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

[MishaK]

I've got a recording of these now, and I should give a listen . . . .

Somehow, having just heard it, I can't imagine Anthemes 2 working very well on a recording unless it's SACD and you have a really high end surround system with a *real* SACD player that actually reads the surround layer. There are speakers set up all around the hall that emit the electronically manipulated sounds received from the solo violinist. Half the fun of the piece is in the spatial aspect of it with the solo violinist in constant dialogue with his own distorted and resampled echos from all over the place. BTW, interesting thing happened in that work: about one minute into the piece, the computers had a brainfart and the speakers emitted just one loud 'thud', whereupon the performance had to be interrupted until the computers were rebooted or whatever. During the unintended break, as the soloist stood forlorn on the stage, one audience member shouted at him "play some Bach!" to the amusement of the rest of the audience.

[owlice]

"play some Bach!"

And did he?

[Brian]

Just got back from a recital of chamber music pieces by five undergraduate students at my university (Rice). I'll post a full review in a couple days (link, anyway, to my review for a Rice magazine). In the meantime, here was the program and the names to watch out for in our future generation of composers:

Breakdancing on Bridges - by Joelle Zigman, for string quartet. Catchy fusion of tuneful songwriting and a miniature quartet form
Rhapsody - by Ross Griffey, for solo viola. In the emotive, volatile tradition of Ysaye and Lillian Fuchs, though rather less concise
Remembrances on a motive by Tallis - by Andrew Schneider, a "song without words" for oboe accompanied by viola and cello. Brilliant, beautiful!
Alles wandelt sich - text by Bertolt Brecht, music by Hilary Purrington, for baritone and quartet. Great singer, simple but effective accompaniment
Dramatic Devices - by Keith Allegretti. The one disappointment, a self-important bit of wandering noisemaking for "Pierrot ensemble." Afflicted with an ungainly percussion fetish, and the longest thing on the program by a considerable margin

[karlhenning]

Go, Ingo!

[karlhenning]

26 February here in Boston.

[karlhenning]

He conducted a superb Korngold Die Tote Stadt last year.

Oh, that's an opera I need to get to know sometime.

[Sergeant Rock]

26 February here in Boston.

Congratulations, Karl. Glad to see your music getting more exposure...and for such a worthy cause.

Sarge

[karlhenning]

Thanks, Sarge!

[bhodges]

Some excitement coming up on Saturday and Sunday at Carnegie Hall:

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Pierre Boulez, Conductor Emeritus
Mathieu Dufour, Flute
Michelle DeYoung, Mezzo-Soprano
Falk Struckmann, Bass-Baritone
Cynthia Yeh, Percussionist
Vadim Karpinos, Percussionist

Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
Marc-André Dalbavie: Flute Concerto
Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle

* * * * *

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Pierre Boulez, Conductor Emeritus
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Piano
Tamara Stefanovich, Piano

Boulez: Livre pour cordes
Bartók: Concerto for Two Pianos, Percussion, and Orchestra
Stravinsky: The Firebird (complete)

--Bruce

[Franco]

In yesterday's mail was the pamphlet announcing the 2010-2011 season for the Nashville Symphony. 

I was very impressed. 

There are several new works and one world premiere, along with performances of some of my favorite works such as The Rite of Spring, Durufle Requiem, John Adams -  Doctor Atomic Symphony, Berg -  Lyric Suite, a night of Sibelius and Nielsen,  and Lutoslawski -  Livre pour orchestre.

[karlhenning]

Very nice, Franco!

[bhodges]

In yesterday's mail was the pamphlet announcing the 2010-2011 season for the Nashville Symphony. 

I was very impressed. 

There are several new works and one world premiere, along with performances of some of my favorite works such as The Rite of Spring, Durufle Requiem, John Adams -  Doctor Atomic Symphony, Berg -  Lyric Suite, a night of Sibelius and Nielsen,  and Lutoslawski -  Livre pour orchestre.

Wow, you have a great season ahead.  And with the Mahler 8th and 2nd as bookends!  Like that Tower/Copland/MacMillan/Prokofiev concert, too, in addition to the others you mention above. 

--Bruce

[MishaK]

And did he?

Of course not. They got the system fixed pretty quickly.

