Notes from the 2013 Schubertiade ( 2 ) • Prégardien Père et Fils

A Father & Son Duo of Tenors
Christoph Prégardien, tenor-father, and Julian Prégardien, tenor-son, appeared on stage of the Angelika-Kauffmann Hall for the afternoon concert on August 28th and engaged in a light program of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, and Schubert—alternating for a few, tag-teaming a few others, but mostly going at these songs in versions that they arranged for two

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In Brief: Mary's Birthday Edition

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.)





The results of this year's Banff International String Quartet Competition are in, with the Dover Quartet winning first prize (plus best performances of a Schubert

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Notes from the 2013 Schubertiade ( 1 ) • An Introduction

Tucked away in the Bregenz Forest between Lake Constance and the "Flysch Alps", betwixt valley, mountains, and hills so green cows salivate with eager anticipation, lies Schwarzenberg. You get there by car if you're smart, cab if you're rich, or yellow post-bus if you're neither.

You will likely first arrive in Bregenz, a shabby town directly on Lake Constance that is fascinating for its

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'Potted Potter' at Harman Hall

We are big fans of the Harry Potter books at Ionarts Central, where both kids and both parents are devoted to J. K. Rowling (and the movies that came from her work). So I was glad to have the chance to take Miss Ionarts to see a performance of Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience, presented by the Shakespeare Theater at Sidney Harman Hall on Friday night. The show is a sort of

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Notes from the 2013 Salzburg Festival ( 18 ) Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra • Phillipe Jordan

Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra • Phillipe Jordan
Rienzi Minus the Baggage
Picture (detail) courtesy Salzburg Festival, © Wolfgang Lienbacher.
The Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra opened their Salzburg orchestral concert under Philippe Jordan with Wagner’s Rienzi Overture. They might as well have, seeing how orchestra and conductor have already been performing Rienzi throughout the Festival anyway,

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Notes from the 2013 Salzburg Festival ( 17 ) Die Meistersinger • R.Wagner

Die Meistersinger • Richard Wagner
Innocence Regained
Pictures above and below courtesy & © Salzburg Festival / Karl Forster
Click on details to see entire picture

The two notable themes that wormed their way through the 2013 Salzburg Festivals were too subtle and too inconsequentially pursued to be considered actual foci, but still, there they were, offering a little guidance and

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Briefly Noted: Freiburg's Orchestral Suites

Bach, Orchestral Suites (Ouvertures), Freiburger Barockorchester, P. Müllejans, G. von der Goltz
(released on November 8, 2011)
HMC 902113.14 | 93'42"
You may think you know exactly what Bach's orchestral suites are and what they sound like, but little has been certain about the origins of these familiar pieces since American musicologist Joshua Rifkin called much about them into question.

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Ionarts-at-Large: Das Liebesverbot in Frankfurt

Running up to the Wagner bicentennial which they will crown with a repeat of their Ring Cycle, the Frankfurt Opera is putting on a trilogy of early-Wagner concert performances: Die Feen (The Fairies) last year, Das Liebesverbot (The Ban on Love) this year, Rienzi next year—all recorded to be released on the Oehms label that has been taking constructive advantage of the Frankfurt company’s

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William Christie's Enchanted Forest

On my list of Americans who represent the United States well abroad, conductor William Christie is near the top. Yes, technically speaking, he is now a citoyen français, but he grew up here. We have already taken note of Christie's love of gardens, when he opened up his house and garden in the Vendée for the annual Rendez-vous aux jardins in 2004. Marie-Aude Roux visited Christie's home, in Thiré

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Dip Your Ears, No. 153 (Věc Makropulos from Salzburg)

L.Janáček, Věc Makropulos,
E.-P.Salonen / WPh & Vienna State Opera Chorus
A.Denoke, R.Very, P.Hoare, J.Adamonytė, J.Reuter, et al.
C Major Blu-ray / DVD


Ferocious Energy

The 2011 Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival was in rare form, which paid dividends, too, in Janáček. Their Makropulous Case has sweep and drama and ferocious energy, sometimes sardonic wit, then chilling

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In Brief: Rest from Your Labor Edition

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.)





Watch the closing concert of the Annecy Classic Festival, as Yuri Temirkanov conducts the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and soloist Denis Matsuev, in

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