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December 31, 2007
"Classical business is temperamentally resistant to novelty"
* Paganini, Arthur Fiedler, The 5 Browns, and countless others would beg to differ.* 4 Discs of LPO, Beecham thru Boult.
* Mac users buy more music.
* DIY merch goes big time.
Originally posted by jodru from ANABlog, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)
Chico Hamilton... New York Art Quartet... Evan Parker... Albert Ayler... Mississippi Fred McDowell
There were so many good and great gigs this year that I have not had time to sit around and count them all up to wrap them into a retrospective. Shucks... Maybe tomorrow... But here are four tracks to consider before I roll out the last seasonal mix.Chico Hamilton – undersung somewhat overall and probably because of spending time out on the West Coast rather than in the belly of the New York beast where the main publicity action was to be found in jazz. (Although he was commercially very successful for a period in the fifties/early sixties). This is one of his 'chamber jazz' setups playing 'Theme for a starlet.' Introduced by see-sawing strings (Hamilton pioneered the use of cello in jazz) and Eric Dolphy's piping flute. Dennis Budomir's guitar joins them as they hit a slow steady tempo. Short, moody, more about texture than improvisation. A broadening of the palette.
A few years on and a pioneer band from 1964, The New York Art Quartet. The title track of their album, 'Mohawk.' Free jazz had arrived... Although Tchicai was and is a thoughtful player, not given to the scrawk and scream of other saxophonists. Jerky, pulling each other about in a collective performance that is, however, finely balanced overall. Rudd is marvellous, tailgate nouveau, playing off the alto, Workman deft and solid as needed, Graves underneath giving surely-pitched polyrhythmic ballast. A band that listens to each other. A compressed track, four and half minutes but much to consider. Underplayed and perhaps more interesting because of that...
Down the line a ways and Evan Parker, doyen of the European avant garde. A fairly short performance, not one of his marathons. Parker is one of the most consistently brilliant players around – this is 'Banda (O.D.J.B.),' taken from his 1991 album 'Process and reality.' Is there a joke in there, somewhere? Those initials spell 'Original Dixieland Jazz (Jass) Band to me... Or maybe an obscure homage? I wonder what Evan would make of 'Livery Stable Blues'? Anyway... exploring studio multi-tracking for the first time, (I think) he creates a dense space where his soprano weaves across itself, sounding at times like a riffing horn section and/or a tape loop as a line goes in a higher spiral over its cloned selves. A simultaneous evocation of jazz and Steve Reich style systems musics – all improvised freely...
And turning back (maybe): Albert Ayler, from his album 1967 album 'Love Cry,' the title track. One of the last sessions that the recently deceased Donald Ayler played on with his brother, if I remember correctly. (If not the last). A simple declamatory fanfare opens, a yodelling voice briefly echoes it (to return towards the end) then the horns have at it, fairly sedately – Albert is in the usual tenor register, Donald playing simple but strong figures – there is a very good blogpost about him here... Scuttling bass opens it up underneath as Graves rolls his drums out in waves. A distillation of the Ayler methods, quieter than the firestorms he was capable of. Evoking earlier jazz idioms of collective improvisation, simple folk forms, the trumpet especially giving a marching band feel almost, with a vocal quality coming from the blues (and gospel, as Godoggo pointed out a while back in one of his comments, although the saxophone vibrato is not quite as broad-banded here as it usually was). I love Albert...
Mississippi Fred McDowell in 1965... crisp stinging bottleneck, a rolling rhythm and Mississippi Fred's high plaintive voice combine in a crystalline, pure reading of 'Going down to the river.' Country blues brought back from obscurity for a new audience by one of the masters... timeless.
In the Videodrome...
Chico at Newport...
Mississippi Fred McDowell...
Charles Mingus takes the 'A' Train...
Evan and Ned...
Chico Hamilton (d) Eric Dolphy (fl) Dennis Budimir (g) Nathan Gershman (c) Wyatt Ruther or Ralph Pena (b)
Theme for a starlet
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New York Art Quartet
John Tchicai (as) Roswell Rudd (tb) Reggie Workman (b) Milford Graves (d)
Mohawk
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Evan Parker (ss)
Banda (O.D.J.B.)
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Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler (ts) Donald Ayler (t) Alan Silva (b) Milford Graves (d)
Love Cry
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Mississippi Fred McDowell
Going down to the river
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Originally from wordsandmusic, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
Happy long tail to all my readers
Right at the end of 2007 the Observer ran a story that shames the whole classical music community, including this and other blogs. It was about the BBC's rejection of director Tony Palmer's Vaughan Williams film, a news story that was featured prominently by the Observer and several music blogs, including this one. It now appears that the rejection letter quoted in the coverage was a publicity-seeking hoax, although the identity of the hoaxer remains unclear - read the full account here.
This story neatly sums up a year in which relevance became the order of the day, and swapping the long tail of culture for the short head of the mass market became the number one priority. 2007 saw Norman Lebrecht's attempts to go mass market hit the buffers, while William Barrinton-Coupe's efforts on behalf of his late wife met a similar fate. It was also the year when the Royal Opera House went mass market with its advertising, BBC TV went mass market with its classical music programming, Deutsche Grammophon went mass market with its album covers, John Foulds went mass market with his World Requiem, the BBC Proms went mass market with its crooners, and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra went mass market with its concert attire and politics.
'Relevance' is in and the long tail is out. But it doesn't always work as Dominic Sandbrook recounts in his excellent book White Heat, a History of Britain in the Swinging Sixties? 'Many Protestant churchmen, alarmed at their inability to reverse the long decline in church-going, concluded that 'relevance was the order of the day'. According to Grace Davie, the churches, besotted like so many other institutions by the 'desire to be modern', consequently 'looked to the secular world for a lead and borrowed, in some cases rather uncritically, both its ideas and forms of expression'. It was in this period, for example, that liberal churchmen first began wielding guitars, introducing handclapping into the Anglican rite and generally conducting themselves like frustrated pop singers, a tactic that failed to attract many new parishioners and often alienated those still loyal to the Church of England'
In 2008 On An Overgrown Path will stay firmly focussed on the long tail, and now playing is Satori (1999) for solo harpsichord by John Palmer. A long way from the Anglican rite, Satori describes the spiritual awakening during Zen meditation. This penetrating work, with its long silences is influenced both by the composer's friendship with John Cage and by his deep involvement with Japanese culture. Adventurous and thought-provoking new music from the enterprising Sargasso label who revel in promoting the long tail. Check out good length audio samples here.
