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

[bhodges]

thinking of going to the met's wozzeck next month

I'm going to see it at least twice. If you've never seen this production, which debuted in 1997, it's very effective in a stark, minimal way. And the leads should be really something: Matthias Goerne and Waltraud Meier. I just hope Levine is healthy when the time comes, so he can conduct it.

PS, here are some photos, taken from the 2001 performances:

http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Wozzeck0506.htm

--Bruce

[Sid]

Looking forward to to two recitals here in Sydney, this one on Sunday:

Trioz "Vitebsk" tour

Kathryn Selby, piano
Natsuko Yoshimoto, violin (as guest)
Emma Jane Murphy, cello

Program:

Joseph Suk - Elegie for piano, violin & cello,Op. 23 (1902)
Aaron Copland - Vitebsk, study on a Jewish Theme,for piano trio
Claude Debussy - Piano Trio, L.3
Ludwig v. Beethoven - Piano Trio in B flat major, Op.97 "Archduke"

& this one at Sydney Conservatorium on Monday evening:

"Australian Portrait"

Michael Duke saxophone
David Howie piano

Program
Boyd - Ganba for baritone saxophone and piano *
Smetanin - If Stars Are Lit for alto saxophone and piano *
Hindson - Repetepetition for soprano saxophone and piano *
Zadro - X Suite for alto saxophone and piano #

* World premiere
# Australian premiere and 101 Compositions for 100 Years commission

I liked both of these recitals. A friend came along to the first one, and we both enjoyed it.

I like Trioz's recitals because they always include some things off the beaten track, as well as standard repertoire. We were familiar with the Debussy & Beethoven, but not the Suk or Copland. The Suk was a great opener, a quite dark and melancholic piece, dominated by the solo violin a bit. Debussy's only piano trio is from his younger years, but still has suggestions of those unique harmonies which would come later. It was first recorded only in 1984, and as the program notes show, it has a relaxed salon feel. Even the final movement marked appassionato doesn't take itself too seriously. The most surprising piece in the program was the Copland trio fragment. It had loud dissonant sections flanking some more lyrical melodic parts. Copland was influenced by Bloch in his use of Jewish sounding themes. This piece was written in 1929 and it used microtones and the two string players playing out of tune (deliberately) a bit like Ives before & Cage & Xenakis after. The ten minute piece really had a visceral impact on me. After the interval, we were treated to a superlative performance of the Beethoven "Archduke" trio, the king of piano trios. The playing was so good, it was of recording quality. I plan to go to more of Trioz's series this year, they are one of my favourite ensembles.

The saxophone-piano duos program at Sydney Conservatorium the following Monday evening was also excellent. All these pieces were very different from eachother (eg. using different kinds of saxes), but in common with the Copland above, the Smetanin & Zadro employed microtones. My favourite works on the program were the Boyd & Zadro, which were also the longest works. Boyd's work was based on her impressions of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia, which is basically a desert. The work engaged with the history of that place, employing Aboriginal harmonies, sounds of the wind, and also briefly the clickety clack and whistle of the railway that goes through there. Sometimes the piano sounded like a brass instrument and the sax sounded like a piano. I liked the darkness of this piece, which mirrored how the Aboriginal people were driven out from the area by the building of the railway. They didn't know what it was, some of them thought it was some huge mythical beast. The piano part of Zadro's suite had a bit of the complexity of Carter, but the work sounded quite tonal despite some dissonances. The 8 movements were each miniature tone poems of different places or states of mind. I particularly liked "cauldron" which brought to mind the witche's dance in Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Some interesting effects were used, such as blowing with the saxophone into the bowels of the grand piano to produce a creepy vibe and the saxophonist tapping the side of his instrument to make a percussive effect. I think that this work would benefit from the piano part becoming orchestrated. Even though I'm mainly a chamber fan it would be a lot of fun to hear this work as a saxophone concerto. The Smetanin and Hindson were short etudes. The Smetanin was a bit uncomfortable to hear, much dissonance and high pitched sounds from the sax. It was based on the spectral analysis of a recording made by the Russian poet Mayakovsky, about whom Smetanin has also written an opera. The Hindson was typical of his style - light, airy and full of vigorous dance rhythms. The music of Ross Edwards was an influence here, according to Hindson's notes. It was great to hear the music of living Australian composers of this calibre & three of them were present to acknowledge the applause. Before I went to the recital, I thought it would sound a bit like jazz because of the use of the solo saxes, but on the whole, it was very much classical...

