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

[Mapman]

Will Karl be there as well?

As far as I know, no. I was in Boston for a conference this week, and the timing worked out for my first visit to Symphony Hall. I think I got a nice seat: 3rd row of the upper balcony, right in the middle. I'm looking forward to hearing Symphony Hall's organ, too!

[Mapman]

In a couple hours:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA

Samy Rachid, conductor
Olivier Latry, organ

BERLIOZ Waverley Overture
Michael GANDOLFI Ascending Light, for organ and orchestra
SAINT-SAËNS Symphony No. 3, Organ Symphony

It was a great concert! I was especially impressed with how well the organ blended with the orchestra. I don't remember it blending as well in Philadelphia. Symphony Hall is a wonderful hall.

[brewski]

Is this inspired by Wittgenstein?

You are correct! Thank you, not having read the book, I would not have made that connection.

Program notes here.

-Bruce

[Florestan]

You are correct! Thank you, not having read the book, I would not have made that connection.

Program notes here.

-Bruce

I haven't read it either, I only know the title. 

Thanks for the notes, very informative.

[ritter]

Just bought a ticket for next Friday October 18th for the Spanish National Orchestra's fourth programme of the season. Joanna Mallwitz conducts Prokofiev's overture to War and Piece, Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto (with Francesco Piamontesi), Hindemith's Mathis der Mahler Symphony, and Ravel's La Valse.

Then, two consecutive nights at the theatre... On Saturday, Ramón del Valle-Inclán's Luces de bohemia ("Bohemian Lights"), one of the most important and influential plays of Spanish drama in the first half of the 20th century, surprisingly being shown —in the centenary of its first performance— for the first time in Madrid's most prestigious theatre, the Teatro Español. And then on Sunday, I'll see the National Classic Theatre Company's new production of Calderón's El gran teatro del mundo ("The Great Theatre of the World"), one of the highlights of Spanish sacred theatre from the "Golden Age".

[Mapman]

I'll be livestreaming a Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a few hours. It looks like a fun program!
https://www.dso.org/watch/3317360

LEONARD BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
GEORGE GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue
SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: Othello
GIUSEPPE VERDI: Ballet Music from Act III of Macbeth
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY: Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture

[brewski]

It was a great concert! I was especially impressed with how well the organ blended with the orchestra. I don't remember it blending as well in Philadelphia. Symphony Hall is a wonderful hall.

Envious! Coincidentally, I heard the Saint-Saëns here in Philly on Friday afternoon, and though it was excellent (Roderick Cox conducting, and your comments noted), and though I like the hall very much, Boston still wins. Years ago I read a comment from an acoustic specialist, who thought that Amsterdam, Vienna, and Boston were the three best in the world. (This was well before some of the newer halls that might be considered, e.g., Disney, Berlin, Hamburg, Lucerne, among others.)

-Bruce

[ultralinear]

4-way recital tonight in honour of Lubimov's 80th birthday:

Alexei Lubimov  piano, fortepiano
Alexander Melnikov  piano
Olga Pashchenko  piano
Mikhail Shilyaev  piano

Mozart  Fantasia in D minor K397
Schubert  Impromptu in A flat D899 No. 4
Beethoven  32 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor WoO. 80
Schubert  Divertissement à la hongroise in G minor D818
Volkonsky  Musica stricta
Stravinsky  Concerto for 2 pianos
Silvestrov  Kitsch Music
Mozart  Larghetto and Allegro in E flat K.deest (completed by Robert Levin)

Should be interesting to see who else is in the audience;  I sat across the aisle from Boris Giltburg when Tiberghien was playing Beethoven.

[ultralinear]

Tonight at ROH Covent Garden, a double-bill of Bernstein's operas Trouble in Tahiti and its sequel A Quiet Place, in their original 1-act versions:

 

I only know A Quiet Place from the recording of the revised version (above) where the two were folded into one, with Trouble in Tahiti presented as an extended flashback embedded partway through a longer narrative, so am interested to see these as first conceived.

[ritter]

Just bought a ticket for next Friday October 18th for the Spanish National Orchestra's fourth programme of the season. Joanna Mallwitz conducts Prokofiev's overture to War and Piece, Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto (with Francesco Piamontesi), Hindemith's Mathis der Mahler Symphony, and Ravel's La Valse.

Well, this turned out to be a very enjoyable concert. The War and Piece overture was an effective opener. Very "Prokofievian", but not the composer's most memorable piece IMO.

Francesco Piemontesi favoured brilliant sounds in the Emperor, and played splendidly. I did have the awkward feeling, though, that there wasn't 100% mutual understanding between the soloist and conductor Joanna Mallwitz. As a substantial encore, Piemontesi gave a beautiful rendition of what I think was the adagio from Mozart's Adagio in  B minor K540 Sonata in F major K332. Curiously, the two times I've seen Piemontesi live have been with Beethoven concertos (PC1 some ten years ago under Skrowaczewski in La Coruña, and PC5 now).

