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

[karlhenning]

Wow, I can't believe those concerts are on the same day--you're going to either be exhausted, or so excited you can't sleep.   

So PS, WQXR is streaming tonight's Varèse concert live online (and they may archive it for later listening), here:

http://www.wqxr.org/articles/q2-music/2010/jun/22/varese-live-on-ice/

--Bruce

Nice! A pity I'm on duty this evening.  But if they have it available subsequently . . . .

[bhodges]

Tomorrow night, an all-Edgard Varèse program, with members of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)--a preview of their upcoming Lincoln Center Festival concert:

Varèse: Density 21.5 (1936), with Claire Chase, flute
Varèse: Un Grand Sommeil Noir (1906), with Samantha Malk, soprano
Varèse: Amériques (New York premiere of 8-hand piano version) (1929), with Jacob Greenberg, Amy Williams, Amy Briggs and Thomas Rosenkranz

--Bruce

This short concert--just 50 minutes--was excellent.  Claire Chase is now one of the best flutists around, and I honestly can't imagine what else one might want in a performance of this piece.  Also, in her brief remarks, I learned that Density 21.5 was the first piece in which key "clicks" were actually notated. 

Amazingly, the vocal piece could have been written by Debussy or Ravel; hearing it blind, I would never in a million years have guessed "Varèse."  But for most people, the 2-piano, 8-hands arrangement of Amériques (by the composer himself) was the big draw, and it didn't disappoint.  Of course, many of us missed the huge percussion battery in the orchestral version (not to mention, the siren), but on the other hand, the transparency offered by the pianos had its own rewards.  The piece uses just a handful of materials (interesting, briefly imagining Varèse as a minimalist!), which are easier heard here.  And while I did miss the bone-rattling climaxes in the original, with 8 hands, those pianos were shakin'.   

--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Judging by the date, Un grand sommeil noir must be an early score which somehow escaped the composer's purge, Bruce!

[bhodges]

Yes, that's right (and the pianist, Jacob Greenberg, commented on the purge).  Truly, if someone had said it was from one of Ravel's song cycles I wouldn't have blinked an eye.

--Bruce

[bhodges]

On Thursday, this concert by the Talea Ensemble, one of the best new music groups around:

Eliot Gattegno, saxophone
Elizabeth Weisser, viola
Steven Beck, piano
Alex Lipowski, percussion

Karlheinz Stockhausen: Tierkreis (1975)
John Cage: Etudes Australes (1975) *selections
Beat Furrer: A due (1997)
Alex Mincek: Nucleus (2010)
Mario Garuti: Il demone meridiano (1997) *US PREMIERE

--Bruce

Another fascinating evening by the Talea Ensemble last night.  The "big hit" seemed to be selections from Stockhausen's Tierkreis: "Cancer," "Aries," "Capricorn," and "Libra," each arranged by a different composer--all very intriguing.  The blistering Nucleus was also a favorite: it begins very quietly, with the sax doing subtle key clicks while the drummer uses brushes, but then things heat up.

I especially liked Beat Furrer's A due, which I'd heard before.  I was able to see most of the viola part and it looks ridiculously difficult to play. 

--Bruce

[Sid]

Two concerts I am looking forward to in two weeks here in Sydney, Australia:

"Trioz" with Kathryn Selby (piano) & Cathy McCorkill (clarinet)

Beethoven - Clarinet Trio
Bruch - Piano Trio
Messiaen - Quartet for the End of Time

Australian Youth Orchestra
Sir Mark Elder (conductor)
Ekaterina Gubanova (mezzo-soprano)

Brett Dean - Ampitheatre
Mahler - Wunderhorn songs (selections)
Shostakovich - Symphony 10

I went to these two concerts with a friend on the same day. The first one was in a church in Sydney's northern suburbs and the second at the opera house concert hall. I enjoyed all of the works. The Beethoven was brimming with youthful vigour, the Bruch was quite autumnal & Brahmsian (I was surprised that it only had two parts). The Messiaen needs no introduction here, a masterpiece of chamber music, and dedicated in this performance to Australian Ken Tribe, who was prominent in our music scene (he died last week). The Dean was terrifying in the first half, but quite lush and beautiful in the second. Some interesting effects were the basses hit by drumsticks and a trumpet played pointing inside a tuba. The latter sounded like the trumpet was underwater. Gubanova sung the Mahler songs very animatedly and expressively, and the Shostakovich was a very intense, passionate and dynamic interpretation. The Australian Youth Orchestra is going on a world tour, and they will do us proud because this concert was of a very high standard.

[Sid]

A concert I'm looking forward to this coming Sunday:


Conductor: David Angell

Soloist: Ken Burnett, clarinet

The Bourbaki Ensemble

A free concert hosted by Macquarie University as part of the Music on Winter Sundays series.
Bourbaki Ensemble

The Bourbaki Ensemble is a chamber string orchestra based in Newtown, Sydney. Their aim is to perform works from the string orchestra repertoire.

