Arts & Events

On Saturday, April 8, two-time Grammy Award winner Sasha Cooke again teamed with guitarist Jason Vieaux in a recital at Herbst Theatre under the auspices of San Francisco Performances. 

Styled “From Spain to Sondheim,” this recital featured works spanning many different styles of music, from popular Spanish songs to Brazilian Bossa Nova, and from lieder by Franz Schubert to songs by Steven Sondheim. There were even two songs by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. 

Sasha Cooke has performed often with San Francisco Opera, where she has distinguished herself as a mezzo-soprano with a luminous voice and dramatic flair. Guitarist Jason Vieaux has been hailed on National Public Radio as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.” Cooke and Vieaux have performed together several times previously to great acclaim. Opening this recital were Manuel De Falla’s Siete canciones populares espanõlas/Seven Popular Spanish Songs. Though these songs are best known in an arrangement for violin and piano, Cooke and Vieaux performed them in De Falla’s original version. The best-known of the seven songs is simply called “Jota,” which designates a lively dance in triple time from the Aragon region. In this “Jota,” Jason Vieaux’s guitar imitates the sound of castanets. In “Nana,” a lullaby from Andalusia, Sasha Cooke crooned this lovely cradle song, which De Falla cherished as his first memory of his mother singing him to sleep with this lullaby. Next on the program was a work by Pat Metheny written especially for Jason Vieaux, who performed the second movement from Metheny’s Four Paths of Light. 

Following this came two songs by San Francisco-based composer Peter Scott Lewis, “What Day Is It Now?” and “Going Out to Meet the Moon Whales.” The former is set to a poem by Robert Sund, and the latter to a poem by Haitian-born Paulé Barton. After singing this lovely pair of songs, Sasha Cooke recognised Peter Scott Lewis in the audience and encouraged him to stand and take a much-deserved bow. Next on the program was the song “Azulaõ” by Brazilian composer Jayme Ovalle. I first heard this lovely song when I spent a week in Mozambique in 1964 and bought a small 33 1/3 vinyl record of Alice Ribiera singing Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, and on the flip side was “Azulaõ.” Although these two works are usually sung by a soprano, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke did an excellent job, especially in the “Cantilena” from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, which closed out the first half of this recital. 

After intermission, Jason Vieaux performed “A Felicidade” by Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, who came to fame as a brilliant composer in the Bossa Nova style. This arrangement of “A Felicidade” was by French guitarist Roland Dyens; and In the nimble hands of Jason Vieaux, this was a refreshing tour de force. Next came four songs by Franz Schubert, elegantly sung by Sasha Cooke. The first was “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” which Schubert wrote at the tender age of 17. Second was the lullaby “Schlummerlied” also known as “Schafflied.” Then came “Nacht und Träume,” which was followed by the masterful “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” a lovely meditation on the evanescence of beauty and of life itself. Sasha Cooke splendidly performed these great Schubert songs. 

Cooke then turned to two songs by Steven Sondheim, “Children will listen” and “Losing my mind.” The former is a cautionary tale, and the latter an obsessive memory of a long-lost love. 

The final works on the printed program were two songs by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, the former’s “I will” and the latter’s “Julia.” McCarney lauded “I will” as a particularly felicitous melody, one of his favorites.” John Lennon’s “Julia” is a loving recollection of his mother, written ten years after she was killed in an auto accident when John was only 17. As an encore Cooke and Vieaux performed another song by Steven Sondheim, closing out a splendid recital that paired the mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and guitarist Jason Vieaux.  

Mezzo-Soprano Sasha Cooke and Guitarist Jason Vieaux at Herbst Theatre 

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean 

On Saturday, April 8, two-time Grammy Award winner Sasha Cooke again teamed with guitarist Jason Vieaux in a recital at Herbst Theatre under the auspices of San Francisco Performances. 

Styled “From Spain to Sondheim,” this recital featured works spanning many different styles of music, from popular Spanish songs to Brazilian Bossa Nova, and from lieder by Franz Schubert to songs by Steven Sondheim. There were even two songs by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. 

Sasha Cooke has performed often with San Francisco Opera, where she has distinguished herself as a mezzo-soprano with a luminous voice and dramatic flair. Guitarist Jason Vieaux has been hailed on National Public Radio as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.” Cooke and Vieaux have performed together several times previously to great acclaim. Opening this recital were Manuel De Falla’s Siete canciones populares espanõlas/Seven Popular Spanish Songs. Though these songs are best known in an arrangement for violin and piano, Cooke and Vieaux performed them in De Falla’s original version. The best-known of the seven songs is simply called “Jota,” which designates a lively dance in triple time from the Aragon region. In this “Jota,” Jason Vieaux’s guitar imitates the sound of castanets. In “Nana,” a lullaby from Andalusia, Sasha Cooke crooned this lovely cradle song, which De Falla cherished as his first memory of his mother singing him to sleep with this lullaby. Next on the program was a work by Pat Metheny written especially for Jason Vieaux, who performed the second movement from Metheny’s Four Paths of Light. 

