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

[bhodges]

Haven't bought a recording of it yet--not for any particular reason!--just overwhelmed with other music at the moment.  But I look forward to hearing it soon, during all this Messiaen fever.  To be fair, there *is* a great deal of Messiaen being programmed around town, including Reinbert de Leeuw conducting Turangalîla in December.   

--Bruce

[adamdavid80]

Tomorrow and Sunday I'll be at Carnegie Hall:

Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Ute Lemper, vocalist
Hudson Shad, vocal group
Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11, "The Year 1905"

The MET Orchestra
James Levine, conductor
Christian Tetzlaff, violin
Beethoven: Große Fuge, Op. 133 
Messiaen: Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum
Brahms: Violin Concerto 

Are you going to either of those? 

--Bruce

No, but the Sunday especially sounds awesome.  enjoy the hell out of that!

[bhodges]

No, but the Sunday especially sounds awesome.  enjoy the hell out of that!

Those MET concerts are generally excellent, if you like Levine.  (Gergiev sometimes conducts them, too, like an all-Mussorgsky concert last season.)  I especially like Levine's programming, given that he is very sympathetic to a lot of 20th-century music and contemporary works, too (e.g., a Wuorinen world premiere later in the season). 

--Bruce

[toledobass]

Those MET concerts are generally excellent, if you like Levine. 

--Bruce

[bhodges]

I gather your reaction is mixed.   

He did a Mahler 9 a few years ago with the MET ensemble (and I was warned about it ahead of time) that was just really, r-e-a-l-l-y slow.  Thankfully the program also included Christian Tetzlaff in the Berg Violin Concerto, which was fantastic.  But the Mahler never took off, which was too bad since the playing was marvelous.

--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Monday at 20:00, at the Longy School:

The Firebird Ensemble plays:

Court Studies by Thomas Ades
Now and Then (1981) by Earl Kim
Twilight Music by John Harbison
Divine Detours by C. Bryan Roulon
Torrid Nature Scene World Premiere by Nick Vines

[Brian]

Almost forgot! Two exciting concerts this weekend from Rice student orchestras:

Saturday, October 4
Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra
Berlioz - Le corsaire
Wagner - Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Smetana - "Vltava [The Moldau]"
Janáček - Sinfonietta

Well, what a fantastic night! It was interesting thing to hear the differences between this year's orchestra and last year's; our previous strengths, the lower strings and brass, are still fantastic, but now the centerpiece of the orchestra is what was once a weak link - the violins. Incredible. On the other hand, the woodwinds are spotty; the flutes were perfect in their Smetana solos, although conductor Larry Rachleff toyed with the rhythm of the solo's ending in an unfortunate way, but the wind group generally didn't fare so well in the spotlight at the start of the Wagner prelude.

The Smetana was a tad rushed, with previously mentioned weird interpretive curveball in the opening solo, but lovely anyway. The Berlioz was a really exciting beginning. But by far the evening's highlight was the Janáček Sinfonietta. I'd never heard it before - I only knew the Glagolitic Mass, which is absolutely awesome. But ... wow. Put it this way: afterwards I was walking through my dorm when I heard a gal whom I did not even know listened to classical music shouting: "It was ORGASMIC."

And you know ... I just can't think of a better word. It was orgasmic!

[karlhenning]

Well, and there you have it!

[adamdavid80]

Tomorrow and Sunday I'll be at Carnegie Hall:

Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Ute Lemper, vocalist
Hudson Shad, vocal group
Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11, "The Year 1905"

The MET Orchestra
James Levine, conductor
Christian Tetzlaff, violin
Beethoven: Große Fuge, Op. 133 
Messiaen: Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum
Brahms: Violin Concerto 

Are you going to either of those? 

--Bruce

How was it?  And what's in store for the coming week/weekend?

[bhodges]

Hey Adam, both were fantastic.  I think I enjoyed Toronto even more, although the MET Orchestra is about as good as it gets, usually.  Will be doing reviews of both, so won't go into great detail at the moment, but in a nutshell: Lemper was excellent, but miked, and not sure she had to be.  The Shostakovich was so exciting that my friend, a woman who had never been to Carnegie Hall, immediately went on iTunes to find a version of it.  (PS, there are four.) 