[MishaK]

I'm going to see it at least twice. If you've never seen this production, which debuted in 1997, it's very effective in a stark, minimal way. And the leads should be really something: Matthias Goerne and Waltraud Meier. I just hope Levine is healthy when the time comes, so he can conduct it.

PS, here are some photos, taken from the 2001 performances:

http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Wozzeck0506.htm

--Bruce

You've presumably heard by now, but Goerne is apparently out due to knee surgery.

[bhodges]

Yikes...no, I hadn't heard. What a shame; I was really looking forward to seeing him in this role. Just checked the Met's site, and it's now Alan Held, who sang it the last time. He was wonderful--really wonderful--but I was of course curious to see Goerne. Oh well...

Thanks for the info.

--Bruce

[bhodges]

Just found out about this recital, closing this year's International Keyboard Institute and Festival. It's a few months off (July 29), but wow...

Marc-André Hamelin, piano

Berg:  Piano Sonata, Op. 1
Stockhausen:  Klavierstücke IX
Ravel:  Gaspard de la nuit
Liszt:  Sonata in B minor

And hearing this on Saturday. Formenti replaces Aimard, who is ill.

New York Philharmonic
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Marino Formenti, piano

Haydn: Symphony No. 6, Le Matin
Ligeti: Piano Concerto
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra

--Bruce

[Sid]

I plan to go to this concert on in Sydney this coming weekend:

Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra/Sarah-Grace Williams

BEETHOVEN     Ruins of Athens Overture
MOZART        Flute Concerto no 2
Soloist: Svetlana Yaroslavskaya (Principal Flute MCO)
MENDELSSOHN     Symphony no 3 op 56 A minor 'Scottish'

Some of the money from door takings will go towards the recent Queensland floods recovery appeals...

[EDIT: Can't go to this after all because I've got other things on; I will try to make it to MCO's next concert around May...]

[Brian]

Schulhoff | Quartet No 1
Prokofiev | Quartet No 2
Schubert | Quintet D956

Pavel Haas Quartet
Saturday night
Wigmore Hall

So excited about this! This will be the fifth time I've seen the PHQ, and it's very possibly the most exciting program of the five. I saw them do the Prokofiev Quartet in Texas last year, and it was fantastic.

[westknife]

going to see the ny philharmonic under esa-pekka salonen on tuesday, as part of the "hungarian echoes" festival, very excited:

haydn - symphony no.6 "le matin"
ligeti - piano concerto
bartók - concerto for orchestra

[jlaurson]

Ionarts-at-Large: Beethoven Between Agony and Delight



http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2011/03/ionarts-at-large-beethoven-between.html

In Mme. Grimaud there is something—although I can't quite put my finger on what it is—that stands between her monochromatic renditions and the tediousness that a lesser, if similar straight-forward, bland pianist would evoke.

Or so I thought...

[bhodges]

going to see the ny philharmonic under esa-pekka salonen on tuesday, as part of the "hungarian echoes" festival, very excited:

haydn - symphony no.6 "le matin"
ligeti - piano concerto
bartók - concerto for orchestra

Just saw this last night--mostly fantastic. Not sure Salonen is the best match for Haydn (it was fine), but the Ligeti and the Bartók were fantastic. Marino Formenti, the pianist, is terrific in the Ligeti, and the orchestra sounded excellent in everything. The only real down side: the audience was incredibly rude and restless in the Ligeti. The middle movement has a low double bass note--sustained and very quiet--with some wonderfully high timbres above, and the coughing was like being in a flu ward. 

--Bruce

[Papy Oli]

Couple of concerts at Snape just booked :

Sunday 27 March
Christian Blackshaw, Piano
Schubert
D960 - B flat sonata
A minor sonata - D845 or 784 ? (not sure...they only mention A minor...)
6 Moments Musicaux

---------------

Friday 22 April 2011
Britten–Pears Baroque Orchestra and Soloists
Mark Padmore Director/Evangelist
Bach - St John Passion

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Sunday 19 June 2011
Aldeburgh Festival
Matthias Goerne baritone
Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano
Schubert Winterreise D911

[Brian]

--------------

Sunday 19 June 2011
Aldeburgh Festival
Matthias Goerne baritone
Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano
Schubert Winterreise D911

Okay, that might be worth a trip up there to hear.

