By using Schumann’s Novelletten to draw a broad dramaturgical bow over the whole evening, Martin Helmchen stands on his own as a bold and highly creative pianist.
Only a few days ago, the newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made history and provoked frenzied headlines by forming his cabinet with an equal number of men and women.
For many, the phrase “music competition” has an unsavoury ring to it. One thinks of the tearful children of pushy parents, the crazed violinist whose failure has pushed him over the edge or perhaps even some of the more barbaric (yet horrifyingly watchable) talent shows on TV. Fortunately there is another side to these competitions: the fantastic platform they provide to talented musicians.
German baritone Roman Trekel, who made a rare London appearance replacing Dorothea Röschmann at the Wigmore Hall on Friday night, is a highly respected singer known especially for his many Wagner roles as well as for his Lieder interpretation. I first encountered him singing Wolfram in Tannhaüser at the Bayreuth Festival some years ago.
Le Kursaal de Besançon proposait un audacieux programme au féminin, autour de la création mondiale de la Symphonie « Grande Guerre » de Charlotte Sohy et auquel Debora Waldman et Marie Vermeulin ont fait honneur.
Avec un remarquable trio de jeunes talents (Laetitia Volcey, Élise Bertrand et Pierre Gasnier), le Festival Présences Féminines rend hommage à la compositrice Clara Schumann, en cette année du bicentenaire de sa naissance.
Alors que sa Traviata a créé l'évènement le mois dernier au Metropolitan Opera de New York, Sonya Yoncheva revient à Paris pour un récital inattendu et intime, autour de Clara Schumann et Pauline Viardot. Pari réussi.
Mardi 15 et mercredi 16 juillet, les concerts donnés à 18h dans la Salle Pasteur du Corum étaient consacrés aux compositrices pionnières. Les interprètes ont pris plaisir à sortir de l’ombre des œuvres méconnues, à la beauté inédite : une excellente initiative doublée d’une réalisation impeccable.