The MET concert was fascinating.  Two wild things--the Beethoven and the Messiaen--followed by some comfort food (the Brahms).  The Messiaen was totally striking, and provoked disparate reactions: some left in disgust, others were shouting "bravo" at the end.  Tetzlaff was terrific, although it took him some time to get there, with a few intonation problems.  But nothing like the sound of that orchestra in Carnegie: their concerts aren't cheap, but highly recommended.

This week, I will be at the Philadelphia Orchestra concert tomorrow with Martha Argerich (Prokofiev and Shostakovich Firsts), a concert by ModernWorks on Thursday (E. 15th Street), the Japan Society on Friday, and a new music group, counter)induction, on Sunday night at Tenri. 

--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Monday at 20:00, at the Longy School:

The Firebird Ensemble plays:

Court Studies by Thomas Ades
Now and Then (1981) by Earl Kim
Twilight Music by John Harbison
Divine Detours by C. Bryan Roulon
Torrid Nature Scene World Premiere by Nick Vines

YHM, Bruce!

[bhodges]

Tonight, this one:

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Charles Dutoit, Conductor
Martha Argerich, Piano

Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales 
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major, Op. 10
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1 
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel) 

--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Tonight, this one:

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Charles Dutoit, Conductor
Martha Argerich, Piano

Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales 
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major, Op. 10
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1 
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel) 

--Bruce

Friends of ours in Philly just witnessed that program, Bruce, and their words glowed.

[bhodges]

Friends of ours in Philly just witnessed that program, Bruce, and their words glowed.

Oh great, glad to hear it!  (And that Argerich showed up, but then, apparently when Dutoit is around she always does.) 

I could do without Pictures (having heard it just recently) but like the rest of the program a lot.  I've never heard her do the Shostakovich.

--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Yes;  much as I like it, Pictures is one I don't need to hear more than once every four-five months.

[M forever]

And that Argerich showed up, but then, apparently when Dutoit is around she always does.

Not the last two times I went to a concert with Dutoit for which she was also announced (in SF two or three years ago, and in NY earlier this year).

[springrite]

Not the last two times I went to a concert with Dutoit for which she was also announced (in SF two or three years ago, and in NY earlier this year).

I had the same misfortune twice as well.

Interestingly, the only two times that I did hear her was in Beijing, and both times with Maisky.

[bhodges]

Tonight:

Modernworks
Madeleine Shapiro, cello

Walter Branchi: Ecstatic Silence (2008) - A 45-minute piece for cello and electronics, created for the small space in which the concert is being held.  Have no idea what to expect, but details are here.  And the composer's website:

http://www.walter-branchi.com/

--Bruce

[M forever]

I had the same misfortune twice as well.

I heard her live once only, that was with Abbado and the BP with Tchaikovsky's 1st concerto. And it was very good. But there are lots of good pianists. Both times, the replacements were very good. In SF, with Schumann's piano concerto, it was a French pianist whose name eludes me at the moment even though he is rather well known. In NY, it was André Watts who played Beethoven's 1st concerto.

[ezodisy]

I went to the Barbican last night to hear the BBC SO perform Mussorgsky (missed it), a Pintscher premiere and Tchaikovsky's Manfred. I hadn't been to an orchestral concert for a year or two, I'd forgotten how ceremonial they seem with the applause and all that, it seemed strange--and a little embarrassing with what I guess were leftover Prommers clapping between movements. A guy called Kazushi Ono conducted, lots of energy, a pretty good Manfred Symphony, I really enjoy that first movement and the recurring theme, though it didn't quite get the overwhelming feeling which Fedoseyev and the Moscow Radio SO created and which remains one of the best concerts I've attended. I think from now on if I attend any classical concerts they'll just be at the opera house as I'd like something to watch while listening. That and a few piano recitals, which are fine for staring into space.