[Papy Oli]

only a few tickets left in the tiered section :

http://www.aldeburgh.co.uk/events/goerne-aimard-winterreise

[Brian]

only a few tickets left in the tiered section :

http://www.aldeburgh.co.uk/events/goerne-aimard-winterreise

Thanks very much - I feel lucky to have grabbed a seat, now. I'll be in 'ZE'...

[Papy Oli]

ZF here... still a good view and sound from the last rows in any case 

See you at the bar 

[westknife]

Just saw this last night--mostly fantastic. Not sure Salonen is the best match for Haydn (it was fine), but the Ligeti and the Bartók were fantastic. Marino Formenti, the pianist, is terrific in the Ligeti, and the orchestra sounded excellent in everything. The only real down side: the audience was incredibly rude and restless in the Ligeti. The middle movement has a low double bass note--sustained and very quiet--with some wonderfully high timbres above, and the coughing was like being in a flu ward. 

--Bruce

Wow, what a terrific concert. I actually thought the Haydn was wonderful—the various soloists (esp. 1st violin) were marvelous and it came off as a sort of "concerto for orchestra," tying it to the Bartók in a way. One problem though: I felt that the rhythm of much of the 2nd movement (which is quite delicate) was not handled very well. It did not move like it was supposed to. Otherwise great all around

The Ligeti was great, and I must say I also found the audience distracting. Somebody's cell phone rang 2 separate times (the same person) and an older woman behind me provided some unwanted running commentary (she may have been senile, which is sad, but still annoying). But the performance was quite good—the 2nd movement, in particular, was very effective at conjuring a sort of dream-like atmosphere.

It was obvious that the Bartók was the highlight/centerpiece of the show. I have simply never been moved so much by this piece in any of the recordings I've heard (this was my first time seeing it live). The slow movement was nothing short of soul-searching, and the finale, played much faster than I'm used to, was absolutely thrilling. I kept thinking to myself that at this pace, they're about to just lose it at any moment, but of course they never did. Excellent all around.

[karlhenning]

The Bartók Concerto for Orchestra I have always found a blast!

[bhodges]

Wow, what a terrific concert. I actually thought the Haydn was wonderful—the various soloists (esp. 1st violin) were marvelous and it came off as a sort of "concerto for orchestra," tying it to the Bartók in a way. One problem though: I felt that the rhythm of much of the 2nd movement (which is quite delicate) was not handled very well. It did not move like it was supposed to. Otherwise great all around

Interesting comment about its being a "concerto for orchestra." Who knows, perhaps Salonen was thinking the same thing!

The Ligeti was great, and I must say I also found the audience distracting. Somebody's cell phone rang 2 separate times (the same person) and an older woman behind me provided some unwanted running commentary (she may have been senile, which is sad, but still annoying). But the performance was quite good—the 2nd movement, in particular, was very effective at conjuring a sort of dream-like atmosphere.

Yes, a friend called last night to comment on the concert, and also mentioned the cell phone, AND apparently there was more coughing and rustling about. Later I wondered if some of the super-soft, delicate effects that Ligeti asks for were perhaps a bit lost in the hall. But in any case, too bad about the distractions. But yes, Formenti is something, isn't he!

It was obvious that the Bartók was the highlight/centerpiece of the show. I have simply never been moved so much by this piece in any of the recordings I've heard (this was my first time seeing it live). The slow movement was nothing short of soul-searching, and the finale, played much faster than I'm used to, was absolutely thrilling. I kept thinking to myself that at this pace, they're about to just lose it at any moment, but of course they never did. Excellent all around.

Any day hearing the Bartók live is a great day, in my book.  0:) Great that you caught such a good one for your first live experience! And yes, Salonen really raced off during the finale; I wasn't sure that the orchestra could really play it that fast, but after a few seconds, it became clear: sure, why not! The brass section (at least, on Saturday) was also having a stellar night.

Are you going to any of the other concerts in this "Hungarian Echoes" series?

--Bruce

[bhodges]

This Saturday, the next concert in the "Hungarian Echoes" series:

New York Philharmonic
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
Gábor Bretz, bass

Ligeti: Concert Românesc
Haydn: Symphony No. 7, Le Midi
Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle

--Bruce

[Brian]

This Saturday, the next concert in the "Hungarian Echoes" series:

New York Philharmonic
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
Gábor Bretz, bass

Ligeti: Concert Românesc
Haydn: Symphony No. 7, Le Midi
Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle

--Bruce

Oooooh! Pardon me while I book my plane tickets!
Seriously - the Ligeti is a lot of cheeky fun and Bluebeard's Castle must be one of those things that's just hugely powerful seen live...