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

Started by Siedler, April 20, 2007, 05:34:10 PM

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bhodges

Thanks, SW, sounds like a really terrific concert.  The Ives does "threaten to blow apart" in places...part of its excitement! 

And the rest of the concert sounds great, too - would have liked to hear the Farr. 

--Bruce

sound67

#221
Having decided to visit the Proms for a week after all, I'm looking forward to the premiere of John Adams' "Doctor Atomic Symphony", which he will also be conducting

http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2007/whatson/2108.shtml

Unfortunately, most of the rest of this week's roster is pretty much what you can listen to in concert on any given Sunday (Bruckner 8th, Mahler 3rd, Wagner).

Thomas
"Vivaldi didn't compose 500 concertos. He composed the same concerto 500 times" - Igor Stravinsky

"Mozart is a menace to musical progress, a relic of rituals that were losing relevance in his own time and are meaningless to ours." - Norman Lebrecht

Choo Choo

Today I got the programme for the "Sibelius & Beyond" festival of Finnish music in London this autumn.  Headline is probably the complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies from Salonen and the LAPO, but plenty other events in various venues around town featuring a whole range of modern Finnish composers.

The one which I would definitely attend if I were around at the time (which I won't be) is a free lunchtime concert in the Royal Academy of Music on Marylebone Road on the 2nd November, at which Segerstam will be conducting his own 173rd Symphony.  Not too many other opportunites to hear that particular piece, I'm guessing.

London has a strong Finnish community.  Another not-to-be-missed event is always the annual Christmas Fair in the Finnish Church in Rotherhithe, where you can buy a whole range of produce including some amazing liqueurs that I've never been able to find anywhere else (and believe me, I've tried.)

M forever

Quote from: Choo Choo on August 24, 2007, 06:10:54 AM
Today I got the programme for the "Sibelius & Beyond" festival of Finnish music in London this autumn.  Headline is probably the complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies from Salonen and the LAPO, but plenty other events in various venues around town featuring a whole range of modern Finnish composers.

They also have a complete Sibelius cycle going on in LA in October, with - can it be a coincidence? - the LAP/Salonen, too.

Quote from: Choo Choo on August 24, 2007, 06:10:54 AM
The one which I would definitely attend if I were around at the time (which I won't be) is a free lunchtime concert in the Royal Academy of Music on Marylebone Road on the 2nd November, at which Segerstam will be conducting his own 173rd Symphony.  Not too many other opportunites to hear that particular piece, I'm guessing.

173?


Drasko

Quote from: Choo Choo on August 24, 2007, 06:17:19 AM
Yes.  Not 172 or 174, but 173. 

You mean Launching Thoughts into Nexties... and not Enjoying newly tuned pianos... nor Welcoming returning birds solemnly... 

Big mistake if you ask me...   ;D



http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/mainframe?readform&segerstam+leif

Florestan

September 21st, Bucharest

Evgeny Kissin / London SO / Sir Colin Davis

Beethoven

Piano Concerto no. 5 Emperor
Symphony no. 3 Eroica

Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Novi

Tonight:

Mariss Jansons/BRSO

Strauss Zarathustra
Sibelius 2

And tomorrow night:

same lot,

Beethoven Egmont
Debussy La mer
Shosta 5

Durch alle Töne tönet
Im bunten Erdentraum
Ein leiser Ton gezogen
Für den der heimlich lauschet.

stingo

Just received my season tickets to the Philly Orchestra- I'm quite excited to see/hear them again.

M forever

Quote from: Novitiate on August 27, 2007, 02:19:00 AM
Tonight:

Mariss Jansons/BRSO

Strauss Zarathustra
Sibelius 2

And tomorrow night:

same lot,

Beethoven Egmont
Debussy La mer
Shosta 5



That looks like those "greatest classical hits" programs Jansons seems to do almost exclusively now. But then, why not? Especially when it's on tour. Have fun.

Novi

Quote from: M forever on August 27, 2007, 10:47:53 PM
That looks like those "greatest classical hits" programs Jansons seems to do almost exclusively now. But then, why not? Especially when it's on tour. Have fun.

