Exceptional polish / Die Zauberflöte / Royal Opera House – 7 May 2013

13 May

ROH FluteIt has been a bit of a crazy week but really have to put down in writing how good the performance of the Magic Flute really was. McVicar’s decade old production may be very short on the crowd pleasing spectacle the work is calling for and is particularly cumbersome in its design sensibility. But all was forgotten because of some truly world class singing by the largely British cast.

Simon Keenlyside who originated the role of Pappageno on the first staging was a ball of silly antics and sung with great finesse. Andrew Staples gave us a very youthful Tamino with great evenness of tone and winning sensibility, Albina Shagimuratova was a very confident Queen of the Night, thundering in and nailing the treacherous coloratura with unexpected transparency and accuracy. Susana Gaspar acted with brio but her Pappagena never quite got off the ground as the direction and costuming created a character apart that doesn’t quite mingle harmoniously with the rest of the cast. But the night ultimately belonged to the marvellous Pamina of Sophie Bevan, singing a gleaming account of the part with radiant, plush sound and great charm. There is no greater acclaim for a singer singing this part than to radiate happiness and to make the auditorium fall in love with her. Bevan put a huge smile on our faces every time she was on stage, even adding to it by recovering rather nicely from a chair fall and incorporating it in her acting.

The conducting by Julia Jones may have been largely utilitarian and with little attempt at conjuring Mozart’s magical glow. All the largely humdrum playing from the pit  could not mask how truly beautiful the singing was, reminding us all how a really bouncy cast can transform even a clinical account into something memorable. It was a shame this second cast only had three performances to prove their worth but was very pleased to hear satisfied punters all the way down from the Amphitheatre. I hope that we will see more frequently casts of this quality that don’t seem to have been put together because they can number lots of international names just for the sake of it. The Brits in the cast acquitted themselves so well it makes some of the casting decision frequently made at Covent Garden seem a little bit strange. More please!

ROH Flute List

Curtain call video

Some Tweets from the evening

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ENO 2013/2014 Season launch by an eye witness

10 May

ENO 2013-14The English National Opera seems to be a uniquely polarising company when it comes to critical opinion and bloggers in the UK. Most are very happy to point out its faults (most of the criticisms if inverted could be used against the Royal Opera rather easily, when it comes to programming) and all its missteps. I was invited to the launch for a second year and it was interesting to mark the change in atmosphere. Lots of vocal critics of the company are too happy to castigate the inadequacies of the arts journalists and their apparent failure to address burning questions on the financials and the artistic decisions there. What of course they make no allowance for is for all the things that ENO does very well and in some cases is a leader in the field. Frequently the feelings of overwhelming hurt uttered by some people online  make me wondering what their true motives are.

A press conference is not the place to ask probing questions on the financial state of the company but surely a good place to try to discern what the atmosphere is like and to try to see beneath the veneer of rehearsed confidence.  This time the managing trio of Gardner/Berry and Tomasi were surely much more subdued overall but clearly wanted to give an upbeat flavour to the announcements.

ENO has been a director led house since the 1980s with a more edgy outlook. If that is not what you want out of opera then maybe don’t waste your breath on complaining like a demented person. I am sure hearing Christopher Alden and Calixto Bieito call ENO an institution that understands their needs and becomes a base of sorts for them, must be like a red rag for the pithily referred to “regietheatre”. Like it or not, directors like Pierre Audi, Bieito, Richard Jones, David McVicar and the two Aldens have made an indelible mark in the operatic world of the last twenty years and no amount of circle jerking over tired productions by Zeffirelli and Ponelle will change that. Move on with the times or move along.

It is well known that John Berry likes to draw theatre, film and artists to collaborate into their first operatic directions. Some of them have been very successful, like the Anthony Minghella Madama Butterfly and Terry Gilliam’s staging of  Le Damnation de Faust and some have bombed like last year’s Giulio Cesare by Michael Keegan-Dolan. It seems like a luxury for many but it seems also intricately linked to the current artistic outlook of the company. This season he has invited Joe Hill-Gibbons, a theatre director by trade to try his hand at opera with Powder her Face.

The vehement anti-ENO brigade seems to be too unwilling to acknowledge that they have artist development schemes for conducting, instrumental playing, libretto writing, singing and a newly announced young house composers scheme. They seem serious about opening the doors to more creatives into the world of opera and that can surely be a positive development for the future of the art form.

