In Light Of Premiere, Ives’ Piquant ‘Question’ Affords A Calm Answer
NEW YORK – George Lewis' colorful and often noisy …ohne festen Wohnsitz, for large orchestra with massive percussion, debuted in a New York Philharmonic concert led by Kwamé Ryan where The Unanswered Question was relatively polite.
Saariaho’s ‘Innocence,’ Viewed At Met Distance, Loses Personal Urgency
NEW YORK – An unflinching dissection of school-shooter trauma, the opera was bound to hit deep levels of identification. Some audience members left in tears. But it's a fragile flower vulnerable to the objectivity of staging in the Met's vast house.
Medieval Combat Game Takes Boston Camerata Down Video Pathways
BOSTON – As leader and narrator, Anne Azéma guides her esteemed cohort across familiar ground of 13th-century music of courtly love and legend, but this time for the strategic computer role-playing game Legends of the Round Table.
Taking On Prokofiev With Pianistic Means, But Wit Waxes, Wanes
DIGITAL REVIEW – On an album titled simply Prokofiev, British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason generously profiles the composer with a mix of genres including the Third Piano Concerto. But am I hearing Prokofiev or the virtuoso pianist?
3 Glass Operas Played On 2 Pianos, Accented By A Suite Of Scents
LOS ANGELES – As pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque performed arrangements from Orphée, La Belle et la Bête, and Les Enfants terribles, listeners could sniff "scent cards" purported to add another dimension to the musical moments.
Ancient Gilgamesh Epic, Told Across Ages, Finds A Fresh Voice As Opera
CERRITOS, Calif. – This saga of a transfigured king from the second millennium B.C. has animated at least seven operas. An innovative addition, Derrick Skye’s Gilgamesh: The Opera, received its world premiere by Lyric Opera of Orange County.
5 Winds Caress Legacy Of Nadia Boulanger And Her Musical Progeny
DIGITAL REVIEW – The celebrated French pedagogue taught an amazing array of students. A new CD titled Nadia, by the Houston-based ensemble WindSync, explores music by Boulanger and composers who honed their craft with her.
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.
Philip Glass At Large: From Knowing Hands, Music Grand, Intimate
NEW YORK – Philip Glass, 88, is best performed by those who haven’t known a world without him. One such, Gustavo Dudamel, led Glass’ Symphony No. 11 with the NY Philharmonic. Another qualifier, Brooklyn Rider, played Glass quartets.
Mahlerpalooza: 10-Day Fest Drew 5 Orchestras, Fans From…Everywhere
AMSTERDAM – For the third time in its history, the Concertgebouw presented Mahler's complete symphonies, this time played by high-profile ensembles from Budapest, Tokyo, Chicago, and Berlin as well as the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Marsalis Adds Personal Flair To Film Honoring Jazz Legend Armstrong
SAN DIEGO – At a screening of the 2010 silent film Louis, fellow New Orleans-bred trumpeter Wynton Marsalis sat in with a 13-member band to play music he'd written or arranged from originals by Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, and others.
A Powerful ‘Moby-Dick’ Seizes The Met Stage (Don’t Call Him Ishmael)
NEW YORK – Tenor Brandon Jovanovich heads the cast as the vengeful and obsessive Capt. Ahab in composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer's adaptation of Herman Melville's novel. But the adventure's sole survivor has been renamed.
In Dreamscape Concert, French Maestro Weaves Legends And Mysteries
NEW YORK – In an evocative program of Romantic songs and choruses titled "My Dream," 40-year-old countertenor-turned-conductor Raphaël Pichon led the Orchestra of St. Luke's, soprano Ying Fang, and baritone Christian Gerhaher.
2 Composer-Performers Merge Personalities In Rarefied Concert Fare
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Multi-talented composers Caroline Shaw (who sings and plays viola) and Gabriel Kahane (singer-pianist) showcased their new, albeit well-traveled, collaborative work Hexagons, on Jorge Luis Borges' fanciful text.
Northern Lights: Polished Singers Spark Two Canadian Concerts
VANCOUVER – Vancouver Recital Society offered exceptional vocal programs back to back: a local premiere by soprano Barbara Hannigan with pianist Bertrand Chamayou and Schoenberg by Hila Baggio with the Israeli Chamber Project.
‘Dream Of Red Chamber’ In Revised Opera Guise Delivers New Intimacy
MINNEAPOLIS – Bright Sheng's opera based on an epic Chinese novel received a lavish production for its San Francisco Opera premiere in 2016. A scaled-down version, newly staged at the University of Minnesota, refocuses the story.
Project To Celebrate New Music Outshines Compositions It Honors
MONTREAL – Prizes offered by the Canadian-based Azrieli Foundation are generous, the juries impressive, the performances first-rate. And the applicant pool is international. The prizewinning works at a gala choral concert were hit and miss.
