What concerts are you looking forward to? (Part II)

[Brian]

Strauss - although I like them I've never attended a live performance of the four last songs.

I once snuck into a $1,000 fundraiser gala of Renee Fleming singing the Strauss. Shhh, don't tell!

[Mirror Image]

I once snuck into a $1,000 fundraiser gala of Renee Fleming singing the Strauss. Shhh, don't tell!

Forwards this message to Renee Fleming's inbox.

[HIPster]

I am sorry to say that I will not be attending this performance of Classical Guitar/Jazz and Early Music.  My lute teacher, David Rogers, will be performing on a 19th century guitar.

A heads-up, to those in the Bay Area:

Saturday, Feb. 25, The Back Room, Berkeley, CA

http://backroommusic.com/events-1/2017/2/25/david-rogers-with-special-guests-frances-feldon-and-susanna-porte

David Rogers will play Spanish music, original compositions, Rolling Stones, Beatles and J. S. Bach for the first half of this performance. In the second half, he will be joined by Frances Feldon and Susanna Porte playing improvised jazz and early music.

Termed "a prominent guitarist" by the New York Times, David Rogers fuses classical, jazz, early, and world music elements into powerful, moving and virtuosic performances based on both original compositions and traditional repertoire.

The Washington Post has praised his "astonishingly florid" improvisations, and he has been called a "modern master of the classical guitar" by 20th Century Guitar. ClassicsToday.com has praised his "first rate instrumental artistry," and the Lute Society of America Quarterly has called his technique "formidable."

He is an endorsing artist for GHS Strings and his music has been featured in major guitar magazines such as Fingerstyle Guitar in the United States and Akustic Gitarre in Germany. His performances have been broadcast on NPR and Bayrische Rundfunk, including both the nationally syndicated Performance Today and Harmonia programs. David has recorded for Dorian, Callisto and Focus Recordings. He has given recitals and conducted master classes throughout North America, including performances and classes at the San Francisco Conservatory and the University of Southern California and The Interlochen National Arts Camp.

David has studied historical plucked strings with Hopkinson Smith and Eugen Dombois at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland, with Thomas Binkley at Indiana University, and with Lyle Nordstrom at Oakland University. He has also studied guitar with Joseph Fava at Wayne State University. David was a musician with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 18 years and taught at Southern Oregon University for 13 years.

"...Playing the vihuela (a stringed instrument), David Rogers held everything together with a few poignant plucks, vigorous strumming and the occasional astonishingly florid solo..."
The Washington Post

Frances Feldon is quite sure she was a troubadour in a former life; in her present existence, she performs on baroque flute and recorder, and is a conductor, educator, and arranger. She has performed with American Bach Soloists, California Bach Society, Sonoma Bach, Ensemble Mirabile, in conjunction with the Berkeley Early Music Festival, and at the California Jazz Conservatory.

Born and raised near Boston, cellist Susanna Porte earned a B.Mus. in Violoncello Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, a B.A. with Honors in Russian from Oberlin College, an M.A. in Russian literature from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Teaching Certificate in Music from Carnegie Mellon University. She has performed extensively as a classical cellist in orchestras and chamber groups in Eastern Massachusetts and the Bay Area. Susanna was a founding member of the Cello Chix, an electric-cello-and-drums band featuring her arrangements of classic rock and Latin tunes. The Cello Chix played to critical acclaim in the Boston area from 2002 to 2011 and in 2008 produced a CD, Under the Covers. Better weather and food lured Susanna to Berkeley in 2011, and since then she has freelanced there as a cellist, music arranger, Russian tutor, and proofreader. Susanna is currently pursuing a B.A. in Jazz Studies at the California Jazz Conservatory. Recently, she has studied with Mads Tolling and Mark Summer of the Turtle Island Quartet, Eugene Friesen of Berklee College of Music, and Paul Mehling of the Hot Club of San Francisco, and has made frequent guest appearances with Mehling's gypsy jazz trio, Le Jazz Hot.

Tickets for this show are $15 and are available in advance at the link below, or at the door the night of the show. Doors open one half hour before show time. The Back Room is an all-ages, BYOB (21+) space. Please call us if you have any questions or need more information: #510-654-3808.

[GioCar]

Made my first investment in 2017.

Bought 2 tickets for Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at La Scala, the 2012 Zurich production with Daniele Gatti/Harry Kupfer.

A ScalAperta performance on the 26 March, where tickets are sold at half their face value.

€ 275.00 total 

Well, those seats I bought are really good, so my wife won't complain...

[Spineur]

The third 2017 investment 

Mother Spring, be good, and give me a little burning flame and sunshine to finally warm my poor heart!

Rimsky Korsakov Snow maiden Paris opera April 2017

[king ubu]

Made my first investment in 2017.

Bought 2 tickets for Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at La Scala, the 2012 Zurich production with Daniele Gatti/Harry Kupfer.

A ScalAperta performance on the 26 March, where tickets are sold at half their face value.

€ 275.00 total 

Well, those seats I bought are really good, so my wife won't complain...

Ouch. But at least you'll have proper stools then 

Went to hear Grigory Sokolov last night, invited my parents ... and wow, it was magic! He played KV 545 and KV 475/457 in the first half, with nary a break (just one for the coughers before KV 475 actually, and then Op. 90 and Op. 111 in the second part, again without any real interruption. How he built tension throughout these entire "sets" was magic, it felt as if he and the grand piano were one. In the end, he did six encores, among them, I think, some Schubert, some Chopin (certainly so), and I think one piece by Rameau. No review out so far, but I just saw that the one really good Zurich reviewer has an article on Florian Vogt at the Opera house (Feb 23rd, a Liederabend) in tomorrow's paper, so likely no Sokolov review this time, which would be a shame (the reviewed all the recent recitals of his, which I all missed).

