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

[Brian]

It's part of a one-day Voices from The East presentation:

1pm  Azerbaijan & Turkmenistan

    Franghiz Ali-Zadeh Nagillar (Fairy Tales)
    Nurymov Symphony No.2
    Garayev Selection from Seven Beauties Ballet Suite

4pm  Georgia & Armenia

    Kancheli Styx for viola, chorus & orchestra
    Terterian Symphony No.3

7:30pm  Ukraine  program as above

A younger me would have gone to all of them, but nowadays I tend to just pick one to focus my energies on.   I've already heard both Lyatoshinsky 2nd & 3rd symphonies in concert, so am looking forward to adding the 4th.

Wow, what a day! A younger me would have done 'em all as well. I know the Garayev/Karayev from disc, it is opulent Hollywoody exotica.

Neeme Jarvi live is not exactly a thriller - when we were subscribers in Detroit he had health problems and had to sit down most of the time - but he is at least no-nonsense. He had recovered fully by the last time I saw him, in 2010, leading the London Philharmonic in Dvorak's Te Deum and Stabat Mater. The latter was released on CD but they omitted the former, which was too bad as it was a very lively performance.

[VonStupp]

Neeme Jarvi live is not exactly a thriller - when we were subscribers in Detroit he had health problems and had to sit down most of the time - but he is at least no-nonsense. He had recovered fully by the last time I saw him, in 2010, leading the London Philharmonic in Dvorak's Te Deum and Stabat Mater. The latter was released on CD but they omitted the former, which was too bad as it was a very lively performance.

I know he is not getting any younger, just like the rest of us; hopefully he is doing well. 

I had a friend stop in for a CSO concert not too far back with Blomstedt conducting, also needing to sit. Apparently, there were a lot of sick players out, with a fair number of civic replacements. He was less than thrilled with the results.
VS

[Florestan]

(The Stravinsky work is The Firebird)

@ritter

El pájaro de fuego and Pasărea de foc --- find the essential linguistic differences.

Well, here they are.

1. In Spanish el pájaro is a male noun --- el. In Romanian it's a female noun --- pasărea. Cf. the Portuguese female definite article a: a rua, a republica.

2. In Soanish, the definite article is put in front of, and distinct from, the noun --- in Romanian it's put at the end of, and linked with, the noun. El lobo --- lupul

3. Foc is the same in Romanian as in Catalan (sorry!)

3a. Catalan is closer to Romanian than Castellano (sorry!).

4. This one is tricky but I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Spanish llegar > Latin plicare (English to arrive): military command to fold the sails of a ship because arriving to port.

Romanian a pleca > Latin plicare (English to leave, to depart): military command to fold the tent because leaving the camp.

4. Most interesting factoid: English and Romanian are the only two Indo-European languages that express the infinitive by two words; for instance: English to write, Romanian a scrie. Spanish escribir, Italian scrivere, French ecrir, German schreiben.

5. Romanian is the only Romance language that has preserved the vocative case. In Spanish, if you call out Juan, it's Juan!. In Romanian Juan is Ion or Ioan but if you call them out it's Ioane!. My name is Andrei but if you call me out you say Andreie!

Cf. Latin Non dolet, Paete!

[ritter]

Very interesting, Andrei. Thanks.

I'm just back home after attending, as announced upthread, a performance  at the Teatro Real here in Madrid of "the greatest work of genius ever achieved by any artist in any field of human endeavour" (Ignacy Jan Paderewski dixit) composed by the "dullest, most boring, pompous, bombastic and overrated composer ever" ( @Florestan dixit  ).

Laurent Pelly's staging was efficient but not memorable and slightly drab, Gerald Finley a superb Sachs, Jongmin Park an imposing Pogner, Leigh Melrose a compelling Beckmesser, and I was very favourably impressed by Tomislav Mužek as Stolzing (he had received generally negative reviews). I found the ladies at a significantly lower level, so I will not name them.

But this was Pablo Heras-Casado's triumph. His conducting was masterful; he squeezed every last drop of the contrapuntal riches of this miraculous score, his pacing was perfect, and the dynamics were very judicious (only on a couple of occasions would the orchestra drown the voices, and the fortissimo rendition of the "Wachet auf!" chorus in Act III was perhaps a bit extreme, but this was clearly an interpretative choice). Really world-class Wagner conducting... 

I know that Paderewski's opinion on Die Meistersinger is an exaggeration, but only slightly so  . What a fabulous work it is, in any event!

[Florestan]

I know that Paderewski's opinion on Die Meistersinger is an exaggeration, but only slightly so  .

Well, exactly so is my opinion on Wagner. 

(sorry, my friend, couldn't resist...)

