Fresh back from a Easter Parsifal performance (review forthcoming), I figure it seems only (in)appropriate, on this Easter Sunday, to resurrect the two meandering 'Easter Pilgrimage bits' I wrote for WETA in 2008... which was a wonderful trip through Europe with the goal of getting as many Parsifal and Matthew Passion performances into a fortnight. (An unforeseen link: Attila Jun, then a Dutchman
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
In Brief: Χριστός ἀνέστη Edition
Posted on 10:05 PM by Unknown
Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to online audio, online video, and other good things in Blogville and Beyond. (After clicking to an audio or video stream, press the "Play" button to start the broadcast.)
For Easter Sunday, here is the Berlin Philharmonic performing Mahler's second symphony at Carnegie Hall in February 2012, with Camilla Tilling and Bernarda Fink, plus
For Easter Sunday, here is the Berlin Philharmonic performing Mahler's second symphony at Carnegie Hall in February 2012, with Camilla Tilling and Bernarda Fink, plus
NSO with Janowski
Posted on 12:34 PM by Unknown
Beethoven / Berg, Violin Concertos, A. Steinbacher, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, A. Nelsons
B. Blacher, Orchestra-Variations on a Theme of Paganini (inter alia), Dresden Philharmonic, H. KegelMarek Janowski, the music director of the Rundfunk-Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, may have conducted the National Symphony Orchestra before this weekend, but Friday night's performance was the first time we
Dip Your Ears, No. 131 (Pfitzner Supreme)
Posted on 6:45 AM by Unknown
H.Pfitzner, Palestrina
Kirill Petrenko / Frankfurt Opera & Museum Orchestra & Chorus
P.Bronder, B.Stallmeister, C.Mahnke, W.Koch J.M.Kränzle et al.
Oehms OC 930
I have a soft spot for most of the irreputable Hans Pfitzner’s unabashedly romantic tone. But Palestrina, his supposed masterpiece, can be dull. While I suffered through a performance with Simone Young in Munich, the Frankfurt opera
Easter WETA Redux No.0<!-- Bach Pilgrimage to Narden -->
Posted on 4:00 AM by Unknown
Fresh back from a Easter Parsifal performance (review forthcoming), I figure it seems only (in)appropriate, on this Easter Sunday, to resurrect the two meandering 'Easter Pilgrimage bits' I wrote for WETA in 2008... which was a wonderful trip through Europe with the goal of getting as many Parsifal and Matthew Passion performances into a fortnight. (An unforeseen link: Attila Jun, then a Dutchman
Friday, March 29, 2013
Good Friday Musical Meditation
Posted on 11:19 AM by Unknown
William Cornysh (1465-1523), Woefully Arrayed, Stile Antico
Woefully arrayed,
My blood, man, for thee ran, it may not be nayed;
My body, blo and wan;
Woefully arrayed.
Behold me, I pray thee,
with all thy whole reason
and be not hard-hearted,
and for this encheason,
sith I for thy soul sake
was slain in good season,
Beguiled and betrayed
by Judas false treason,
unkindly entreated,
with sharp
"Vieuxtemps" Guarneri del Gesù Sings Again
Posted on 6:56 AM by Unknown
Charles T. Downey, Anne Akiko Meyers takes Vieuxtemps violin to National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington Post, March 29)
Air: The Bach Album, A. A. Meyers, English Chamber Orchestra, S. Mercurio (Bach's double violin concerto, with Meyers on both parts, playing her 1697 "ex-Molitor" and 1730 "Royal Spanish" Stradivari violins)
One of the most sought-after figures in classical music
Thursday, March 28, 2013
'La Dispute' from Brussels
Posted on 8:00 AM by Unknown
Watch video (subtitles only in French or Dutch)The Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels has mounted the world premiere of La Dispute, the second opera by Belgian composer Benoît Mernier (b. 1964). It is based on the Marivaux play of the same title, with a libretto by Ursel Herrmann and Joël Lauwers. Patrick Davin conducts the staging directed by Karl-Ernst Herrmann, Ursel Herrmann, and Joël Lauwers
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
New York City Ballet's Tchaikovsky Fest
Posted on 7:04 PM by Unknown
Maria Kowroski (Odette) in Swan Lake, choreography by George Balanchine, New York City Ballet (photo by Paul Kolnik)
The New York City Ballet is in town this week, performing two different programs in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Last night was the opening of its all-Tchaikovsky sampler, three shorter works choreographed by George Balanchine, grounded on the legendary choreographer's one-act
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
For Your Consideration: 'Like Someone in Love'
Posted on 6:09 AM by Unknown
Film director Abbas Kiarostami made his first film outside his native Iran a few years ago, the puzzling, rewarding Copie conforme. From that movie's setting in Tuscany, with European actors speaking dialogue in French, Italian, and English, Kiarostami has gone to Japan for his latest film, Like Someone in Love. Written and directed by Kiarostami, the film was shot in Japan and the dialogue
Monday, March 25, 2013
A Survey of Dvořák Symphony Cycles
Posted on 7:00 AM by Unknown
Like the Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle Survey, the Sibelius Symphony Cycle Survey, and the Bruckner Cycle Survey, this is a mere inventory of what has been recorded and whether it is still available. Favorites are denoted with the “ionarts’ choice” graphic.
