Gustavo Dudamel was recently in Canada conducting several concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. By most accounts these concerts devoted to symphonies by Corigliano and Tchaikovsky were hugely impressive. Meanwhile, in Austin, TX, in the aftermath of the annual SXSW Festival, the Austin Symphony presented a rare showing of the film Redes with music by Silvestre Revueltas. This fine Mexican composer died in 1940 at the age of 40, and it was a tragic loss. Revueltas was destined to be one of the major composers of his generation. Among his finest orchestral works is Sensemaya, a pounding, surging piece influenced by…
Browsing: Orchestral
Latvian-born conductor Andris Nelsons seems to be everywhere these days, and everywhere he goes he leaves a positive impression. Here is a conductor who is technically brilliant and totally involved in the music he loves. On top of that, he is charismatic too. No wonder the Boston Symphony signed him up as their next music director. Just a week ago he was in Boston announcing the orchestra’s 2014-2015 season and conducting performances of Strauss’ Salome. A few days later he was in New York leading the Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. Then it is back to Birmingham, England where he…
Alan Gilbert is the music director of the New York Philharmonic but he is also the principal guest conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg, one of the best orchestras in Germany. Gilbert has his detractors in New York but he has brought a breath of fresh air to the orchestra’s programming. He has very wide interests and works hard to present contemporary music in interesting ways. In New York in the next few weeks he will continue his Nielsen cycle in concert and on recordings and conduct performances of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd with Emma Thompson and Bryan Terfel.…
by Paul E. RobinsonMaestro Giancarlo Guerrero and members of the Cleveland OrchestraDvořák: Carnival Overture Op. 92Kreisler: Praeludium and AllegroRennosuke Fukuda, violin (1st Prize Winner, Junior Section)Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in g minor Op. 63 (1st movement)Stephen Waarts, violin (1st Prize Winner, Senior Section)Ravel: TziganeArabella Steinbacher, violin (Menuhin Competition Jury Member)Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in e minor Op. 64The Cleveland OrchestraGiancarlo Guerrero, conductorLong Center for the Performing ArtsAustin, TXSunday, March 2, 2014It is not often that the city of Austin sees one of the “Big Five” orchestras; to conclude the Menuhin Competition Austin 2014, the organizers brought in the Cleveland…
by Paul E. Robinson(Left to right): Gordon Back (Artistic Director of the Menuhin Competition);Stephen Waarts (Winner); and Jury Chair Pamela Franks Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in e minor Op. 64Finalist: Christine Seohyun Lim (Age 19; American-Korean)Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major Op. 19Finalist: Stephen Kim (Age 18; American)Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in g minor Op. 63Finalist: Stephen Waarts (Age 17; American-Dutch)Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major Op. 19Finalist: In Mo Yang (Age 18; Korean)Austin Symphony Orchestra/Peter BayLong Center for the Performing ArtsAustin, TexasMarch 1, 2014After eight days of grueling competition, four young violinists between the ages of…
by Paul E. RobinsonMaestro Giancarlo GuerreroDvořák: Carnival OvertureKreisler: Praeludium and AllegroRennosuke Fukuda: 1st Prize Winner, Junior Section, violinThe Cleveland OrchestraGiancarlo Guerrero, conductorStookey: The Composer is DeadThe Cleveland OrchestraBrett Mitchell, conductorGiancarlo Guerrero, narratorLong Center for the Performing ArtsAustin, TexasMarch 1, 2014As the Menuhin Competition Austin 2014 nears its conclusion, its’ organizers paused to remind listeners that the competition, founded in 1983 by Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999), is all about children. Menuhin believed that music should be about more than talent and competition, that it should produce “ambassadors of goodwill, for they come with pure hearts and music in their souls. It is…
by Paul E. RobinsonMenuhin Competition Austin 2014 Winners (Junior Division)(Left to right) Ludwig Gudim (3rd Prize); Daniel Lozakovitj (2nd Prize); Rennosuke Fukuda (1st Prize);Jaewon Wee (5th Prize); Alex Zhou (4th Prize)Friday night at the Butler School of Music in Austin, TX, seven young violinists between the ages of 12 and 14, competed for prizes in the Junior Section of the Menuhin Competition Austin 2014. Among the countries represented were the United States, Korea, Japan, Sweden, and Norway. In this final round the contestants chose one 10-minute piece from a list of four works by Sarasate, Saint-Saëns, Waxman and Wieniawski. Each…
by Paul E. RobinsonSenior Finalists in Menuhin Competition Austin 2014(Left to right): In Mo Yang (18, Korean); Stephen Kim (18, American); Stephen Waarts (17, American/Dutch); Christine Seohyun Lim (19, American/Korean)The excitement is mounting as the Menuhin Competition Austin 2014 heads towards the finish line. In the senior division (16-21 years old) nine young violinists competed yesterday in the semi-finals; each one performed brilliantly, but by late in the evening only four remained in the hunt for prizes.In these semi-finals each performer was required to take the first violinist’s chair in the Miró Quartet and lead several movements of a Haydn quartet. Then followed…
by Paul E. RobinsonVerdi: Messa da RequiemHui He, sopranoMarianne Cornetti, mezzo-sopranoGiorgio Berrugi, tenorAin Anger, bassDallas Symphony Chorus and Orchestra/Jaap van ZwedenMeyerson Symphony CenterDallas, TexasSunday, February 23, 2014It wasn’t the first time that Jaap van Zweden had conducted Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in Dallas, it hopefully won’t be the last, and it was memorable in all the right ways. The climaxes were stupendous, the quiet moments were ethereal, and the entire work held together as a deeply-felt lament for the dead.Giuseppe VerdiThe Verdi Requiem is a theatrical piece in the sense that Verdi was primarily an opera composer. He didn’t write…
by Paul E. Robinson Mozart: Sonata for Piano and Violin in G major K. 301Kreisler: La Gitane/Londonderry Air/Tambourin ChinoisJoji Hattori, violin/Gordon Back, pianoPiazzola: Historie du Tango and Café Joji Hattori, violin/Adam Holzman, guitarGang Chen: Sunshine in TasikuerganSaint-Saëns: Sonata for Violin and Piano Op. 75Lu Siqing, violin/Anton Nel, pianoBates Recital Hall/Butler School of MusicUniversity of TexasAustin, TexasMonday, February 24, 2014One of the many benefits of having a major music competition in town is the opportunity to hear performances by some of the jury members. In the case of the Menuhin Competition Austin 2014, these included Joji Hattori and Lu Siqing, surely two…