[Brian]

Lili Boulanger - D'un matin de printemps
Rachmaninov - Paganini Rhapsody
Shostakovich - Symphony No. 15

This turned out to be quite a good night indeed despite my irritation with the massive program change. The first half was lovely - the Boulanger piece is a delightful miniature (so small, they had already brought the piano onstage in preparation). Abduraimov fully lived up to the expectations I had based on his recordings, with plenty of power, beauty that didn't turn sentimental, and a slight flexibility of pulse at times that was very tastefully applied (he chose both times where it sounded appropriate, and times where a slight deviation would not confuse the orchestra). The encore was one of the least generous encores I have ever heard, hardly worth his walk back onstage: a transcription of the trumpet solo "Danse napolitaine" from Swan Lake, but without the faster bit being repeated, and entirely without the orchestral tutti section at the end. It was probably about 70 seconds long.

The Shostakovich is a wild piece and it is also wild to see live, unless you have a deep familiarity with it, I imagine. He ignores so many traditional rules of orchestration that you don't know when the brass section is going to suddenly burst in, or when the strings will go pizzicato. Afterwards we talked about how we'd each been thinking, while listening to whatever desolate quiet solo section, "huh, this is a strange time for the tuba player to be getting ready!"

I have to tip my cap to Andris Poga, a Latvian conductor who used to lead Latvia's national orchestra and now leads the Stavanger Symphony. (EDIT: It looks like I've heard several of his Ondine albums without remembering his name, and he recorded Weinberg and Dutilleux with cellist Edgar Moreau.) He looks a little like a guy you'd avoid in a bar - big and hulking and with an intimidating forehead - but he has a very delicate, light podium technique, all in the wrists, and his motions are clear and clean. Even better, he didn't indulge himself in any nonsense or weirdness leading the Shostakovich, because the piece has plenty already. Movement timings were about 8, 16, 4:30, 16:15 = 44:45. Performance seemed plenty direct and the very ending landed with great satisfaction, like a key finally opening a lock.

The second-movement cello solo was very ugly, which I imagine is the composer's intention rather than the performer's mistake - the orchestra was on top form - but my partner said she didn't like the "dying cat part." The rest she was cool with and enjoyed following along, so that's good. She laughed at every William Tell quote. I had trepidation with the work being fairly gnarly, but I needn't have feared!

Gerald Finley a superb Sachs,

I believe the one time I have "seen" Meistersinger "live" - a livestream long before livestreaming became the norm, from Glyndebourne in 2011 - Gerald Finley was the Sachs as well. What a happy combination of beautiful voice, skilled acting, and the ability to stay on form for an entire, extremely long evening. The listeners had more time off; during one of the intermissions I was able to cook dinner 

Obviously it has been quite some time, but I remember the music being spectacular and the story also being engaging until the nationalist "message" lectures. Just looked up my GMG post about it and it focused on a very trivial detail, hah!

[ritter]

I don't know how long it'll be available, but the performance of Die Meistersinger I attended here in Madrid was streamed live and posted YouTube:

[(poco) Sforzando]

Very interesting, Andrei. Thanks.

I'm just back home after attending, as announced upthread, a performance  at the Teatro Real here in Madrid of "the greatest work of genius ever achieved by any artist in any field of human endeavour" (Ignacy Jan Paderewski dixit) composed by the "dullest, most boring, pompous, bombastic and overrated composer ever" ( @Florestan dixit  ).

Laurent Pelly's staging was efficient but not memorable and slightly drab, Gerald Finley a superb Sachs, Jongmin Park an imposing Pogner, Leigh Melrose a compelling Beckmesser, and I was very favourably impressed by Tomislav Mužek as Stolzing (he had received generally negative reviews). I found the ladies at a significantly lower level, so I will not name them.

But this was Pablo Heras-Casado's triumph. His conducting was masterful; he squeezed every last drop of the contrapuntal riches of this miraculous score, his pacing was perfect, and the dynamics were very judicious (only on a couple of occasions would the orchestra drown the voices, and the fortissimo rendition of the "Wachet auf!" chorus in Act III was perhaps a bit extreme, but this was clearly an interpretative choice). Really world-class Wagner conducting... 

I know that Paderewski's opinion on Die Meistersinger is an exaggeration, but only slightly so  . What a fabulous work it is, in any event!

I do not agree with Florestan.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I'm starting to look at the video now. Drab is an understatement. What is Walther doing crawling around on his hands and knees on a bare stage? Give me a beautiful Renaissance church full of color and people. Spot-checking, everything seems the same dull tone of grey.