Excellent sleeve notes by Peter Burt, including this one for the title work on the CD - A koan, for instance, is that type of apparently nonsensical question by means of which students in the Rinzai school of Zen are trained to transcend the limitations of verbal reasoning, the most famous example perhaps being Hakuin's 'What is the sound of one hand clapping?' (My own mischievous answer has always been that it is the audience reaction at the average new music concert).
Peter Burt neatly disposes of the long tail versus mass market conflict with these words - All this picturesque 'Japaneseness' might make it sound as though the listener to this CD is in for a comfortable session of 'New-age' easy listening. But be warned: someone who submits himself to the ascetic severities of Zen monastery life could hardly be expected to opt for facile and superficial artistic solutions, and the musical language of John Palmer's work is uncompromisingly Western and modernist. It demands of its listener, no less than of its creator, an attitude of disciplined seriousness. Deeply rewarding listening.
Which eloquently sums up the long tail listening experience.
* Celebrate the New Year with some more long tail - my David Munrow on the record programme is being repeated on Future Radio by popular demand at 7.00pm on New Year's Day, click here for the audio stream.
Sand mandala header photo from my 2007 post about the Free Tibet campaign. And no apologies to all those who think politics, art and sport don't mix. With the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 it is a subject I'll doubtless be returning to. Sand mandalas are a motif in Martin Scorsese's film Kundun which also deals with the Chinese occupation of Tibet, and I featured Philip Glass' score for the film on internet radio in November. My middle photo is from Going Buddhist which featured the music of Lou Harrison, the footer image is from Zen and the art of new music about Jonathan Harvey's music, and there is another contemporary music Koan here from James Tenney. Lots of long tail links there for the New Year.
All photos (c) On An Overgrown Path 2007. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
Originally from On An Overgrown Path, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 05:12 PM | Comments (0)
I Have Seen the Future (& It's Not This Rosy)
Back from a holiday hiatus to Tucson and the rejuvenating environs of Rancho de Taylor. The desert sun and air did me good, but it also made the transition back to the double digit minus temps of Minneapolis all...Originally from Bagatellen, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 05:11 PM | Comments (0)
Hans Otte - Aquarian Music
I’m sitting here late into the night working away on some writing, listening to some of the loveliest music I’ve heard in quite some time, Hans Otte’s Siebengesang and Wassermanmusik from his album Aquarian Music (also listenable on Rhapsody). Such lovely harmonies and colors, I’m looking forward to getting to know these pieces much better over the next few weeks…
Originally posted by Steven from steven yi :: music, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:59 PM | Comments (0)
Waltraud Meier´s opera schedule until 2010/11
Approximate operatic performance schedule for Waltraud Meier until 2010/11 (from her agent http://www.hilbert.de/). Subject to changes, of course.
2008
Bastille Paris: LOHENGRIN/Ortrud
BadenBaden: TANNHÄUSER/Venus
Berlin: FIDELIO
Paris Bastille: TRISTAN
2009
Moscow: TRISTAN (Guest performance from Paris Opera)
Dresden: FIDELIO
Berlin: PARSIFAL
MET New York: WALKÜRE/Sieglinde
Paris/München: WOZZECK/Marie
2010/11
Berlin: TRISTAN
Vienna: LOHENGRIN and PARSIFAL
Milan LaScala: WALKÜRE/Debut: Brünnhilde
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
2008 - The Messiaen Year
My entrance into the works of Olivier Messiaen started with his organ music, which I find entirely unparallelled in it´s deep felt spirituality an ability to communicate faith. And surprisingly to me, I found it the most easily accessible of his music. For me, it started with this recording, moving me for days upon my first listening. I have never experienced faith, spirituality and the sense of eternity communicated so powerfully through music (or indeed through anything) before.Newcomers to Messiaen´s music may find his organ works easier to approach than most of his other output, as I did. Subsequently I have discovered much of the same beauty in his orchestral pieces. I still have trouble with the Vingt regards and the rest of his piano music and the Quartet for the end of time as well, but I suppose I am getting there...And I´m looking very much forward to the Francoise d´Assise in Amsterdam (see below).
2008 is Messiaen year, celebration his 100th birthday with events covering the entire year. Plenty of opportunity for ondes martenot listening and thus I might finally experience a live performance of the Turangalîla symphony.
More background on Messiaen and the festival year on his website here and at co-blogger On an overgrown Path.
A full list of all concerts may be seen on Messiaen´s website here. There are hundreds of events to attend all over the world.
The South-Bank Centre in London has a year-long Messiaen Festival, "From the Canyons to the stars". More here.
Events which I find of particular interest:
February 2nd: Olivier Messiaen Des Canyons aux etoiles. Ensemble Intercontemporain. Susanne Mälkki and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. London. More here.
February 7th: Turangalîla Symphony w/ Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia. London. More here.
February 17th: Boulez Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna and Messiaen "Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum" London Sinfonietta; Peter Eötvös, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, UK. More here.
May 1st: Ascension day service at Westminster Abbey with the organ version of l´Ascension. More here.
Spring 2008: Listening to Messiaen´s complete organ works at various London locations. More here.
June 2008: Saint François d´Assise musical director Ingo Metzmacher, director Pierre Audi; Camilla Tilling, Rodney Gilfry at Amsterdam Opera, Holland. More here.
August 31th 2008: Turangalîla Symphony, Simon Rattle with Berliner Phil. More here.
October 16th: La Transfiguration de notre seigneur Jesus-Christ for chorus & orchestra, Nagano with the Philharmonia. London. More here.
December 10th: Couleurs de la cité céleste and Sept Haïkaï, Boulez: sur Incises, Ensemble Intercontemporain w Pierre Boulez. London. More here.
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
Before you go...
Ludovic Morlot made his official, subscription series debut with the Chicago Symphony last night, having filled in at the last minute for Riccardo Muti previously. His lack of pretension and focus on the details, along with an ability rare in a musician not yet 40 to corral the differing ideas of a large group of musicians caught my eye when I first heard him, and so it went last night. (I'm not the only one to take notice.) Strauss's over-the-top Suite from Der Rosenkavalier was appropriately over-the-top, but not ugly. And I've heard it done ugly.
The Strauss was the big main course of the program, and Morlot led a swashbuckling account of it, with big, lusty, brassy waltzes. The tender parts of the score weren't lost on him, either, and for those who don't like their Strauss all bloated and goopy and leaking all over the place, this was pretty much ideal. Others found it too bombastic; based on other accounts I've been unfortunate enough to attend (Yan Pascal Tortelier in Pittsburgh, looking in your direction), it wasn't.
