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

[bhodges]

I have liked what I have heard from Mälkki very much. (some concert recordings from Helsinki - IIRC, Schumann 2nd among them)

Would love to hear her in "standard rep" since she does so much contemporary music. She just did a program with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra with Debussy and Messiaen - and Richard Strauss, which sounded intriguing (I couldn't go).

Mälkki has led the BSO in at least one outstanding program (The Miraculous Mandarin, IIRC).

And that, of course, sounds fantastic!

--Bruce

[bhodges]

Tomorrow night at the Austrian Cultural Forum:

Minetti Quartet

Haydn: String Quartet in C, Hob.III:77, Op.76, No.3 ('Emperor')
Olga Neuwirth: settori for string quartet (1999)
Beethoven: String Quartet No.9 in C, Op.59, No.3 ('Razumovsky')

--Bruce

[springrite]

On Friday, I will be attending a classical guitar (and they say he will play some lute as well) recital by the Italian maestro Carlo Ambrosio. I have never heard of the guy, so I do not know what to expect. But I have not been to a concert since last year's two Mahler symphonies (Czech Phil and Berlin), so this will give me a nice and much needed break from my busy schedule.

No program information available right now.

[bhodges]

Tonight at the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Spring String Quartet combine with saxophonist, composer, and arranger Ohad Talmor to create the ensemble Mass Transformation, in a radical re-writing of Austrian composer Anton Bruckner's 8th Symphony. My curiosity is high, and since I'm hearing the real, unaltered Bruckner Eighth next week, I thought this would be an interesting prelude to that.

Mass Transformation:

Spring String Quartet:
Christian Wirth, violin
Marcus Wall, violin
Julian Gillesberger, viola
Stephan Punderlitschek, violoncello

Ohad Talmor – tenor saxophone, laptop, composition/arrangement
Shane Endsley – trumpet
Pete McCann – guitar
Matt Pavolka – contrabass, e-bass
Mark Ferber – drums/percussion

--Bruce

[HIPster]

Tonight at the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Spring String Quartet combine with saxophonist, composer, and arranger Ohad Talmor to create the ensemble Mass Transformation, in a radical re-writing of Austrian composer Anton Bruckner's 8th Symphony. My curiosity is high, and since I'm hearing the real, unaltered Bruckner Eighth next week, I thought this would be an interesting prelude to that.

Mass Transformation:

Spring String Quartet:
Christian Wirth, violin
Marcus Wall, violin
Julian Gillesberger, viola
Stephan Punderlitschek, violoncello

Ohad Talmor – tenor saxophone, laptop, composition/arrangement
Shane Endsley – trumpet
Pete McCann – guitar
Matt Pavolka – contrabass, e-bass
Mark Ferber – drums/percussion

--Bruce

Wow!  Looks very cool.  Enjoy and please write your thoughts on this when you get a chance, Brewski.  Thanks.

How was that Minetti Quartet concert?

[bhodges]

Wow!  Looks very cool.  Enjoy and please write your thoughts on this when you get a chance, Brewski.  Thanks.

Doesn't it sound wild? Could either be kind of great, or a big mess - of course I'm hoping for the former.

How was that Minetti Quartet concert?

Wonderful - always happy to discover a quartet new to me (they haven't played in New York in six years). Enjoyed the entire program, but I confess what really drew me was Olga Neuwirth's piece, which I didn't know, and which turned out to be just 7 minutes long. Most people I spoke with afterward thought it could have been much longer; just as we were really getting into Neuwirth's unusual sound world...it was over!

The Haydn was done beautifully, and ditto the Beethoven, neither of which I had heard live in a very long time. The audience brought them out three times, so they did an encore, Webern's Langsamer Satz.

--Bruce

[Lisz]

Gil and Orli Shaham tomorrow at the WQXR Green Space, NYC
April 15, 2013



For his latest recording project, Gil Shaham returns to his roots with Nigunim: Hebrew Melodies, an album of Jewish and Jewish-themed music for violin and piano recorded with his sister and frequent musical partner Orli Shaham.

Join the Shahams in The Greene Space, in their only New York recital of the season, for an evening of performance and conversation about the rich and vibrant tradition of Jewish music and its universal appeal today. Featuring performances of music by Ernst Bloch; a new piece commissioned by the Shahams from Avner Dorman; and John Williams' "Remembrances" from Schindler's List. WQXR's Elliott Forrest hosts.

[Karl Henning]

Nice. Heard them play some Brahms at Johns Hopkins U.

[springrite]

On Friday, I will be attending a classical guitar (and they say he will play some lute as well) recital by the Italian maestro Carlo Ambrosio. I have never heard of the guy, so I do not know what to expect. But I have not been to a concert since last year's two Mahler symphonies (Czech Phil and Berlin), so this will give me a nice and much needed break from my busy schedule.

No program information available right now.

Wonderful recital!