[Brian]

Back to back weekends at the Dallas Symphony! Here's what's coming up Friday:

Andrea Basevi | Four Emily Dickinson Poems*
Prokofiev | Piano Concerto No. 2
Walton | Symphony No. 1

Denis Kozhukhin, piano
Vasily Petrenko, conductor
*with the Dallas Symphony children's chorus

The Basevi work is a world premiere.
This is the second time I'll see Walton 1 in Dallas - Carlos Kalmar conducted it five years ago. Glad this firecracker is entering the American mainstream repertoire.
This is also my first time seeing Petrenko live since visiting Liverpool in 2011 to see him conduct Elgar 2, and before that earlier in the year seeing him do DSCH 11 live in London.

[brewski]

I don't recall EVER hearing the Walton live. Good for Dallas!

Looking forward to this livestream on Friday:

Bach/Webern: Ricercar a 6
Mozart: Piano Concerto in D Major, KV 451
Bruckner: Symphony No. 6
 
Frankfurt Radio Symphony
Martin Helmchen, piano
John Storgårds, conductor

-Bruce

[Mapman]

Coming up this weekend at the other DSO (Detroit):


JOHANNES BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D Major
BÉLA BARTÓK: Concerto for Orchestra

David Afkham: conductor
Veronika Eberle: violin

I saw the Philadelphia orchestra perform the Bartók several years ago, and my university perform it last year. I'm still excited to see it again, since it's such a great piece!

[ritter]

Coming up this weekend at the other DSO (Detroit):


JOHANNES BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D Major
BÉLA BARTÓK: Concerto for Orchestra

David Afkham: conductor
Veronika Eberle: violin

I saw the Philadelphia orchestra perform the Bartók several years ago, and my university perform it last year. I'm still excited to see it again, since it's such a great piece!

David Afkham has been at the helm of the Spanish National Orchestra here in Madrid since 2014, and is highly regarded.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I don't recall EVER hearing the Walton live. Good for Dallas!

Pappano is doing it next season at Carnegie with the LSO, along with Yunchan playing Rach 2. (Of course I'm going!)

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Prokofiev | Piano Concerto No. 2
Walton | Symphony No. 1

Curiously enough, I heard this exact program with the CSO about 10 years ago, but the conductor was Semyon Bychkov. I think the pianist was Kirill Gerstein.

Yes, good to see the Walton getting more attention on this side of the ocean. CSO was also supposed to play it during the 2020-21 season, but it didn't happen for some reason 

[Uhor]

Amazing Contemporary Narrative Oratorio

[brewski]

Amazing Contemporary Narrative Oratorio

Don't know this composer at all, but do like the orchestra, conductor, and the Poe story, so I will find a time to work this into the queue. (At 90 minutes, it may be awhile. )

Anyway, thanks for putting it on the radar.

-Bruce

[brewski]

Coming up this weekend at the other DSO (Detroit):


JOHANNES BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D Major
BÉLA BARTÓK: Concerto for Orchestra

David Afkham: conductor
Veronika Eberle: violin

I saw the Philadelphia orchestra perform the Bartók several years ago, and my university perform it last year. I'm still excited to see it again, since it's such a great piece!

When I thought I had to have "a favorite piece" (thankfully, those days are gone), for many years that was it. Nothing like hearing it live. And it really shows off what an orchestra can do.

-Bruce

[Wanderer]

I won't be able to attend this recital, but it's such a wonderful program, I wish I could - the major highlight being Medtner's sublime G minor Sonata! I urge any esteemed members with access to Wigmore Hall in early June: don't miss this!

        Chopin

• • Nocturne in B Op. 62 No. 1
• • Nocturne in C sharp minor Op. 27 No. 1
• • Nocturne in F sharp minor Op. 48 No. 2
• • Nocturne in F Op. 15 No. 1
• • Nocturne in G minor Op. 37 No. 1
• • Nocturne in E flat Op. 55 No. 2
• • Nocturne in C minor Op. 48 No. 1

• Nocturne in E Op. 62 No. 2

[li]Medtner[/li]
[li]

• Piano Sonata No. 3 in G minor Op. 22

[/li]
[li]Tchaikovsky[/li]
[li]

• Dumka Op. 59

Stravinsky

• • 3 Movements from Petrushka
  • Boris Giltburg, piano
  • Tuesday 4 June 2024

[/li]
[/list]

[Ian]

I just got a couple of tickets for concert by the Orchestre Philharmonique Royale de Liège on Sunday June 23rd.

KODÁLY, Danses de Galánta
JONGEN, Concerto pour harpe
TCHAÏKOVSKI, Roméo et Juliette (version 1880)

Heads up for anyone living in Belgium (or not too far away from Liège), it's a free concert but tickets must be reserved on https://shop.utick.net/?pos=OPRL&module=ACTIVITYSERIEDETAILS&s=5DBFE09C-D186-0D9E-3F29-10453AC0790F