This year marks the 51st season of the Grand Teton Music Festival. In celebration of their 50th season, they commissioned Pulitzer and Grammy Award winning composer Jennifer Higdon. Now that world premiere performance, along with Beethoven's Pastorale Symphony, is available as a DVD/CD set from the festival.
The Grand Teton Music Festival is one of the most prestigious and finest musical gatherings in the world. Musicians from around North America come together by invitation and play under maestros ranging from (music director) Donald Runnicles to Bernard Labadie, and soloists such as Lynn Harrell, James Ehnes, and Stephen Hough.
So when you mix excellent new music to this fun and eclectic band of musicians, it is completely inspiring, for both the listener and the orchestra!
Clare and Higdon
All Things Majestic is about 20 minutes long and is in four movements. Teton Range sets the mood perfectly, mostly relying on the brass, but using the full orchestra to good use, for a true "maestoso." Not since Hovhaness' Second Symphony have chords struck so true for such a landscape! The second movement, String Lake, aptly features the string section, and even outdoes Smetana (Moldau) and Debussy (La Mer) for colors with a water theme. At this point, I have to mention the images from the dvd. They are spectacular scenes from Henry Holdsworth, Thomas Mangelsen, and Edward Riddell! Pictures run the gamut, and range in season, color, wildlife, day, night, and everything in between. Snake River continues the charming score by Higdon, using percussion and woodwinds to begin and returning to full orchestra, a scherzo for this all but in name symphony. Cathedrals, the finale, returns musically and visually to the mountains -and serves as a perfect peak to this modern masterwork.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale" is given a fine reading by the orchestra and Runnicles. This time for the dvd, steady video is shown of various nature scenes - far less compelling visually than All Things Majestic's awesome photos - but musically moving.
Here is a link to an interview and the entire All Things Majestic performance from Wyoming PBS. We recommend this new release highly with the chance to see and hear the music on dvd and cd (http://www.gtmf.org/merchandise/). Bravo!!! - host John Clare
Lots to like from Valentina Lisitsa - her debut on Deccais a live concert from Royal Albert Hall. “Of course it’s a concert” she says, “but it’s also a celebration.”
She will perform in the US this winter and next spring - if you get a chance, see her in concert, but we can't recommend enough to check out her new cd and dvd. Fans of Russian repertoire will melt at the Rachmaninoff, and be stunned at her Scriabin. Chopin and Liszt devotees have floating, touching, and incredibly moving performances of Nocturnes and Etudes. Most impressive and powerful is Lisitsa's Beethoven. Here she is most expressive, spinning the Moonlight Sonata with grace, and at times, perfect momentum.
Bonus for the DVD includes Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 and Valentina speaking, items you really should consider! It will be available August 7th.
Just out today (June 26, 2012) is Pulitzer Prize winning composer Steven Stucky'sAugust 4, 1964. An evening length work we wrote about around the premiere, it is now available on compact disc and digital download.
There is a lot to love about this work, and after having performances in Dallas and New York City's Carnegie Hall, listeners everywhere can enjoy this recording! Especially moving is "August Fourth" sung by Kristine Jepson, Indira Mahajan and Rodney Gilfry. Central to August 4, 1964 is an all orchestra interlude Elegy - moving as Barber's Adagio and not yet overused! It serves as a perfect function, allowing the soloists rest and further setting the mood.
Gene Scheer's libretto is also fitting without bias or ornamentation. In The Secret Heart of America (movement 5) the writing shifts between President Johnson's March 1965 speech to Congress "We shall overcome" and Mrs. Chaney's family story of her grandfather's farm - absolutely brilliant! (And ironic that neither are from the actual day, August 4,1964.)
I spoke to Stucky and Scheer in Dallas the week of the premiere:
Now released! (courtesy of Dallas Symphony)
From the DSO site: "Previous DSO Live releases distributed by Naxos include Beethoven's Fifth and Seventh Symphonies; Tchaikovsky's Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, Capriccio Italien and Mozartiana Suite, all conducted by Jaap van Zweden. These recordings are available for download on iTunes, Amazon.com and other leading stores and websites. The DSO released its first recording in 1946, and has since grown its catalog to more than 75 recordings under such eminent conductors as Antal Dorati, Walter Hendl, Donald Johanos, Eduardo Mata and Andrew Litton."