After the intermission, it seemed that Mallwitz was fully in her element. What a fabulous work the Mathis der Mahler Symphony is, with what I can only describe as an "intemporal beauty"! And then, La Valse! Hearing this enigmatic work live is a treat, and the way "moments" come to the foreground and then recede back into a sort of mist, to give way to other "moments", is dazzling, always with the double basses weaving a sort of carpet on which everything else dances on. At one point, I almost felt like shouting "Keep going!" (it's no wonder this piece plays such a prominent role in Berio's Sinfonia).

I'll certainly get hold of Frau Mallwitz's recently released disc of the Weill symphonies.

[brewski]

Tonight at ROH Covent Garden, a double-bill of Bernstein's operas Trouble in Tahiti and its sequel A Quiet Place, in their original 1-act versions:

 

I only know A Quiet Place from the recording of the revised version (above) where the two were folded into one, with Trouble in Tahiti presented as an extended flashback embedded partway through a longer narrative, so am interested to see these as first conceived.

Very cool. I have only seen these once, in 2010 at New York City Opera. PS, in that recording of A Quiet Place, my brother-in-law, James Ramlet, was in the chorus. 

-Bruce

[brewski]

Tonight:

The Philadelphia Orchestra
David Robertson, conductor
Nicolas Hodges, piano

Jolas: Lassus ricercare
Jolas: bTunes, for piano and orchestra
Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Copland: Appalachian Spring Suite

-Bruce

[ultralinear]

Very cool. I have only seen these once, in 2010 at New York City Opera. PS, in that recording of A Quiet Place, my brother-in-law, James Ramlet, was in the chorus. 

-Bruce

Interesting. 

I can see why they revised it.  A Quiet Place doesn't stand up on its own but needs Trouble in Tahiti to establish the characters' backstory, without which it would be hard to understand what's going on.  And inserting the earlier piece as a flashback partway through does at least relieve the psychodrama which otherwise can seem pretty relentless and somewhat overlong.  As it is, I think it would only gain from being shortened by about 1/3rd, but I guess Bernstein needed the space to work out his own issues.

[Mapman]

Tonight's livestream from Detroit, starting in one hour:


BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
ANNA CLYNE
Time and Tides (US Premiere)
JEAN SIBELIUS
Lemminkäinen Suite

Tabita Berglund, Conductor
Pekka Kuusisto, Violin

https://www.dso.org/watch/3317363

[ultralinear]

Tonight:

Mahler  Symphony No.2 "Resurrection"

London Symphony Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas conductor
Siobhan Stagg soprano
Alice Coote mezzo-soprano
London Symphony Chorus

[brewski]

Tonight, starting in about 20 minutes, the second livestream of the day (after a marvelous time with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony earlier), the Junction Trio at the 92nd Street Y: Stefan Jackiw, violin; Jay Campbell, cello; and Conrad Tao, piano.

Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67
John Zorn: Philosophical Investigations II (world premiere)
Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8

-Bruce

[Judith]

Just come back from a wonderful concert 

Leeds Haydn Players

Mendelssohn  A Midsummer Nights Dream-Overture,
Nocturne and Scherzo
Mozart  Horn Concerto no 4
Ruth Gipps  Cringlemire Garden, Impression for String Orchestra
Emilie Mayer  Symphony no 1 in C Minor

Solo Horn Player
Barry Lo

Conductors
Andre Chan
Rosin Flueckiger

[T. D.]

Just got back from a very enjoyable semi-local (hinterlands) concert at Saugerties (NY) Pro Musica.

Tekalli (violin/piano) brother-sister duo, played pieces by Mozart, Reena Esmail, Ravel*, Stravinsky, Granados* and Ginastera.
* indicates piano works arranged for duo by Suliman Tekalli (v). Jamila T. is the pianist.

Never heard of the performers before, but they are excellent IMO. Super appealing program due to the obvious names, and the unknown (to me) Esmail piece was fine.
First time to the venue, but will definitely be back. Only negative is that it's a church venue with concomitant uncomfortable seating. 

[Kalevala]

Just got back from a very enjoyable semi-local (hinterlands) concert at Saugerties (NY) Pro Musica.

Tekalli (violin/piano) brother-sister duo, played pieces by Mozart, Reena Esmail, Ravel*, Stravinsky, Granados* and Ginastera.
* indicates piano works arranged for duo by Suliman Tekalli (v). Jamila T. is the pianist.

Never heard of the performers before, but they are excellent IMO. Super appealing program due to the obvious names, and the unknown (to me) Esmail piece was fine.
First time to the venue, but will definitely be back. Only negative is that it's a church venue with concomitant uncomfortable seating. 

Best bet:  bring a chair cushion to sit on.  Some places, one can rent one.  Or these days, there might be more of an all-in-one back and seat cushion that one can purchase and bring to the event?

K

[T. D.]

Thanks, good idea. The weather's getting colder, so yesterday I was able to sit on my coat, which helped. I'll take a cushion to church venues in future. I'm sure there exist back/seat cushions, but I'm too cheap to buy one.