Lol, M, the Edinburgh Festival is hardly the centre for adventurous programming ;).

Me, I'm just happy to get a chance to hear different orchestras. Besides which, having only started listening to classical music more seriously in the past year or so (hey, check out my user name), a lot of this repertoire I'm only hearing live for the first time, and sometimes for the first time ever. Having said that, I can certainly understand how this might be frustrating for seasoned listeners. In any case, once I leave Edinburgh, I'll be hard pressed to hear this variety of ensemble in the entire year, let alone in a 3 week period. Groups rarely tour that far south, greatest hits or otherwise :'(.

Anyway, I really enjoyed both evenings 8). The highlight for me was the Sibelius. I loved the warm, rich strings, and the build up in the final movement was pretty phenomenal. It was also interesting watching Jansons conduct. He is quite animated on the podium, with big arm gestures. But a few times, he appeared almost to stop completely – although I couldn't see whether he was still indicating the beat with his arms lowered – as though taking in the waves of sound just for a second or two. This was most noticeable in the final movement with the momentum that builds in the recurring sweeping string melody. Ironically, the programme notes made a point of the incipient modernism in this 2nd symphony, but I felt it was the romantic elements that Jansons brought out. That's not to say it was 'soupy'; it was clearly articulated but lush. The Strauss didn't work quite so well for me; it sagged a bit in the middle. Or perhaps I should say that I lost concentration a little :-[.

In the Shostakovich the following night, it was again the strings that made the greatest impression: the rich tones again, particularly in the gorgeous 3rd movement. I don't know this piece very well, only the version in the Mravinsky Anniversary box. In comparison, Jansons's is not as raw, but still robust. The brass were powerful, but in a warmer, less 'blary' way. Certainly the full contingent in the final movement was impressive, although the wind solos, especially the oboe, in the 3rd also stick in mind. A pity that someone brought her toddler along and I could hear it gurgling intermittently throughout the concert even half a hall away and about 15 rows in front of them >:(. I'm surprised no one asked them to leave. Still, I enjoyed it, even if I preferred the Sibelius marginally. It has certainly spurred me to explore Shostakovich a bit more, so it's all good :D.
Durch alle Töne tönet
Im bunten Erdentraum
Ein leiser Ton gezogen
Für den der heimlich lauschet.

Solitary Wanderer

I have this next Monday. I've been offered free tickets to this annual event for the past three years [being an NZSO subscriber] but declined each time for various reasons. This year I attended an NZSO Foundation luncheon and they had a cellist from the NYO perform a few pieces and he was very good. So this year I decided to accept the invitation and I am now quite looking forward to the occasion. The Bartok should be excellent and the Belt Sander world premier interesting!

NYO [NZSO National Youth Orchestra]


PROGRAMME

RAVEL La Valse
BARTOK Concerto for Orchestra
MARGETIC Belt Sander (Composer-in-Residence - World Premiere)
DEBUSSY La Mer

FEATURED ARTISTS
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor

PERFORMANCE INFO
Since its inception in 1959, the National Youth Orchestra has played a vital role in the musical life of New Zealand. It has served as a specialised training ground for New Zealand's most gifted young musicians, many of whom have forged careers here and abroad as orchestral players, soloists, chamber musicians and teachers.

The NZSO National Youth Orchestra continues to strive for the highest level of artistic excellence and it owes a considerable debt of gratitude to its conductors, who succeed year after year in bringing together young players from diverse backgrounds and experience and, in the space of just ten days, shape them into the fine ensemble you will hear.

National Youth Orchestra

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN

Yannick Nezet-Seguin is the Artistic Director of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal and Principal Guest Conductor of the Victoria Symphony. In 2005, he made his Australian debut with the Sydney Symphony.

