Latin American and Spanish music at the medieval Turku Castle in the heart of the former capital of Finland. A perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and the musicians of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra are undoubtedly the most prominent ambassadors for Venezuelan orchestral music today, and they hit the stage on Friday for their second night at Carnegie Hall’s opening weekend.
In true Olympian spirit, Marin Alsop and her São Paulo Symphony Orchestra dived head first into the drama of Brazilian music, with luxurious Rachmaninov and Gabriela Montero freely expressive in Grieg.
Marin Alsop nods to her mentor in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, challenges the Edinburgh Festival Chorus with Villa-Lobos' Chôros 10 and astonishes in a passionate enduring performance of Shostakovich's Fifth.
Guy Johnston and friends in a varied programme of works and arrangements for 12 cellos, joined by soprano Golda Schultz in tender and spirited Villa-Lobos.
The Scottish Ensemble on lively form is joined by exciting Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero to explore the links and influences of Bach and Mozart on modern South American composers.
Considering the sheer wattage of Yo-Yo Ma’s name, it was not his playing alone that stole the show; rather, the magic of this performance existed in the act of collaboration between two artists.
One of the delights of the Edinburgh Fringe is getting into venues you might pass by routinely all year and yet know nothing about. The Royal Over-Seas League in Princes Street was a case in point: it provided a charming boutique venue with a bar giving views of the Castle, Princes Street Gardens, and the street itself, busy with people at the start of this festival.
Wednesday night’s concert was the first in the Orchestra of St John’s Proms at the Ashmolean series of the new year. John Lubbock led the orchestra, the OSJ Ashmolean Voices and soloists Johnny Herford and Louise Wayman through lively performances of Handel’s Apollo e Dafne and J.S. Bach’s Liebster Jesu, mein Verlagen.
Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela completed a four-day residency at Cal Performances with two concerts that rocked, rolled, and astounded audiences in Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall.
Simply stated, watching the Limón Dance Company is an emotional experience. The concepts that inspired founder and choreographer José Limón 65 years ago remain fresh today and challenge the audience. This unspoken conversation is the hallmark of American modern dance and part of Limón’s legacy.
Believe all the hype: Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe—more famously called Anderson and Roe—are electric. At Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn, this piano duo did more than celebrate the launch of their new album; they fashioned an entirely new concert experience.
Canadian pianist (and sometime composer) Marc-André Hamelin can play anything. Or so it would appear from his recital at Wigmore Hall last night, his first concert in London following his dazzling all-Liszt Prom last Summer.
It is quite a daunting task to assess the performance of someone like John Williams. Certainly one of the finest and most famous living classical guitarists in the world, he seems something of a colossus of the instrument. Yet the manner he exuded as he entered the stage of St. George’s was of understated familiarity.
In a recent interview, BBC Radio 3 Controller Roger Wright was asked "What music would you want played at your funeral?" His reply: "Spanish guitar music, because I wouldn’t be there to hear it. If you ask my colleagues they’d say Spanish guitar music is one of my blind spots."
Full marks to Wright for laying his cards on the table, perhaps. But how common, how deep-seated are such sentiments in the British classical music community?
La salle Cortot a accueilli le guitariste Thibaut Garcia le temps d'un récital. Un concert marquant où le jeune artiste a montré son talent hors norme.
Quand Nelson Freire entre sur la scène, le silence se fait instantanément. 2000 personnes sont venues écouter ce vieil ami, fidèle du festival depuis sa deuxième édition, en 1982.
Il y a des interprètes dont les interprétations feront toujours l’émerveillement de celui qui les écoute à l’aveugle. Nelson Freire en fait décidément partie. Si différent dans sa personnalité de ces jeunes qui ont encore des choses à prouver et produisent éperdument jeu de main, de cheveux, de hanche ou de partition, le pianiste de soixante-douze ans ne fait que de la musique.
Entre la gouaille chostakovitchienne et l’exubérance des batucadas, entre la sensualité brésilienne et le fatum d’un Tchaïkovski, il n’y avait qu’un pas, franchi par l’orchestre Neojiba et son chef Ricardo Castro, portés par la figure de Martha Argerich.
Il ne faut pas avoir peur du vide pour se lancer ainsi, à corps perdu, dans l’arène géante du Royal Albert Hall, surtout avec une première partie, Desenne et Villa-Lobos, si peu consistante. Sauvés par Ravel… La musique, Dudamel la fait à l’esbroufe, poussant le Simon Bolivar à ses limites de puissance et de vélocité.
El público reconoció la titánica tarea de interpretar integralmente los cuartetos de Villa-Lobos y agradeció que lo hayan hecho por primera vez en el país.