The financial state of ENO is apparently improving with the deficit down by two thirds (£800.000) and box office intake rising to £1.3m.  The sombre tone of their CEO Loretta Tomasi was indicative of taking seriously the situation and explained that they were successful into applying for a £3m fund (Catalyst Arts) from the Arts Council that hey have to match with a fundraising drive of £6m, which it stands currently at 85%. This expendable endowment will be used to fund production costs, which seems like a sound way to use it. The only alarming aspect was her emphasis not to be too over-optimistic if there is another funding cut by the government this June (it seems likely to be another 10% cut in tune with current government policy). Of course what is worrying is that the current losses are essentially wiping out their reserves. And while the Catalyst programme is a great idea it will not pay the staff or any other day to day costs of the operation.

Unfortunately they did not announce any changes to the core ticket prices just the continuation of the (rather naff) Opera Undressed scheme and the increase of ticket allocation from 100 to 200 per eligible performance. They seemed happy that 26% of participants in the scheme returned for more ENO shows.  Also they announced the launch of Secret Seats (£20 paid and a seat allocated two days before the performance with a value of £27 or more, with Stalls and Dress Circle seats also part of it). That pushes the overall seats available for under £40 by 40% but of course it doesn’t address the constant discounts of top price seats and the all too infrequent sell outs.

The programme they announced is a mix of some reliable revivals, like David Alden’s Peter Grimes (with a starry cast) Penny Woolcock’s Pearl Fishers (with an enticing cast) Anthony Minghella’s Madama Butterfly and their much lauded Phelim McDermott production of Satyagraha which will shift a lot of tickets. The more searching and artistically dangerous/ambitious productions may come to grief ENO’s management in the coming months. but personally I am looking forward to the following:

Terry Gilliam’s take on Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini. Gilliam will come up with some odd ball ideas and the accomplished cast with Edward Gardner conducting should make it an enticing evening.

Calixto Bieito’s Fidelio will be an interesting proposition, especially the nights when Stuart Skelton is singing the lead.

Richard Jones’ take on Rodelinda, remarkably, only his second Handel direction to date, will surely be memorable and with a great cast. ENO’s time to prove that they can live up to their reputation for being the London House for Handel. And make us forget of that awful Cesare.

Julian Andreson’s Thebans directed by Pierre Audi will be an interesting new work. Gardner said at the press conference that it has some remarkable writing for the chorus, which is frankly a good omen for a work based on Greek drama.

Thomas Adès’ Powder her Face in a new production by opera first timer Joe Hill-Gibbins in a site specific staging away from the confines of the Coliseum is an intriguing prospect.
In the least desirable corner, my pick is the new Cosi fan Tutte (who knew we needed another new staging in London) especially when it’s libretto will be tortured by Martin Crimp.
Overall the programming is giving me a lot of fascinating productions to look forward to and many hours of Twitter fun while I’m trying to have a reasonable conversation why the company has something interesting to say aside for the odd turkey here and there. At least they have the balls to take artistic risks, just wish their financial standing was much more solid.

The season trailer

A few tweets from the launch

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Mrs Carter and her dearest friends / Beyoncé at the O2 Arena, London – 3 May 2013

5 May

Any long-term readers will not quite expect a piece on Beyoncé by me…but somehow managed to see her newest, shiniest world tour on Friday night and thought it worth documenting here.

We tend to think of the tribes of people who attend classical and opera evenings, a largely middle class, middle-aged crowd that veers on the reverential and the more reserved side of human nature. If going out to see the London Symphony Orchestra is a visit to the nearest font of greatness for many of us, seeing Beyoncé is the equivalent of breathing the same air as a yogi. Her audience was a uniform mix of 20something girls that seemed to conform to about four types of pre-packaged ideal form. Most of it found in celebrity magazines, with bright fake tans, rampant hair extensions and fashion out of the third aisle left of Primark. As we sat down drinking some wine we looked on as hordes of fans arrived, resembling a self-replicating mass dedicated to having fun and waving their arms in the air to the tune of Single Ladies repeating in their heads for the next three hours. We may want to make assumptions on the looks and submission to the power of marketing and the desperate need to belong to a tribe. But mainly what was in evidence in spades was the undeniable magnetism and brilliant shine of popular culture at its most fundamental.

You will see the opening sequence in my embedded video, a failsafe mix of bright lights, abundant decibels, LED screens giving us an 18th century out of rococo paintings most of this audience never seen in the flesh, dancers and of course the appearance on a stage lift of the poster girl and the centre of attention. It is catchy, it is exciting and it was lapped up with genuine, moving  abandon. Interestingly the fans even found enough benevolence to not boo the turgid Pepsi advert that prefaces the opening of the show in an act of solidarity to the starring lady. Beyoncé like any pop act at the top of their game has the unbeatable mix of inoffensive blandness and a cunning ability to validate their existence in the zeitgeist by infuriating select audiences that would never see her live or download her music anyway.