Principal oboist Eugene Izotov made his solo debut in Mozart's C major Oboe Concerto, with a reduced complement of strings. His lithe and focused tone cut the work's phrases to the quick, and his ability to spin out a legato line effortlessly is rather enviable. Izotov also wrote his own cadenzas, I think, and improvised little connective passages in the finale; all nice, all welcome, all congenial.
Four of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances opened the program, and Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suite came first on the second half. Instead of playing them up as mini-showpieces, Morlot and the orchestra found the music inside, and the saxophone of Burl Lane and Mathieu Dufour's flute made special contributions in the Bizet.
I could go on, but suffice to say, this was a warm and friendly way to for the orchestra to end 2007. This is also, I hope, a warm and friendly way to end the blogging of 2007, so I look forward to getting back to the swing of things in 2008. I love you all...but not like that.
Originally posted by MarcGeelhoed from Marc Geelhoed: Deceptively Simple, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
Top '07 shows
"Hall-marked moments," Time Out Chicago, December 27, 2007. Instead of writing up the usual "Best Concerts of 2007" list, I compiled the concerts I felt made the best use of their venues. Props to Opera Cabal, the New Millennium Orchestra, and pianist Maurizio Pollini, whose solo recital provided the solid, traditional context for the experimenters.
Previously: The review of Opera Cabal, and my advance interview with Pollini prior to that recital last May.
Originally posted by MarcGeelhoed from Marc Geelhoed: Deceptively Simple, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
Liverpool: European Capital of Culture 2008 - Independent
Liverpool: European Capital of Culture 2008 Independent, UK - Chicago sextet eighth blackbird presents a new work by Steve Reich, while George Benjamin's Pied Piper opera Into the Little Hill also receives its UK ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
Opera on DVD: Billy Budd
 Britten, Billy Budd, Philip Langridge, English National Opera (1988) (DVD release, 2001) |
 Billy Budd, P. Langridge, S. Keenlyside, J. Tomlinson, London SO, R. Hickox |
Richard Van Allan is a vampiric Claggart, tall and thin and costumed in black with swept back graying hair -- Claggart as Emperor Palpatine. Van Allan's thick, resonant voice sounds slightly worn and a little weary here and there. (Curiously, the sound seems not to line up with the singer's movements during O Beauty! O Handsomeness!, as if it were edited). Thomas Allen is a piercing Billy, perhaps too old and experienced for the role, especially in closeup, but vocally very effective. Tim Albery’s production is dark, spare, and pointedly effective, while conductor David Atherton puts together a worthy rendition of Britten's gorgeous score. Although well worth watching, it is not the best DVD of Billy Budd one could imagine, making the absence of competition all the stranger.
Arthaus Musik 100278
Originally from ionarts, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)
Feast of St. Thomas Becket
On December 29, Thomas Becket (1118-70), Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in his cathedral by soldiers, as described by an eyewitness, Edward Grim. He had been appointed to the position by his old friend, King Henry II, whom he had previously served as Lord Chancellor. A worldly clerk, educated at Merton Abbey and in Paris, who had traveled to Rome and many other places, he took his episcopal appointment to heart and gave up his old pleasure-loving life at court. The king, outraged that his archbishop did not simply approve of his plans for the English church, quickly became frustrated with Becket and may have directly or indirectly provoked the soldiers to murder him.Becket's grave in Canterbury Cathedral quickly became an important pilgrimage site, drawing the 30 pilgrims of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the 14th century. Becket even got an entry in the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, popularity that inevitably led to the destruction of the saint's remains and famous tomb at Canterbury by the Protestants. Becket has fascinated modern minds, too, inspiring plays by Lord Tennyson (Becket, 1884), Jean Anouilh (Becket ou l'honneur de Dieu, 1959), and T. S. Eliot's modern masterpiece Murder in the Cathedral. The latter examines Becket's opposition to authority in the month before he was killed (the Burnt Norton part of Four Quartets was originally written as part of the play). Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) even wrote an opera based on Eliot's play, Assassinio nella cattedrale (La Scala, 1958).
Image: Detail of stained glass window, St. Thomas Becket, Canterbury Cathedral
Originally from ionarts, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)
In Brief: Goodbye, 2007
Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to good things in Blogville and Beyond.- Marcus Plieninger has a pessimistic but on-the-money assessment of the New York Philharmonic's upcoming trip to North Korea, which may not be the feel-good story it is cracked up to be. [Armavirumque]
- Scott Spiegelberg has worked his Internet magic again this week and published his biannual ranking of the Top 50 Music Blogs this week. Ionarts is still up there in the mix, coming in at No. 7 in the rankings, under both formats. Thanks to everybody who reads and links to us! [Musical Perceptions]
- Ionarts is calling together the Washington Music League Welcome Wagon for the arrival of Greg Sandow and Anne Midgette to the area. Midgette will be taking up the position of Interim Classical Music Critic at the Washington Post in the New Year. We wish them a happy time down here! [Sandow]
- Heh. Few writers have critical venom as vitriolic as the Snarkmeister, Norman Lebrecht. Get a good Bah Humbug Christmas laugh as he dismantles bad holiday releases. [Slipped Disc]
- Sarah Noble has put together an operatic Advent calendar, with a different YouTube video for each day. [Prima la musica, poi le parole]
- A man calling himself OneManSho has put this video on YouTube. In it he sings a song, backwards, while doing various things at the same time. Then, the video plays backwards so that you can understand what song he is singing. [Via Boing Boing]
- As regular readers know, I am weary of Handel's Messiah, which in a running joke I usually call the M-Word in print. In an interview with Stephen Moss, conductor Harry Christophers reminds me of all the things there are to love about the work. [The Guardian]
- On his way out of town, Tim Page left his list of the year's top five area events in classical music. See how his notes compare with ours. We wish Page the best on his sabbatical in California and hope to read him in the paper again soon. [Washington Post]
Originally from ionarts, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)
Various Artists - NetBloc Volume 10
Earlier in the year I featured the first volume of a continuing series from the BlocSonic blog called NetBloc. Its purpose is to present on a regular basis a showcase of music from netlabels and independent artists. Since then there have been 10 volumes, all of high quality with a well written booklet of liner notes. It is fitting that I would feature the latest of this series at the end of this year if only to remind you that if you haven’t been regularly checking these volumes out, you are missing a awfully large amount of great music.