I receive a lot of music each week. Yesterday was no different, and I was quite happy to get the latest from the string quartet Ethel, called Heavy. It will be released next Tuesday, April 24th in all the major outlets. I think you should check it out - whether you love or hate chamber music, and even if modern, living music isn't your thing.
When I opened the envelope, I thought, did they make a 45rpm record?! The packaging is large, about the size of the older lp, but no, it is unique, with a full length cd enclosed from Innova Recordings. Listening, I wondered, do composers write pieces that sound like Ethel, or does Ethel find music that sounds like their style? Don Byron's Second String Quartet is classic Ethel - mesmerizing, lyrical and hip. Motor-rhythms and crunchy sounds delight in this fun "Four Thoughts on Marvin Gaye."
Heavy - Innova 820
John Halle and John King provide modern sounds with electronics, drones and amazing ensemble from Ethel. Two of the Bang on a Can founders, Julia Wolf and David Lang are well represented with "Early That Summer" and "Wed" - surely to be taken up as other quartets hear these delightful readings.
Kenji Bunch joins Ethel as violist for "String Circle" - and it stands as a real charmer on the disc, again, asking "Does it sound this way because of Ethel, or was it chosen and sounds Ethel-y?" "Round"ing out Heavy is Marcelo Zarvos' "Rounds" - someone to look for in new music, it has a light sound and touch that could go far!
Whether you are an "Ethelhead" or just want something to make you smile, Heavy should be on your iPad or other listening device - it is on mine, and won't be leaving anytime soon!
- John Clare, host in the afternoons & of Classical Spotlight
Trumpet sensation Alison Balsom’s new recording of modern and contemporary repertoire, Seraph – released on EMI Classics, February 7, 2012 – marked an important artistic stepping stone in her career. The labor of love features the world premiere recording of Seraph, James MacMillan’s trumpet concerto written for Alison, works by Takemitsu and Zimmermann and her long-awaited recording of the ever popular Arutunian Trumpet Concerto. Joining Alison in the concertos is the Scottish Ensemble.
Take a listen to her conversation with host John Clare here.
The trumpeter has released today her new self-titled album, an ear candy collection of her most popular recordings. The thirteen tracks on Alison Balsom, each chosen carefully from her six EMI Classics albums recorded over the past decade, combine to offer a compelling portrait of Balsom’s artistic achievements, while also pointing in the direction of what’s to come in Alison’s exceptional career. Although the music is extraordinarily varied, all of the tracks share an emotional immediacy and listenability - whether it be the singing strains of a Bach Sarabande, the smoldering dance rhythms of a Piazzolla tango, or the hymn-like profundity of American standards like “Shanendoah” or “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen” from her most recent album Seraph.
On May 14, 2012, Alison Balsom will celebrate the release of the new album with an intimate audience at the Greene Space at New York Public Radio. The performance will be webcast live around the world and will be her first New York engagement since 2010. August 2012 will mark Balsom’s Hollywood Bowl performance debut, and will also see her touring all major U.S. markets.
Alison Balsom has broken ground as a classical musician on a traditionally challenging instrument with both impeccable credentials and a mainstream appeal that has drawn attention from meida outlets as varied as Town and Country and Women’s Wear Daily to the The New York Times which has praised her "clear, soaring tone, virtuosic technique and elegant phrasing." The awards and accolades around Balsom continue to pile up – she’s twice been named the Classical BRIT ‘Female Artist of the Year,’ along with a host of other international awards, and has performed on numerous television and radio appearances, including The Late Show with David Letterman, Prairie Home Companion, Sirius-XM and many more.
Tomorrow, March 21th, 2012 eOne Music relaunches the storied Bach Guild label with Big Bach Set – 120 tracks of Bach’s works, equaling NINE hours of music. In celebration of Bach’s birthday, March 21st, Big Bach Set will be sold for 99 cents at Amazon.com’s MP3 store. On March 22nd, the price will be $9.99 for the collection, available for download at all digital retailers.