Her brand of female empowerment may be full of contradictions and moves writers to want to write an open letter to Michelle Obama. But her nearly 80% female audience and all female stage band are serving a menu of inclusive entertainment. Between segments and costume changes we are served a diet of platitudes that would happily rest in the pages of a self-help book on how to attract men without looking desperate, we are told memorably that seduction is intelligent. Not miles away from the last Madonna show I experienced which featured prominently  a video mash-up of dictators intercut with images of genocide and George W Bush.
The pronouncements may be very different but the claim to gravitas in the context of all the hip thrusting and the hair flicking is the same. The appearance of a piano signifies a surface for our heroine to lie on in a fabulous midnight blue sparkly playsuit. What pop chanteuse doesn’t fall for the allure of adding a classical element into the presentation as a coded message for the fans to take away?  She also had a ballerina sequence at a transitional point in the middle of the show, making the point of how the inverted snobbery against ballet when used in a popular context. Carrying its sense of cultural elevation for her show with a subtle hint of high art that contrasts sharply with the immaculate renditions of radio wave fillers.

It would be very easy to turn all sneery and to not understand the point and the mechanics of a pop concert. This is shiny, showbiz glitter (and yes this show came complete with a glitter cannon) that bypasses reason and reaches cult levels. The sea of people around us were believing in her as a chief representative of their tribe, Beyoncé as head priestess of contemporary womanhood. She danced herself into a sweat and all the ladies nearby cheered her on and offered their love and approval at every turn. I felt like a heretic in the middle of it all, trying to judge for myself the source of this love and trying to not lose my hearing to the outrageous over-amplification.

One undeniable observation is the sense of total abandon to a hedonistic escapism for the three hours of the show. The relationship of total trust between the performer and the audience, being built on years of exposure via celeb magazines, TV appearances and being the soundtrack of people’s lives. The catchy tunes are just one part of the story, she manages to sell self confidence and a lifestyle by virtually bypassing the critical faculties of the audience and aiming straight for their emotions. I was moved to tears by Véronique Gens’ rendition of Les chemins de l’amour a few weeks back in a way that pop music will never reach deep inside me. My innate cynicism doesn’t allow for the guard to go down and permit myself to be manipulated by the artifice. The simplicity of the set up (one woman a pianist and a piano) is for me the ultimate way to communicate what it means to be human and to have a connection with one’s interior world. Allows for reflection and appreciation of great artistry without the need for spectacle and lights.

But damn me classical and opera audiences need to be taught a lesson on how to not be so buttoned up and to have a sense of occasion when attending, how to give themselves over to the musical experience and have a notch less reverence and a whole load more interaction. Why is it turning round and telling a fellow concert goer that the performance is incredible such a taboo? Why can’t the classical tribe try to be slightly less “respectable and bookish” and let its hair down. We need to celebrate all music as a genuine form of escapism that gives us safe hiding places from our everyday lives but also a source of essential, unadulterated FUN. So big thanks to Mrs Carter and her ladies in the audience for a giggle of a night out.  I wish I could transfer some of the unstuffy enjoyment and all round Joie de vivre…also hoping the next time I go to the Wigmore Hall it will smell a little less of mothballs.

Some Tweets from the evening

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Future + Present + Past / Ecstasy and Death / English National Ballet – 20 April 2013

23 Apr

ENB EcstasyThis was the first programme fully put together by the new Director of the English National Ballet, Tamara Rojo. It read like a ballsy statement of intent and it overall read as a fresh, exciting start for the company.

Since January and after a radical re-branding  complete with new logo, new promotional campaign and some combative interviews, Rojo made it clear that the astonishment of her announcement in April 2012 that she was quitting the Royal Ballet and joining the ENB as a Director was sustained. The company had a dancing ballerina as its boss back in its founding years with Alicia Markova and judging on this outing Rojo seems to have been a huge source of inspiration for the company.

Petit Mort

Is a stylish vintage piece by Jiří Kylián, new to the company. Opening with the male dancers handling their swords in both playful floor sequences and in more combative use with the other soloists. The costuming for both male and female dancers were sharply tailored skin coloured bodices and shorts. The sleekness and simplicity allowing for full concentration on the intricately physical choreography with a clear focus on body contact and exertion of torsion. Set to two excerpts of Mozart piano concertos the work acquired a taste of serene classicism that almost turned into a baroque interlude when the female dancers skated across the stage in formation in large black 18th century gowns. In one snap movement they broke that initial impression by escaping the stiff dresses and wriggling their way out like a chrysalis from the cocoon. It surely caused a few knowing laughs in the audience. The female dancers deployed a large swathe of fabric that covered most of the stage and created a certain separation between individual sections. The most interesting part of it was the sexually combative relationship between the couples, clearly capitalising on the post coital state referenced in the title of the work. It was sleek, beautifully lit and the dancing was a jolt of vitality much needed to get the afternoon started. Special mention also for the sensitive and alert piano playing by Chris Swithinbank.

