Josef Woodard’s 2024 in Review
Our Music Reviewer’s Favorite Stories of the Year
Best Concerts/Musical Happenings in Santa Barbara
Eclectic music fans, present company included, are allowed more than the standard “Top Ten” list at year’s end. Although my tastes range widely and wildly, much of my concert-going tends to the classical/jazz corners of the Santa Barbara calendar, along with venturing into rock and pop cultural fodder. What follows is a loose but seriously-considered list of concerts which made a lingering impact–in reverse chronological order.
Among the trends noted this year, three of the finest concerts were from famed string quartets pushing out from standard repertoire. The Danish String Quartet, ending their Schubert-ian “Doppelganger” series with the U.S. Premiere of a new Thomas Ades piece, Kronos Quartet celebrated its 50th year (!) and a stunning microtonalism-pitched program by the JACK Quartet this month at Hahn Hall. Call me an oddball, but JACK’s performance may be the evening most indelibly imprinted on my memory, circa 2024. We all have our little things.
JACK Quartet, “Modern Medieval,” Hahn Hall
Santa Barbara Symphony, “French Connections,” pianist-guest conductor David Greilsammer
Mahler, Song of the Wayfarer, bass-baritone Dashon Burton with LACO, Granada Theatre
Mariza, Lobero (legendary fado queen)
Patrica Kopatschinskaja, Shostakovich Violin Concerto, London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Granada
Julia Bullock, Messiaen’s Harawi, Campbell Hall
Mezzthetics with James Brandon Lewis, Deer Lodge, Ojai
Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble, Lobero (unique and Motor City-centric medicine show)
John Adams, Violin Concerto with Leila Josefowica, Music Academy of the West orchestra
concert, Granada
Jeremy Denk, lecture/performance of Charles Ives’ Concord Sonata, Music Academy of the West
Jorg Widmann, composer in the Ojai Music Festival (German composer worth seeking out)
Queens of the Stone Age, Santa Barbara Bowl
Tedeschi and Trucks, Santa Barbara Bowl (slide guitar eloquence for days, in a night)
Kronos @ 50, Campbell Hall
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, world premiere of Vince Mendoza’s Flight of Moving Days, Granada
Danish String Quartet, U.S. premiere of Thomas Ades’ Wreath, Campbell Hall
Blue Note Records Road Show, featuring Joel Ross, Immanuel Wilkins and Gerald Clayton,
Campbell Hall