Big Bach Set will include a cross section of J.S. Bach’s most beloved works including the entirety of the Mass in B Minor, the Harpsichord Concerti, Orchestral Suites and all six Brandenburg Concerti. Artists include Joseph Szigeti, Anton Heiller, Paula Robison, Kenneth Cooper and András Schiff. Conductors include Johannes Somary, Antonio Janigro and Felix Prohaska.
The Big Bach Set is the cornerstone of the return of The Bach Guild, a label devoted to Bach and the music of the baroque era. With the revival of the imprint, the classic recordings of the Bach Guild catalog will be made available, many of them for the first time in digital format, while new recordings of the great master are also a priority. Five additional new releases from the original Bach Guild will also be released on March 21st. The Bach Guild will continue to evolve on eOne with new recordings and releases, first with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers’ chart topping Air: The Bach Album, and cellist Charles Curtis’ genre bending Bach: An Imaginary Dance, due for release on March 27, 2012.
Also, the American Bach Soloists are offering many of their recordings at a special price, $2, only on March 21st: ABS cd website
Sadly, it has been forty years since his death at age 35. These are both excellent chances to learn more about the violinist.
The book is an interesting look at Rabin, with insights from family, friends and colleagues. This paperback edition follows the original edition by six years and corrects some errors from the first publishing. I recommend reading it, and hope it will be made for digital platforms as well. In the meantime, at just under $18 it is well worth it!
The digital download of the six cd set of Michael Rabin has nothing new from the 1991 EMI Classics set, nor has it been remastered. But the convenience of having all of the great concerto and classical recordings with Rabin so portable, AND at a bargain is a complete no brainer to own. It is also a chance for a younger generation to hear the amazing artistry of Rabin, especially in the Paganini Caprices, Wieniawski's Second Concerto and Engel's Sea Shell.
Neither of these releases are groundbreaking or completely new, but are staples of classical music - especially for those violin lovers - and now easily available, I think you should pick them up before they are not widely available! -John Clare, KPAC Host of Classical Spotlight
Renee Fleming - the beautiful voice - sings this Wednesday in San Antonio, kicking off a tour across the western United States and Canada. It will feature some selections from her brand new album, Poèmes on Decca.
Host John Clare spoke to the stunning soprano about her new release, involvement at Chicago Lyric Opera, touring and reality tv! Listen to their conversation here. [mp3 file]
Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers is a world class violinist, who has not one but two amazing instruments! She has put them to good use on her latest album, Air.
Host John Clare recently spoke to Meyers about this new release (out today, February 14, 2012), her social media activity and motherhood. You can listen to their interview here. [mp3 file]
Did you see The Enchanted Island last weekend in HD? It was a stunning performance which will be encored February 8th - a must see/hear if you didn't the first time around, or if you want to relive it again!
The all star, stellar cast included soprano Danielle de Niese, who was just on WNYC's Soundcheck yesterday.
de Niese shared her fashions today in the New York Times: I was hugely happy with the performance and really relieved. There’s no margin of error with a live simulcast. After, I greeted friends and fans in a black one-shouldered tiered dress, also from Donna Karan. I paired it with black Sergio Rossi peep-toe pumps and a Marc Jacobs purse. Then it was off to Plácido Domingo’s reopened restaurant, Pampano, to celebrate the tenor’s birthday: 71. We're also a huge fan of the new release Beauty of the Baroque - there's definitely a double entendre in that title! Especially gorgeous emotion and singing come back to back (Bach to Bach?! lol) in tracks 4 and 5: Handel's Air “Let the bright Seraphim” from Samson, Act III and Purcell's “Thy hand, Belinda – When I am laid in earth” (Dido’s Lament) from Dido and Aeneas, Act III. Run, don't walk, to get this recording!
Always amazing in this world which is touted as "global" is to find music which is unknown to most of us in the Northern Hemisphere. We are all more likely to have a steady diet of South American fruits, vegetables and coffee than even a few bars of classical music from
Peru, Argentina, Brazil or Bolivia. Outside of Astor Piazzolla or Heitor Villa-Lobos, our general knowledge of serious music from South of the Panama Canal is scant. That's what makes this recent discovery such a gem. Argentinean conductor Gabriel Castagna, is ardent in his quest for revealing a wealth of South American orchestral music. Fiesta Criolla is the 5th such recording in his discography. Let's hope for many more.