Following this came two songs by San Francisco-based composer Peter Scott Lewis, “What Day Is It Now?” and “Going Out to Meet the Moon Whales.” The former is set to a poem by Robert Sund, and the latter to a poem by Haitian-born Paulé Barton. After singing this lovely pair of songs, Sasha Cooke recognised Peter Scott Lewis in the audience and encouraged him to stand and take a much-deserved bow. Next on the program was the song “Azulaõ” by Brazilian composer Jayme Ovalle. I first heard this lovely song when I spent a week in Mozambique in 1964 and bought a small 33 1/3 vinyl record of Alice Ribiera singing Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, and on the flip side was “Azulaõ.” Although these two works are usually sung by a soprano, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke did an excellent job, especially in the “Cantilena” from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, which closed out the first half of this recital. 

After intermission, Jason Vieaux performed “A Felicidade” by Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, who came to fame as a brilliant composer in the Bossa Nova style. This arrangement of “A Felicidade” was by French guitarist Roland Dyens; and In the nimble hands of Jason Vieaux, this was a refreshing tour de force. Next came four songs by Franz Schubert, elegantly sung by Sasha Cooke. The first was “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” which Schubert wrote at the tender age of 17. Second was the lullaby “Schlummerlied” also known as “Schafflied.” Then came “Nacht und Träume,” which was followed by the masterful “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” a lovely meditation on the evanescence of beauty and of life itself. Sasha Cooke splendidly performed these great Schubert songs. 

Cooke then turned to two songs by Steven Sondheim, “Children will listen” and “Losing my mind.” The former is a cautionary tale, and the latter an obsessive memory of a long-lost love. 

The final works on the printed program were two songs by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, the former’s “I will” and the latter’s “Julia.” McCarney lauded “I will” as a particularly felicitous melody, one of his favorites.” John Lennon’s “Julia” is a loving recollection of his mother, written ten years after she was killed in an auto accident when John was only 17. As an encore Cooke and Vieaux performed another song by Steven Sondheim, closing out a splendid recital that paired the mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and guitarist Jason Vieaux.  

Mezzo-Soprano Sasha Cooke and Guitarist Jason Vieaux at Herbst Theatre 

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean 

On Saturday, April 8, two-time Grammy Award winner Sasha Cooke again teamed with guitarist Jason Vieaux in a recital at Herbst Theatre under the auspices of San Francisco Performances. 

Styled “From Spain to Sondheim,” this recital featured works spanning many different styles of music, from popular Spanish songs to Brazilian Bossa Nova, and from lieder by Franz Schubert to songs by Steven Sondheim. There were even two songs by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. 

Sasha Cooke has performed often with San Francisco Opera, where she has distinguished herself as a mezzo-soprano with a luminous voice and dramatic flair. Guitarist Jason Vieaux has been hailed on National Public Radio as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.” Cooke and Vieaux have performed together several times previously to great acclaim. Opening this recital were Manuel De Falla’s Siete canciones populares espanõlas/Seven Popular Spanish Songs. Though these songs are best known in an arrangement for violin and piano, Cooke and Vieaux performed them in De Falla’s original version. The best-known of the seven songs is simply called “Jota,” which designates a lively dance in triple time from the Aragon region. In this “Jota,” Jason Vieaux’s guitar imitates the sound of castanets. In “Nana,” a lullaby from Andalusia, Sasha Cooke crooned this lovely cradle song, which De Falla cherished as his first memory of his mother singing him to sleep with this lullaby. Next on the program was a work by Pat Metheny written especially for Jason Vieaux, who performed the second movement from Metheny’s Four Paths of Light. 

Following this came two songs by San Francisco-based composer Peter Scott Lewis, “What Day Is It Now?” and “Going Out to Meet the Moon Whales.” The former is set to a poem by Robert Sund, and the latter to a poem by Haitian-born Paulé Barton. After singing this lovely pair of songs, Sasha Cooke recognised Peter Scott Lewis in the audience and encouraged him to stand and take a much-deserved bow. Next on the program was the song “Azulaõ” by Brazilian composer Jayme Ovalle. I first heard this lovely song when I spent a week in Mozambique in 1964 and bought a small 33 1/3 vinyl record of Alice Ribiera singing Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, and on the flip side was “Azulaõ.” Although these two works are usually sung by a soprano, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke did an excellent job, especially in the “Cantilena” from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, which closed out the first half of this recital. 

After intermission, Jason Vieaux performed “A Felicidade” by Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, who came to fame as a brilliant composer in the Bossa Nova style. This arrangement of “A Felicidade” was by French guitarist Roland Dyens; and In the nimble hands of Jason Vieaux, this was a refreshing tour de force. Next came four songs by Franz Schubert, elegantly sung by Sasha Cooke. The first was “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” which Schubert wrote at the tender age of 17. Second was the lullaby “Schlummerlied” also known as “Schafflied.” Then came “Nacht und Träume,” which was followed by the masterful “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” a lovely meditation on the evanescence of beauty and of life itself. Sasha Cooke splendidly performed these great Schubert songs. 

Cooke then turned to two songs by Steven Sondheim, “Children will listen” and “Losing my mind.” The former is a cautionary tale, and the latter an obsessive memory of a long-lost love. 

The final works on the printed program were two songs by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, the former’s “I will” and the latter’s “Julia.” McCarney lauded “I will” as a particularly felicitous melody, one of his favorites.” John Lennon’s “Julia” is a loving recollection of his mother, written ten years after she was killed in an auto accident when John was only 17. As an encore Cooke and Vieaux performed another song by Steven Sondheim, closing out a splendid recital that paired the mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and guitarist Jason Vieaux.