Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Stellar lineup for Stern Grove's 75th anniversary



Stern Grove Festival celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. It has been drawing crowds, as this 1939 photograph attests, since its opening in 1938.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/06/DDRP1N36BH.DTL#ixzz1lkZTYQYP

Since 1938, the Stern Grove Festival has played host to a range of free cultural events - everything from staged opera and symphonic concerts to pop, jazz and world music. Now this venerable institution, which bills itself as the nation's longest-running free outdoor music festival, is poised to celebrate its 75th anniversary.


The 2012 program, which runs June 24 to Aug. 26, will feature an appearance by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, performing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It was the Symphony that gave the first concert in the Grove in 1932, with San Francisco Opera founder Gaetano Merola leading the orchestra in works by Wagner, Saint-Saëns, Bizet and others.


Also in the lineup is an appearance by the indie rock band OK Go. Further details about the full schedule, including an opening-day event called "The Big Picnic," will be announced at a later date. For information, go to www.sterngrove.org.

Joshua Kosman is The San Francisco Chronicle's music critic. jkosman@sfchronicle.com

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/06/DDRP1N36BH.DTL#ixzz1lkZ7qO9f

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