The complete Dvořák Symphonies have gone through various changes in their numbering (best known is the fact that the Ninth Symphony used
Saturday, March 23, 2013
In Brief: Holy Week Edition
Posted on 10:01 PM by Unknown
Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to online audio, online video, and other good things in Blogville and Beyond. (After clicking to an audio or video stream, press the "Play" button to start the broadcast.)
Harry Christopher conducts The Sixteen in a concert recorded in February at the Wigmore Hall in London, featuring excerpts from Monteverdi's Selva morale e spirituale
Harry Christopher conducts The Sixteen in a concert recorded in February at the Wigmore Hall in London, featuring excerpts from Monteverdi's Selva morale e spirituale
Washington Ballet's 'Cinderella': Spring 'Nutcracker'
Posted on 11:05 AM by Unknown
Morgann Rose, Ji Young Chae, Emily Ellis, and Aurora Dickie in Cinderella, Washington Ballet (photo by Brianne Bland)
What is to prevent a ballet company from replicating its December cash cow, The Nutcracker, in the spring season? The Washington Ballet could just about make it work with its pastel-pink production of Prokofiev's Cinderella (created in 2003, last revived in 2008), made for little
Dip Your Ears, No. 130 (Bach, Fresh Squeezed)
Posted on 7:30 AM by Unknown
J.S.Bach,
Partitas No.2, 4 BWV 826, 828, “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” (arr. Dimetrik)
W.Dimetrik
Gramola 98945
The accordion has a reputation problem in the US, where its esteem ranks somewhere between recorder and kazoo. But after recording three English Suites in 2007, the Austrian Wolfgang Dimetrik is back with a Bach-accordion-disc that has the power to dispel any suppressed
Friday, March 22, 2013
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Siberian Melancholy
Posted on 6:57 AM by Unknown
Rachmaninoff, Romances, D. Hvorostovsky, I. Ilja
(Ondine, 2012)
G. Sviridov, Petersburg: A Vocal Poem, D. Hvorostovsky, M. Arkadiev (Delos, 2004)
Two hours of depressing Russian songs -- broken hearts, cold winters, silent steppes, nostalgic pasts, crushing presents -- may not be everyone's cup of tea. When sung with exceptional diction, mesmerizing presence, and oozing musicality by Russian
Thursday, March 21, 2013
The Shtick, Shpil, and Spheres of Daniel Hope
Posted on 4:41 PM by Unknown
Daniel Grossmann has been leading and shaping Munich’s little, innovatively programming Jakobsplatz Orchestra since its inception in 2005. Recently he hit upon the good (indeed highly necessary and long overdue) idea to also let other conductors lead the band: It ought to be good for the band, their experience and morale, and also mitigate their reputation as a toy orchestra for Grossmann (à la
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Ionarts-at-Large: Dallas SO and @violincase in Munich
Posted on 10:01 PM by Unknown
Just a month after Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra toured Europe (reviews from Nürnberg & Frankfurt), the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under their music Director Jaap van Zweden [guest conducting the NSO on April 25th] did something much the same, with their string of concerts in Eindhoven, Amsterdam, Vienna (Konzerthaus), Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Hannover. Those last three cities
Classical Month in Washington (May)
Posted on 8:53 PM by Unknown
Last month | Next monthClassical Month in Washington is a monthly feature. If there are concerts you would like to see included on our schedule, send your suggestions by e-mail (ionarts at gmail dot com). Happy listening!