[MDL]

My other half has signed up to seefilmfirst.com and occasionally gets free tickets, sometimes for shows in somewhat questionable taste (an amplified Orff's Carmina Burana in the O2 Arena, anyone?). But the most recent deal is rather splendid. I would have happily paid to see this:

Thursday, 4th Feb, Festival Hall

George Benjamin: Dance Figures
Igor Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D
Interval
Bela Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra

Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor

Now, back to the world of concerts I've actually had to pay for...

Next weekend, we're off visiting our families up north and will be dropping in on this:

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Brave New World
Saturday 6 February 2010 7:30 pm
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall


Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Bartók: Piano Concerto No.3
Rachmaninov: Symphony No.3

Vasily Petrenko conductor
Kun Woo Paik piano

I've not seen "blond bomshell" Petrenko in action yet, so this should be interesting.


And I've just booked all three concerts in the Southbank Centre's April Varèseathon:

April 16th, Queen Elizabeth Hall:

Edgard Varèse: Ionisation for 13 percussionists
Edgard Varèse: Equatorial for bass & ensemble
Edgard Varèse: Density 21.5 for solo flute
Edgard Varèse/Chou Wen-Chung: Etude pour espace
Edgard Varèse: Dance for Burgess for chamber orchestra (fragment)
Edgard Varèse: La procession de Verges for tape
Edgard Varèse: Déserts for wind, piano, percussion & tape
Edgard Varèse: Poème électronique for tape

David Atherton conductor
Cathie Boyd staging
Sir John Tomlinson bass
EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble
Jonathan Golove cello theremin
Natasha Farny cello theremin
Sound Intermedia

And two concerts on Sunday April 18th:

Queen Elizabeth Hall:

Edgard Varèse: Hyperprism for wind & percussion
Edgard Varèse: Un grand sommeil noir for voice & piano
Edgard Varèse: Octandre
Edgard Varèse: Offrandes for soprano & chamber orchestra
Edgard Varèse: Intégrales for wind & percussion

David Atherton conductor
Cathie Boyd staging
Elizabeth Atherton soprano
Sound Intermedia

Festival Hall:

Edgard Varèse: Nocturnal for soprano, male chorus & small orchestra
Edgard Varèse: Arcana
Edgard Varèse: Tuning Up arr. Chou Wen-Chung
Edgard Varèse: Amériques

National Youth Orchestra

Paul Daniel conductor
Cathie Boyd staging


I booked these in person at the Southbank Centre, but now, looking at the website, I realise that I could have saved 20% because I'd booked all three concerts. Bollocks! Still, there's a tip for anybody else who's thinking about going to all three concerts.

Oddly, the Festival Hall balcony is not being used for the NYO's grand finale, and I got the impression that not many tickets had been sold as of mid-January. I hope there are going to be more people in the audience than there are on stage! 

[secondwind]

Coming up at the Barns of Wolf Trap Discovery Series:

Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet
Friday, February 12

Serenade - Karl Pilss
Suite - Gunther Schuller
Kleine Kammermusik Op. 24 No. 2 - Paul Hindemeth
Antiche Danze ungheresi dal secolo XVII - Ferenc Farkas
Quintet - Gyorgy Orban
Six Bagatelles - Gyorgy Ligeti

I'm excited to see some pieces and composers that are new to me!  And, of course, excited to hear some first-rate wind playing.   

[listener]

coming up at Tanglewood  August 12
ANTONIOU  Concertino for double bass and chamber orchestra
PERLE  Concertino for piano, winds, and timpani
SCHULLER  Tre Invenzioni
MADERNA   Il Giardino religioso
HINDEMITH   Kammermusik No. 2

http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/complete_season.jsp?id=bcat12400010

looks like there should be something of interest for Boston area residents.
Beowolf in Old English,  Where the Wild Things Are, Ariadne auf Naxos....

[bhodges]

This Friday, at the Morgan Library, all four Xenakis quartets by the JACK Quartet.   

--Bruce

[jlaurson]

Mahler 3rd with the Concertgebouw & Jansons tomorrow.

Elektra with the Munich Philharmonic & Thielemann Sunday.

[Sergeant Rock]

Mahler 3rd with the Concertgebouw & Jansons tomorrow.

Elektra with the Munich Philharmonic & Thielemann Sunday.

To paraphrase one of my favorite lines from a Mel Brooks' film: It's good to be a music critic.

Sarge

[greg]

This Friday, at the Morgan Library, all four Xenakis quartets by the JACK Quartet.   

--Bruce

Sweet. I'm interested in hearing how that turns out.