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

[brewski]

Edit: @brewski a link below if it helps.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002g26n

Well, dang, I'm getting this message on my end:

Error 404 - Oops, the page you're looking for is no longer here

"Hey, BBC, why can't we have nice things?"     

[Iota]

Well, dang, I'm getting this message on my end:

Error 404 - Oops, the page you're looking for is no longer here

"Hey, BBC, why can't we have nice things?"     

Check my edit in the post above if it's any assistance.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Tomorrow at Ravinia:

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Louis Langrée, conductor
Garrick Ohlsson, pianist
Mozart: Overture to La Clemenza di Tito
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22
Mozart: Symphony No. 41 ("Jupiter")

Two of WAM's biggest and best orchestral works on the same program - what could be better?

[Mapman]

I'll probably go to this concert next week: Conrad Tao and others performing the Brahms Horn Trio.
https://www.machiasbaychamberconcerts.com/performances/current-details.php/2025-08-05-00-00-00-40/

The full program:
Conrad Tao, piano
Lun Li, violin
Nicolee Kuester, horn

Liszt: Au bord d'une source
Messiaen: Interstellar Call from Des Canyons aux Étoiles (solo horn)
Tchaikovsky: Valse-scherzo in C Major, Op. 34
Bach: Schafe können sicher weiden (solo piano)
Brahms: Horn Trio in E♭ Major, Op. 40

It was a very enjoyable concert with a nicely varied program, although it wasn't perfect. The Brahms trio was my favorite part. I was able to chat with the musicians after the concert; they were all quite friendly. It was cool to have a concert like that in such a remote part of Maine.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Tomorrow at Ravinia:

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Nobuyuki Tsujii, pianist
Tower: Suite from Concerto for Orchestra
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2
Brahms: Symphony No. 1

The Tower work is unknown to me - will be interesting to discover. Brahms is always great. Rachmaninoff is OK.

[Brian]

Her concerto for orchestra is so long that there is a suite from it? Strange.

Just looked it up. It takes 28 minutes to play. I wonder if Oundjian compiled a shorter suite?

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Her concerto for orchestra is so long that there is a suite from it? Strange.

Yeah, that threw me a bit. I found the whole piece on YouTube and it's two mvts. of about equal length. Seems like making a suite out of that would be a bit difficult? Who knows - maybe there's a misprint in the program?

[brewski]

Next Monday, the Banff International String Quartet Competition begins, with nine superb quartets playing all week, and the awards ceremony on Sunday, August 31. The competition is held every three years, and as in the past, all the rounds will be livestreamed on multiple platforms (Facebook, YouTube, and the Violin Channel). I've watched a good bit of these over the last decade, and for string quartet lovers, it is a feast. The artistry on display is superb, coupled with excellent audio and video.

(Note: From the initial group of ten, the Myriade Quartet from Montreal had to withdraw.)

Arete Quartet – Seoul, South Korea
Cong Quartet – Hong Kong, China
Quatuor Elmire – Paris, France
Quartett HANA – Munich, Germany
Quartet KAIRI – Salzburg, Austria
Quatuor Magenta – Paris, France
Nerida Quartet – Bremen, Germany
Poiesis Quartet – Cincinnati, United States of America
Viatores Quartet – Berlin, Germany

[brewski]

Today at 2:00 pm (EDT), the annual Europa Open Air concert with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and conductor Alain Altinoglu, this time with pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen. Though the lineup is on the light side — e.g., I wish they were doing the entire Zarathustra — I always love the atmosphere, with expert camerawork capturing the flavor of the event, with some listeners watching from boats on the adjacent Main River.

R. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra (excerpts)
Mendelssohn: Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream
Poulenc: Concerto for Two Pianos
Khachaturian: Adagio of Spartacus und Phrygia from Spartacus
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Holst: The Planets (excerpts)

[brewski]

Today at 2:00 pm (EDT), the annual Europa Open Air concert with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and conductor Alain Altinoglu, this time with pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen. Though the lineup is on the light side — e.g., I wish they were doing the entire Zarathustra — I always love the atmosphere, with expert camerawork capturing the flavor of the event, with some listeners watching from boats on the adjacent Main River.

R. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra (excerpts)
Mendelssohn: Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream
Poulenc: Concerto for Two Pianos
Khachaturian: Adagio of Spartacus und Phrygia from Spartacus
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Holst: The Planets (excerpts)

A pleasant afternoon, watching the sunset in Frankfurt gradually change into darkness, with one of the world's great orchestras clearly enjoying themselves.

Faves: the Poulenc, despite some swooning body language from the two pianists, and the Khachaturian, which gained poignancy from the cameras showing the beautiful city skyline during the climaxes. After the Holst (the first four movements, ending with "Jupiter"), the orchestra offered an encore, John Williams' main title sequence from Star Wars. It was fun, beautifully played, great brass, the audience loved it. Yet I couldn't suppress a grin, noticing the side-by-side comparison with the Holst, underlining the influence on Williams' score. (This is old news, I know.)

Anyway, as usual, the filming was superb, with lovely shots of people in the crowd — and on boats, and watching from nearby apartment buildings — being moved by the music.

[brewski]

Next Monday, the Banff International String Quartet Competition begins, with nine superb quartets playing all week, and the awards ceremony on Sunday, August 31. The competition is held every three years, and as in the past, all the rounds will be livestreamed on multiple platforms (Facebook, YouTube, and the Violin Channel). I've watched a good bit of these over the last decade, and for string quartet lovers, it is a feast. The artistry on display is superb, coupled with excellent audio and video.

(Note: From the initial group of ten, the Myriade Quartet from Montreal had to withdraw.)

Arete Quartet – Seoul, South Korea
Cong Quartet – Hong Kong, China
Quatuor Elmire – Paris, France
Quartett HANA – Munich, Germany
Quartet KAIRI – Salzburg, Austria
Quatuor Magenta – Paris, France
Nerida Quartet – Bremen, Germany
Poiesis Quartet – Cincinnati, United States of America
Viatores Quartet – Berlin, Germany

Today at 4 pm (EDT) on The Violin Channel, will be watching the Quartett HANA (Germany) and Quatuor Elmire (France), each in Haydn and a 21st-century work. Round 2 begins at 9:30 pm (EDT) with the Nerida Quartet and Viatores Quartet (both Germany) with similar programming.

[hopefullytrusting]

Tine Surel Lange's Draugen for cello, harmonium, harpsichord, lights, video, and sound in three former hering oil tanks

https://www.instagram.com/p/DNxj9xR2HkY/

(hmmm, they are from Norway, Aurora is from Norway - that's 2 of my top 5 - maybe I should learn Norwegian, although I suspect I would not be able to blend in - my skin pigmentation, but I also think they might not notice me at all - my height, 160-161 cm, lol)

[brewski]

Today at Banff, the second group of string quartets will make their first appearances, starting at 12:30 pm and ending around 11:30 pm tonight (with substantial breaks in between). Excited to hear the Hosokawa, and Sky Macklay's Many, Many Cadences is a delight.

12:30 pm (EDT)
Quartet KAIRI
Haydn: String Quartet Op. 74, No. 1 in C Major
Toshio Hosokawa: Floral Fairy (2003)
Intermission
Poiesis Quartet
Sky Macklay: Many Many Cadences (2015)
Haydn: String Quartet Op. 71, No. 2 in D Major

4:00 pm (EDT)
Cong Quartet
Haydn: String Quartet Op. 33, No. 2 in E flat Major
Lawrence Dillon: String Quartet No. 7, Consensus (2019)

7:30 pm (EDT)
Arete Quartet
Haydn: String Quartet in C. Major, Op. 20 No. 2
Jörg Widmann: String Quartet No. 3, Jagdquartett
Intermission
Quatuor Magenta
Haydn: String Quartet Op. 76, No. 3 in C Major
Pascal Dusapin: String Quartet No. 5 (2004–2005) 

[brewski]

More Banff today! Watch live on the Violin Channel, here.

