Classical Music - my/maSCENA

Spring Festival Picks

By Rebecca Anne Clark on 1 April 2015 Canadian Music, Classical Music

Montreal & Quebec Guitare Montreal April 24-26, www.guitaremontreal.com This weekend festival combines performances, lectures, masterclasses, an exhibition, and a competition with over $4,000 in prizes. The festival begins Friday night with a performance by the Montreal Guitar Society under the direction of Dave Pilon, plus Czech guitar virtuoso Vladislav Bláha and Alan Liu, winner of last year’s Youth Competition. Guitar luthiers and vendors will be displaying their wares all day Saturday and Sunday. Saturday evening features a performance by last year’s competition winner, Miodrag Zerdoner, and renowned New York guitarist David Leisner. On Sunday afternoon, the Montreal Guitar Society Competition…

Worthy Sibelius Tribute in Austin, Texas

By Paul E. Robinson on 12 February 2015 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic

by Paul E. RobinsonPeter Bay and the Austin Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in the Long CenterDukas: Fanfare for La Péri (1912)Glazunov: Wedding March Op. 21 (1889)Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor Op. 47 (1903)Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E minor Op. 39 (1899)Karen Gomyo, violinAustin Symphony Orchestra (ASO)/Peter BayLong Center for the Performing ArtsAustin, TexasFebruary 7, 2015Composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1857)This is going to be a big year for Finnish composer Jean Sibelius; born in 1865, 2015 is the 150th anniversary of his birth. Orchestras everywhere will be playing his music and there will surely be a plethora of new recordings. Conductor…

Andris Nelsons Photo: Marco Borggreve

Video of the Day – Andris Nelsons in Boston and Lucerne

By Paul E. Robinson on 5 October 2014 Orchestral, Video of the day

Andris Nelsons has now taken charge of the Boston Symphony. The video comes from a concert given by Nelsons and the BSO this past July at Tanglewood. It includes excerpts from two Dvorak works: the Symphony No. 8 and the Violin Concerto, the latter with Anne-Sophie Mutter as soloist. By all accounts the new BSO music director has been warmly received by audiences, critics and members of the orchestra. Meanwhile, Nelsons has been very active in Europe too. When Claudio Abbado passed away earlier this year his Lucerne Festival Orchestra was left wondering what to do. The orchestra had been…

Video of the Day – The Legend of Django Reinhardt

By Paul E. Robinson on 19 August 2014 Strings, Video of the day

For anyone brought up to appreciate the artistry of men like Andres Segovia and Django Reinhardt (1910-1953), it is sad to see the abuse of the guitar in contemporary popular music. The instrument has been transformed into a monster emitting deafening electronic noise. And the more distortion the better.Django was in his prime in the 1930s and 40s. The war interrupted his career and together with some mishaps and bad judgment his postwar career was a series of hits and misses. But the recordings he made are jazz classics. Very little of his work was captured on film but it…

Video of the Day – Carlo Bergonzi (1924-2014): In Memoriam

By Paul E. Robinson on 8 August 2014 Opera, Video of the day

Italian tenor Carlo Bergonzi was 90 years old when he died this past week. He had a long and illustrious career. His made his debut at La Scala in 1953 and at the Met 3 years later. Thereafter, he was a regular at the Met for 30 years. He was not the most exciting tenor of his generation. But he was widely admired for his beautiful tone and good taste.Like too many artists Bergonzi didn’t know when to quit and left a major blemish on his career. In 2000 he attempted to sing the leading role in Verdi’s Otello in…

Video of the Day – Karajan: the 25th Anniversary of His Death

By Paul E. Robinson on 29 July 2014 Orchestral, Video of the day

It was 25 years ago this month (July 16) that Herbert von Karajan passed away. He was 81 and still conducting regularly even though he had been in almost constant pain from back problems for years. At the time of his death he was rehearsing a new production of Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera at the Salzburg Festival.In the above video the current conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic – Simon Rattle – talks about his illustrious predecessor. As usual, Rattle is articulate, balanced and perceptive in what he says about Karajan. After all these years, he can’t get over how Karajan…

Video of the Day – David Zinman Retires from the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich

By Paul E. Robinson on 21 July 2014 Orchestral, Video of the day

On July 11, 2014 David Zinman conducted his last concert as music director of the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich. He has headed the orchestra for 19 years and together they have made dozens of highly-acclaimed recordings including all the Schubert, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Mahler symphonies. Not to mention nearly all the orchestral works of Richard Strauss.Zinman is now 78 years old and says that due to medical problems he intends to slow down. There will be some guest conducting but no more permanent positions.Zinman is one of the most successful and underappreciated American conductors of his generation. In his early…

Video of the Day – Lorin Maazel (1930-2014) RIP

By Paul E. Robinson on 15 July 2014 Orchestral, Video of the day

I first saw Lorin Maazel conduct at Plateau Hall in Montreal in 1962. He was touring with the French National Orchestra. He was 32-years-old at the time and a real whiz-kid. He conducted everything from memory and seemed to have the most precise stick technique I had ever seen. Among other works he conducted Stravinsky’s Petrouchka and Berlioz’ Roman Carnival Overture. At the end of the Berlioz there is a loud sustained brass chord and Maazel dealt with it in the most theatrical way possible. He demonstratively dropped his arms while the brass players held their chord. Then when it…

Video of the Day – Trumpeter Philip Smith Steps Down From the NY Philharmonic

By Paul E. Robinson on 13 July 2014 Orchestral, Video of the day

Philip Smith has been principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic for several decades. He joined the orchestra in 1978 and stayed for 36 years. He was universally admired for the quality of his playing. His reputation was so great that many people came to believe that he never missed a note. The fact is that he very rarely cracked a note but more than that he played with phenomenal technical control and tonal variety.Philip Smith is retiring from the Philharmonic at the end of this season and his chair will be hard to fill. It will be nearly impossible…

Le Festival de Lanaudière du 8 juillet au 10 août

By Justin Bernard on 8 July 2014 Classical, La Scena Online, Orchestral, Piano, Romantic, Strings

par Justin BernardPour cette 37e édition, le pianiste Alain Lefèvre, ambassadeur artistique du festival, fera le concert d’ouverture. Au programme, une œuvre de Bach transcrite par Liszt, une sonate de Haydn et une autre de Rachmaninov, les 24 préludes de Chopin et La Valse de Ravel. 8 juillet.Pour souligner le 150e anniversaire de naissance de Richard Strauss, trois des œuvres du compositeur seront interprétées : le poème symphonique Don Quichotte avec solistes, accompagnés par l’Orchestre du Festival, que l’on pourra entendre dans un autre poème symphonique, Don Juan, et dans la suite orchestrale extraite du Chevalier à la rose. À la…

Browsing: Classical Music