netBloc Volume 10: Postmodernism is dead. Postmillennialism killed it… sorry Andy :( may be the best of the lot. As usual, it is an eclectic blend of mainly hip-hop, electronica, and indie pop served by an international cast. Ghostown starts the album with a very tasty rap offering. More hip hop is imported from Spain by El Klan Delos Dedete. Singer-Songwriter DavidBowman offers a classy hybrid of folk and electro-pop. If I had to pick a favorite I would go with the great techno-pop track “Munchen” by Garmish Partenkirchen. The best music to get totally lost in is the dreamy and jazzy “Valletta 1:27 a.m.” by The Incognito Traveller. Joijoijoi is minimalist pop while Shorthand Phonetic is Emo like you won’t believe. Most regulars of Free Album Galore will already know the joys of My First Trumpet and Surbuhar (You’re welcome, Mike!). As mentioned before, if you are missing out on this series you are missing some of the best of independent and netlabel music.
Originally posted by freealbums from Free Albums Galore, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)
vox novus
Originally from david's waste of bandwidth..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)
Cheap Earbuds Suck
Gizmodo has a comparison up of replacement earbuds to the ghastly buggers that come free with almost every MP3 player out there. However, their conclusion is that those ubiquitous bright white iPod earphones actually sound quite good… when compared to a bunch of other crappy earphones. The comments in the story have some interesting recommendations though (but naturally span the range from clueless Britney fan to overly prodigal audiophile)
What would be really interesting to see is a review encompassing the key $20-$50 range, which is more typical of people who want decent sound quality without paying extortionate and exorbitant amounts of money. I’ve been pretty happy with my $45 Sennheisers. They’re about 3967 times more comfortable than the ergonomic monstrosities which I got with my player, and sound a hell of a lot better.They also seem like a good balance between cost and quality, given that they tend to be used in a noisy environment.
Originally posted by Ben from classicalconvert.com, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)
Symphony lockout has long-term effects
Timothy Gibbons, Florida Times-Union, 12/30/2007Originally from Classical Music News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)
AMN Best of 2007
We don’t take “best of” lists all that seriously, but they do serve as a great way of providing a long list of albums that are worth checking out. Without further ado, here is our best of…with a few disappointments of 2007 at the end.
The very best:
Battles - Mirrored
Blackshaw, James - The Cloud of Unknowing
Far Corner - Endangered
Reuter, Markus / Robert Rich - Eleven Questions
The quite good:
3Sacchetti - Bora! Bora! Mr. Motto
Albert, Jeff - ACGKS
Andersson, Peter - Music for Film and Exhibition
Bad Plus, The - Prog
Braxton, Anthony - 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006
Bynum, Taylor Ho / Sextet - The Middle Picture
Cartwright, George - A Tenacious Slew
Cline, Nels / Singers - Draw Breath
Fantastic Merlins - Look Around
Fields Ensemble, Scott - Beckett
Houston Drone Concern, The - Variations for Bob Ostertag (EP)
Koverhult, Tommy - Trane to Taube
Lehman, Steve - On Meaning
Ochs, Larry / Sax and Drumming Core - Up from Under
Parker, William / Hamid Drake - Summer Snow
Radio Massacre International - Rain Falls in Grey
Rongey, Kurt - With Form It Threatens Silence
Soft Machine Legacy, The - Steam
Trio M (Myra Melford / Mark Dresser / Matt Wilson) - Big Picture
Weasel Walter Quartet - Revolt Music
Wyatt, Robert - Comicopera
Zorn, John - Six Litanies for Heliogabalus
The notable mentions:
Adams, John Luther - Red Arc / Blue Veil
Alamaailman Vasarat - Maahan
Anderson, Fred / Hamid Drake - From the River to the Ocean
Athletic Automation - A Journey Through Roman’s Empire
Atrium Carceri - Ptahil
Brant, Henry - A Concord Symphony
Brotzmann, Peter / Paal Nilssen-Love /M.Gustafsson - The Fat Is Gone
Car Bomb - Centralia
Cline, Nels - Suite Bittersweet
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
Derome, Jean - Le GGRIL
Evans, Peter / Quartet - Peter Evans Quartet
Formentini, Luca - Tacet
Friedlander, Erik -Block Ice and Propane
Ghost in the House - Ghost in the House
Halvorson, Mary / Jessica Pavone - On and Off
Hopper, Hugh - Numero D’Vol
Ito, Teiji - Tenno
Lee, Eugene - Srivbanacore
Moe!kestra, Moe! Staiano’s - Two Rooms of Uranium Inside 83 Markers
Motian, Paul / Bill Frisell / Joe Lovano - Time and Time Again
Norton, Steve / Norton Plsek / Gino Robair - Firehouse Futurities
Original Silence - The First Original Silence
Parker, William - Corn Meal Dance
Pasqua, Alan - The Antisocial Club
Powerhouse Sound - Oslo / Chicago: Break
Rational Diet - Rational Diet
Redhooker - The Future According to Yesterday
Roach, Steve - Fever Dreams III
Sarno, Devin and G.E. Stinson - Heart Cell Memory
Shipp, Matthew - Piano Vortex
Shurdut, Jeffrey Hayden - This Is the Music of Life - Live at Tonic
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - In Glorious Times
Social Interiors - Spatial Circumference
Sungsang Lebam Telak - Kecuali Mengenang Betismu
Thomas, Oluyemi / Henry Grimes - The Power of Light
Tobin, Amon - Foley Room
Torn, David - Prezens
Two Bands and a Legend - I See You Baby
Two Bands and a Legend - Two Bands and a Legend
Walker, Scott - And Who Shall Go to the Ball, and What Shall Go to the Ball?
Ware, David S. - Renunciation
Wilkerson, Phillip - The Dream Beneath
Witham, David - Spinning the Circle
The Disappointments:
Aerotrio - Aerotrio
Banhart, Devendra - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Circle - Panic
Drkula, Petr - Metrospective
Free Zen Society, The - The Free Zen Society
Fromuz - Audio Diplomacy
Kyron - Dark Goddess
Murray, David - Sacred Ground
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Werchowska / Werchowski / Boubaker - Trio BWW
Gorowski - Simulators
Originally posted by Mike from Avant Music News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)
MUSIC REVIEWS: Britney beatdown eclipsed noteworthy music of 2007 - Kansas City Star
MUSIC REVIEWS: Britney beatdown eclipsed noteworthy music of 2007 Kansas City Star, MO - Longtime collaborator Mark Bell and producer Timbaland keep her electro sound appropriately avant-garde. 4. Queens of the Stone Age's "Era Vulgaris. ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)
Two-way match - Guardian Unlimited
Two-way match Guardian Unlimited, UK - If I was staying in town, I'd go see a play or something more avant garde. If I was at home, I'd cook. Watch a DVD ('Goodbye Lenin', maybe). ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)
Who's Fred Peters?