May 1, 2013 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Charpentier, Actéon
Opera Lafayette
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
May 1, 2013 (Wed)
8 pm
Philadelphia Orchestra
With Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor
May 1, 2013 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Charpentier, Actéon
Opera Lafayette
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
May 1, 2013 (Wed)
8 pm
Philadelphia Orchestra
With Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor
More 'Norma'
Posted on 7:54 AM by Unknown
Angela Meade in Norma, Washington National Opera, 2013 (photo by Scott Suchman for WNO)
Even theater and cinema require a suspension of disbelief, a surrendering of the doubts of everyday perception to the narrative tide presented to the senses. Opera, however, is in a class by itself in this department, as "the extravagant art" (in the memorable phrase of scholar Herbert Lindenberger) -- "an
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
James Galway in Green
Posted on 8:00 AM by Unknown
Being in love with a flutist means going to any concert performed by James Galway. The venerable Irish flutist, last in the area in 2008, is now in his 70s. His repertory is pretty close to pops concert-level at this point: the current Legacy Tour is devoted to music that Galway played and cherished through the course of his long career. As he showed at his St. Patrick's Day concert on Sunday
Monday, March 18, 2013
San Francisco Symphony on Strike
Posted on 1:54 PM by Unknown
As we reported via Twitter last night, the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony have voted to continue their strike. After management canceled all of last weekend's concerts, it quickly became apparent that a solution could not be reached before the ensemble was due to leave on an East Coast tour. The tour was to have concluded with their long-anticipated return to the Kennedy Center, their
Saturday, March 16, 2013
In Brief: Habemvs Papam Edition
Posted on 10:30 PM by Unknown
Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to online audio, online video, and other good things in Blogville and Beyond. (After clicking to an audio or video stream, press the "Play" button to start the broadcast.)
Mariss Jansons conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of Britten's War Requiem, in honor of the Britten centenary, with Christian
Mariss Jansons conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of Britten's War Requiem, in honor of the Britten centenary, with Christian
Dip Your Ears, No. 129 (Viols and Organ)
Posted on 7:30 AM by Unknown
William Lawes,
Consorts to the Organ
D.Hyde / L.Dreyfus / Phantasm /
Linn 399
“Consorts to the Organ” confusingly means exactly what it says: a consort – of viols – to accompany a – chamber – organ. The consort makes the majority of the merry noise of the musicke of Lawes (1602 – 1645); the organ usually keeps in the background, doubling the viols. The collection of Fantasies and Airs
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Second Opinion: WNO Norma—Good Opera, Bad Theater
Posted on 11:00 PM by Unknown
Many thanks to Robert R. Reilly for this review from The Kennedy Center.
Tuesday evening, the Washington National Opera presented a vocally splendid but dramatically inert version of Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma. The production seemed to harken back to an earlier era of opera when the star singers simply planted themselves down-stage and sang with minimal regard for acting or the other dramatic
Anne-Sophie Mutter @ Strathmore
Posted on 7:03 AM by Unknown
Mozart, Violin Sonatas, A.-S. Mutter, L. Orkis
W. Lutosławski, Partita (inter alia), A.-S. Mutter, BBC Symphony Orchestra, W. Lutosławski
German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter always puts on a good show, and she has a big enough profile to anchor season openers, for the NSO this season and for Washington Performing Arts Society in 2008. So it was a pleasure indeed to hear her in a more intimate
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Classical Music Agenda (April 2013)
Posted on 12:00 AM by Unknown
April is worse than normal in terms of the number of concerts we want to hear, but the rules of the Classical Music Agenda must be obeyed. Here are the ten concerts we think should top the list, but there will be many more good options running through the calendar in the Ionarts sidebar.
VOICES:
To follow up on last fall's performance of Anna Bolena, there is another of the Donizetti queens,
VOICES:
To follow up on last fall's performance of Anna Bolena, there is another of the Donizetti queens,
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Konwitschny's Tristan, Meier's Isolde: Still Young at Fifteen
Posted on 7:00 AM by Unknown
Seeing the Bavarian State Opera’s 1998 production of Tristan & Isolde is like visiting an old friend. A dear friend, certainly, because it never gets old. It speaks to the greatness of Peter Konwitschny’s work that it is an experience that “upon familiarity will grow more content”—not “contempt”, to quote Shakespeare’s intentional malapropism properly.