The Bourbaki winter program highlights two of the great works of the English string repertoire, and also includes a variety of Australian compositions as well as continuing to feature a work by Charles Ives, the Ensemble's composer of the year.

PROGRAM

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

Gustav Holst: St. Paul's Suite

Andrew Ford: Oma Kodu for clarinet and string orchestra (Ken Burnett, clarinet)

Wayne Dixon: Mermaids

Charles Ives: Hymn

Richard Willgoss: General Bourbaki Rings the Changes

Chris Williams: Altjiranga Mitjina

[Sid]

& forgot, going to this concert tomorrow. I'm just beginning to get into some of the Baroque repertoire, so this will be an interesting concert (for those in Sydney, this monthly "Little Lunch Music" series at the recital hall costs only $10 - a great value thing for those who are nearby to go, you can have your lunch during the concert, it's very informal. It features some of the best musicians in Sydney, I've gone to a few this year and they are highly recommended):

A Little Lunch Music on Tuesday 20 July at 12.30pm.

Presented by City Recital Hall Angel Place and Selby & Friends, Tuesday's concert will feature special guests - ARIA award-winning harpsichordist Neal Peres Da Costa and the prestigious Sydney Conservatorium of Music Early Music Ensemble. They will present an inspiring concert featuring the works of Franceso Geminiani – Concerto Grosso No. 12 'La Follia', G.F.Handel Concerto Grosso Op.3 No.3 and Henry Purcell Suite from Fairy Queen.

[jlaurson]

Looking forward to:


Song Recital Krassimira Stoyanova - Vesselina Kasarova

Don Carlo (cond. Armiliato, René Pape, Ramón Vargas, Thomas Hampson, Paata Burchuladze, Christian Van Horn, Olga Guryakova, Nadia Krasteva...)

Die schweigsame Frau (cond. Nagano, Hawlata, Wyn-Rogers, Borchev, Spence, Diana Damrau* last public appearance before her pregnancy time-out)

Song Recital Agnes Baltsa


Wiener Philharmoniker / Daniel Barenboim (cond. / piano)
Dorothea Röschmann, Elīna Garanča, Klaus-Florian Vogt, René Pape
LUDWIG V. BEETHOVEN • Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 4 in G, op. 58
PIERRE BOULEZ • Notations I-IV, VII
ANTON BRUCKNER • Te deum for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra

Camerata Salzburg, Ivo Pogorelich, Piano, Philippe Herreweghe, Conductor
ROBERT SCHUMANN • Symphony No. 1 in B flat, op. 38 – Spring Symphony
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN • Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in E minor, op. 11
ROBERT SCHUMANN • Symphony No. 3 in E flat, op. 97 – Rhenish Symphony

ROBERT SCHUMANN • Symphony No. 4 in D minor, op. 120 (second version)
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN • Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in F minor, op. 21
ROBERT SCHUMANN • Symphony No. 2 in C, op. 61

Orfeo & Euridice (Gluck, cond. R.Muti, Elisabeth Kulman, Genia Kühmeier, Christiane Karg)

[Sid]

A Little Lunch Music on Tuesday 20 July at 12.30pm.

Presented by City Recital Hall Angel Place and Selby & Friends, Tuesday's concert will feature special guests - ARIA award-winning harpsichordist Neal Peres Da Costa and the prestigious Sydney Conservatorium of Music Early Music Ensemble. They will present an inspiring concert featuring the works of Franceso Geminiani – Concerto Grosso No. 12 'La Follia', G.F.Handel Concerto Grosso Op.3 No.3 and Henry Purcell Suite from Fairy Queen.

A great concert. Da Costa conducted (he wasn't at the harpsichord) and he explained each work before they played it. This ensemble was made up of students and their teachers at the Sydney Con. As part of thier course, they study not only the playing of modern instruments, but also period ones. Virtually each musician was a soloist in the Handel, & the middle movement had a baroque flute and recorder as soloists to make a "pivot." The Geminiani was quite melodic and had violin, viola and cello soloists. I never knew about these guys (they've been going for 6 years) and I plan to go to some of their concerts at the Con. It's amazing what talent we have in this city...

[jlaurson]

Which concerts to look forward to in the Washington DC area.



August in Music
http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=2199

[Sid]

A concert I'm looking forward to this coming Sunday:


Conductor: David Angell

Soloist: Ken Burnett, clarinet

The Bourbaki Ensemble

A free concert hosted by Macquarie University as part of the Music on Winter Sundays series.
Bourbaki Ensemble

The Bourbaki Ensemble is a chamber string orchestra based in Newtown, Sydney. Their aim is to perform works from the string orchestra repertoire.

The Bourbaki winter program highlights two of the great works of the English string repertoire, and also includes a variety of Australian compositions as well as continuing to feature a work by Charles Ives, the Ensemble's composer of the year.