Le Jeune et la mort

In this first revival since the production in 2011 as part of a Roland Petit triple bill, which I absolutely loved. This second staging of it and in such diverse company the true classic nature of the work was even clearer. The elegance and depth were highlighted by the electric partnership of Tamara Rojo and Nicolas Le Riche who acted their way the grand guignol scenario laid out by Jean Cocteau. Her fetishistic, morbid, sadistic persona was the perfect foil for Le Riche’s louche and spectacularly acrobatic performance. He may not be as young as ideally one would like but his way of interpreting the choreography feels deeply personal. No jumps or contortions seemed laboured, all informed the core of the work and illuminated this 1946 classic.  The fraught relationship brought into relief with Rojo’s solid presence emphasised the macabre heart of the work to the fore. While Acosta and Chalendard brought a more edgy more obviously confrontational couple to life, this time it was more complex and more assured.  The potent mix of sexuality, smoking and desire was as potent as it was believable. It goes to show that when the director dances, and attracts such starry company, incredible things happen.

Etudes

It is a slightly love and hate piece by Harald Lander  as it scales up a ballet class to an intricate feast of fouettes by the principal male and female dancers. It is a great work to impress guests at a gala and the fact this was the 750th performance is a clear indication how popular it has been in the intervening 50 years. It was performed with joyful abandon  if not exactly classical perfection. Unfortunately it is the kind of show off confection that I very rarely find engaging, but as a way to boost morale and bring most of the company together has a very useful function to serve.
It’s traditional form was in contrast to the other two works but made a great addition into telling the story of where the company started from, an outfit directly descended from the Ballets Russes. Setting the path where Rojo wants to take the company, based on its classical 19th century foundations with the bohemian European air of Petit to the more surface polished world of Kylián.

I brought two ballet newcomers with me to the performance and they were impressed by the variety of dance on offer and also wanted to know much more about Rojo. It seems the gamble she took in becoming director is starting to pay off. I am very excited to see the future developments and of course their upcoming brand new Le Corsaire. Rojo is aiming high and seems to be geared up to hit the bull’s head.

ENB Ecstasy list

Curtain call

Production shots by the ENB

And a few Tweets

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Thanks for the music Sir Colin

14 Apr

Sir Colin accepting the applause after an LSO concert at the Barbican on 11 December 2011

We use the word legend far too easily but applying it to a great maestro of the stature of Sir Colin Davis is very appropriate.

In the last decade I had the chance to see him conduct his beloved London Symphony Orchestra many times. Every time their sound had a special sheen that somehow only he could conjure. His contribution to the musical life of this country and all over the world through his many tours and recordings is possibly the most important of the post war era. Unlike many of his contemporaries his quiet dignity from the podium was for me his unique characteristic. In the concert hall he radiated calm concentration and gravitas. The attention was not focused on an egomaniac maestro but to a musical family coming together.

Last June’s absolutely spellbinding Berlioz Grande Messe des Morts was an incredibly moving evening of music making. A family friend had died the same day and in my head I dedicated the stellar performance to his memory. I decided not to put into writing how it affected me that evening as it all felt very raw. Almost a year later it is a sad realisation it was also the last time I saw Sir Colin conduct but also a great last memory to have. A man who made music his life, conducting a composer that he single-handedly brought to contemporary focus and championed like no one else. This was the final farewell to his life’s work and a chapter of music history was written. Only last month the recording of those two performances at St Paul’s was issued. I will play my copy in memory of a great evening and a consummate musician that touched all our lives and will continue to inspire us for as long there is recorded music, rest in peace Sir Colin. You will be sorely missed and this Tuesday’s The Turn of the Screw performance will have a special poignancy knowing that you were meant to have conducted it.

PS I will giggle for ever more with Sir Colin’s response to my tweet when he was being interviewed in 2011 by Gareth Davies. Of course I had to ask about knitting ;-) His response is near the 14minute mark.

