Posted in Uncategorized on November 29, 2007 | No Comments »
The Chiara Quartet wrapped up their swing through the Northwest with a performance as Seattle’s Tractor Tavern. A day earlier, the group performed as part of the University of Washington’s World Chamber Series. Their cross cultural concert epitomized the worldliness of the chamber series and the commitment of a quartet intent on changing how [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on November 28, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Young, adventurous and daring the Chiara Quartet is blazing a path in the classical music world that isn’t as foreign as it once was. The quartet regularly performs in clubs, bars and other non-traditional venues, they insist on programming at least one “new” piece of music in each concert, and aren’t afraid of challenging their [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on November 28, 2007 | No Comments »
Well, there have been many additions to the Lyric Opera website regarding this opera. Firstly, there is an in-depth article on the Lyric production of the opera that is interesting. Secondly, there is a link to a dress rehearsal that shows you the set in action and the fantastic divas at work. Thirdly, pictures have [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on November 27, 2007 | No Comments »
Today, I attended a Lyric Opera performance of Richard Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, led by famed soprano Deborah Voigt as the Empress. The evening was a stunning four hours in length, and cramming that in after a full day’s work can be quite a challenge, especially when you’re dealing with this opera in this [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on November 25, 2007 | No Comments »
Chiara String Quartet: Like cellist Matt Haimovitz, this quartet will be coming to town, stopping at Ballard’s Tractor Tavern on Wednesday. Before the Tractor, they will be performing at the University of Washington as part of the International Chamber Music Series. On the program: Bartok’s second string quartet and Golijov’s Yiddishbuk.
Yefim Bronfman: The pianist returns [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on November 22, 2007 | No Comments »
Apparently, Alfred Brendel has just announced his retirement. After his 2008 season of endless concerts, he will be off to do other things. Good for him. His career has been illustrious and I myself have an untold number of recordings that attest to his fame and musical intelligence and sensibility. Of course, many of those [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on November 21, 2007 | No Comments »
Because of the slow holiday week here is a clip of B. Haitink conducting my favorite movement of Mahler’s breathtaking third symphony.
Posted in Uncategorized on November 20, 2007 | No Comments »
The Philadelphia Inquirer has an interesting article about the impending search for a music director to replace the venerable Christoph Eschenbach. You might remember Eschenbach had differences of opinion with the orchestra. The equally venerable Charles Dutoit will be filling in for four years while the search ensues.
The predicament in Philadelphia has me wondering about [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on November 18, 2007 | No Comments »
Prokofiev and Shostakovich resumed their friendly rivalry Saturday night with dueling concerts. While the Seattle Symphony was reprising Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony, a titanic work most recently heard last year when the Kirov Orchestra came to town. A few blocks east , Alan Shen and the plucky Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra performed Prokofiev’s fifth symphony, a [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on November 17, 2007 | No Comments »
Understanding Messiaen’s music has always been problematic for me. Part of the challenge lies with his musical language. The composer’s own Modes of Limited Transposition, experimentation with total serialism, and his non-western musical influences create a complex sound environment.
The other challenging element is the composer’s extra-musical ideas. Messiaen was unshakeably religious. His Catholicism permeates [...]
