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

[Papy Oli]

I just heard this group for the first time (live) last year - wow.  They should be fantastic in Gesualdo.
--Bruce

And exquisite rep!

I bought the Herreweghe/Gent CD of that work following a concert last year where I saw La Nuova Musica do extracts of the Responses.  If the quality of the performance on the CD is anything to go by, yes, I should be in for a treat tonight

Edit : Ignore that, the CD is with Herreweghe but with Ensemble Vocal Européen  Still it's a good'un 

[Papy Oli]

Collegium Vocale Gent - Philippe Herreweghe director
Gesualdo - Tenebrae Responsories for Good Friday and Holy Saturday; Benedictus; Miserere Mei

Absolutely stunning performance. I spent long lengths of time completely mesmerised also by the conducting of Herreweghe, his control and the response of the singers to hand gestures. The balance of voices within the choir was beautiful.
The concert was recorded so will have to keep an eye out for it in case it makes it to CD.

Tomorrow evening :

Menahem Pressler - piano

Mozart  Rondo in A minor K511
Beethoven  Sonata No.17 in D minor Op.31, No.2
Chopin  Nocturne in D flat Op.27 No.2; Ballade No.3 in A flat Op.47
György Kurtág  New work
Schubert Piano Sonata No.21 in B flat D960

[bhodges]

Just booked for a couple of operas at Covent Garden in October:

Viktor Ullmann The Emperor of Atlantis

Peter Maxwell Davies The Lighthouse

Each is in the (small) studio theatre, for two nights only, so I'm rather excited to have got tickets for these.  The Ullmann particularly.

This really makes me envious; I don't think there have been performances of either of these in New York. And to see them in a small venue sounds great.

--Bruce

[jlaurson]

Just booked for a couple of operas at Covent Garden in October:

Viktor Ullmann The Emperor of Atlantis

Peter Maxwell Davies The Lighthouse

Each is in the (small) studio theatre, for two nights only, so I'm rather excited to have got tickets for these.  The Ullmann particularly.

FYI re: Ullmann: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2007/11/where-death-can-no-longer-cry-and-life.html
(Not my favorite Ullmann, I have to admit, but if you know your music history well (better than I do), you will catch several dozens of musical references, as Ullmann is saying 'goodbye' to each of his composer idols.)

[Papy Oli]

  (And Snape Maltings. ) 

Thank you for the heads-up, Soapy. I saw the ETO earlier this year in The Barber of Seville. They were a high quality introduction for my first opera !

[Papy Oli]

Menahem Pressler - piano

Mozart  Rondo in A minor K511
Beethoven  Sonata No.17 in D minor Op.31, No.2
Chopin  Nocturne in D flat Op.27 No.2; Ballade No.3 in A flat Op.47
György Kurtág  New work
Schubert Piano Sonata No.21 in B flat D960

Am I allowed to say that, despite the respect that such a 87-years-old pianist should deserve, I was terribly disappointed by this concert ? The Tempest was, to my ears, marred by errors, particularly in the 2nd mvt. The Chopin ballad was just mushy and the D.960 was too fast and unengaging.

He did a Chopin mazurka as an encore - so messy, it took me a while to be sure it was indeed what I thought it was. Not enough clarity/contrast in the changes of tempo (compared to my listening experience of those works with Rubinstein and Michelangeli).

The 2nd encore, Brahms' Lullaby, nice as it is, was not enough to save the day.

Considering how my week has gone with modern works, the new piece by Kurtag ("Impromptu Al Ongerese For Menahem Pressler") would probably be the only thing I would salvage from that evening. That says a lot. 

anyway, looking forward to the following this Friday :

Dezsö Ránki - piano

Barnabás Dukay   Rondino, that speaks to the heart; ...made of sunlight, stones and water... (UK premiere)
Haydn - Sonata in E flat Hob.XVI/49
Liszt - Unstern!; En rêve, Mephisto Waltz No.4, Impromptu, Toccata, Mephisto-Polka, Wiegenlied
Bartók - Romanian Christmas Songs; For Children (selection); Out of Doors


...The Haydn being the only work I have heard before.

[Papy Oli]

A couple more tickets booked for August :

------------------
Leif-Ove Andsnes - piano

Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.21 in C, Op.53; 'Waldstein'; Piano Sonata in F, Op.54
Chopin - 3 Waltzes Op.70; Ballades No.1 in G minor; Op.23 and No.3 in A flat, Op.47; Waltz Op.42 in A flat; Nocturne Op.62, No.1.

