Classical Music - my/maSCENA

Video of the Day – Alan Gilbert Conducts Mahler

By Paul E. Robinson on 3 March 2014 Orchestral, Video of the day

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.…

Menuhin Competition Austin 2014: Closing Gala Concert

By Paul E. Robinson on 3 March 2014 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Strings, Violin

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…

Menuhin Competition Austin 2014: And the Winner is…Stephen Waarts!

By Paul E. Robinson on 2 March 2014 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Strings

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…

Menuhin Competition Austin 2014 Declares:”The Composer is Dead!”

By Paul E. Robinson on 2 March 2014 Concert Reviews, Orchestral

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…

Menuhin Competition Austin 2014: Junior Section Prize Winners Selected

By Paul E. Robinson on 1 March 2014 La Scena Spotlight, Orchestral, Strings

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…

Four Competitors Reach Seniors Section Finals at Menuhin Competition Austin 2014

By Paul E. Robinson on 28 February 2014 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Strings

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…

A Monumental Verdi Requiem from Jaap van Zweden and the Dallas Symphony!

By Paul E. Robinson on 27 February 2014 Concert Reviews, Orchestral

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…

Menuhin Competition Austin 2014: Jury Members Dazzle in Performance!

By Paul E. Robinson on 26 February 2014 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Piano, Violin

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…

Video of the Day – Menuhin Competition Austin 2014

By Paul E. Robinson on 24 February 2014 Video of the day, Violin

For the first time ever the Menuhin Violin Competition is being held this year in the United States. The current competition began last Friday in Austin, Texas and continues until Sunday, March 2. Forty-two young violinists from all over the world are competing for prizes and a chance to appear with the Cleveland Orchestra in the closing gala concert. I’ll be blogging from the competition every few days. The first blog about the opening concert has already been posted on the LSM website.Yehudi Menuhin (1916- 1999 ) was one of the great violinists of his time. At the age of eleven he…

Menuhin Competition Austin 2014 Opens with UT Symphony Concert

By Paul E. Robinson on 23 February 2014 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Violin

by Paul E. RobinsonBerlioz: Roman Carnival OvertureMendelssohn: Concerto for Piano and Violin in d minorIlya Gringolts, violin/Anton Nel, pianoWaxman: Carmen FantasyKevin Zhu, violinSchwantner: Someday MemoriesDutilleux: Sur le même accordOlivier Charlier, violinStravinsky: Firebird Suite (1919)The University of Texas (UT) Symphony OrchestraGerhardt Zimmermann, conductorLong Center for the Performing ArtsAustin, TexasFriday, February 21, 2014I guess it’s fate that a mere conductor in a violin competition should have his name left off the program; sad to say, that was indeed the case for Maestro Gerhardt Zimmermann at the Opening Concert of the Menuhin Competition Austin 2014. But it wasn’t quite as bad as all…

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