The Dallas Morning News: Dallas Symphony Dazzles: Fabio Luisi Conducts Schuman, Copland and Liszt’s Faust Symphony
The all-American first half — William Schuman’s flashy American Festival Overture and Aaron Copland’s sublime Clarinet Concerto — fine. But then 70 minutes of Lisztian rumination and bombast on Goethe’s Faust?
…
Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic (and brother of former DSO principal flutist Demarre McGill, now with the Seattle Symphony), played most expressively, with plenty of pizzazz when called for. Luisi and the orchestra were right with him.
The Dallas Morning News
By Scott Cantrell
It seemed an odd way to start a symphony season, but I was convinced Thursday night.
It did seem an odd way to start a symphony season.
The all-American first half — William Schuman’s flashy American Festival Overture and Aaron Copland’s sublime Clarinet Concerto — fine. But then 70 minutes of Lisztian rumination and bombast on Goethe’s Faust?
…
Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic (and brother of former DSO principal flutist Demarre McGill, now with the Seattle Symphony), played most expressively, with plenty of pizzazz when called for. Luisi and the orchestra were right with him.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Sylvia Elzafon
Blogcritics: Exclusive Interview: Parlando Founder and Music Director Ian Niederhoffer Previews October 4 ‘Odysseys’ Concert, with Music of Tchaikovsky, Jimmy Lopez, Joey Roukens
The New York City-based chamber orchestra Parlando aims to bridge the gap between audience and performer.
That might sound a bit self-evident – doesn’t every artist and ensemble want to connect with listeners?
But for Parlando and its founder and music director Ian Niederhoffer, “bridging the gap” means something special: truly direct communication, and engagement in creative and fun ways.
Blogcritics
By Jon Sobel
The New York City-based chamber orchestra Parlando aims to bridge the gap between audience and performer.
That might sound a bit self-evident – doesn’t every artist and ensemble want to connect with listeners?
But for Parlando and its founder and music director Ian Niederhoffer, “bridging the gap” means something special: truly direct communication, and engagement in creative and fun ways.
Niederhoffer engages with the audience before each concert, explicating the theme of the program. The selections vary widely, but each concert’s theme connects standard works with new or underrepresented music. The upcoming “Odysseys” concert, October 4 at Merkin Hall, brings together two contemporary pieces, Jimmy Lopez’s Guardian of the Horizon and Joey Roukens’ Visions at Sea, with Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Rebecca Fay
KUSC: Classical Californians: Anne Akiko Meyers
This week, our Classical Californian will be violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, who will share some of her favorite pieces of music. The playlist includes two composers who have written concertos for her, some selections from the world of movie music, as well as works by a pair of composers best known for their writing for choral voices. The Southern California native has most recently released a recording of Fandango by Arturo Márquez, with Gustavo Dudamel leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She’s worked with a who’s who of contemporary composers, and since making her first national TV appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson when she was 11, she’s been performing to admiring audiences around the world. The instrument that she plays, the “Ex-Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù” dates from 1741, and belonged to the Belgian violinist Henri Vieuxtemps in the 1800s.
KUSC
This week, our Classical Californian will be violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, who will share some of her favorite pieces of music. The playlist includes two composers who have written concertos for her, some selections from the world of movie music, as well as works by a pair of composers best known for their writing for choral voices. The Southern California native has most recently released a recording of Fandango by Arturo Márquez, with Gustavo Dudamel leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She’s worked with a who’s who of contemporary composers, and since making her first national TV appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson when she was 11, she’s been performing to admiring audiences around the world. The instrument that she plays, the “Ex-Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù” dates from 1741, and belonged to the Belgian violinist Henri Vieuxtemps in the 1800s.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Dina Douglass
The Columbian: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra rides wave of enthusiasm into 45th year, opens season with Prokofiev
Eager to build on the success of August’s Vancouver Arts & Music Festival that drew crowds to Esther Short Park, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is loading up a panoply of terrific concerts for its 45th season.
Music Director Salvador Brotons has scheduled a vibrant mix of beloved gems and less familiar works. That should appeal to patrons and attract newbies to Skyview Concert Hall, where the hometown orchestra has performed since 1999.
The Columbian
By James Bash
Eager to build on the success of August’s Vancouver Arts & Music Festival that drew crowds to Esther Short Park, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is loading up a panoply of terrific concerts for its 45th season.
Music Director Salvador Brotons has scheduled a vibrant mix of beloved gems and less familiar works. That should appeal to patrons and attract newbies to Skyview Concert Hall, where the hometown orchestra has performed since 1999.
This weekend, the orchestra will kick off the season with Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 4 and two pieces that are favorites of classical music audiences: Ravel’s “Bolero” and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, which will feature virtuoso Antonio Pompa-Baldi.