There are several new releases I am looking at and downloading after returning from some time off. Murray Perahia, Hilary Hahn, and Gustavo Dudamel have some interesting releases I cannot wait to hear. I also saw this article from yesterday: Hayley Westenra: classical music's fallen star She was signed to Universal at 12 and four years later launched the fastest-selling classical debut album of all time. But behind the angelic facade, her life was far from perfect. You can read more here. I also have some Mozart to catch up on, as well as a new Beethoven album from Alice Sara Ott. Anything you are excited about lately? -Host John Clare
Seeing a release of four French Horns, one might expect Robert Schumann's Concert Piece for Four Horns, or an arrangement of themes from Wagner's Ring of the Nibelungen. You might not also guess that a group considers their arrangements right up there with their fashion sense - but this is Genghis Barbie, the "leading post post feminist feminist all female horn experience"!
This 10 track eponymous release goes from A-ha to Sisqo and includes fun outtakes, some humorous and some not so good. The music making is a complete home run.
Especially gorgeous is a cover of Sam Phillips' Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us (made popular by Allison Kraus and Robert Plant). Their signature Thong Song by Sisqo is included as well as a charming arrangement of Toto's Africa - that is unfortunately followed by a live outtake of the Ride of the Valkyries. I actually love the Wagner but the sound is rotten, and the playing is not as stellar as the rest of the release. The spoken introduction for the Sisqo is hilarious, and certainly the charm of the Barbies lies not only in their playing but in their humor.
On the other hand, the comic who follows 57821 by Janelle Monáe is seemingly out of place before Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, unless you figure he is just plain Bad.
Overall, Genghis Barbie's debut cd is a real success and one can only expect more great things from this modern French Horn quartet! (I predict they'll be on Ellen soon.)
The Barbie's debut cd will be available here as well as iTunes. - John Clare, TPR Announcer/Host of Classical Spotlight
Janine Jansen has released a new album of French music including Debussy, Ravel, Faure and Messiaen. She also includes some new works by Richard Dubugnon, who she speaks with in this delightful interview:
TPR's John Clare will feature Beau Soir this Thursday on Classical Spotlight and talk with Janine, check it out 1pm on KPAC & KTXI.
Mezzo Soprano Joyce DiDonato appears in the HGO production of Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie starting Saturday! Joyce also has a new cd coming out on January 25th, Diva Divo. An old college friend of host John Clare, DiDonato met up him recently to talk about the opera and new release.
Their interview is here (mp3 file).
Clare & DiDonato
Sample the new cd until January 24th here on NPRMusic.
There are also some great videos about her new cd Diva Divo here:
Check out John's interview with composer Jake Heggie here:
Decca Classics has signed an exclusive recording contract with the young Polish soprano, Aleksandra Kurzak, who, as one of the most exciting young singers on the international opera stage, has been thrilling press and public alike with performances in Europe and the US.
Aleksandra Kurzak’s debut recording with Decca – which will be released in Autumn 2011 – will be a showcase of contrasting lyric and coloratura arias. Just recorded with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, conducted by its dynamic young Music Director Designate Omer Wellber, the album will focus on roles which she has either performed or is preparing to sing on stage: Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, bel canto roles from Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Bellini’s I Puritani and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, plus the First Act scena from La Traviata, which showcases Kurzak’s effortless agility as well as the full, warm intensity of a Verdi lyric soprano. The disc also acknowledges the soprano’s roots with the key soprano aria from Straszny Dwór (The Haunted Manor) – perhaps the greatest Polish opera of the 19th Century.
Aleksandra Kurzak will also feature on the latest Decca album from Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja – to be released in Fall 2011 – in which she sings duets from Puccini’s La Bohème and Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de perles.
Aleksandra Kurzak first came to international attention in the 2004-05 season, with debuts at the Met (Olympia) and Royal Opera (Aspasia in Mitridate), followed by notable appearances at the Royal Opera in L’elisir d’amore (Adina) and Don Pasquale (Norina). She rose to international prominence in 2008 when she triumphed in the title role of Rossini’s Matilde di Shabran, also at the Royal Opera, opposite Decca tenor star Juan Diego Flórez. As The Guardian critic wrote “Flórez’s sparring partner here is Aleksandra Kurzak, his equal in technique and vocal glamour.” She returns to Covent Garden on January 18th, singing Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) with the Royal Opera.
