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

[Cato]

Nice to see the young upstart sharing a program with one of the masters.    Let us know how it goes!

--Bruce

I wrote a review of Karl's work on Henning's Headquarter's (q.v.).

The other works were Mozart's (aka Moe Zart aka Moe the Tender Toe) Serenade #11, 3 Dances and Finale from the "peasant opera" Der Mond (The Moon) by Carl Orff, and a Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra by Kurt Weill.

The Mozart was nicely played, a jaunty piece at times, with a reflective moment or two in the slower movements.  The Orff had the sound one knows from Carmina Burana, conveyed a humorous atmosphere, with a few surprises harmonically.  

The Weill I found the weakest work, with a great deal of seemingly senseless sawing by the soloist.  The best thing about it was the second movement, which contained a part for xylophone: the performer was obviously a Zen xylophonist, or something like that, because he was truly "One" with his instrument!   0:)   His head bobbed with every note he counted!  Every two-or-three note motif produced a wild facial expression, as if he were watching a movie collage of King Kong, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Casablanca, and Psycho, with a few Bugs Bunny cartoons tossed in now and then.  After his part was finished, he then returned to his seat, where he looked glum, since he had nothing left to do, and began openly yawning and stretching several times        during the (admittedly tedious) finale.

(The fellow resembled the truly scary Steve Burns of Blues Clues, a children's show where it seemed the young man really believed he lived inside a TV show!     )

[greg]

Let's go to Blues Clues world! 


(then maybe life will have some interest to it maybe)

[Brian]

This Thursday night here at Rice, the Pavel Haas String Quartet plays:

SCHUBERT | Quartettsatz
HAYDN | Quartet Op 76 No 2 "Quinten"
BRITTEN | Three Divertimenti
PAVEL HAAS | Quartet No 2, "From the Monkey Mountains"

I am super-excited. 

[bhodges]

This Thursday night here at Rice, the Pavel Haas String Quartet plays:

SCHUBERT | Quartettsatz
HAYDN | Quartet Op 76 No 2 "Quinten"
BRITTEN | Three Divertimenti
PAVEL HAAS | Quartet No 2, "From the Monkey Mountains"

I am super-excited. 

That is one great-looking recital, especially since you *never* see Haas programmed anywhere.  I have at least one recording by that group, and it's marvelous, but have never heard them live.  Do report back!

--Bruce

[Elgarian]

Massenet's Werther at the Lowry Theatre, Manchester, with Alice Coote and Opera North, this evening.

(OK, I know. Not a concert.)

[Franco]

Dec. 3rd

Stravinsky -  Symphony of Psalms
Dominick Argento -  Le Tombeau d'Edgar Poe
Rachmaninoff -  The Bells, Op. 35

Nashville Symphony
Giancarlo Guerrero, Conductor
Nashville Symphony Chorus
George Mabry, Chorus Director
Twyla Robinson, Soprano
Bryan Griffin, Tenor
Darren K. Stokes, Bass-baritone

[some guy]

Uh...that must be a misprint 

Sarge

No misprint, Sarge, but an estimate, which was off by about twenty concerts. So fire me! From 18 August, 2009 to 3 November, 2009, I attended only 131 concerts. And I took notes, so if you dare question me, again...!!

Anyway, the Metz concert I mentioned at first was splendid. eRikm and Katsura Mouri played a set, then Ignaz Schick and Martin Tetreault. Then all four played. After the break, Katsura and Ignaz played a set, then eRikm and Martin. Then all four played. Then they all four did an encore.

All four of these are giants of new music, well, not giants, titans. Giants doesn't rhyme with turntable, after all. Or tour. And they each have distinctive styles, hence the various combinations for this concert, I suppose.

Now, of course, I have nothing to look forward to. Now I have to live in the past, albeit the very recent past. But there'll be more concerts some day, I trust!!

[bhodges]

Dec. 3rd

Stravinsky -  Symphony of Psalms
Dominick Argento -  Le Tombeau d'Edgar Poe
Rachmaninoff -  The Bells, Op. 35

Nashville Symphony
Giancarlo Guerrero, Conductor
Nashville Symphony Chorus
George Mabry, Chorus Director
Twyla Robinson, Soprano
Bryan Griffin, Tenor
Darren K. Stokes, Bass-baritone

That is a very exciting program.  I wonder what Guerrero had in mind, putting those three works together? 

Tomorrow night at the Met:

Janáček: From the House of the Dead (Esa-Pekka Salonen, Met debut/Met Orchestra)

--Bruce

[some guy]

But there'll be more concerts some day, I trust!!

Wow. Talk about getting one's wishes:

bst.cr
ben bennett (drumheads - columbus, oh)
ryan jewell (snare drum - columbus, oh)
wilson shook (alto saxophone - seattle)

plus:

jonathan sielaff (solo electric bass clarinet)
jp jenkins (solo music making tool/s)
kelvin pittman / tyler wilcox (duo saxophones)

This is tonight's concert right here in Portland, OR. At Worksound at 8 pm. So now I'm back to looking forward!

[Franco]

That is a very exciting program.  I wonder what Guerrero had in mind, putting those three works together? 

Tomorrow night at the Met:

Janáček: From the House of the Dead (Esa-Pekka Salonen, Met debut/Met Orchestra)

--Bruce

Here's some information from the Symphony's website:

Edgar Allan Poe's resonant poem served as inspiration for Rachmaninoff's choral symphony The Bells, which would prove to be one of the composer's own favorite works. The iconoclastic modern Russian master Stravinsky looked to the Old Testament for his Symphony of Psalms, creating a wholly original work of liturgical music — notable for its unique scoring and its intensity of feeling. Both of these dynamic works will feature the stirring voices of the Nashville Symphony Chorus, joined by soloists Twyla Robinson, Bryan Griffin and Darren K. Stokes.