4 pm (EDT):
Quartet KAIRI—Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2
Cong Quartet—Debussy: String Quartet
-Intermission-
Poiesis Quartet—Brahms: String Quartet No. 3

9:30 pm (EDT):
Quartett HANA—Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 6
Quatuor Magenta—Schumann: String Quartet Op. 41, No. 1
-Intermission-
Viatores Quartet—Debussy: String Quartet

[ritter]

While strolling along the pedestrian main street of Saint-Jean-de-Luz on the French Basque Coast this evening, I noticed that the town's (charming) church was closed  for a concert (Thomas Adès conducting his own music and works by Ravel, with the Paris Opera Orchestra).

It turns out this was part of a Ravel festival in the region, and as I'll be around again on Monday evening (on my way back home from the Bordeaux area), I've just bought tickets for an all-Ravel programme to be performed at the 17th-century church of the small town of Urrugne. Mezzo Fleur Barron, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, violinist Clara-Jumi Kang, flautist Aliya Vodovozava, and pianists Bertrand Chamayou and Kirill Gerstein will perform Histoires naturelles, Chansons Madécasses, the two violin sonatas , and the piano duo version of La Valse.

This is where the concert will be held:

[Iota]

While strolling along the pedestrian main street of Saint-Jean-de-Luz on the French Basque Coast this evening, I noticed that the town's (charming) church was closed  for a concert (Thomas Adès conducting his own music and works by Ravel, with the Paris Opera Orchestra).

It turns out this was part of a Ravel festival in the region, and as I'll be around again on Monday evening (on my way back home from the Bordeaux area), I've just bought tickets for an all-Ravel programme to be performed at the 17th-century church of the small town of Urrugne. Mezzo Fleur Barron, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, violinist Clara-Jumi Kang, flautist Aliya Vodovozava, and pianists Bertrand Chamayou and Kirill Gerstein will perform Histoires naturelles, Chansons Madécasses, the two violin sonatas , and the piano duo version of La Valse.

This is where the concert will be held:

That sounds a mouth-watering prospect!

[brewski]

Today at Banff (12 pm EDT): all competing quartets perform Rapprochement, a new 9-minute score by Canadian composer Kati Agócs.

Viatores Quartet
Arete Quartet
Cong Quartet
Quatuor Magenta
Quatuor Elmire

Intermission

Quartett HANA
Nerida Quartet
Quartet KAIRI
Poiesis Quartet

Livestream here.

[brewski]

While strolling along the pedestrian main street of Saint-Jean-de-Luz on the French Basque Coast this evening, I noticed that the town's (charming) church was closed  for a concert (Thomas Adès conducting his own music and works by Ravel, with the Paris Opera Orchestra).

It turns out this was part of a Ravel festival in the region, and as I'll be around again on Monday evening (on my way back home from the Bordeaux area), I've just bought tickets for an all-Ravel programme to be performed at the 17th-century church of the small town of Urrugne. Mezzo Fleur Barron, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, violinist Clara-Jumi Kang, flautist Aliya Vodovozava, and pianists Bertrand Chamayou and Kirill Gerstein will perform Histoires naturelles, Chansons Madécasses, the two violin sonatas , and the piano duo version of La Valse.

This is where the concert will be held:

What a lineup of musicians, what a program, what a venue!

[Brian]

Indeed, what amazing fortune!

[brewski]

And here we are at the last full day of competition at Banff. Each of the nine string quartets will perform either Beethoven or Schubert, plus a 20th-century choice. After the last concert tonight, the three finalists will be announced, and tomorrow they will perform a 45-minute set of whatever they choose. The awards will be announced tomorrow night.

Today's lineup:

Noon (EDT)
Quartet KAIRI
Quatuor Magenta
Arete Quartet

4 pm
Quatuor Elmire
Viatores Quartet
Quartett HANA

9:30 pm
Nerida Quartet
Poiesis Quartet
Cong Quartet

The streaming this week has been superb; watch live here.