[king ubu]

Mahler 6 with Zinman conducting the Tonhalle Zurich forces on Saturday ... not exactly my first exposure to Mahler, but my very first encounter with Mahler's symphonies 

[André]

I await your report in triplicate on my desk by Monday morning !

You lucky devil ! 

[king ubu]

I await your report in triplicate on my desk by Monday morning !

You lucky devil ! 

C'est à moi qu'tu parles?

[André]

Ben oui, tiens ! 

Vincent Cassel, c'est un "acquired taste", comme disent les anglais. 

[kishnevi]

Considering these two local events

March 9
Itzchak Perlman a recital program that apparently includes a Vivaldi sonatina, Beethoven's Spring Sonata, a Fantasiestucke by Schumann, Stravinsky's Suite Italienne

March 13
Nicola Benedetti violin Royal Scottish National Orchestra Peter Oudjian conductor. Program : Borodin Prince Igor Overture Brahms VC Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony

About $50 for a rear balcony ticket and parking for each.  My budget says no, my heart says both...

Also looming over the horizon, if my work schedule permits, on  March 28, the Palm Beach Symphony with Shostakovich 11 and a new work by Andre Previn

[king ubu]

Ben oui, tiens ! 

Vincent Cassel, c'est un "acquired taste", comme disent les anglais. 

Cassel was a taste it took about five seconds for me to acquire! "La Haïne" was big when I was in my impressable years, though I only came to appreciate Cassel more broadly (and "La Haïne" more deeply, if you want) in more recent years.

Anyway, so Mahler 6 it was, with Tonhalle Orchestra/David Zinman - and impressive it was, mightily so! I was pretty dumbfounded in the end, and probably had a stupid *what the fegh is going on here?!? is this real?!?" look on my face for those 82 or 85 or so minutes ... the mixture of classical form (well, kind of) and the modernity of the sounds, the endless variety of shades and colours, was most intriguing to witness in concert. Actually as a comparative newbie, seing works played live often helps me figure out better which section contributes what - no way when listening at home that I could tell apart contributions by first and second violins, or make out the various combinations of woodwinds used (actually I don't think I ever saw such a big woodwinds section ... I saw the same or even larger numbers of brass - the guy on tuba had a lot of work to do!). All in all, it was pretty tremendous, though I have no clear grasp of what I actually heard (that feeling was much stronger still than when I first heard a Bruckner symphony a few months back). I don't think I'll dip into Mahler very soon, but I am looking forward to exploring my own private Mahler library that I have been building for a few years for that day (it includes the mixed EMI complete works box, some Barbirolli, the Mitropolous M&A set, cycles/boxes by Boulez, Tennstedt, Inbal, Bertini, Bernstein, Haitink, Kubelík, Levine, Abbado, and of course the Zinman cycle by my homies).

[bhodges]

Yesterday was the first concert of the new Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin (designed for chamber music), and Arte broadcast the event live. Interesting mix of works by Boulez, Schubert, Mozart, Berg, and Widmann, with excellent performers. The live-stream will be available for 90 days.

http://concert.arte.tv/de/eroeffnungskonzert-pierre-boulez-saal-berlin

--Bruce

[Senta]

I really should visit this thread more - fun catching up just now!

Brian - I'm curious how that Rouse Symphony No. 5 premiere was!

We are smack in the middle of Adams at 70 celebrations:

Kicked it off with Houston Grand Opera's Nixon in China on Jan. 22 - fabulous! 30 years ago premiered in the very same theater.

Wanted to see it live for so long and was truly satisfied All roles were great but special mention to Tracy Dahl as Madame Mao, my goodness she is a tiny force!!

Next over the last few weeks were two Adams concerts with Houston Symphony, featuring the Doctor Atomic Symphony and Saxophone Concerto, both excellent programs. Doctor Atomic under Orozco-Estrada was particularly awesome - and just reminded me how very badly I want to see that opera too..

Now - we're off to the Chicago Symphony (first timer) this week for these two beauties of programs, which I'm ridiculously excited for, it's like - when I was 5, that night before I was about to go to an amusement park for the first time? Yeah, same feeling.

Tuesday, March 7
Debussy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
John Adams Scheherazade.2
Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Leila Josefowicz, violin

And the piece de resistance -

Thursday, March 9
John Adams Slonimsky's Earbox
Salonen Cello Concerto [World Premiere, CSO Co-commission]
Stravinsky Petrushka
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

So freaking EXCITED. I can't wait to hear this dang concerto. The whole program, both. I mean these tickets have been sitting in my email tantalizing me for almost 5 months!! Yay finally!

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Tonight at the Melbourne Recital Centre:

Kate Moore Velvet
Tatjana Kozlova-Johannes Horizontals
Liza Lim Turning Dance of the Bee
Melody Eötvös New work
Cassie To Avialae
Kaija Saariaho Cendres

Performed by Ensemble Offspring

[Mahlerian]

Tonight at the Melbourne Recital Centre:

Melody Eötvös New work

The famous conductor/composer's...daughter?  Sister?

[Ken B]

Last weekend, this, live.

[asin]B01EU0GZ2W[/asin]

I cannot say I loved it, but I did enjoy it. Looking back, most of the concerts I have attended in the past 7 or 8 years have been renaissance vocal music!

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

The famous conductor/composer's...daughter?  Sister?

Not sure what the relation is, if there is one. She's Australian born but based in the USA.

[king ubu]

"Orest" by Manfred Trojahn on Sunday at Zurich opera:
http://www.opernhaus.ch/en/activity/detail/orest-02-03-2017-18624/

[Mahlerian]

Not sure what the relation is, if there is one. She's Australian born but based in the USA.

Looks like a great program at any rate.  Enjoy!