I'm not sure who he is, but this is some very odd, very interesting stuff. Parental Guidance suggested:http://www.podcastfm.co.uk/116224282445466b0817856.mp3
http://www.podcastfm.co.uk/11620645954543b2d3debf2.mp3
Reminds me of Lou Reed or Genesis P-Orridge
Originally posted by dolf from ANABlog, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 31, 2007 at 12:09 AM | Comments (0)
December 30, 2007
Here’s to 2008!
Consider making a tax-deductible year-end gift to ETHEL's Foundation for the Arts.Dear Friends,In 2008, our band turns ten years old. In our decade of existence, we haveperformed more than 300 shows a...Originally from Ethel - MySpace Blog, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
Mix update...
The xmas mix 3 has now been added to the mp3 player on the sidebar... Just realised it is New Year's Eve tomorrow... The time of year for bloggers to start posting best-of worst-of lists... Hmmm... maybe... maybe not...Originally from wordsandmusic, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 08:10 PM | Comments (0)
Variations on the Goldberg Variations
The big bonus of presenting programmes on internet radio is I get to play the music I want to play, not the music that a focus group tells me to play. On Monday afternoon we have a fun programme for New Year's Eve, and as part of it I'm playing a 15 minute sequence from a double CD that's a personal favourite, but that doesn't fit into any conventional programme format.
Jazz pianist Uri Caine's treatment of Bach's Goldberg Variations defies any categorisation and I'll be playing tracks varying from solo piano to full on jazz. It's all part of our Happy New Ear's programme which is on Future Radio from 1.00 to 4.00pm on Monday December 31st, the Goldberg sequence should be on air at around 2.00pm.
Uri Caine's take is just one of several variations on the Goldberg Variations in my CD collection. Least successful is Robin Holloway's 'recomposition' for two pianos titled Gilded Goldbergs on Hyperion, a double CD which takes a long time to add very little, while Jacques Loussier's jazz variations take less time to say little more.
Among my favourite variations on variations are two recordings of Dimitri Sitkovetsky's masterly transcription for strings. One is a limited edition CD recorded in the beautiful Romanesque cathedral in Vaison la Romaine by the Trio de Prague in 2002, while the other is the fine 1993 recording by the NES Chamber Orchestra on Nonesuch which is noteworthy for both its committed performance and the sleeve notes by John Adams. But Uri Caine is up there with the best, listen in at 2.00pm UK time on Monday December 30th if you can.
Read more about Dmitry Sitkovetsky and those John Adams sleeve notes here.
Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
Originally from On An Overgrown Path, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 08:10 PM | Comments (0)
[no title]
Editors -- Hands off Don Rosenberg!I was very pleased when I saw that Donald Rosenberg, the Cleveland Plain Dealer's excellent classical music critic, had a roundup in the Sunday PD on the year in classical music. I knew he'd have something trenchant to say about the Cleveland Chamber Symphony's dramatic year -- the Grammy Award it shared with local pianist Angelin Chang, its survival of the departure of board president Mark George, the exciting new season it has begun. (It's performing work by a bunch of local composers next year, including Michael Leese, Eric Gould, Chris Auerbach-Brown, Dennis Eberhard, Loris Chobanian and Monica Houghton.)
But the Rosenberg article doesn't say a word about any of this. It does mention CityMusic Cleveland, including its premiere of Margaret Brouwer's excellent violin concerto, which Rosenberg says "deserves to enter the standard repertoire."
No doubt Rosenberg mentioned the Cleveland Chamber Symphony in his original article, and and his editor chopped it out. Yeah, that's what happened!
Originally from Modernclassical, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
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Roy Harris's Third Symphony2007 was the centennial year for my native state, Oklahoma, and before it fades away, I wanted to mention a recent post by Robert Gable. Gable writes, that "I personally, subjectively, non-rationally prefer Harris' Symphony No. 3 to anything by Adams or Reich. Of course, numbers 2 thru 24 are all Adams and Reich (with #25 Lara Downes playing Harris' American Ballads)."
Gable talks about the work as if it's a guilty pleasure. I like it, too (there's a cheap recording easily available.)
Harris was an Oklahoma native, although I don't remember hearing anything about him when I lived there, even when I took a classical music appreciation class at the University of Oklahoma.
Harris biography here.
Originally from Modernclassical, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
The Terrifying Tale of the Murdering Maestro:
* Before the Garden State banned capital punishment, it sent the conductor of the Camden Philharmonic to the electric chair.* $1,000 reward for info on slain conductor.
* Review of the new Henryk Melcer CD.
* New Drinking Game: Every time Gustavo Dudamel is not mentioned on a best of 2007 list, take a shot. (You're sure to be sober as a judge)
* Tommasini: "classical music seems in the midst of an unmistakable rebound"
Originally posted by jodru from ANABlog, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:33 PM | Comments (0)
Congratulations to Heather MacDonald on her Sydney
Her portrait of the excesses of Regietheater earned her a nod from David Brooks in his annual summary of the best essays of the year:Bieito transferred the Abduction to a contemporary Eastern European brothel and translated the dignified pasha of Mozart’s sadly irrelevant tale into the brothel’s sick pimp overseer. To give the production’s explicit sadomasochistic sex an even greater frisson of realism, Bieito hired real prostitutes off the streets of Berlin to perform onstage. Needless to say, neither the streetwalkers nor the whippings, masturbation, and transvestite bondage are anywhere suggested in Mozart’s opera. In one representative moment, the leading soprano, Constanze—who has already suffered digital violation during a poignant lament—is beaten and then held down and forced to watch as the pasha’s servant, Osmin, first forces a prostitute to perform fellatio on him and then gags the prostitute and slashes her to death. Osmin hands the prostitute’s trophy nipples to Constanze, who by then is retching.
