Live performances

[audiogirl]

Anyone been to anything good lately? Classical or otherwise?

[navneeth]

I will be (technically) tomorrow evening.
http://www.goethe.de/ins/in/che/en1697613.htm

[Catmando]

I attended a great evening of music a few weeks ago, highlighted by Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachmusik" and Richard Strauss' "Ein Heldeleben - A Hero's Life".

In another 3 weeks, I'll be hearing a live performance of "The Chairman Dances" and "The Dharma at Big Sur" by composer John Adams, and one of my favorite symphonies, Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony No. 3!

Navneeth, I hope you enjoy the Mozart string quartet performances! Let us know how it was.

[Hexameron]

The most recent was a Halloween concert: Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice, Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette, Liszt's Totentanz, and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Probably one of the best Berlioz performances I've heard. Totentanz was pretty damn amazing too, and the pianist improvised his own cadenza at the end.

[Catmando]

Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Probably one of the best Berlioz performances I've heard.

Ahh, I'm envious! I would love to see a live performance of the Symphonie Fantastique!

[Hexameron]

My seats were up front and to the left (so I could see the pianist's hands during Totentanz) but when the Witches Sabbath movement came along, I sort of wish I hadn't picked seats so close because of the chiming bell from the dies irae theme... It was so loud (the bell player had cotton in his ears). It certainly was a "day of wrath" for my ears.

[shostakovich]

The most recent was a Halloween concert: Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice, Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette, Liszt's Totentanz, and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Probably one of the best Berlioz performances I've heard. Totentanz was pretty damn amazing too, and the pianist improvised his own cadenza at the end.

Great Halloween choices. I love Todtentanz. There's a very interesting (not better, not worse, but a bit different) recording with Raymond Lewenthal at the piano. I taped the record long ago. If you can find it on CD, Hex, it might provide a neat alternative to the normal (wonderful) version.
Shos

[bignaf]

yesterday I went to a concert of the Juilliard Quartet. they played some of my favorite quartets! they played one of the Mozart "Haydn" quartets, the cello played too loudly throughout. they then played a middle period Bartok quartet, it was very good, but the cellist snapped a string while doing a "snap pizzicato" giving new meaning to the word.
then they played Beethoven's epic op. 131. ?I've heard better, but it was my first live one. really enjoyable. though m y expectations were higher.

today I heard a DMA candidate piano recital. he played Bartok improvisations on Hungarian folk songs. lousy piece, it never gets going, lots of little vignettes. the performance didn't redeem it. then a performance of my favorite Brahms sonata op. 1, probably the best op. 1 ever. it was pretty good, lacked some larger sense of the dynamics of the piece (i.e. planning where the piece is going), but the last 2 movements were very exciting. he didn't overplay the "jazz" elements in them (there's really jazzy rhythms there, I promise!), which is too bad from my POV. then a lousy piece by an ex-Yale composition student, Sebastian Zubieta. boring! then a brilliant performance of Ginastera sonata no. 1. check it out!

[Catmando]

Brahms sonata op. 1, probably the best op. 1 ever.

Ahh, there's a good idea for a musical duel!

[bignaf]

who would be the contender? Beethoven, trio op. 1, maybe?

Schumann abegg variations?

apparently Bach's six partitas were published as "opus one"
http://www.music.qub.ac.uk/~tomita/essay/CU1-e.html

I'm not sure that would be fair...

[bignaf]

I'll start a new thread for this...

[navneeth]

Navneeth, I hope you enjoy the Mozart string quartet performances! Let us know how it was.

Yes, I did enjoy hearing a live concert for the first time. The auditorium was not completely filled, but it was a pretty good crowd; every age-group was well represented and of course most, if not all, of the Europeans and North Americans staying in the city were there.

Although I can't give a critical review of the performances, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed them. I was not familiar with these works (I may have heard it once or twice, but don't remember anything). The third quartet, Dissonanze, was my favourite of the lot. While the audience were leaving after a standing ovation, someone from below (I was in the balcony) shouted for an encore, and the quartet came out and played the Italian Serenade (I couldn't hear the composer's name properly, but after look in Wiki, I think it may be Hugo Wolf.).

My only gripe was my seat. I think I could have got a better one on a city bus. But apart from that, it was an evening that I will certainly remember for a long time.

[shostakovich]

I went to a Hartford Symphony concert over the weekend.

Shostakovich (the other one): Festive Overture
Beethoven: Piano Concerto #1
Ives: Three Places in New England
Respighi: Pines of Rome

I wanted to see this for Pines. Just over 50 years ago, as a college freshman, the Minneapolis Symphony (now called Minnesota Orchestra) visited. Antal Dorati conducted. They ended with Pines. I can still feel the auditorium shaking. So here was another chance to hear it live. This auditorium may be anchored better. The seats didn't shake. To be fair, the chairs were portable 50 years ago. Anyway, this time the Appian Way had some of the brasses stationed around the auditorium. The "surround sound" was pretty impressive.

I think Respighi was the greatest film composer who never wrote for movies. Come to think of it, 3/4 of Pines appeared in Fantasia 2000.

Respighi at one time studied with Rimsky-Korsakov. They and Ravel form my 3 Rs of Orchestration.

Ever notice the similarity between the opening of Stravinsky's Dance of the Firebird and the opening of the second of the Fountains of Rome?

Shos

[barfle]

Just found out that ABT will be doing "Kingdom of the Shades" from La Bayadere and Rodeo at the Kennedy Center. My tickets are in the third row of the first tier, pretty well centered.

Bring on the dancing girls!

[Trumpetmaster]

Just found out that ABT will be doing "Kingdom of the Shades" from La Bayadere and Rodeo at the Kennedy Center. My tickets are in the third row of the first tier, pretty well centered.

Bring on the dancing girls!

Barfle,
That's GREAT!

What is the date and please give us a review!

Regards,
TM

[trombonepirate]

If all goes well I'm getting tickets to "Eight Songs for a Mad King" Thursday. I'm not a big fan of modern music but musicians in a bird cage . . .? How can you pass that up?
TBP

[bignaf]

if you're not a fan of modern music, "Eight Songs for a Mad King" is a very curious way to try appreciating it. it is VERY difficult to like. on the other hand, I find that occasionally people who don't like modern music a lot, like the REALLY crazy stuff, just because it's so crazy. so we'll see.
I don't like that piece, BTW. but I haven't seen it live.

[barfle]

TM, the ballet is tonight. There's also a piece by Mahler that I haven't seen/heard, so I'm looking forward to a piece I love, a piece I like a lot, and a bit of expansion.

[bignaf]

Mahler for ballet?!? what piece is it?

Tpirate, let us know how the mad king goes.

[Trumpetmaster]

Good Morning Barfle!

How was the performance last night?