Ballade no.1 yeaaaaaahhhhh !!!!   

------------------
Steven Isserlis cello
Robert Levin fortepiano

Beethoven
12 Variations on a Theme from Handel's'Judas Maccabeus', WoO 45
Cello Sonata in F, Op.5 No.1
12 Variations in F on 'Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen', Op.66
Horn Sonata Op.17, trans. for cello
Cello Sonata in A, Op.69
-------------------

Anthony Marwood violin
Aleksandar Madzar piano

Ravel - Sonata Op.posth. (1897)
Beethoven - Kreutzer Sonata
Debussy - Violin Sonata
Schubert - Fantasie D934

[Lisztianwagner]

A couple more tickets booked for August :

------------------
Leif-Ove Andsnes - piano

Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.21 in C, Op.53; 'Waldstein'; Piano Sonata in F, Op.54
Chopin - 3 Waltzes Op.70; Ballades No.1 in G minor; Op.23 and No.3 in A flat, Op.47; Waltz Op.42 in A flat; Nocturne Op.62, No.1.

Ballade no.1 yeaaaaaahhhhh !!!!   

------------------
Steven Isserlis cello
Robert Levin fortepiano

Beethoven
12 Variations on a Theme from Handel's'Judas Maccabeus', WoO 45
Cello Sonata in F, Op.5 No.1
12 Variations in F on 'Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen', Op.66
Horn Sonata Op.17, trans. for cello
Cello Sonata in A, Op.69
-------------------

Anthony Marwood violin
Aleksandar Madzar piano

Ravel - Sonata Op.posth. (1897)
Beethoven - Kreutzer Sonata
Debussy - Violin Sonata
Schubert - Fantasie D934

Seems to be a wonderful concert, what an amazing programme!

[bhodges]

Sunday is the annual Bang on a Can Marathon, twelve hours of new or recent music done by a huge array of performers. To end the festival, at around 11:00 p.m., the percussion group Talujon will perform Gérard Grisey's hour-long Le Noir de l'étoile for six percussionists and electronics--very much looking forward to it.

--Bruce

[Papy Oli]

This Friday :

Dezsö Ránki - piano

Barnabás Dukay   Rondino, that speaks to the heart; ...made of sunlight, stones and water... (UK premiere)
Haydn - Sonata in E flat Hob.XVI/49
Liszt - Unstern!; En rêve, Mephisto Waltz No.4, Impromptu, Toccata, Mephisto-Polka, Wiegenlied
Bartók - Romanian Christmas Songs; For Children (selection); Out of Doors

...The Haydn being the only work I have heard before.

Good concert this one. Although the Dukay works didn't make much of an impression, the Haydn was very enjoyable, the Liszt works quite impressive. I really enjoyed Bartok's "Romanian christmas songs" and "For Children", I will have to acquire those. "Out of doors" was technically impressive but just a bit, well, out there for my liking 

I have a feeling with Liszt (like I did with Annees de Pelerinage last year) that I enjoy his works in live conditions but I do not react as positively on CD. I am not that eager to seek those maiden works on CD for that reason. Maybe tomorrow's concert/lecture will unlock things for me :

Saturday 16 June 2012
Aldeburgh Festival
Alfred Brendel

Liszt, Genius of Expression: an illustrated lecture

Schumann called him a 'genius of expression' but not only was Liszt the greatest of pianists but also, in Wagner's words, 'the most musical of musicians'.
His compositions are of uneven merit; the most important, however, stand besides those of Chopin and Schumann. Perhaps no other composer has traversed such a wide musical distance in a life that started with his early years of brilliance and exuberance to the ascetic 'bitterness of heart' in the final decade.
With piano illustrations, Alfred Brendel's lecture tries to give an unbiased picture of this many-faceted man.

Talking of which, when exiting the hall at the interval, I found myself face to face with Alfred Brendel and Pierre-Laurent Aimard who were attending tonight and were chatting along in German. I have seen Aimard 3 or 4 times this week already as he is the director of Music for the Festival...but both of them !!. Yes, I kept my cool, but inside, I'll be honest, I was a wee bit starstruck 

[North Star]

Good concert this one. Although the Dukay works didn't make much of an impression, the Haydn was very enjoyable, the Liszt works quite impressive. I really enjoyed Bartok's "Romanian christmas songs" and "For Children", I will have to acquire those. "Out of doors" was technically impressive but just a bit, well, out there for my liking 

I have a feeling with Liszt (like I did with Annees de Pelerinage last year) that I enjoy his works in live conditions but I do not react as positively on CD. I am not that eager to seek those maiden works on CD for that reason. Maybe tomorrow's concert/lecture will unlock things for me :

For Bartók, get Zoltán Kocsis's set
http://www.amazon.es/Bartok-Intégrale-oeuvres-piano-Coffret/dp/B003Y3MYWW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339847722&sr=8-1

I'm sure you'll come to like the more dissonant stuff after listening to the folk pieces more.