Konwitschny’s was the first Tristan &
Posted in Bavarian State Opera, Ionarts at Large, ionarts from Munich, jfl, Opera, Richard Wagner
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Monday, March 11, 2013
Left Bank Concert Society
Posted on 10:22 PM by Unknown
Charles T. Downey, Left Bank Quartet offers strong programming, spotty performance
Washington Post, March 12, 2013
P. Moravec, Tempest Fantasy (inter alia), Trio Solisti, D. Krakauer
[Review]
The Left Bank Quartet has distinguished itself by its programming of contemporary music, if not always by the overall quality of its playing. The group’s performance on Sunday afternoon, presented
Munich Philharmonic Plays the Hofbräuhaus
Posted on 10:03 AM by Unknown
Oompah music coming from the upstairs ceremonial hall of the Hofbräuhaus isn’t an unusual occurrence, especially not around 11am on a Sunday. Unusual was the band, though, and perhaps the presence of a paying audience of six-, seven hundred that absolutely packed the splendid Festsaal just to hear that particular band.
The winds of the Munich Philharmonic had beckoned for a few hours of
Meade and Zajick, Trionfo in 'Norma'
Posted on 7:30 AM by Unknown
Dolora Zajick (Adalgisa) and Angela Meade (Norma) in Norma, Washington National Opera, 2013 (photo by Scott Suchman for WNO -- more images)
It has been quite a couple of years for bel canto opera at Ionarts, when we have reviewed productions of Anna Bolena and Lucia di Lammermoor (Washington National Opera), I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Caramoor), and La Sonnambula (Washington Concert Opera). Bel
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Listen Up: Franz Mittler Unsung
Posted on 7:30 AM by Unknown
New in Listen Magazine
Franz Mittler: An Affair of the Ear
The twentieth-century jack found many musical trades.
You might describe Mittler as the Francis Poulenc of Entartete Musik. His settings of poems by Wilhelm Busch—the godfather of cartoons—are priceless. And his adopted homeland didn't remain un-composed: The Manhattan Suite (1947) includes a "Song of the Subway" and "Waltzing
Saturday, March 9, 2013
In Brief: Conclave Edition
Posted on 9:23 PM by Unknown
Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to online audio, online video, and other good things in Blogville and Beyond. (After clicking to an audio or video stream, press the "Play" button to start the broadcast.)
Maurizio Pollini joins the Berlin Philharmonic this past December for a Mozart piano concerto (K. 467), with Christian Thielemann also conducting music by Mendelssohn
Maurizio Pollini joins the Berlin Philharmonic this past December for a Mozart piano concerto (K. 467), with Christian Thielemann also conducting music by Mendelssohn
Dip Your Ears, No. 128 (Beethoven via Neefe)
Posted on 6:30 AM by Unknown
C.G.Neefe (Ludwig van Beethoven), Twelve Sonatas
(9 Dressler Variations WoO 63)
S.Kagan
Grand Piano 615-16
A promise greater than its musical possessions: Twelve Sonatas by Christian Gottlob Neefe (1748-1798), the man who taught Beethoven the rudiments of composition, treatment of the piano, and introduced him to Bach. Alas, it isn’t the nascent genius of Beethoven’s Sonatas that these
Friday, March 8, 2013
NSO's Delicate Dreams with von Otter
Posted on 8:18 AM by Unknown
Schubert, Lieder, A. S. von Otter, T. Quasthoff, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, C. Abbado
One of the hallmarks of Christoph Eschenbach's tenure at the National Symphony Orchestra in the past three years has been the introduction of music new to the ensemble's repertoire, or the reintroduction of music long neglected by it. That trend continued last night with the second of two NSO programs for
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Season Announcements
Posted on 11:43 AM by Unknown
'Tis the season for season announcements, high-profile press events that I feel little urgency to cover. After all, we are not in the business of selling tickets, which is for concert organizers to do. When all the announcements are made, we will offer our official picks for the season, at some point this summer, but until then here are some highlights for the upcoming season, from what has been
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
On Forbes: Sound Advice - How To Build A Classical Music Library For $100
Posted on 3:37 PM by Unknown
Second installment of Forbes columns on Classical Music:
Last week, we wrote a column (“Two Cents About Classical Music For $100”) on some of the market- and technology-changes that affect this still growing, more-important-than-you-think niche in 21st century entertainment: classical music. The idea of building a classical music starter kit for $100 means we have to define price in an age
