Orchestral - my/maSCENA

Spring Highlights: Quebec City

By Michèle-Andrée Lanoue on 1 February 2012 Chamber Music, Opera, Orchestral, Violin

By Michèle-Andrée Lanoue Erreur de type 27The ensemble Erreur de type 27, the “presence of contemporary music” in Quebec City incarnate, is collaborating with Oktoécho for a reading where theatre and music collide for the presentation of Chants du prophète. Part improvised and part written, the performance draws on the philosophical/poetic anthology Le Prophète by Khalil Gibran. This premiere from composer Katia Makdissi-Warren and playwright-director Hanna Abd El Nour will be performed at the Palais Montcalm on March 31 at 8 p.m. www.erreurdetype27.comOrchestre symphonique de QuébecTwo orchestras, from the Conservatoire de musique de Québec and the music faculty of Université…

“RachFest” a High Note for Graf, Gerstein, and the Houston Symphony!

By Paul E. Robinson on 25 January 2012 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonRachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 1Rachmaninov: Isle of the DeadRachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 4Kirill Gerstein, pianoHouston Symphony: Hans Graf, conductorJones HallHouston, TexasSunday, January 15, 2012Symphony orchestras frequently mount “festivals” to package their wares more effectively, but I can’t remember ever coming across a Rachmaninov Festival, or “RachFest,” as they called it in Houston.Composer Sergei RachmaninovThere are usually two main reasons for classical music festivals: to celebrate artistic achievement and to fill seats. Whereas Beethoven and Mozart festivals have become so common and in the beginning at least were so lucrative that artistic purposes were almost beside the point, in the case of Houston’ s…

Rare Szymanowski with Austin Symphony and Emanuel Ax a Texas Treat!

By Paul E. Robinson on 24 January 2012 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Orchestral, Piano

by Paul E. RobinsonMozart: The Impresario OvertureBeethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2Moniuszko: Bajka (A Fairy Tale) Fantastic OvertureSzymanowski: Symphony No. 4 “Symphonie Concertante” for Piano and Orchestra Op. 60Emanuel Ax, pianoThe Austin Symphony, Peter Bay, conductorMichael and Susan Dell Hall Long Center for the Performing ArtsAustin, TexasJanuary 13, 2012We hear a lot about troubled orchestras these days. As the recession lingers on, ticket sales continue to be disappointing and donations are down. The orchestras that survive are the ones that tighten their belts and step up their marketing. They also tend to limit their programming to more popular fare.The Austin Symphony…

Book Review: Charry’s Szell Biography Authoritative But Incomplete

By Paul E. Robinson on 17 December 2011 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonGeorge Szell: A Life in Music by Michael CharryUrbana: University of Illinois Press, 2011412 pagesOne of the conducting icons of my youth was George Szell. I had the good fortune to live within a few hundred miles of his home base in Cleveland and regularly heard Szell with his great orchestra in Cleveland, Toronto and at an annual Spring festival in London, Ontario. Many of Szell’s finest recordings come from this period. I idolized the man for his ability to galvanize an orchestra – whether through musicianship, by force of personality or fear, I wasn’t sure which…

Bay and Austin Symphony Celebrate Virtuosity!

By Paul E. Robinson on 28 November 2011 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Piano

By Paul E. RobinsonGinastera: Variaciones concertantes Op. 23Franck: Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra M. 46Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major S.125Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von WeberAnton Nel: pianoAustin Symphony Orchestra (ASO): Peter Bay, conductorMichael and Susan Dell HallLong Center for the Performing ArtsAustin. TexasSaturday, November 19, 2011Boulez: Mémoriale Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major Op. 19 Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E flat major Timothy Hutchins, flute Till Fellner, piano Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM): Kent Nagano, conductorLa Maison symphonique Place des ArtsMontréalSaturday, October 15, 2011It is an indication of…

Nagano/OSM: Brilliant Beethoven Beats Out Bland Bruckner

By Paul E. Robinson on 29 October 2011 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic

by Paul E. RobinsonBoulez: MémorialeBeethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major Op. 19Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E flat majorTimothy Hutchins, fluteTill Fellner, pianoOrchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM): Kent Nagano, conductorLa Maison symphoniquePlace des ArtsMontréalSaturday, October 15, 2011Montréal’s new hall, La Maison symphonique, has been presenting concerts for over a month now, and after an ‘unfinished’ opening, we’re finally into the fine-tuning phase of the project. An impromptu example occurred mid-concert when maestro Nagano stepped down from the podium after the first movement of the Bruckner to announce that he was unable to continue until his wonky podium…

Gallic Charm Triumphs in Montréal!

By Paul E. Robinson on 4 October 2011 Concert Reviews, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonGounod: Symphony No. 1 in D majorSaint-Saens: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor Op. 33Ravel: Valses Nobles et SentimentalesRoussel: Bacchus et Ariane Op. 43 Suite No. 2Gautier Capuçon: celloOrchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM): Michel Plasson, conductorLa Maison symphoniquePlace des ArtsMontréal, QuebecSeptember 29, 2011Hasn’t the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) always been a great French orchestra? In the halcyon days of Charles Dutoit, conductor and orchestra became Decca’s house orchestra for French music the way Ernest Ansermet and L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande had been for the same label a generation earlier. Dutoit is no longer in…

Nagano & OSM Show off New Hall with Towering Turangalîla

By Paul E. Robinson on 20 September 2011 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Piano, Violin

by Paul E. RobinsonTchaikovsky (orch.Glazunov): Méditation in D minor Op.42 No.1Glazunov: Violin Concerto in A minor Op. 82Messiaen: Turangalîla-SymphonieJoshua Bell: violinAngela Hewitt: pianoJean Laurendeau: ondes martenotOrchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM): Kent Nagano, conductorLa Maison symphoniquePlace des ArtsMontréal, QuebecSeptember 13, 2011Ever since its premiere in 1949, audiences have been moved and thrilled by Olivier Messiaen’s massive Turangalîla Symphony. More than 60 years later, it remains an extraordinarily original and peculiar piece. Montreal has heard it before – Charles Dutoit championed the piece in 2000 at Place des Arts. Kent Nagano has a special relationship with the composer and his music, and…

Nagano-OSM Week at Orford an Impressive Affair

By Paul E. Robinson on 11 August 2011 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonWhen the Knowlton Festival folded two years ago, the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (OSM) and its chief conductor, Kent Nagano, needed to find an alternative venue for some of their summer music-making. An inspired choice was the Orford Festival. While last season’s appearances were uneven, this summer everything came together and the results were impressive.Last summer at Orford, the OSM gave two full concerts under Nagano, who also worked with the Orford Academy Orchestra (OAO) on a third concert. The venue for all three performances was the Saint-Patrice Church in Magog. This year, the OSM gave only…

A Tale of Two Festivals: Castleton and BlackCreek

By Paul E. Robinson on 14 July 2011 Concert Reviews, Opera, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonEvery summer Marita and I drive from Austin, Texas back to our native Canada, varying our route each year according to events of particular interest on the road and the availability of friends we enjoy visiting.This year we decided to make a stop in Charlottesville, Virginia, a favourite place we hadn’t visited in too many years. This charming, lively, petite (pop: 40,000) mountain town is home to the University of Virginia where we fondly recalled once having inspected the tiny room inhabited by Edgar Allen Poe during his short tenure as a student here. The literary stature…

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