[Papy Oli]

This evening at Snape :

Saturday 23 June 2012 - Aldeburgh Festival
Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI
'Mare nostrum'

A concert with music from Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions around the Mediterranean
Jordi Savall is both master musician and multiculturalist, unearthing treasures from all over the ancient world for his own instrument, the viola da gamba, and for the increasingly eclectic line-up of his pan European early music ensemble Hesperion XXI.
The group's multinational heritage and their combined skills as performers, improvisers and multi-instrumentalists bring a vitality and joyous air of celebration to such scholarly research.
Here they mingle music from the Mediterranean fringes from Spain in the west to Turkey and the Middle East bringing their usual charismatic fluidity, elegance and grace in performance to a deeply ingrained understanding of musical styles and cultures.

[madaboutmahler]

Today at the Academy, it was the orchestra's concert:

Chabrier Espana
Dvorak Cello Concerto
Gershwin An American in Paris

The soloist for the Dvorak was Deni Teo, who was very impressive. I have to admit that I do not know her that well at the academy.

It was an incredibly beautiful, emotional concert. The programme is so great, and I just love to watch my friends and colleagues! For a few, including some that I am really good friends with, it is their last year at the Junior Academy and this was their last concert, so it was very moving and emotional for all of us... A concert I shall not forget. Beautiful.

[Florestan]

Today at the Academy, it was the orchestra's concert:

Chabrier Espana
Dvorak Cello Concerto
Gershwin An American in Paris

Excellent! Besides the two warhorses that Chabrier rhapsody is a gem! Wish I were there...

[madaboutmahler]

Excellent! Besides the two warhorses that Chabrier rhapsody is a gem! Wish I were there...

It certainly was! At the academy, my lunchtimes have coincided with the orchesta's rehearsals perfectly so I could go and watch their full rehearsal (Well, apart from the first 15 minutes) every week. Always a joy to watch! Still very emotional about that concert!

[bhodges]

Excellent! Besides the two warhorses that Chabrier rhapsody is a gem! Wish I were there...

Yes, ditto. Love the Chabrier...

--Bruce

[bhodges]

Tomorrow night, this all-Dutilleux concert. I don't know whether he will be attending, but hope so.

New York Philharmonic
Miro Quartet
Yo-Yo Ma, Cello
Alan Gilbert, Conductor

Dutilleux: Métaboles
Dutilleux, String Quartet "Ainsi la Nuit"
Dutilleux: Cello Concerto "Tout un Monde Lontain"

--Bruce

[listener]

Messiaen Turangalila, Strauss Alpine, a concert of Cage and Haydn in the Luxembourg Philharmonic's next season.
A comuter-bus from Trier avalable if that makes it more convenient.
http://www.opl.lu/fr/concert/398/
full disclosure: I can't get there, but others nearby might be interested.

[madaboutmahler]

Performing in this one this evening:

Wagner Preludes to Acts 1 and 3 Lohengrin
Strauss Four Last Songs

interval

A variety of opera favourites ranging from Donizetti to Bernstein.

Misbourne Symphony Orchestra/Richard Jacklin
Susanna Hurrell (Soprano), Jaewoo Kim (Tenor)

The last concert of the season, which started with the concert that premiered my 'Rhapsody for Orchestra'. Love this orchestra so much!
Am on celesta/piano and percussion. Sounding really great, so I am very much looking forward to the concert later this evening!

[madaboutmahler]

Performing in this one this evening:

Wagner Preludes to Acts 1 and 3 Lohengrin
Strauss Four Last Songs

interval

A variety of opera favourites ranging from Donizetti to Bernstein.

Misbourne Symphony Orchestra/Richard Jacklin
Susanna Hurrell (Soprano), Jaewoo Kim (Tenor)

The last concert of the season, which started with the concert that premiered my 'Rhapsody for Orchestra'. Love this orchestra so much!
Am on celesta/piano and percussion. Sounding really great, so I am very much looking forward to the concert later this evening!

That was a really wonderful concert - everyone was smiling by the end, we all had such fun and felt so uplifted afterwards!

The next season looks great: Mahler 1, Symphonie Fantastique etc - hoping to be in those too!