A native of Italy, Antonio Pompa-Baldi started playing on a toy piano when he was just 3. The following year he began piano lessons and quickly excelled on the keyboard. As a young teenager, he won several competitions in Italy before winning the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 1999 and the silver medal at the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Paul Quackenbush
The Oregonian: Suzanne Nance – Singing CEO of All Classical Radio – leads the station to a new studio and into the future
All Classical Radio is on a roll. Actually, it’s more of a grand crescendo. The station at 89.9 FM, formerly known as All Classical Portland, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a new name, a new logo, and a massive move of its offices and broadcasting services to downtown Portland.
To top that off, All Classical Radio now has bragging rights as the number one classical music station in the nation. Talk about keeping Portland weird!
“We’ve received our ratings from Nielsen, and they said it is not even close,” said All Classical’s President and CEO Suzanne Nance. “We’ve been pulling a 6.5 market share, and the closest competitor is 3.0.”
The Oregonian
By James Bash
All Classical Radio is on a roll. Actually, it’s more of a grand crescendo. The station at 89.9 FM, formerly known as All Classical Portland, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a new name, a new logo, and a massive move of its offices and broadcasting services to downtown Portland.
To top that off, All Classical Radio now has bragging rights as the number one classical music station in the nation. Talk about keeping Portland weird!
“We’ve received our ratings from Nielsen, and they said it is not even close,” said All Classical’s President and CEO Suzanne Nance. “We’ve been pulling a 6.5 market share, and the closest competitor is 3.0.”
Those numbers are supported by an increasing membership for the non-profit station, which now boasts over 12,000 members and a local audience of over 250,000 listeners in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Dave Killen
OperaWire: Canada’s Azrieli Foundation Introduces the Azrieli Music, Arts, and Culture Center
The Canadian Azrieli Foundation, known for its annual music competition and dedication to the arts, has announced the establishment of the Azrieli Music, Arts, and Culture Center (AMACC).
The creation of the Center comes after reviewing a decade of its arts support, signaling an expanded commitment from the Foundation.
AMACC reflects the Foundation’s goal to provide consistent backing as a funder and partnership as a collaborator to Canada’s art and culture community.
OperaWire
By Chris Ruel
The Canadian Azrieli Foundation, known for its annual music competition and dedication to the arts, has announced the establishment of the Azrieli Music, Arts, and Culture Center (AMACC).
The creation of the Center comes after reviewing a decade of its arts support, signaling an expanded commitment from the Foundation.
AMACC reflects the Foundation’s goal to provide consistent backing as a funder and partnership as a collaborator to Canada’s art and culture community.
The Foundation’s Azrieli Music Competition has grown to become the largest composition competition in Canada, with commissions awarded for Jewish, Canadian, and international compositions.
In an official press statement, Dr. Sharon Azrieli said, “By uniting our grant-making, sector collaborations, strategic initiatives, and Azrieli Music Prizes program under the AMACC banner, we will create an impact that is greater than the sum of its parts, ensuring more Canadians of all ages enjoy a deeper relationship with the arts.”
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Danylo Bobyk
NPR: Anne Akiko Meyers: Tiny Desk Concert
When violinist Anne Akiko Meyers walked into NPR headquarters, I half expected her to be flanked by bodyguards. After all, she was carrying a very rare instrument. Her Guarneri del Gesù "Vieuxtemps" violin, built in 1741, is worth at least $16 million. Instead, Meyers arrived only with a pair of publicists and the perceptive pianist Max Levinson. She seemed nonchalant about the fact that her fiddle is worth a fortune.
What matters, naturally, is how the instrument sounds and few can make a violin sing as sweetly as Meyers. The San Diego native was already performing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson at age 11. Three years later she enrolled in New York's Juilliard School and at 18 cut the first of her 40-some albums.
NPR
By Tom Huizenga
When violinist Anne Akiko Meyers walked into NPR headquarters, I half expected her to be flanked by bodyguards. After all, she was carrying a very rare instrument. Her Guarneri del Gesù "Vieuxtemps" violin, built in 1741, is worth at least $16 million. Instead, Meyers arrived only with a pair of publicists and the perceptive pianist Max Levinson. She seemed nonchalant about the fact that her fiddle is worth a fortune.
What matters, naturally, is how the instrument sounds and few can make a violin sing as sweetly as Meyers. The San Diego native was already performing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson at age 11. Three years later she enrolled in New York's Juilliard School and at 18 cut the first of her 40-some albums.
Read more here or watch below.
