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

[brewski]

May 9th, Amsterdam / Koncertgebouw:

Oscar Jockel: Nox aeterna
Sibelius: violin concerto
Ligeti: Lux aeterna
Langgaard: Sfaerernes musik

Dutch Radio PhO  and chorus / Oscar Jockel
Elina Vähälä, violin

Agree with everyone else — stellar! In my book, to hear the Ligeti Lux aeterna in the Amsterdam hall would be a treat, all by itself. And you never see the Langgaard programmed anywhere.

[Wanderer]

This coming week in London:

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2
London Philharmonic Orchestra 
Alexandre Kantorow, piano
Paavo Järvi, conductor


Laura Bowler: The White Book*
György Ligeti: Lontano
Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra 
Barbara Hannigan, conductor & soprano
Bar Avni conductor*
London Symphony Orchestra


Richard Strauss: Don Juan
Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major
Sakari Oramo, conductor
Bertrand Chamayou, piano
BBC Symphony Orchestra



Beethoven Egmont Overture
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4
Beethoven Symphony No. 6, 'Pastoral'
Mario Galeani piano
Grzegorz Nowak conductor
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

[Mapman]

On Saturday evening (8 PM in New York) the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has an interesting free live stream. I'm very interested in the Still symphony, as I've liked his first two.


Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Kenneth Thompkins, trombone

JAMES LEE III Fanfare for Universal Hope
JOHN ROSAMOND JOHNSON (ARR. ROLAND CARTER) "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
Arr. UNDINE SMITH MOORE "Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord"
RICHARD SMALLWOOD "Total Praise"
CARLOS SIMON "Troubled Water" for Trombone and Orchestra
WILLIAM GRANT STILL Symphony No. 4 "Autochthonous"

https://livefromorchestrahall.vhx.tv/live-broadcasts/events/classical-roots-saturday-march-7-at-8-00pm

[Mapman]

On Saturday evening (8 PM in New York) the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has an interesting free live stream. I'm very interested in the Still symphony, as I've liked his first two.


Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Kenneth Thompkins, trombone

JAMES LEE III Fanfare for Universal Hope
JOHN ROSAMOND JOHNSON (ARR. ROLAND CARTER) "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
Arr. UNDINE SMITH MOORE "Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord"
RICHARD SMALLWOOD "Total Praise"
CARLOS SIMON "Troubled Water" for Trombone and Orchestra
WILLIAM GRANT STILL Symphony No. 4 "Autochthonous"

https://livefromorchestrahall.vhx.tv/live-broadcasts/events/classical-roots-saturday-march-7-at-8-00pm

It seems that they changed it last-minute to start at 7:30? Anyway, this is happening now!

YouTube link for those who prefer that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DXsqhYcH3E

[brewski]

Tomorrow night, the string quartet Owls, in an unusual program that will be livestreamed at the link below.

Paul Wiancko: Vox Petra
Ali-Zadeh: Rəqs ('Dance')
Couperin: Les Barricades Mystérieuses
Trollstilt (Dan Trueman & Monica Mugan): Ricercar
Gabriella Smith: Aegolius
Wiancko: When the Night
Riley: 'Good Medicine' from Salome Dances for Peace

[(poco) Sforzando]

Well, the three major New York venues (Carnegie Hall, New York Philharmonic, and Metropolitan Opera) have all announced their upcoming seasons and I have subscribed to CH and NYP. (I won't subscribe to the Met but will just wait for individual tickets.) So here are all the concerts and operas in NYC I'm planning to attend from now through June 2027:

2025-26 season:
Met March 21 - Tristan
CH March 31 - Philadelphia Orchestra, Alsop, Hayato Sumino doing the Gershwin concerto
CH April 9 - BSO Nelsons - Suite from Nixon China, Dvorak 9
Met April 18 - Saariaho's Innocence
CH April 21 - Alexandre Kantorow doing op. 111
CH April 24 - Yunchan Lim in a Schubert-Scriabin sonata program (unless he changes it a fifth time)
Juilliard Opera April 25 - Verdi's Falstaff
CH May 1 - Yuja Wang doing Chopin 1 and Prokofiev 2
CH May 3 - Puccini's Trittico in concert - Noseda/National Symphony
CH May 31 - Kissin, Bell, Isserlis - piano trios by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky

2026-27 season:
NYP Sep 27 - Mahler 5 Dudamel
CH Oct 26 - Yunchan Lim in one of four all-Mozart programs, I get 332 and 310
CH Nov 18 - Minsoo Sohn WTC 1 (not ordered yet)
Met Nov 21 or 28 - Jenufa (not ordered yet)
CH Dec 2 -  Helene Grimaud plays op. 111 and D960
NYP Dec 4 - Bruce Liu Tchaikovsky 2, Nielsen 4 (Ryan Bancroft cond.)
CH Dec 6 - all Brahms PF Concerto 2, Symphony 2 - Rana and YNS
NYP Jan 10, 2027 - new trumpet concerto by Unsuk Chin, Håkan Hardenberger, Sibelius 5, cond. Eva Ollikainen
NYP Jan 22 - Shosty 14 with Gražinytė-Tyla, Elgar Cello Concerto with Julia Hagen
NYP Jan 28 Yuja Wang Brahms 2, Gražinytė-Tyla cond.
CH March 12 - Seong-Jin Cho plays Prokofiev 8
CH March 18 Rheingold - complete Ring cycle in concert - Noseda/Zurich
CH March 19 Walkure
CH March 21 Siegfried
CH March 23 Gotterdammerung
CH April 2 Philadelphia YNS - Mahler 7
CH April 8 - Igor Levit all LvB including Waldstein
NYP April 23 Rana Prokofiev 3, Janacek Taras and Sinfonietta, Hrůša cond.
CH April 24 Vengerov-Argerich in one of three all LvB violin sonata recitals
CH April 30 - Yuja Wang recital, program not announced
Met June 12 - Mahler 8 with Yannick (not ordered yet)

[DavidW]

I went to the SC Philharmonic. It was a great concert, I loved every minute!

Program:
Ravel's Alborada del Gracioso
Shaosheng Li's Wind Across a Cloudless Firmament
Ravel's Bolero
Boyer's Ellis Island-- The Dream of America

[Mapman]

I'm seeing the Houston Symphony tomorrow. My girlfriend is excited about the Elgar. I don't think I've seen V. Petrenko before.

Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Jan Lisiecki, piano

NEWMAN: Wuthering Heights Suite
W.A. MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 9, K. 271, Jenamy
ELGAR: Enigma Variations

[Brian]

I'm seeing the Houston Symphony tomorrow. My girlfriend is excited about the Elgar. I don't think I've seen V. Petrenko before.

Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Jan Lisiecki, piano

NEWMAN: Wuthering Heights Suite
W.A. MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 9, K. 271, Jenamy
ELGAR: Enigma Variations

Petrenko is a good time. I have an autographed CD (Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances) from after a concert in 2011. He signed CDs and programs in the lobby with his toddler in one arm and a pint of beer in easy reach of the other. He told us that before one concert, his child stole his baton and hid it, so he conducted with a pencil. 

[(poco) Sforzando]

I'm seeing the Houston Symphony tomorrow. My girlfriend is excited about the Elgar. I don't think I've seen V. Petrenko before.

Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Jan Lisiecki, piano

NEWMAN: Wuthering Heights Suite
W.A. MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 9, K. 271, Jenamy
ELGAR: Enigma Variations

Let us know what you think of Jan Lisiecki. The typical complaint is that he's on the bland side, but I find his playing very appealing. I've heard him live only once, in a joint recital with violinist Julia Fischer.

[Mapman]

Let us know what you think of Jan Lisiecki. The typical complaint is that he's on the bland side, but I find his playing very appealing. I've heard him live only once, in a joint recital with violinist Julia Fischer.

I'm not a piano person, so I'm not sure how much I can say. Lisiecki's performance of the Mozart seemed good to me. His playing is very clean and precise, and he was clearly enjoying the music. His encore was the Brahms Waltz Op. 37/15, which I was less impressed with: there was a bit too much rubato for my taste.

The performance of the Enigma Variations was average. There were a few standout moments: the variation about the dog falling in the river was stylized extremely well. But the opening sounded a bit under-rehearsed. It just wasn't tight. Mark Nuccio appeared to have the week off, I think Ben Freimuth, their long-term substitute, was playing first today. His solo near the end [the Mendelssohn quote] was too quiet, almost inaudible. (I was in row H, so I have no idea what the people in the back heard, if anything!) I know it is marked ppp, but it is a solo and it needs to be heard.

There was a last-minute addition to the program. One of the orchestra's long-term violinists passed away last week, so the strings opened the concert by playing the Sarabande from Grieg's Holberg Suite (without conductor) to open the concert in honor of her. Earlier this season they did a similar tribute to another former member, that time with Bach's Air on the G string. That's a nice tradition that Houston has.

(And, @Brian, I think Petrenko's kid has grown up since then. He had a regular baton today!)

