John Williams’ Clarinet Concerto Soars In First Florida Performance
ORLANDO — John Bruce Yeh, a member of the Chicago Symphony since 1977, has championed Williams' 1991 concerto, which he and the Orlando Philharmonic performed on a program that included Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony.
World Premiere Saluting America’s Anniversary Shares Bill With Puccini
NEW YORK — Teatro Grattacielo successfully offered the unlikely pairing of Joshua Daniel Nichols' Jefferson Lives!, which features John Adams but not Thomas Jefferson, with Suor Angelica, the second opera in Puccini's Il Trittico.
An Ambitious Orchestra Raises Its Own Bar With Trek Across Mahler 9th
JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville Symphony, typically 60 strong but expanded to 100 musicians for its first performance of the epic Ninth since 1992, met this test of virtuosity with aplomb under music director Courtney Lewis.
In Vocal Flights, Bullock Transforms New-Music Concert Into An Event
BOSTON – As soloist with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project led by artistic director Gil Rose, soprano Julia Bullock starred in works by Barber and Matthew Aucoin on a bill also featuring music by Charles Wuorinen and Anthony Paul De Ritis.
Music Director Debuts With Offbeat Dvořák, Prize-Winning Pianist
OTTAWA - John Storgårds' first program at the helm of the National Arts Centre Orchestra skipped Dvořák's famous symphonies in favor of the obscure Third and eschewed a big-name soloist for young Canadian pianist Élisabeth Pion.
SF Symphony’s New Music Director Delivers A West Coast Double
PERSPECTIVE – Elim Chan takes up her post in San Francisco in 2027, but a two-week span in October found this hugely talented, tiny, Hong Kong-born dynamo leading impressive concerts with both San Francisco and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Ukrainian Mothers’ Epic Rescue Of Kidnapped Children Now Lyric Tale
WARSAW – The Polish National Opera gave the world premiere of Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomiiets' The Mothers of Kherson, inspired by accounts of women who ventured 3,000 circuitous miles into Russia to find their children.
In An Election Preamble, American Fare Enfolds U.S. History, Aspirations
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Oregon Symphony struck a vital chord in the premiere of Gabriel Kahane’s Every Love Song is a Protest, with the composer (right) as vocalist, grouped with Copland’s Lincoln Portrait and William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 4.
Concert For Reich, 90, Unearths Surprising, Rich Layers Of Melody
NEW YORK – Half a century ago, a Carnegie Hall audience was incensed by Steve Reich's Four Organs, a piece without melody. But the reaction at a 90th birthday fete signaled quite a different sense of melody's place in this composer's art.
Tacoma Opera Rides Downscaled ‘Walküre’ Toward Complete ‘Ring’
TACOMA, Wash. – The project is an outstanding example of how a regional company with limited resources can redefine its mission in a moment when larger arts institutions, facing financial pressures, are recalibrating their ambitions.
Youthful Mahler Opens An Orchestra’s Season In Voluminous Fashion
MONTREAL – Having made his way through nearly all the numbered symphonies, Rafael Payare, music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, turned to Mahler's early cantata Das klagende Lied with massive forces, huge sound.
Familial Feeling Blends With Edged Repertoire At Chamber Music Fest
NEWBURYPORT, Mass. – While blending bold programming with a casually involved atmosphere, the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival, tucked away in this coastal community, has remained largely unchanged in its 25 years.
String Duo Recaptures Bartók’s Sly Exercises Based On Folk Forays
DIGITAL REVIEW – Béla Bartók was the exceptional teacher who tried to make instrumental drills less tedious and more musical. Violinist Alexandra Preucil and violist Antoine Tamestit make the case in their traversal of the composer's 44 Duos.
Joy In A Musical Grind: Many Notes, Few Rests On This Training Ground
ATHERTON, Calif. – Music@Menlo is a chamber music mecca, but it is foremost a high-intensity developmental program where students, both young and experienced, present a rewarding series of concerts on a relentless schedule.
Its Dark Clouds Behind, SF Symphony Displays New Zest In French Fare
SAN FRANCISCO – Internal turbulence and a gloomy outlook had suddenly turned to pervasive optimism when guest conductor Stéphane Denève closed out the season with a glittering mix of Poulenc's Organ Concerto and Saint-Saëns.
Latest On Classical Gas: Bassoonist-Conductor Is A One-Woman Band
PERSPECTIVE – Speaking with Classical Gas host Gail Wein, enterprising bassoonist Rebekah Heller recalls getting the conducting bug and also dives into a forthcoming album of works for multiple bassoons and how she plays all the parts herself.
Hanging On Every Note And Tantalizing Silence Of String Quartet Cycle
NEW YORK – Deploying extended techniques that produced sundry effects of grinding, scraping, and squeaking, augmented by lots of silence, the JACK Quartet played three works by German composer Helmut Lachenmann, who turns 90 in November.
With Buoyant Concerto For Orchestra, Marsalis Hits All The Right Notes
LOS ANGELES – Wynton Marsalis' latest creation for symphony orchestra, which received its U.S. premiere at the Hollywood Bowl under Rafael Payare, is a lot of fun. And for now, the familiar influence of Duke Ellington seems to have fled.
Poiesis Quartet Wins Competition, But Just Getting There Is A Win
BANFF, Alberta – While the Cincinnati-based foursome hauled away some $500,000 (Canadian) in prizes at the triennial Banff International String Quartet Competition, the event is a reliable career boost for every ensemble invited to participate.
Midsummer Bach Fest Flits From Mendelssohn To ‘Art Of Fugue’ In Bits
CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. – With the magical opening bars of A Midsummer Night’s Dream overture, the Carmel Bach Festival launched its 88th season, ushering its audience into a world far from the summer's heat, storms, and politics.
