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

[Sergeant Rock]

We were going to see Mahler 2 last week, but all reasonably-priced tickets were sold out.

A pity. M2 is thrilling live.

Sarge

[stingo]

A pity. M2 is thrilling live.

Sarge

It is indeed. The performance was amazing.

[Wanderer]

19 November, at the Megaron in Athens:

Robert Schumann:
- Arabesque, opus 18
- Études symphoniques, opus 13

Frédéric Chopin:
- Barcarolle in f sharp major, opus 60
- Sonata no 3 in b minor, opus 58

Nelson Freire piano

[EigenUser]

I'm going to Philadelphia tonight with a friend to see the NCPA Orchestra (from China) and Yuja Wang. The program is:

Qigang Chen - Wu Xing ("The Five Elements")
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G major
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 5

Really a great concert! The Ravel was done very nicely (1st movement maybe a bit too fast, though) and the Tchaikovsky left me wondering "why the hell haven't I ever heard this piece before?! What is wrong with me?!" The orchestra played the Tchaik so passionately and with such vigor.

The one I enjoyed the most, though, was Chen's Wu Xing. It consists of five movements, totaling about 10 minutes and it is scored for a large orchestra. Any fans of Ligeti and/or Takemitsu ought to check it out. According to the program, Chen was Messiaen's last student.

While I hate to describe it using the merits of another piece, all I could think of during the performance was "variations on Ligeti's Atmospheres". I was entranced for the entire ten minutes and I was even disappointed when it was finished because it was so fascinating to hear. All sorts of beautiful sounds floating around the orchestra with a distinctly Eastern sound. Even my friend, who is so-so on 20th-century music, really seemed to enjoy it.

[jochanaan]

...According to the program, Chen was Messiaen's last student...

That's enough to make me start looking for his music. 

[springrite]

Copied from the Kimi thread:
Now 120cm tall, Kimi finally went to her first concert!!!

Israel Symphony (essentially the Tel Aviv Opera Orchestra)
Conductor: James Judd

Beethoven: Leonora Overture #3
Shemesh: Running to Return for Kantor and Shofar and Orchestra
Verdi: Overture to Nabucco
Brahms: Symphony #2
Strauss Jr: Die Fledermaus Overture

Kimi's review:
Beethoven: Great piece but played very badly! Maybe they did not even rehearse this one as they played without that Beethoven spirit and power. Every seemed timid and afraid to make a mistake and just played the notes!

Shemesh: The best thing on the program! The music is imaginative, the players all applied themselves fully, and the singing, even though unfamiliar to Kimi (in Hebrew and sang in a non-classical manner), was beautiful, and the odd sound of the Shofar was provocative and added so much colour and imagination.

Verdi: Exciting!

Brahms: Maybe they only rehearsed the second movement. That was played beautifully. The other three movements were like run-throughs.

Strauss Jr: Very enjoyable but still played too much like an exercise.

Overall: Good, but would be less than good without the second work!!!

There!

[EigenUser]

It looks like I am going to travel to Chicago and see the CSO play Messiaen's Turangalila-Symphonie in May 2015! I'm so excited!

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

It looks like I am going to travel to Chicago and see the CSO play Messiaen's Turangalila-Symphonie in May 2015! I'm so excited!

Thanks for the reminder, I'll certainly consider going to that concert when the time comes. I did hear the CSO do this once under Eschenbach, but that was back in the 90s.

[jochanaan]

It looks like I am going to travel to Chicago and see the CSO play Messiaen's Turangalila-Symphonie in May 2015! I'm so excited!

Oooooh, that'll be a great one to hear live!

[Obradovic]

19 November, at the Megaron in Athens:

Robert Schumann:
- Arabesque, opus 18
- Études symphoniques, opus 13

Frédéric Chopin:
- Barcarolle in f sharp major, opus 60
- Sonata no 3 in b minor, opus 58

Nelson Freire piano

See you there

[kishnevi]

Realized courtesy of a friend's Facebook post that there is a high probability I will be in Boston during part of the Boston Early Music Festival,  although exact dates will not be set until March or April for my travel plans.

[Cosi bel do]

Grigory Sokolov was on top form tonight at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. I might not have been entirely convinced by everything (and I'm also a little annoyed by the very excessive and superficial Sokolov-mania in the audience) but such concerts can't be remembered as anything else than great moments.

Bach : Partita no. 1
Beethoven : Sonata no. 7 op. 10/3

Chopin : Sonata no. 3
Encores :
- Schubert : Impromptu op. 90/2
- Schubert : Impromptu op. 90/4
- Schubert : Klavierstück D.946 no. 2
- Chopin : Mazurka op. 50 no. 3
- Chopin : Mazurka op. 67 no. 2
- Griboedov : Waltz in E minor

[kishnevi]

As long as they didn't use cigarette lighters to call for encores...
Speaking of encores, it seems from the listing they lasted as long as the formal part of the concert!

[Cosi bel do]

Yes they almost did ! Only slow tempos avoided the encores to last longer than the rest

If lighters were allowed maybe there would have been some. Really, how can one, when the pianist starts playing an encore, shout "merciiiii" ? One did and he was followed by a dozen of others with other "mercis" or even badly pronounced "spasiba". Just ridiculous.

[ritter]

Well, the members of Spanish National Chorus have called off their strike, so I'm off to see Gurrelieder tonight at Madrid's National Auditorium, conducted by Elaihu Inbal...yipeee!   

[ritter]

Well, the members of Spanish National Chorus have called off their strike, so I'm off to see Gurrelieder tonight at Madrid's National Auditorium, conducted by Elaihu Inbal...yipeee!   

Gurrelieder last night in Madrid were very enjoyable! Inbal is a master in this repertoire, and brought out the best of the Spanish National Orchestra and Chorus (the latter reinforced by the Chorus of Spanish Radio and Television). All soloists were up to the task (the weekest link being José Ferrero as Waldemar, but even he was fine), and Catherine Wyn-Rogers  was moving in the Lied der Waldtaube. Albert Dohmen was also very, very convincing (particularly as narrator, where his Sprechgesang struck the perfect middle-point between sprechen and singen!). Gurrelieder is a wonderful piece to experience live! 

[Cosi bel do]

I just saw that Alina Ibragimova will be playing the complete Bach sonatas and partitas this Sunday in an impossible place in the countryside around Paris. I'm quite sure I won't be able to go. That's really frustrating

[Bruckner is God]

Tomorrow at the Oslo Concert Hall.
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.  Rafael Payare conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Program
Kodály: Dances of Galanta
Liszt: Piano concerto no. 2
Brahms: Symphony no. 2

[Cosi bel do]

Tomorrow night at the Barbican Centre in London (also broadcast live, and streamed, by BBC R3) :

Schubert Symphony No.4
Mahler Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Hans Rott Symphony No.1

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Marc Minkowski conductor
Katarina Karnéus mezzo-soprano

The Rott symphony being the great draw on this occasion.  I have a good feeling about this, having seen Minkowski deliver an imaginative and well thought out Bruckner Nullte with the Staatskapelle Dresden in the challenging environment of the Frauenkirche.

That must have been a nice concert, do you know if one can hear it somewhere ?
By the way I see Minkowski will conduct Rott's symphony again in Toulouse, next March, with the Capitole orchestra.

[Obradovic]

10 DEC, Athens Megaron

Pierre-Laurent Aimard/Athens State Orchestra/Stefanos Tsialis
B. Smetana: Vltava
A. Dvořák: Piano Concerto op.33
P.I. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.1 op.13 'Winter Day Dreams'

Aimard playing the rarely heard Dvořák Piano Concerto!