Delighted to see the mandate of Kent Nagano continue until 2020, the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal was filled with renewed enthusiasm today when it presented, at Maison symphonique de Montreal, a 2014-2015 season that is dazzling and richly diversified - a season that promises deep emotions! The 2014-2015 season offers a number of sensational programs built around major works of the repertoire, some of them large in scale and some of them discoveries. Classicism and modernity rub shoulders throughout the season. In the foyer Allegro at Maison symphonique, Kent Nagano, music director of the OSM, unveiled the details of the 2014-2015 programming, accompanied by Stephane Levesque, principal bassoon with the Orchestra, and Mylene Paquette, the navigator who did a solo crossing of the Atlantic last fall. The event was hosted by Jean-Francois Lepine, international analyst and music lover, in the presence of OSM chief executive officer Madeleine Careau. The announcement marks the launch of the subscription renewal campaign, which ends on April 25, and the new-subscription and single-ticket-sale campaign, which begins on April 28.
George Rothman will lead Riverside Symphony in a performance of Arthur Honegger's masterful Symphony No. 2, a meditation on the horrors of World War II whose hopeful ending echoes the chorale finale of Bach's heart-stopping Cantata No. 51 featuring soprano sensation Nell Snaidas. Featured in the film classic "Black Rain," Takemitsu's exquisite modern Romantic opus, Death and Resurrection, reveals spiritual concerns similar to those of Honegger over the same cataclysmic event as experienced in the Pacific theater, while the brilliant early 18th century English composer Charles Avison - unsung to this day - is represented by one of 12 luminescent, unique creations fashioned around works for solo keyboard by Bach contemporary Domenico Scarlatti.
Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct the New York Philharmonic in a program of Mozart's three final symphonies - Nos. 39, 40, and 41, Jupiter - tonight, November 29, 2013, at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 30 at 8:00 p.m. Classical 105.9 FM WQXR in New York will broadcast the November 30 concert live at 8:00 p.m. as part of a month-long festival on the music and life of Mozart.
Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct the New York Philharmonic in a program of Mozart's three final symphonies - Nos. 39, 40, and 41, Jupiter - Friday, November 29, 2013, at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 30 at 8:00 p.m. Classical 105.9 FM WQXR in New York will broadcast the November 30 concert live at 8:00 p.m. as part of a month-long festival on the music and life of Mozart.
Back from its seven-concert tour in South America, the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal will be playing Mahler's Fifth Symphony in May under the direction of conductor David Zinman. For the Mahler concert, the OSM will also be hosting pianist Stephen Kovacevich in Mozart's Concerto No. 18, K. 456, 'Paradis.' The Orchestra will wind up its 79th season with a performance of Honegger's grand-scale oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bucher (Joan of Arc at the Stake)with Carole Bouquet and Guy Nadon under Kent Nagano.
Russia's profound and far-reaching impact on 20th-century culture will be explored at the 2013 annual Bard SummerScape festival, which once again offers an extraordinary summer of music, opera, theater, dance, film, and cabaret, keyed to the theme of the 24th annual Bard Music Festival, Stravinsky and His World. Presented in the striking Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts and other venues on Bard College's bucolic Hudson River campus, the seven-week festival opens on July 6 with the first of two performances of A Rite (2013) by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and SITI Company, and closes on August 18 with a party in Bard's beloved Spiegeltent, which returns for the full seven weeks. Complementing the Bard Music Festival's exploration of “Stravinsky and His World,” some of the great Russian-born composer's most captivating compatriots provide key SummerScape highlights. These include the first fully-staged American production of Sergey Taneyev's opera Oresteia; the world premiere of an original stage adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's seminal novel The Master and Margarita; and a film festival titled “Between Traditions: Stravinsky's Legacy and Russian Emigré Cinema.” Together, SummerScape's offerings will continue Bard's yearlong tenth-anniversary celebrations for the Frank Gehry-designed Fisher Center, which commence with a month of special performances in April.
On November 17 at 2pm EST, medici.tv will present a live webcast of French actress Marion Cotillard - winner of an Academy Award for her portrayal of Édith Piaf in the hit film La vie en rose - performing the lead role in Arthur Honegger's iconic 1935 oratorio, Jeanne au Bucher ("Joan of Arc at the Stake"), at the Barcelona Auditori. The libretto for Honegger's Jeanne au Bucher is a highly original creation by French poet and playwright Paul Claudel, who dramatized the last moments of the martyr's life. Featuring speaking and singing roles, Joan of Arc at the Stake has, since its Basel premiere in 1938, established itself as one of the most stunning dramatic oratorios in the history of music.
The New York-based composers' group, Random Access Music, presents the first Queens New Music Festival from today May 10 through May 13, 2012 at the Little Secret Theatre (Studio 104, 44-02 23rd Street, Long Island City, Queens). This 'trailblazing festival seeks to highlight and promote composers, musicians, and ensembles living and creating new music in the borough of Queens.'
The New York-based composers' group, Random Access Music, announces the first Queens New Music Festival from May 10-13, 2012 at the Little Secret Theatre (Studio 104, 44-02 23rd Street, Long Island City, Queens). This 'trailblazing festival seeks to highlight and promote composers, musicians, and ensembles living and creating new music in the borough of Queens.'
The Dallas Opera Guild's 23rd Annual Vocal Competition for young opera singers concluded on a high-note this evening when ten outstanding finalists (with Texas connections) were awarded a total of $20,500 in prize monies. The historic evening marked the first time this much-anticipated spring musical event has graced the stage of the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Downtown Dallas.
True to their reputation as Westchester's 'most ambitious' chorus, the Hudson Valley Singers bring two modern masterpieces known for their immense power and beauty: Arthur Honegger's 1938 oratorio La Danse des Morts and Zoltan Kodaly's 1923 Psalmus Hungaricus, to Manhattan this spring
True to their reputation as Westchester's 'most ambitious' chorus, the Hudson Valley Singers bring two modern masterpieces known for their immense power and beauty: Arthur Honegger's 1938 oratorio La Danse des Morts and Zoltan Kodaly's 1923 Psalmus Hungaricus, to Manhattan this spring
Northrop Music at the University of Minnesota presents the thirty-two singer Swedish Radio Choir as they bring their world-renowned a capella music and awe-inspiring sound to the transplanted Scandinavian heart of the U.S. The choral group's phenomenal expertise spans a wide range of music, including baroque, gospel, folk, and commissioned works, drawing heavily upon composers from their home country as well as the celebrated maestros of the past. The tour is led by conductor Ragnar Bohlin, a revered Stockholm native who also serves as choral director for the San Francisco Symphony.