Decca’s Paul Moseley said, “It is always a big moment when we welcome a new soprano to Decca, the singers’ label. I am convinced that Aleksandra is the new star we were seeking. Her warm, flexible voice records beautifully and above all she is a true musician as well as a phenomenal actress and singer.”
Aleksandra Kurzak said, “For me to sign a contract with a record company is a dream come true. And to be the part of the Decca family with such great singers as Pavarotti, Freni, Sutherland, Tebaldi, Bartoli and Fleming is a huge honor and happiness for me. It makes me particularly proud to be the first Polish singer to sign an exclusive contract with such a legendary company.”
In the current season Aleksandra Kurzak recently triumphed in her debut as Lucia in the new production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in Seattle, sings Violetta (La Traviata) in Hamburg, Warsaw and Turin, Adina (L’elisir d’amore) in Valencia and Vienna (Staatsoper), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at Covent Garden and Susanna in the new production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro in Madrid. She will also give a recital at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
Established over 80 years ago, Decca has long been the label of the world’s greatest singers, with a roster of exclusive artists which has included Luciano Pavarotti, Dame Joan Sutherland and Renata Tebaldi, as well as current stars of the opera stage such as Cecilia Bartoli, Renée Fleming, Jonas Kaufmann and Juan Diego Flórez.
Classical Spotlight roves from Round Top to Madrid, plus some Country Roads and Gold from one of today's leading composers!
SASym leaves on a jet plane A Tribute to the Music of John Denver
November 19 & 20, 2010 8:00 p.m. San Antonio Symphony
Trinity University's Laurie Auditorium
Michael Krajewski, conductor Jim Curry, singer
Benefit for a great cause SA MastersingersConcert for Alzheimers
Friday & Saturday November, 19 & 20, 2010 8 PM John Silantien conducting Robert Cohen’s Alzeimer’s Stories
First Baptist Church, San Antonio (11/19)
First Presbyterian Church,Kerrville, TX (11/20)
200 & 100 Years celebration Mexico 2010 November 20, 2010 Youth Orchestras San Antonio& Juventud Sinfonica de Monterrey
Municipal Auditorium 7 p.m.
Tickets required - to get your free ticket, call the YOSA office at 210.737.0097.
San Antonio's Office of Cultural Affairs presents a festive celebration for the bicentennial of Mexico's Independence movement and the centennial of its Revolution in a concert shared with the Juventud Sinfonica de Monterrey.
OLÉ! Walden Chamber Players, joined by the Trinity Chamber Singers and soloist, Dr. Linda McNeil
Sunday, Nov. 21, at 3 p.m. Ruth Taylor Recital Hall
The program, subtitled "Boccherini in Madrid," will feature 18th-century repertoiryincluding several Boccherini quintets, the Turina Oracion del Torero, and vocal works. Enhancing the cultural scope of the afternoon, students from Trinity's Madrid Summer Program and the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures will offer commentary on Spanish architecture, history, poetry, and daily life between the musical selections.
Schütz happens
Sunday November 21, 2010 at 4:00 pm The Houston Chamber Choir, The Whole Noyse and Houston musicians perform works by Heinrich Schütz, the Master of Baroque Dresden. The founder of the Academy for Early Music in Bremen (Germany), Dr. Manfred Cordes, will conduct. In 1991 he was awarded his doctorate for his thesis on the relationship between tonality and emotion in the music of the Renaissance. In 1994 Dr. Cordes was appointed Professor of Early Music at the University of the Arts in Bremen, where served as Dean from 1996 to 2005 and was named Rector in 2007. Reservations on line or call 979-249-3129
Light & Gold Eric Whitacre has dazzled the composition scene for some time, but makes his conducting debut with a new Decca recording, Light & Gold. The grammy nominated composer spoke to host John Clare about the new work, and about his project, The Virtual Choir.
ays amazing in this world which is touted as "global" is to find music w
