothing but, comes to San Jose, courtesy of an accomplished young pianist with a heavy foot on the pedals.

In recital at Old First Concerts this weekend, cellist Robert Howard (San Francisco Symphony, Philharmonia Baroque) and his duo partner Elizabeth Dorman offer a variety of interesting music beginning with one of my personal faves, Toru Takemitsu (Orion).

Cellist Tanya Tomkins completes the cycle of Bach's cello suites this weekend in concerts sponsored by Voices of Music. Historically-informed practice aside, Tomkins' urgent, impassioned playing is a great match for these pieces.

Singer/songwriter Randy Newman, who just garnered an Oscar for his Toy Story 3 song, weighs in on his latest work, in advance of his April 22 appearance at the San Francisco Jazz Festival.

Enjoy a musical cornucopia, and do some good, as well when you join San Francisco pianist, composer, and conductor Stephen Prutsman for “Bach and Forth,” a look at what the works from the composer whom Prutsman considers “the greatest Western composer of all time.”

If you want to jazz up a birthday party or anniversary, do something unexpected or plan a surprise. Pianist Daniel Glover is doing something like that with the otherwise dull-as-dishwater Frédéric Chopin commemorations this year, by pairing Chopin with Samuel Barber, another anniversary boy. His recital for San Francisco’s Old First Concerts promises to reveal some interesting connections.

Isaac Albéniz, the Spanish Catalan pianist and composer is well-known for his 12 “impressions” of Iberia, considered the greatest of Spanish piano works. Pianist Robert Schwartz will perform this magnus opus May 7 to honor the anniversary of the composer's birth 150 years ago.

It has become a cliche to refer to classical musicians as being “phenomenal” or even geniuses at their instruments. If a performer can get to the heart of the music, that’s enough for me. Still, in a profession in which it’s expected that as a teenager you have already learned and performed the summits of the keyboard, it has become increasingly difficult to grab the attention of the public as, say, Vladimir Horowitz did when he raced Sir Thomas to the finish line of the Tchaikovsky First.