Originally posted by jodru from ANABlog, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:33 PM | Comments (0)
Allen Strange's Taqueria
I divide composers into two classes, those who care about cooking and those who don't. (It also happens that the class of composers who write music I like is more or less coterminus with those who care about cooking, but in a universe with many happy coincidences, should that be altogether a surprise?)Newly returned to the internet is composer Allen Strange's Manual for Mexican Street Cooking, available here. This is a nice resource, with a personal and pragmatic take on some matters strictly gourmand. Strange, long a professor of music in San Jose, has retired to places North, continues to make music, and also has written, with violinist Patricia Strange, a valuable book of instrumentation recipes for composers, The Contemporary Violin.
Growing up in Southern California, the present season has always been one intimately associated with tamales. Yes, if you stuff it in dough, I'll probably eat it, but tamales are in a class by themselves, whether sweet (filled with pineapple, mango, jam) or savory (my ideal is the long lost Atascadero tamale of my childhood). The recipes I use come mostly from an ancient copy of Maria A De Garbia's Mexico en la cocina de MARICHU, which I picked up somewhere in Mexico City a long time ago, but at this point, I tend to go freestyle with my tamale stuffings, improvising with whatever is at hand, and remaining resolutely un-PC with my tamale dough, happily enriched with dangerous quantities of manteca (yep, lard).
Originally from Renewable Music, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)
A Fever'd Mind Seldom Rests
A thought experiment: We all wake up one morning having forgotten music, what music is, and what music does to us. Three things can happen: (1) we re-invent music, more or less as it was before, or (2) we re-invent music, but it differs in substantial ways from what it had been, or (3) we get about with our lives but without any music. What have we lost and what have we gained in each scenario? What does this suggest about the nature and value of music? To what degree do these three possibilities reflect the working methods of a composer?Originally from Renewable Music, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)
What's Opera, Doc?
Originally from Renewable Music, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
Prom 19: Halle/Elder - Strauss, Britten and Nielsen
Evidently a mixed affair, not helped by the late indisposition of Lisa Milne:http://www.musicalcriticism.com/concerts/prom-19-0707.htm
Originally from Musical Criticism - the blog, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
Probably my last post of the year
And i really just dont have that much to say. Vacation is nice, but it makes me lazy. Ive written a number of tiny little piano pieces specifically tailored for beginners. Its the only kind of composition i can really tolerate right now. I think I've written about 8 of these little things. They're nice, maybe i'll post them sometime.um. What else. Ive continued to browse youtube on occasion, i stumbled upon a good performance of Shoenberg's gorgeous Verklarte Nacht. ( I found that after listening to Blondie... hahaha.) And realized that the wierd and unpleasant world of blindingly ignorant youtube trolls makes its way to shoenberg videos too. Bizarre and stupid comments litter this video of six nice musicians just doing their job... (and doing a great job that would make Schoenberg proud) I cant really say much in the face of so much stifling idiocy (its more a problem of "where to start tearing down this monolithic tangle of crap?") So i just generally ignore what people post on youtube.
Probably the best for my sanity.
____
So thats the last post for the year of 2007. Onto 2008.
When did my perception of the passage of time become so warped? I swear time seemed to pass slower when i was little. The years just seem to speed up as they go.
Originally from Music in a Suburban Scene, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
Walking around La Scala with a camera....
Walking to the opera through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II:
Piazza della Scala with the opera house in the background around midday:
Piazza della Scala seen from the Opera with the entrance to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in the background:
And the mighty Milano Cathedral, only five minutes away by foot:
The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II around midday:
And, below the Scala Opera around noon. The sense of history around this house is unlike anything I´ve experienced before, possibly equalled by the Vienna State Opera.
Next to the opera is a small museum, through which you may enter one of the balcony boxes of the Scala Opera: Only when I saw the theater workers mounting the sets for the first act of Tristan at 3 pm in the afternoon of the performance, I became entirely convinced they would actually be playing..The records shop within the actual opera house is excellent and displayed several items I have not seen anywhere else, particularly by historical singers associated with La Scala.
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
Rolando Villazón: Probably back soon..
Obviously you never know for sure, but it definitely seems like Rolando Villazón will be back soon:Staatsoper Berlin earlier this week announced a recital he is to give together with Daniel Barenboim on the 22th of March in Berlin - already sold out, of course (link here).
He is also to appear twice in Verdi´s Requiem (25th and 26th of February), also with Barenboim (and most importantly: René Pape!) in Berlin - also sold out of course (link here).
And his comeback will be as Werther on the 5th of January in Vienna, where he probably will appear, since he still figures on the company website (link here).
And in June, of course, he will be Don Carlos at the Royal Opera House, London (link here)
So is he worth hearing at or is he just hyped up? My take: Definitely worth hearing. I heard him in Manon earlier this year in Berlin and he impressed with a warm voice and fine acting (my review of that performance here).
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
The Ring - the musical - the happy ending..
Opened to great success at the Bonn Opera last week: The Ring - a musical composed by renowned German musical composer Frank Nimsgern (son of bass-barytone Siegmund Nimsgern. a former Bayreuth-Wotan), with libretto by Daniel Call and directed by Christian von Götz. A 3 hour musical freely based on Wagner´s Der Ring des Nibelungens (with several major outbreaks from Wagner´s storyline), which runs approximately like this (from Kurier and http://www.derringdasmusical.de/):With the gift of gold, the Gods kindle greed and envy in the hearts of Mankind. To put an end to the brutal wars that rage as a result, the Gods decide to take back the gold and sink it in the depths of the river Rhine. The hidden treasures are to be protected by three heavenly daughters. Unfortunately the three guardians; “Tenderness”, “Desire” and “Pain” are not blessed with intelligence or wisdom. The three maids are seen shaking to rock music at the bottom of the Rhine. After a thousand years of lying desolate on the bed of the Rhine, a dwarf called Alberich manages to steal the gold and also the legendary “Ring Of Power”.
By wearing the ring, Alberich begins a reign of terror over “Nibelheim”. The father of the Gods, Wotan, desperately needs to pay the giants who have just finished building his monumental palace “Walhall” - decorated with pink clouds. He manages to skilfully steal the gold and the ring from Alberich.
The giant that wears the ring is transformed into a fierce, fire-breathing dragon and is so entrusted with its safekeeping. Alberich won’t give up. He wants the ring back. He forges the “perfect man” out of iron and steel to be able to snatch the ring from the claws of the dragon.
Siegfried succeeds, but also becomes enchanted by the powers of the ring. He saves Wotan’s shunned daughter Brunhild from the flames; Wotan is disempowered and Siegfried arises as the new world leader. In the end true love conquers all and the sun apparently shines on the Götterdämmerung.....