[Brian]

Tonight at the Dallas Symphony:

Unknown: Unknown*
Barber: Violin Concerto (w/ Alexi Kenney)
Casella: Symphony No. 2 (Dallas premiere)

Daniele Rustioni, conductor

*at every concert in March, the DSO is beginning the program with a surprise, unannounced work. Its identity will not be revealed until after it is played!

[brewski]

Envious! I've seen two live events with Kenney in the last few weeks: first in Gubaidulina's In tempus praesens with the Houston Symphony, and then with his quartet, the Owls. Both were great — he's a phenomenal player. And tonight you get the Casella, which I've never heard, and the mystery ball of wax! (I love that idea.)

I was hoping they might stream tonight's concert, but alas. Please report back.

[Kalevala]

Tonight at the Dallas Symphony:

Unknown: Unknown*
Barber: Violin Concerto (w/ Alexi Kenney)
Casella: Symphony No. 2 (Dallas premiere)

Daniele Rustioni, conductor

*at every concert in March, the DSO is beginning the program with a surprise, unannounced work. Its identity will not be revealed until after it is played!

Does it then become the Known:  Known?

Envious! I've seen two live events with Kenney in the last few weeks: first in Gubaidulina's In tempus praesens with the Houston Symphony, and then with his quartet, the Owls. Both were great — he's a phenomenal player. And tonight you get the Casella, which I've never heard, and the mystery ball of wax! (I love that idea.)

I was hoping they might stream tonight's concert, but alas. Please report back.

"Mystery Ball of Wax?" 
 
I love the name the Owls. 

K

[Brian]

Does it then become the Known:  Known?

I'll update you all tomorrow afternoon! (After the final concert...don't want to spoil the surprise in case anyone else manages to go tomorrow.) 

Envious! I've seen two live events with Kenney in the last few weeks: first in Gubaidulina's In tempus praesens with the Houston Symphony, and then with his quartet, the Owls. Both were great — he's a phenomenal player. And tonight you get the Casella, which I've never heard, and the mystery ball of wax! (I love that idea.)

I was hoping they might stream tonight's concert, but alas. Please report back.

Kenney came through last year doing the Sibelius concerto and was superb. I hope he becomes a regular here. And I hope the mystery concept becomes a regular, too.

[brewski]

"Mystery Ball of Wax?" 
 
I love the name the Owls. 

K

Hehe, just a little silly, writerly license to describe the surprise tonight. 

And yes, the Owls! They are a string quartet, but with two cellos instead of the usual two violins. More on them here.

[Kalevala]

Hehe, just a little silly, writerly license to describe the surprise tonight. 

And yes, the Owls! They are a string quartet, but with two cellos instead of the usual two violins. More on them here.

Thanks!

I wonder whether or not there is a classical ensemble called either "the Barn Owls" or possibly "the Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away" [Too long, I know]?    They are strikingly beautiful and haunting.  And I just learned some new facts today about the two different families of owls.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tytonidae  Oh, the places that Google will take you! 

K

[brewski]

Thanks!

I wonder whether or not there is a classical ensemble called either "the Barn Owls" or possibly "the Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away" [Too long, I know]?    They are strikingly beautiful and haunting.  And I just learned some new facts today about the two different families of owls.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tytonidae  Oh, the places that Google will take you! 

K

Owls are fascinating creatures. And I like that unconventional long name, which would drive concert promoters crazy.

FYI, apparently composers are writing pieces for the Owls based on, of course, owls. At the concert I watched (alas, not online at the moment) they played a premiere by Gabriella Smith called Aegolius, referring to a small screech owl. (I did not hear any screeching, but others may have different ears.  )

[Kalevala]

Owls are fascinating creatures. And I like that unconventional long name, which would drive concert promoters crazy.

FYI, apparently composers are writing pieces for the Owls based on, of course, owls. At the concert I watched (alas, not online at the moment) they played a premiere by Gabriella Smith called Aegolius, referring to a small screech owl. (I did not hear any screeching, but others may have different ears.  )

  Hmmm...if there were screeching, I would suspect that certain listeners would be complaining about the violinist. 

As an aside, I heard this story on the news:  https://apnews.com/article/owl-sleeping-antique-store-new-york-oddities-b5d1c494d0369fb0e3c5051b835fb3b2

All ended well.

K

[brewski]

This afternoon, The Crossing, the virtuoso choir directed by Donald Nally, in this program with works commissioned in 2023:

Tania León: Singsong (w/ Claire Chase, flutes)
Wang Lu: At Which Point
Ayanna Woods: Infinite Body