Classical Voice North America: In A Sunny Vale Where Hemingway Sheltered, Free Concerts Resound
SUN VALLEY, Idaho — A couple of golden eagles wheeling across the sky offered a dramatic welcome during my inaugural visit to the Sun Valley Music Festival. Viewed on the drive into town from nearby Friedman Memorial Airport, these fabled messengers of Zeus complemented the stark majesty of Bald Mountain with their agile flight. The area’s most-prominent Rocky Mountain peak towers 9,150 feet into the heavens and has been beckoning serious ski lovers since the area was first promoted as a winter sport destination — part of a pioneering campaign by Union Pacific Railroad in the late 1930s.
“Baldy” and its less-elevated, ski beginner-friendly sibling Dollar Mountain stand guard over Sun Valley, forming an iconic backdrop to the Pavilion and adjacent lawn where the Sun Valley Music Festival each summer presents nearly a month’s worth of events. The Pavilion is situated alongside another Sun Valley landmark with powerful cultural associations: the storied Sun Valley Lodge, a linchpin in the aforementioned campaign, which has long been an attraction for literary pilgrims.
Classical Voice North America
By Thomas May
SUN VALLEY, Idaho — A couple of golden eagles wheeling across the sky offered a dramatic welcome during my inaugural visit to the Sun Valley Music Festival. Viewed on the drive into town from nearby Friedman Memorial Airport, these fabled messengers of Zeus complemented the stark majesty of Bald Mountain with their agile flight. The area’s most-prominent Rocky Mountain peak towers 9,150 feet into the heavens and has been beckoning serious ski lovers since the area was first promoted as a winter sport destination — part of a pioneering campaign by Union Pacific Railroad in the late 1930s.
“Baldy” and its less-elevated, ski beginner-friendly sibling Dollar Mountain stand guard over Sun Valley, forming an iconic backdrop to the Pavilion and adjacent lawn where the Sun Valley Music Festival each summer presents nearly a month’s worth of events. The Pavilion is situated alongside another Sun Valley landmark with powerful cultural associations: the storied Sun Valley Lodge, a linchpin in the aforementioned campaign, which has long been an attraction for literary pilgrims.
Read more here.
Northwest Reverb: Inaugural Vancouver Arts and Music Festival a smash hit!
The inaugural Vancouver Arts and Music Festival turned Esther Short Park into a magical, canopied landscape (August 4 -6). Kids jumped, climbed, slid, ran, and had a blast at the playground. People strolled into avenues of artisanal food vendors and galleries promoting the visual arts. The weather was downright perfect, and that contributed to the big turnout. The large lawn in front of the main stage was chock a block with blankets, low-profile chairs, and lots of people eager to hear the Vancouver Symphony and a lineup of international artists.
The orchestral portion of the festival featured Time for Three on Friday night (August 4), violinist Anne Akiko Meyers on Saturday evening (August 5), and pianist Orli Shaham on Sunday afternoon (August 6). VSO Music Director Salvador Brotons led the first concert, and Gerard Schwarz helmed the second and third concerts.
Northwest Reverb
By James Bash
The inaugural Vancouver Arts and Music Festival turned Esther Short Park into a magical, canopied landscape (August 4 -6). Kids jumped, climbed, slid, ran, and had a blast at the playground. People strolled into avenues of artisanal food vendors and galleries promoting the visual arts. The weather was downright perfect, and that contributed to the big turnout. The large lawn in front of the main stage was chock a block with blankets, low-profile chairs, and lots of people eager to hear the Vancouver Symphony and a lineup of international artists.
The orchestral portion of the festival featured Time for Three on Friday night (August 4), violinist Anne Akiko Meyers on Saturday evening (August 5), and pianist Orli Shaham on Sunday afternoon (August 6). VSO Music Director Salvador Brotons led the first concert, and Gerard Schwarz helmed the second and third concerts.
Introductory comments by prominent sponsors, including Lorin Dunlop of the Murdock Charitable Trust, which provided most of the funding for the extravaganza, welcomed festival goers to Vancouver’s living room. An historic airplane loudly buzzed overhead during before Brotons took the stage.
An ebullient Brotons led the hometown band in the “Candide Suite,” an arrangement by Charlie Harmon of music from Berstein’s opera. It aptly concluded with the expansive message of “Let Your Garden Grow,” a perfect tune to kick off the festival.
Warren Black from All Classical Radio introduced Time for Three, the energetic, genre-defying string trio that won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.
Read more here.
International Piano: Front Cover Feature: Bringing Imagery and Character to Liszt
Having gone from precocious prodigy to mature musician, Haochen Zhang has recorded Liszt’s formidable Études d’exécution transcendante. He talks to Tim Parry about his journey from China to America and his growing appreciation of Liszt’s musical imagination.
International Piano
Having gone from precocious prodigy to mature musician, Haochen Zhang has recorded Liszt’s formidable Études d’exécution transcendante. He talks to Tim Parry about his journey from China to America and his growing appreciation of Liszt’s musical imagination.