In the first half, it was all lute music, the highlight of which is a set of John Dowland works. In the second half, he switched to guitar. There were many wonderful pieces exquisitely performed, including:
A Guanieri work and a work by Villa-Lobos, both wonderful. Then the Walton bagatelles. Like the Dowland, you can see that this Italian was musically educated in London. But the best is his own transcription of the Bach Chaccone, where German Baroque style and a touch of Espana intertwined beautifully and seamlessly. Finally, an encore which was the prelude from Bach's Suite #1 for Unaccompanied Cello.

There were no more than 300 people at the recital. Too bad so many people missed this great recital.

[madaboutmahler]

Yesterday evening, with academy friends:

Korngold Captain Blood
Stravinsky Symphony in Three Movements
Schoenberg Concerto for string quartet & orchestra (after Handel's Concerto Grosso, Op.6 No.7)
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances

National Youth Orchestra/Simone Young
Navarra String Quartet

Was absolutely incredible, such a thrilling orchestra!

[Karl Henning]

Wonderful recital!

In the first half, it was all lute music, the highlight of which is a set of John Dowland works. In the second half, he switched to guitar. There were many wonderful pieces exquisitely performed, including:
A Guanieri work and a work by Villa-Lobos, both wonderful. Then the Walton bagatelles. Like the Dowland, you can see that this Italian was musically educated in London. But the best is his own transcription of the Bach Chaccone, where German Baroque style and a touch of Espana intertwined beautifully and seamlessly. Finally, an encore which was the prelude from Bach's Suite #1 for Unaccompanied Cello.

There were no more than 300 people at the recital. Too bad so many people missed this great recital.

Very nice!

[Karl Henning]

Yesterday evening, with academy friends:

Korngold Captain Blood
Stravinsky Symphony in Three Movements
Schoenberg Concerto for string quartet & orchestra (after Handel’s Concerto Grosso, Op.6 No.7)
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances

National Youth Orchestra/Simone Young
Navarra String Quartet

Was absolutely incredible, such a thrilling orchestra!

What a wonderful program, Daniel!

[madaboutmahler]

What a wonderful program, Daniel!

It really was an incredible concert, Karl! For me, not much can beat seeing Symphonic Dances live!

[TheGSMoeller]

It really was an incredible concert, Karl! For me, not much can beat seeing Symphonic Dances live!

You nailed it, Brother. I've seen Dances twice, an amazing orchestral showpiece.

[madaboutmahler]

You nailed it, Brother. I've seen Dances twice, an amazing orchestral showpiece.

That was the 3rd time that I had seen it live, and actually 2 of those times were with our youth orchestras. It's a great piece for youth orchestras I think. If we did it in WYO I would be the happiest percussionist alive with that tam tam solo...

[Lisztianwagner]

Just booked the last ticket for the Ring Cycle, at Teatro alla Scala on next June:

Richard Wagner
Siegfried - Der Ring des Nibelungen

Daniel Barenboim

Siegfried  Lance Ryan
Mime  Peter Bronder
Der Wanderer  Terje Stensvold
Alberich  Johannes Martin Kränzle
Fafner  Alexander Tsymbalyuk
Erda  Anna Larsson
Brünnhilde  Iréne Theorin
Stimme des Waldvogels  Mari Eriksmoen

[springrite]

Just booked the last ticket for the Ring Cycle, at Teatro alla Scala on next June:

Now, don't tell that to the first person to be told that it's sold out.

[Lisztianwagner]

Now, don't tell that to the first person to be told that it's sold out.

Ehehe.
Well, there are still several tickets available if someone is interested. I meant that I had already bought the tickets for Das Rheingold, Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung; now I've got that one for Siegfried too.

[Fafner]

Just booked the last ticket for the Ring Cycle, at Teatro alla Scala on next June:

Richard Wagner
Siegfried - Der Ring des Nobelungen

Daniel Barenboim

Ooh, so jealous!

The last time I saw any Wagner live, it was Der fliegende Hollander at our local opera. I had to leave after the second act, because it was a total disaster.
Prague National Theatre staged the complete Ring in 2005 in coproduction with Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf  (performed twice). It was sold out quickly, but I heard it was a rather flawed production.



I attended Madama Butterfly at the National Theatre Brno last night.  It was a great night. Not perfect, but I was quite satisfied. The star of the evening was the Slovak soprano Adriana Kohútková. Her Cio-Cio San was vocally sure and emotionally engaged.

Here are some clips of her singing Rusalka and Violetta.

http://www.youtube.com/v/IwFlt1m9k5Y
http://www.youtube.com/v/-oU6FN0nMU8

[bhodges]

Tonight and Friday:

Staatskapelle Dresden
Christian Thielemann, Principal Conductor

Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, Violin Concerto (w/Lisa Batiashvili), Symphony No. 4

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8

In between, Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic:

Christopher Rouse: Prospero's Rooms (World premiere)
Bernstein: Serenade (w/Joshua Bell)
Ives: Symphony No. 4 (w/NY Choral Consortium, Kent Tritle, director)

--Bruce