Much more on the informative website http://www.derringdasmusical.de/ here.
Trailer for the production may be viewed here (note the logo, which looks suspiciously like the logo of the Kupfer/Barenboim Bayreuth Ring) :
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
Bayreuth 2008: The tickets are now out...
The tickets have now been distributed for the 2008 Bayreuth Festival. So - have you applied and not received your ticket yet, chances are very high that the you´ll receive a nice refusal letter in January.
And remember: If you didn´t get a ticket/or the tickets you wanted, don´t hesitate to phone the Ticket Office in Bayreuth and explain why you really need those tickets...I talked to several people last year, who´d done this: A French lady, who´d gotten tickets to Parsifal after a 10-year wait, phoned them up and literally cried in the phone resulting in additional tickets for The Ring and Tannhäuser...
I am counting on obtaining tickets by queuing on the day of the performance, if I decide to go: Which depends quite a lot on the cast, which doesn´t look too exciting (officially to be published in February)..
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
Die Gezeichneten from Salzburg 2005: Superb DVD version
Seriously, it´s not worth bothering too much about the plot, which is immensely stupid and lenghty to explain (link to plot description and detailed information on the DVD here).
However, this is probably the best Lehnhoff production I´ve ever seen -managing the combination of being immensely stylish and aesthetically beautiful without being static, which in other productions seem to be Lehnhoff´s main problem. The simplicity of the dark sets here makes an excellent contrast with Shreker´s dense-textured score. Those familiar with the score may note that some cuts, most notably in Act 3 of about 20 minutes have been made, allegedly to simplify the story-line.
Wonderfully playing by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin conducted by Kent Nagano. Fine soloists in Anne Schwanewilms with the cool soprano nicely fitting Carlotta´s character (as the fragile artist with a heart condition, who will die if she engages in ehh..... too strenous physical activity, if you get the point!) and Michael Brubaker and Michael Volle as the male leads.
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
The Bayreuth Succession part 15: What is going on?
Previous episodes of this Wagnerian docu-soap may be read here, and for new readers the background of this unique Wagnerian docu-soap is written up here.The answer to the above question: Not much....
Gudrun Wagner death was acknowledged with a public ceremony in Bayreuth on December 13th (more here)
Christoph Schlingensief claims never really having liked directing theater and now he intends to focus on opera. And he wouldn´t mind running the Bayreuth Festival together with some equal-minded friends (not an option).
The Intendant of the Stuttgart Opera claims not to be interested in running the Bayreuth Festival (ehhh. good to know I guess...more here)
The protagonists (Katharina Wagner/Thielemann/Ruzicka vs. Eva/Nike Wagner) are supposed to be delivering written-up Festival management strategies to the Board of Directors in the near future.
Christian Thielemann by the way is conducting the Meistersinger revival at the Wiener Staatsoper in January (more on that later).
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)
Henze´s Boulevard Solitude on DVD in excellent Lehnhoff production
Lehnhoff´s simplistic staging concept evolves around a waiting hall with people continuously passing by, which sets the right backdrop for Henze´s score, of which the inspirations range from 12-tone music to jazz. Good performances from Laura Aikin (Manon), Tom Fox (her brother) and Pär Lindskog (des Grieux). Also nice to see Henze walk to the brink of the orchestra pit to receive standing ovations after the performance.
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)
New Maskarade DVD
Released last week, this DVD of Michael Schönwandt/Kasper Bech Holten´s new production of the unofficial Danish national opera Maskarade is a most welcome addition to the Maskarade discography (previously consisting only of Schirmer/Pountney´s version from Covent Garden/Bregenz - link here).
I saw this production in the new opera house in Copenhagen earlier this year, where it premiered in 2006. Actually I participated in this production - more on that in my review here. Detailed information on this DVD, which is a live recording from the Royal Danish Opera earlier this year, may be found here.
There simply is no point in producing Maskarade if you do not have the right singer to play Jeronimus (the conservative archetype and main character of the opera): Until his death Aage Haugland literally owned this role, which he also recorded on the brilliant Maskarade CD recording 1998 with Ulf Schirmer/Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra - link here.
Now the role has passed on to Stephen Milling, who has the exact combination of commanding stage presence and vocal strength to convincingly play this anti-hero with the exact balance between comical talent and dignity which is a prerequisite to create a successful Jeronimus.
The entire cast is very strong, especially Johan Reuter as Henrik displays a very convincing comical talent (he will need to keep up his good spirits to survive Götz Friedrich´s dusty Ring production as Wotan next month in Berlin...). Also future Berlin Wagnerian Susanne Resmark (will play Ortrud in Lohengrin in May) showed a considerable comical talent as Jeronimus´wife Magdelone. Very strong playing from the Royal Danish Opera orchestra conducted by Michael Schönwandt (who will also be conducting the above Lohengrin in Berlin in May). Compared to Schirmer´s 10-year old recording, Michael Schönwandt has a slightly (but only slightly) more heavy approach to the score, which suits it extremely well. I simply cannot imagine a better conducted performance of this work. There are moments of both Falstaff as well as Rosenkavalier and Meistersinger in Carl Nielsen´s score, but Carl Nielsen has succeeded in combining giving the otherwise elitist opera a wide public appeal in a way that none of the above composers (perhaps with the exception of Verdi) succeeded in doing.
The entire opera is about the conflict between generations and between the old and the new with a touch of social criticism (based on a play by Holberg).
Kasper Bech Holten´s production is definitely modern in the outlook, and may not appeal to all. I must admit I find it both very refreshing and very funny. Described in detail here.
The camera angles are switched very frequently on this DVD, with many shots of the orchestra players and conductor during the performance. For this opera I think it works quite well and gives an added sense of being at the actual performance. Had it been a performance Parsifal or Tristan, I would probably have found the switching angles highly irritating.
Excellent bonus tracks with a behind-the-scenes view of the preparation of the production and an interview with Michael Schönwandt explaining the plot of the opera. Also a very informative booklet with an extensive information on the history of Maskarade. Perhaps some of the biographies would benefit from an update - the otherwise very detailed biography of Stephen Milling seems to stop at his performances at La Scala in 1999 (in a very small role) and the Seattle Ring several years ago, but with no mention of his Metropolitan performances (Hunding and Sarastro) or those at Covent Garden and Wiener Staatsoper (Parsifal), which would probably be considered his career highlights so far.