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
An Exquisite Hour with Anne Sofie von Otter
Posted on 9:03 PM by Unknown
Grieg, Songs, A. S. von Otter, B. Forsberg
[REVIEW]
Sibelius, Songs, A. S. von Otter, B. Forsberg
Swedish Songs (Peterson-Berger, Stenhammar, von Koch), A. S. von Otter, B. Forsberg
Your critic, and no one is likely to argue with me on this, is not accustomed to writing raves. Most concerts offered at a professional level are generally good, some have particular strengths (and weaknesses)
Борис Годунов <!--Boris Godunov, Kent Nagano-->
Posted on 10:32 AM by Unknown
M.Musorgsky, Boris Godunov (1869 & Rimsky Korsakov editions),
V.Gergiev, Kirov, Soloists
Philips
M.Musorgsky, Boris Godunov
(1872 'R.K.' Edition),
V.Gergiev, Kirov, Soloists
Decca
Calixto Bieito must be getting old: His new production at the Bavarian State Opera ofModest Musorgsky’s Boris Godunov (original version in four acts and seven scenes) doesn’t feature full frontal nudity.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra
Posted on 9:24 PM by Unknown
Charles T. Downey, Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra at Renwick Gallery
Washington Post, March 5, 2013
Stravinsky, Dumbarton Oaks Concerto (inter alia), Ensemble Intercontemporain, P. Boulez
Three pieces of music composed in the years around World War II can reveal not only the range of emotions inspired by world events, but also the ferment of musical styles in that era. This was the goal of an
'Manon Lescaut' at WNO
Posted on 1:03 PM by Unknown
Patricia Racette (Manon) and Kamen Chanev (Des Grieux) in Manon Lescaut, Washington National Opera, 2013 (photo by Scott Suchman)
I have a weak spot for Puccini and especially for Manon Lescaut, the earliest of the composer's operas to remain in regular performance. It was the first opera I ever saw at the Metropolitan Opera, as an undergraduate music major visiting the big city for the first
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Paul Lewis @ LoC
Posted on 9:55 PM by Unknown
Charles T. Downey, Paul Lewis plays Schubert with force and flair at Library of Congress
Washington Post, March 4, 2013
Schubert, Piano Sonata, D. 845, Wanderer Fantasy (inter alia), P. Lewis (2012)
The free concert series at the Library of Congress, long focused on chamber music, does not include many piano recitals. The venue’s new piano, debuted in 2011, may change that trend, and Saturday
Classical Month in Washington (April)
Posted on 8:16 PM by Unknown
Last month | Next monthClassical Month in Washington is a monthly feature. If there are concerts you would like to see included on our schedule, send your suggestions by e-mail (ionarts at gmail dot com). Happy listening!
April 1, 2013 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities: Martin Scorsese
National Endowment for the Humanities
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
April 1, 2013 (Mon)
7:30 pm
April 1, 2013 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities: Martin Scorsese
National Endowment for the Humanities
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
April 1, 2013 (Mon)
7:30 pm
In Brief: Sede Vacante Edition
Posted on 10:17 AM by Unknown
Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to online audio, online video, and other good things in Blogville and Beyond. (After clicking to an audio or video stream, press the "Play" button to start the broadcast.)
Listen to Simon Rattle conduct the Berlin Philharmonic at the Salle Pleyel, with Mitsuko Uchida as soloist in Beethoven's third piano concerto, soprano Barbara
Listen to Simon Rattle conduct the Berlin Philharmonic at the Salle Pleyel, with Mitsuko Uchida as soloist in Beethoven's third piano concerto, soprano Barbara
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Dip Your Ears, No. 127 (The Bright Motion)
Posted on 6:30 AM by Unknown
P.Burke, W.Brittelle, M.Dancigers, R.Brown, J.Mayrose, J.Greenst
The Bright Motion,
M.Mizrahi
New Amsterdam Records 036
Pianist Michael Mizrahi showcases six brand new short compositions for piano, of which he commissioned four. The names Patrick Burke, William Brittelle Mark Dancigers, Ryan Brown, John Mayrose, and Judd Greenstein meant nothing to me until now, but their works are
Friday, March 1, 2013
NSO and Finland
Posted on 11:29 AM by Unknown
K. Saariaho, Orion (inter alia), Orchestre de Paris, C. Eschenbach
Sibelius / M. Lindberg, Violin Concertos, L. Batiashvili, Finnish RSO, S. Oramo
Sibelius, Complete Symphonies, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, L. Segerstam
The opening concert of the Kennedy Center's Nordic Cool festival, given by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic last week, included music from all the major Nordic countries
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