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La Scena Online is the digital magazine of La Scene Musicale.Contents: News, Concert reviews, CD reviews, Interviews, Obituaries, etc; Editor: Wah Keung Chan; Assistant Editor: Andreanne Venne
ISSN: 1206-9973

Nielsen Third a First for Austin, Texas

By Paul E. Robinson on 14 June 2012 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Piano

by Paul RobinsonStanton: Triple Venti LatteRachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Op. 18Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 Op. 27 “Espansiva”Jon Nakamatsu, pianoAustin Symphony OrchestraPeter Bay, conductorLong Center for the Performing ArtsAustin, TexasJune 2, 2012Carl Nielsen’s Third Symphony, which premiered in Copenhagen (Denmark) just over 100 years ago, had its first-ever performance in Austin this month. Long over due? Absolutely. This is a great symphony by one of the major composers of the Twentieth Century; “kudos” to Maestro Peter Bay and the Austin Symphony, not only for finally bringing this music to Central Texas, but also for the quality of the…

Maestro Huang Feili and the Rise of the Chinese Conductor

By Paul E. Robinson on 6 June 2012 Concert Reviews, World Music

by Paul E. RobinsonIn March 2009, I was a Guest Lecturer at the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) in Beijing, China. My audience was a class of young conductors. My lecture, titled “Stokowski: the Limits of Interpretation,” considered the many changes that Stokowski had made in the scores of the music he conducted and how these changes might be defended and justified. Moments before my talk was to begin, I had a distinguished surprise visitor, 92-year old Huang Feili, (photo: left) the man who had founded the conducting department of this institution back in 1956. His presence not only did me great honour, but gave me great…

Austin Symphony and Conspirare Partner to Present Psalm Settings by Stravinsky and Bernstein

By Paul E. Robinson on 28 May 2012 Baroque and Early, Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Orchestral

by Paul RobinsonMaestro Peter BayBach/Stokowski: Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565*Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms**Bach-Stokowski: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV 582**Bernstein: Chichester Psalms*Conspirare Symphonic ChoirAustin Symphony OrchestraCraig Hella Johnson/ conductor*Peter Bay/ conductor**LongCenter for the Performing ArtsAustin, TexasIt was a clever idea to program together two important Twentieth Century musical settings of psalms, one by Igor Stravinsky and the other by Leonard Bernstein. While the texts are drawn from the same source, the music could hardly be more different. Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms is cool and austere while Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” is emotional and more popular in style.…

Van Zweden/DSO Triumph with Concert Version of Beethoven’s Fidelio

By Paul E. Robinson on 24 May 2012 Classical, Concert Reviews, Orchestral

by Paul RobinsonLisa Milne, Leonore (Fidelio)Robert Dean Smith, FlorestanRobert Bork, PizarroArthur Woodley, RoccoSimona Saturova, MarzellineMarcel Reijans, JacquinoDetlef Roth, Don FernandoDallas Symphony Chorus (Joshua Habermann, director)Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Jaap van Zweden, conductorMeyerson Symphony CenterDallas, TexasMay 13, 2012On the face of it, opera “in concert” is a near impossibility. Opera is an art form that combines live theatre and music, with sets, costumes and the whole nine yards; to present it in concert form is to eliminate most of what makes it what it is; on the other hand, the music alone in many operas is so magnificent that the elimination of a full theatrical presentation can easily be justified, and in…

Hans Graf/HSO: Two Faces of Shostakovich in Houston

By Paul E. Robinson on 15 May 2012 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Orchestral

by Paul RobinsonPhoto by Craig Chesek/Carnegie HallShostakovich/Milman: Anti-Formalist RayokShostakovich: Symphony No. 11 in G minor Op. 103 “The Year 1905”Mikhail Svetlov, bassHouston Symphony/Hans GrafJones HallHouston, TexasMay 3, 2012Over 44 years ago, Leopold Stokowskiconducted the first North American performance of the Symphony No. 11 byShostakovich. Stokowski was then music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra (HSO) and had already conducted a number of important Shostakovich (photo: right) premieres. Around the time of those 1958 performances of Symphony No. 11, Stokowski and the HSO also made the first commercial recording of the piece.Hans Graf, the current music director of the Houston Symphony, is…

Jaap van Zweden/DSO: Cogent and Compelling Bruckner Eighth in Magnificent Meyerson

By Paul E. Robinson on 11 May 2012 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic

by Paul RobinsonBruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C minor (1890 version)Dallas Symphony Orchestra/ Jaap van Zweden, conductorMeyerson Symphony CenterDallas, TexasFriday, April 27, 2012For Dallas listeners who got to know Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony through one of the many Karajan recordings made between 1957 and 1988, Jaap van Zweden’s tempo for the Scherzo must have come as a shock. Where Karajan takes a very measured tempo – some would say slow and ponderous – van Zweden takes off like a rocket. Who is right? Well, for the record, the score is marked “Allegro moderato;” van Zweden clearly has the score on his side.It is interesting to note…

Van Zweden/DSO “Passion” a Performance for the Ages!

By Paul E. Robinson on 9 April 2012 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, Orchestral

Author : (Paul E. Robinson)

J.S. Bach: St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 John McVeigh, tenor Morgan Smith, baritone (Christus) Camilla Tilling, soprano Jennifer Johnston, alto Johannes Chum, tenor (Evangelist) Alistair Miles, bass Dallas Symphony Chorus, Joshua Habermann, director Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas, Cynthia Nott, director Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden, conductor Meyerson Symphony Center Dallas, Texas Friday, March 29, 2012 Jaap van Zweden, recently named “Conductor of the Year” by Musical America, has been recognized by music-lovers in Dallas since 2008 – the start of his music directorship of the DSO – as an extraordinary leader of musicians. He has impressed audiences and critics alike in the “Big D” with his…

Denyce Graves: A Superstar Survivor

By Paul E. Robinson on 11 March 2012 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic

by Paul E. RobinsonBerlioz: Roman Carnival OvertureRavel: ShéhérazadeLalo: Le Roi d’Ys “De tous côtés j’aperçois dans la plaine”Saint-Saens: Samson et Dalila “Mon Coeur s’ouvre à ta voix”Saint-Saens: Samson et Dalila “Bacchanale”Bizet: Carmen “Près des remparts de Séville” (Seguidilla)Bizet: Carmen “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” (Habanera)Ravel: La ValseDenyce Graves, mezzo-sopranoAustin Symphony Orchestra/Peter Bay, conductorLong CenterAustin, TexasFriday, March 2, 2012What does it take for a young singer to make it to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera? What does it take to triumph in leading roles with colleagues like Placido Domingo and James Levine? Having achieved all that, what does it take to stay there at the height of operatic superstardom?In the 1990s, Denyce Graves (photo: right) was…

A Miraculous Musical Pilgrimage With Conspirare’s Company of Voices

By Paul E. Robinson on 2 February 2012 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonTalbot: Path of MiraclesConspirare: Company of Voices/Craig Hella Johnson, conductorSt. Martin’s Lutheran ChurchAustin, TexasFriday, January 20, 2012Now in the middle of its 19th season, Conspirare’s 24-member Company of Voices continues to be innovative and inspiring. Its latest presentation was the regional premiere of Path of Miracles,a 70-minute work by British composer Joby Talbot; a beautiful work, it was given a superb performance on this occasion by Craig Hella Johnson & Company.Path of Miracles depicts the famous medieval Christian pilgrims’ walk from France to Santiago, in homage to St. James, one of Jesus’ disciples, and the patron saint of…

“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…

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