'I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.' ~ Emily Bronte

not edward

Should be a fun time. Judging by what I've heard of him, Nézet-Séguin is a young conductor going places.
"I don't at all mind actively disliking a piece of contemporary music, but in order to feel happy about it I must consciously understand why I dislike it. Otherwise it remains in my mind as unfinished business."
-- Aaron Copland, The Pleasures of Music

Choo Choo

Quote from: edward on August 29, 2007, 03:09:44 PM
Judging by what I've heard of him, Nézet-Séguin is a young conductor going places.

Agreed.  Just today I was listening again to his recent Montreal recording of Bruckner's 7th Symphony - an individual interpretation requiring great control to carry off successfully - which he does, in spades.  Great stuff.

mahlertitan

Quote from: Choo Choo on August 29, 2007, 03:49:06 PM
Agreed.  Just today I was listening again to his recent Montreal recording of Bruckner's 7th Symphony - an individual interpretation requiring great control to carry off successfully - which he does, in spades.  Great stuff.

I too, believe that He, is a conductor of immense potential, judging from that Bruckner's 7th alone.

Solitary Wanderer

Quote from: edward on August 29, 2007, 03:09:44 PM
Should be a fun time. Judging by what I've heard of him, Nézet-Séguin is a young conductor going places.

Quote from: Choo Choo on August 29, 2007, 03:49:06 PM
Agreed.  Just today I was listening again to his recent Montreal recording of Bruckner's 7th Symphony - an individual interpretation requiring great control to carry off successfully - which he does, in spades.  Great stuff.

Quote from: MahlerTitan on August 29, 2007, 03:56:32 PM
I too, believe that He, is a conductor of immense potential, judging from that Bruckner's 7th alone.

Thanks for the feedback.

Its sounding very promising.

I'll be sure to post a review :)
'I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.' ~ Emily Bronte

Novi

I've just come back from a rather disappointing concert tonight.

The two fantastic BRSO concerts earlier this week were followed by a couple of MTT/SFSO gigs. Again, Festival-friendly repertoire ... Fanfare for the Common Man, anyone? ;D

Tonight's programme:

Strauss, final scene from Salome with Deborah Voight
Mahler 7

I've never heard any of MTT's recordings nor the SFSO so I had no idea what to expect. I thought the Strauss was very well played; the orchestra produced a beautiful full sound, although there were some problems with balance: you could barely hear Voight at some of the climactic moments.

The Mahler was disappointing. At the outset, I have to say that besides the 1st, the 7th is the one I've listened to the least, so I'm probably not the best judge of this piece.

But here goes. I felt that the brass let the side down. For instance, the horns didn't seem very steady at the opening of the first Nachtmusik. The Scherzo felt a bit stolid; I thought it lacked bite. Even the friend who went with me - not a classical fan by any means - commented that the humour promised in the programme notes was missing ;). While the various soloists played well, they didn't really come together coherently in the more chamber-like bits. The orchestra certainly generated a huge sound in the first and final movements, but this just seemed to muddy things up.

I had the same problem with the Mahler as the Prokofieff PC3 the previous night: it was hard to get a sense of either piece as a coherent whole. Yefim Bronfman was impressive but the piece didn't come alive for me. I didn't feel the electricity I sense in the Browning/Leinsdorf recording, for example. In that sense, the Tchaik 1 fared a lot better, although it's hard for me to gauge, being the first time I've heard it. That first concert opened with Fanfare, Ruth Crawford Seeger's Andante for Strings, and Adams's Short Ride in a Fast Machine (lol, I'm going ass-backwards). I liked this: the in-your-face brass of Fanfare, then the smooth layers of sounds of the strings, and then the Adams, which was rollicking good fun :D.

So overall, a mixed couple of nights, and not as good as I'd expected. I'm still happy to have gone, but would've liked to end the year's Festival on a better note :).
Durch alle Töne tönet
Im bunten Erdentraum
Ein leiser Ton gezogen
Für den der heimlich lauschet.

Greta

Quote from: Choo Choo on August 24, 2007, 06:10:54 AM
Today I got the programme for the "Sibelius & Beyond" festival of Finnish music in London this autumn.  Headline is probably the complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies from Salonen and the LAPO, but plenty other events in various venues around town featuring a whole range of modern Finnish composers.