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)
Jenufa on DVD: The small stone, the mighty stone, the shattered stone...
The center of the production is a stone symbolizing Jenufa´s troubles/baby: Just appearing from beneath the earth in Act 1, mighty overshadowing everything in Act 2 and shattered to pieces in Act 3..Everyone with a basic course in psychoanalysis may join in here...Otherwise the sets are simplistic and make a fine backdrop for the action and highlights why this is a masterpiece: Janacek´s detailed characteristics of the protagonists both in words and music are almost unrivalled.
And the protagonists are first-rate with Nina Stemme (Jenufa), Eva Marton (Kostelnicka) and Jorma Silvasti (Laca). There is something in the colour of Nina Stemme´s voice, which has never appealed to me and I much prefer Karita Mattila´s Jenufa. Not that this should take anything away from Stemme´s performance, which was both deep felt and moving. And she has excellent chemistry with Eva Marton´s both well-sung and excellently acted Kostelnicka, which is a prerequisite for a successful performance of this opera. I must admit, that this is the first really good performance I´ve heard from Eva Marton in almost 20 years, since her voice deteriorated in the start of the 90´s leading to an incredibly obnoxious vibrato. Just as long as she stays with Kostelnicka and doesn´t return to Ortrud. Please.....
My main problem with this DVD lies with the orchestra, conducted by Peter Schneider: It´s just unspectacular. The music just does not flow. There is no clarity and it just seems to drag on. Just listening to the live excerpts on the Los Angeles Opera website shows how this music can sound.
Presently the only other DVD of Jenufa is the Lehnhoff Glyndebourne production (more here). I prefer the Barcelona production due to the superior staging (I find Lehnhoff´s production claustrophobic) and Nina Stemme´s Jenufa (compared to Roberta Alexander, whom I find anonymous), while the orchestra conducted by Andrew Davis in the Glyndebourne version is clearly superior.
However, what I´d really like is a version with Karita Mattila and a first-rate Janacek conductor/orchestra. I suppose this DVD release unfortunately precludes the release of the Metropolitan production with Mattila and Silja since it´s the same staging...
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)
2007 mostly opera awards: The best, the worst, the funniest, the most boring......
Top 5 operatic performances of 2007:1. Tristan and Isolde, La Scala, Milano (review here)
2. Tristan and Isolde, Munich (review here)
3. Parsifal, Berlin State Opera (review here)
4. Don Giovanni, Berlin State Opera (review here)
5. Meistersinger, Bayreuth (review here)
Top 3 non-operatic performances of 2007:
1. Wagner Gala in Munich (review here)
2. Renée Fleming in Thaïs (review here)
3. Pollini recital in Salzburg (review here)
Worst performance: Hans Neuenfels´ staging of the Magic Flute at Komische Oper in Berlin. I´ve tried to forget it, but at times like this, it just pops up (review will follow soon).
Best opera on CD: Testaments release of the complete 1956 Keilberth Ring from Bayreuth. It beats every other version out there, even Solti. Link here.
Best opera on DVD: The complete Kupfer/Barenboim Bayreuth Ring. It´s also top of my Ring DVD list now. Link here.
Best recital disc: Karita Mattila´s Helsinki recital. More here.
Best singer: This will have to be split between René Pape and Waltraud Meier. René Pape for: Filip, Boris Godunov, Gurnemanz, Marke, Hunding and Don G. (link here) Waltraud Meier for these Isoldes. And Ortrud as well. And Sieglinde (link here).
Best conductor: Daniel Barenboim. For the unparallelled intensity he generates conducting Wagner live. And Mozart as well. For: Parsifal, Tristan and Don Giovanni (link here). With Christian Thielemann a close runner-up for that magnificent Bayreuth-Ring.
Best director: Patrice Chéreau. For this. With Dmitri Tcherniakov as a runner-up. For this and this.
Best opera seen on TV/in cinema: Eugene Onegin from the MET. More here. Searing. Unbelievably moving. (Chéreau´s Tristan has moved to the "live opera" category or would otherwise probably have won this category).
Biggest disappointment: To have to close my ears to the awful singing in Siegfried Act III in Wagner´s own theater in Bayreuth, while at the same time listening to Thielemann´s magnificent conducting. More here.
Biggest surprise: To suddenly find myself on stage in Carl Nielsen´s opera Maskarade at the Royal Danish Opera. More here.
Most misunderstood: Katharina Wagner´s staging of Meistersinger in Bayreuth. Claiming that she is an exceptionally radical stage director is simply far off the mark, and is due to the fact that almost nobody has actually seen her work, which lies plainly within the ”modern” German staging tradition and not the slightest radical. More here.
Most ridiculous: The whole game of succession regarding the leadership of the Bayreuth Festival. More here.
Strangest and most amazing: Being in Bayreuth and attending the performances in the Festival House. More here.
Worst behaviour: Bryn Terfel canceling the ROH Ring at almost no notice. More here.
Best behaviour: Reading here about how Plácido Domingo took time to go backstage between acts and meet his fans at the Royal Opera Walküre and apparently was very pleasant as well.
Most generous: When a stranger gave me a free first-rate ticket to the Pollini recital in Salzburg immediately before the performance. More here.
Most irritating: Sitting almost in front of Daniel Barenboim at a Pierre Boulez concert in Berlin, where he was continuously shuffling some papers very noisily around for the entire concert..only to find out that the day after we were sitting right beside him at another Pierre Boulez concert (with the same paper shuffling going on…) .
Most boring: Regardless of excellent productions, and performances of the highest musical quality, baroque operas just are very long…. (no link, since it´s really not the performers fault that baroque opera doesn´t appeal to me)
Most funny: Attending Hoffmann´s tales ath the Royal Opera in Copenhagen an evening where both the tenor lead and substitute were ill and were substituted by….the conductor! More here.
Most disappointing statement: That René Pape has canceled Hans Sachs in Berlin 2008. More here.
Most exciting statement: That he will sing Wotan at La Scala 2010. And Waltraud Meier will be Brünnhilde. More here.
Originally from mostly opera..., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)
'Concrete Frequency': Life in the big city - Los Angeles Times
'Concrete Frequency': Life in the big city Los Angeles Times, CA - To contrast composers who love modern technology and those who might have doubts, Robertson has paired Pierre Boulez's high-tech extravaganza ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)
World Atonality Day
Originally from listen., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Dec 30, 2007 at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)
End of the Year
Originally from listen., ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on