[Lilas Pastia]

Following a June 24 or 25 Mahler 5th at the Concertgebouw, I should be going to Brussel's La Monnaie where Gerd Albrecht has programmed Bruckner's 8th symphony. I just hope these plans don't fall by the wayside. Keeping my fingers crossed

[Christo]

Following a June 24 or 25 Mahler 5th at the Concertgebouw, I should be going to Brussel's La Monnaie where Gerd Albrecht has programmed Bruckner's 8th symphony. I just hope these plans don't fall by the wayside. Keeping my fingers crossed

With De Munt (La Monnaie, as you prefer to call it  ) you're entering into pjme's sphere of influence. You might ask Peter what he holds of it? 

[Lilas Pastia]

Ben oui, quoi? What can I say? I've always known it by its french name

I recall Peter is from Belgium. Is there anything else I should know?

If I attend this Brussels concert it will be my first time in the Capital (other than landing at Zaventem and connecting at Bruxelles-Midi). . There' s a long story behind that gross oversight, as well as purely geographical factors. That should be a good occasion to correct this situation.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I recall Peter is from Belgium. Is there anything else I should know?

"Peter is from Belgium, from Belgium Peter" - that is all
        Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

[Brahmsian]

This Saturday's Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra concert:


Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture
Bruch: Scottish Fantasy
Mozart: Symphony No. 39

Jean-Marie Zeitouni, guest conductor
Karl Stobbe, violin (Scottish Fantasy)

[Drasko]

Tomorrow night, if I can make it, and if doesn't get canceled due to state of flu epidemic being proclaimed officially today.

Chopin - Piano Concerto No.2
Miaskovsky - Symphony No.6

Konstantin Lifschitz (piano)
Dimitri Liss (conductor)
Belgrade Philharmonic

[listener]

Friday - Saturday next  (20-21)  Vancouver Symphony
Sir Andrew Davis conductor
Celena Shafer Soprano

Delius  The Walk to the Paradise Garden
R. Strauss  Brentano Lieder
Elgar   Symphony No. 1

I see a couple of the Brentano lieder done by Fischer-Dieskau in my collection, I think I've never heard the ones for female voice.    There's one recording by Natalie Dessay,  I don't recall Schwarzkopf doing these.   If the CBC record the concert I'll report it and try to get the broadcast date.   The Clara Schumann piano concerto last week was recorded for broadcast , again I'll look for a date.
later: I've just discovered a recent recording of the Brentano lieder on Naxos.

[Brian]

This Thursday night here at Rice, the Pavel Haas String Quartet plays:

SCHUBERT | Quartettsatz
HAYDN | Quartet Op 76 No 2 "Quinten"
BRITTEN | Three Divertimenti
PAVEL HAAS | Quartet No 2, "From the Monkey Mountains"

I am super-excited. 

Great recital! The Pavel Haas String Quartet are young, bursting with excitement, and, technically speaking, they're ridiculously perfect. This is a chamber music group where each of the four soloists could clearly go off and be soloists in their own right. The Schubert gave little evidence of this, though: soft-toned and impossibly elegant, the Quartettsatz floated along like a dream. Then the Haydn quartet received a quasi-HIP performance, with little to no vibrato, vigorous tempi and some truly flamboyant playing! Although I appreciated the contrast, I couldn't help thinking that the pieces were written 23 years apart, and to treat them as polar opposites seems, somehow, like a magic trick.

The Britten, which my friend and I had never heard before, was a delightful piece, and the musicians were clearly enjoying every minute. They seemed to really "come into their own" here - not because they weren't in it before, but because I could catch the cellist grinning. 

The Pavel Haas Quartet playing Pavel Haas will have to have a privileged spot in my memories of college. I don't know how he did it, but Pavel Haas wrote a Quartet, No 2, which has this structure:
Andante
Andante
Largo
Vivace
...but never gets boring or undramatic. The first movement was atmospheric but maybe a bit dangerously so - I lost my way keeping track of the thematic material. The second movement is a hilarious depiction of a drunk driving an ox-cart; the third a ravishing nocturne. As for the exuberant finale, with its mix of jazz, pop tunes, and sensationally hard work for all four players, well: discover its many surprises for yourself. 

All in all, a great night. The Pavel Haas Quartet was incredibly good, and the ensemble named after it was spectacular too!

[bhodges]

All in all, a great night. The Pavel Haas Quartet was incredibly good, and the ensemble named after it was spectacular too!

This makes me really want to hear this group--doing Haas, of course!  Thanks so much; sounds like a terrific concert. 

Tonight, hearing the Talea Ensemble in this program:

Fabien Levy: à propos (2008, US premiere)
Salvatore Sciarrino: Omaggio a Burri (1995)
Morton Feldman: Why Patterns? (1978)

--Bruce

[Drasko]

The Pavel Haas Quartet playing Pavel Haas will have to have a privileged spot in my memories of college. I don't know how he did it, but Pavel Haas wrote a Quartet, No 2, which has this structure:
Andante
Andante
Largo
Vivace
...but never gets boring or undramatic. The first movement was atmospheric but maybe a bit dangerously so - I lost my way keeping track of the thematic material. The second movement is a hilarious depiction of a drunk driving an ox-cart; the third a ravishing nocturne. As for the exuberant finale, with its mix of jazz, pop tunes, and sensationally hard work for all four players, well: discover its many surprises for yourself. 

All in all, a great night. The Pavel Haas Quartet was incredibly good, and the ensemble named after it was spectacular too!

So, I guess they played version without percussion? That quartet has optional percussion part for final movement, with it the movement really lives up to its Wild Night title.