The one which I would definitely attend if I were around at the time (which I won't be) is a free lunchtime concert in the Royal Academy of Music on Marylebone Road on the 2nd November, at which Segerstam will be conducting his own 173rd Symphony.  Not too many other opportunites to hear that particular piece, I'm guessing.

London has a strong Finnish community.  Another not-to-be-missed event is always the annual Christmas Fair in the Finnish Church in Rotherhithe, where you can buy a whole range of produce including some amazing liqueurs that I've never been able to find anywhere else (and believe me, I've tried.)

What I wouldn't give to be in London this fall! I would love to see that cycle. And performances of contemporary Finnish music and little heard Sibelius chamber music...a smorgasbord. But, I was looking at the festival's website, where is the Kullervo? A glaring ommission, I mean Jorma Hynninen will already be in town...that would really have capped things off.

Quote from: M foreverThey also have a complete Sibelius cycle going on in LA in October, with - can it be a coincidence? - the LAP/Salonen, too.

If DG is smart, they would record that cycle and release it on iTunes...as he intended to do one with them yet they never got around to it...

Lilas Pastia

Quote from: Novitiate on August 30, 2007, 06:54:59 PM
I've just come back from a rather disappointing concert tonight.

The two fantastic BRSO concerts earlier this week were followed by a couple of MTT/SFSO gigs. Again, Festival-friendly repertoire ... Fanfare for the Common Man, anyone? ;D

Tonight's programme:

Strauss, final scene from Salome with Deborah Voight
Mahler 7

I've never heard any of MTT's recordings nor the SFSO so I had no idea what to expect. I thought the Strauss was very well played; the orchestra produced a beautiful full sound, although there were some problems with balance: you could barely hear Voight at some of the climactic moments.

The Mahler was disappointing. At the outset, I have to say that besides the 1st, the 7th is the one I've listened to the least, so I'm probably not the best judge of this piece.

But here goes. I felt that the brass let the side down. For instance, the horns didn't seem very steady at the opening of the first Nachtmusik. The Scherzo felt a bit stolid; I thought it lacked bite. Even the friend who went with me - not a classical fan by any means - commented that the humour promised in the programme notes was missing ;). While the various soloists played well, they didn't really come together coherently in the more chamber-like bits. The orchestra certainly generated a huge sound in the first and final movements, but this just seemed to muddy things up.

I had the same problem with the Mahler as the Prokofieff PC3 the previous night: it was hard to get a sense of either piece as a coherent whole. Yefim Bronfman was impressive but the piece didn't come alive for me. I didn't feel the electricity I sense in the Browning/Leinsdorf recording, for example. In that sense, the Tchaik 1 fared a lot better, although it's hard for me to gauge, being the first time I've heard it. That first concert opened with Fanfare, Ruth Crawford Seeger's Andante for Strings, and Adams's Short Ride in a Fast Machine (lol, I'm going ass-backwards). I liked this: the in-your-face brass of Fanfare, then the smooth layers of sounds of the strings, and then the Adams, which was rollicking good fun :D.

So overall, a mixed couple of nights, and not as good as I'd expected. I'm still happy to have gone, but would've liked to end the year's Festival on a better note :).

Thanks for these excellent reports!

I understand your disappointment with the 7th. Among Mahler's symphonies, this is the one that benefits the most from extra-lucid conducting, extra-transparent textures and extra-colourful intrumental solos. A very difficult balance to achieve: chamber music clarity with large orchestra refulgence, yet it has to have lyrical flow and almost heart-on-sleeve emotionality.

Solitary Wanderer

Off to Wellington for two nights tomorrow morning with two concerts to enjoy.

Tomorrow night:

Cinderella

and Friday night NZSO

PROGRAMME
Die Meistersinger Prelude
Lohengrin Prelude (Act 1)
Tristan und Isolde: Prelude and Liebestod
The Flying Dutchman Overture
Tannhaüser Overture
Gotterdammerung: Immolation Scene


FEATURED ARTISTS
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Margaret Medlyn
'I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.' ~ Emily Bronte