PROGRAM

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

Gustav Holst: St. Paul's Suite

Andrew Ford: Oma Kodu for clarinet and string orchestra (Ken Burnett, clarinet)

Wayne Dixon: Mermaids

Charles Ives: Hymn

Richard Willgoss: General Bourbaki Rings the Changes

Chris Williams: Altjiranga Mitjina

I really enjoyed this concert. 3 of the composers were there for the premieres of their works. Wayne Dixon's mermaids could sometimes be enticing, but there was also a dark side. There were shades of Berg & Richard Strauss there. Richard Willgoss' piece incuded an interesting difference: the vioinists left the stage & played around the audience - the sound was amazing. This piece had the rhythms and sequences of bells ringing their changes. Andrew Ford's piece was based on an Estonian folk song, and had this earthy European feel. It reminded me a bit of Golijov's clarinet quintet, which I saw in concert a few weeks back (but that had a Jewish feel). The Ives was an amazing piece, lasting only 3 minutes. Chris Williams' piece sounded a bit like another Australian minimalist, Ross Edwards (but even more minimalistic?). The two English composers were served well too, the Holst played very vigorously, and the Vaughan Williams was quite spiritual ("the best piece for string orchestra" as David Angell, the conductor, said). All up, an excellent program, and I will definitely go to more of their concerts in the future (they have been around in Sydney for about 10 years, but I had never heard of them before this). I think they can easily give the Australian Chamber Orchestra or Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra a run for their money (although those are excellent ensembles as well), for one - they play more contemporary repertoire by living composers.

[bhodges]

Sid, thanks for that report, and for introducing me to a group I've never heard of.  That program was quite interesting!  Have heard at least one piece by Andrew Ford, but nothing by Dixon, Willgross, or Williams--good that they were on the program.

And well-played versions of the Vaughan Williams, Holst and Ives are in my book, always welcome, and a treat.

--Bruce

[bhodges]

Wiener Philharmoniker / Daniel Barenboim (cond. / piano)
Dorothea Röschmann, Elīna Garanča, Klaus-Florian Vogt, René Pape
LUDWIG V. BEETHOVEN • Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 4 in G, op. 58
PIERRE BOULEZ • Notations I-IV, VII
ANTON BRUCKNER • Te deum for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra

Somehow overlooked this potential gem, Jens (among the many enticing items you posted).  I've only heard the Bruckner live once, back in the 1980s with Muti and Philadelphia, and of course the Boulez isn't done that often either, especially by a group of this caliber.  Comments forthcoming?

--Bruce

[jlaurson]

Somehow overlooked this potential gem, Jens (among the many enticing items you posted).  I've only heard the Bruckner live once, back in the 1980s with Muti and Philadelphia, and of course the Boulez isn't done that often either, especially by a group of this caliber.  Comments forthcoming?

--Bruce

Oh, yes... 'Notes from Salzburg' will be made and published. Don't know yet, whether ionarts & daily or a one-off at WETA.

[Dax]

Received yesterday:

DAVE SMITH PLAYS PIANO SONATAS BY JOHN WHITE

Schott's recital room
48, Great Marlborough Street
London W1F 7BB
020 7292 6090

FRIDAY 3rd SEPTEMBER 2010 at 6.30 pm


Up to yesterday, John White has written 172 piano sonatas. Since no 21, many are one-movement works of about 4-5 minutes duration.
I shall be playing 18 of them, including a couple of world premières and the 23-minute long no 135.

Sonatas nos 29, 55, 65, 71, 76, 78, 81, 88, 89, 109, 111, 127, 132, 135, 136, 137, 154 and 171.

A (very old) article on John's sonatas can be found at
http://www.users.waitrose.com/~chobbs/smithwhite.html

[jlaurson]

Oh, yes... 'Notes from Salzburg' will be made and published. Don't know yet, whether ionarts & daily or a one-off at WETA.

Notes from the Salzburg Festival ( 1 )
http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2010/07/notes-from-salzburg-festival.html

[Drasko]

Camerata Salzburg, Ivo Pogorelich, Piano, Philippe Herreweghe, Conductor
ROBERT SCHUMANN • Symphony No. 1 in B flat, op. 38 – Spring Symphony
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN • Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in E minor, op. 11
ROBERT SCHUMANN • Symphony No. 3 in E flat, op. 97 – Rhenish Symphony

ROBERT SCHUMANN • Symphony No. 4 in D minor, op. 120 (second version)
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN • Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in F minor, op. 21
ROBERT SCHUMANN • Symphony No. 2 in C, op. 61

I'm very curious about these. Not sure if Pogorelich played 1st Concerto before. He used to take 45 minutes for 3rd Sonata, if his level of madness hasn't changed lately he could take 1st concerto to an hour.

[jlaurson]

I'm very curious about these. Not sure if Pogorelich played 1st Concerto before. He used to take 45 minutes for 3rd Sonata, if his level of madness hasn't changed lately he could take 1st concerto to an hour.

Well, bloody hell: 15 minutes ago he canceled his two concerts here. Instead we get Yu Kosuge tonight, with the Chopin f-minor.
Hmpf.

[karlhenning]

. . . Instead we get Yu Kosuge tonight, with the Chopin f-minor.

That should be special.