A great rehearsal gallery on BBC Radio 3′s website

The announcement of his passing on the LSO’s website

The page aggregating condolences on the LSO website

Mark Berry’s wonderful tribute to Sir Colin on his blog

Interview in The Independent when he took over his role at the LSO as Principal Conductor in 1993

Interview in The Guardian in 2011

Jessica Duchen’s interview with Sir Colin in March 2012

The Guardian obituary

Tributes by colleagues in The Guardian

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The power of great design

12 Apr

From all the non ending and at times very tiresome eulogies after the passing of Margaret Thatcher, this advert by BBH has encapsulated the zeitgeist in one clean but direct summation. Great typography and a simple idea have the power to cut through the political smoke screen erected by the publicity hungry “Thatcher’s children”. One big hurray for the power of advertising.

MarmiteGuardian

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Interminable sea of grey / Nabucco / Royal Opera House – 4 April 2013

11 Apr

ROH NabuccoIt has been a week and I can reassure you that Daniele Abbado’s new production of Nabucco is near instantly forgettable. The set being at most three tones of grey, the costumes being ill fitting, anonymous suits and dresses in near matching grey with small touches of muted blue and green.

Verdi’s score and the subject matter full of Babylonian excess and Hebrew strife being reduced to a dull, dusty cat litter tray with some standing stones made of MDF and textured to look like concrete, a pit of fire and some dull looking oversized mesh sculptures. Any visual references to Peter Eisenman’s Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin were not exploited the stele could have been for all we knew stand ins for a latent 2001 Kubrick vision. But even the terribly trite and monolithic set is no contest for the approximate movement and lack of dramatic engagement the direction brings to the work.
The individual characters are as hollow as the standing stones with the singers’ dramatic engagement having the depth of the shallow dusty grey sand. There seems to be no attempt into any relationships being built, love, passion, intrigue, patriotism go unexplored and scene after scene we are treated to a static park and bark style that seems so old fashioned and out of place. He curiously flattens the drama to a shallow uninvolving parade of bodies that lack purpose and impact. As the curtain rose to another inclined stage (directors love them, singers loathe them) complete with the vapours of dry ice, nothing much happened till the curtain came down 2 hours and 40 minutes later.
The use of the video screen, covering most of the background of the set was alternating from a simulation of outdoor light conditions and some dull re-enactments of stage action and aerial views of the set. The only moment the video projection added an iota of excitement was in the last section when the idols are smashed (flimsy chicken wire constructions in this production taken apart) and the projection turns all jumpy and liberated from having to reflect what is happening in front of it. The lack of use for such a prominent feature in this production was one of the many unanswered questions that Abbado’s production leaving behind. The video being a particular useless add on as instead of adding dynamism it just perpetuated the tedium by mirroring it.

Now if the singing had been universally great and world class this park and bark production could have had an aspect that could be enjoyed. Monastyrska, Pizzolato and Nucci being the only ones that added any nuance and power. The rest of the cast was having a bad night, particularly Kowaljow sounding dry and forced. Thank heavens Nicola Luisotti’s conducting was brisk if slightly too polite at times. He managed to coax a lot of sublime moments from the orchestra, especially some very fine cello playing in the Second Part. He alluded to the grandeur redolent in the score but sadly distinctly missing from this production.

Abbado allowed the chorus to take centre stage during their moment in the spotlight in Part Three and they gave us a spirited performance of Va Pensiero that finished with a floating pianissimo that our Abigaille would kill for.  Liudmyla Monastryrska surely has a very imposing stage presence and a wonderful top range but the notable lack of ability to float pianissimi and her odd sounding chest voice made her performance at times thrilling but also a series of disappointing stop starts. Her Anch’io dischiuso un giorno started in a fairly tentative fashion, totally not in tune with the trench being set on fire while she awkwardly tries to light it stiffly with a torch. The concluding cabaletta Salgo già del trono aurato was much better with her incisive enunciation and sharp delivery adding frisson and some shading to the character of this arrivistic young woman.

Leo Nucci has been for years the third choice baritone for most European opera houses and despite his impressive stamina (he is 70 after all) he did not excite me too much…unlike a bunch of Italians nearby that were screeching bravo every time he opened his mouth. But even the most charismatic, sweetly voiced singer would have trouble trying to radiate authority early on and mental frailty in the conclusion in this stolid production.
Marianna Pizzolato used her radiant tone to great effect for her prayer Oh dischiuso è il firmamento in Part Four and overall offered the most satisfying singing of the evening, despite the most unflattering wardrobe to grace the ROH since Robert Le Diable. Lets hope we will see her again soon in London and in bigger parts. Her deep chest voice, steady top and colourful tone were a source of joy.

This was one of those totally dry and dull productions that seem to create an instant argument against co-productions between major opera houses. I have no idea how it went down in Milan but can’t imagine the Italians would have warmed up to the lack of a central idea and purpose for this staging. This production did not tell us anything about Nabucco and the chest beating essays about exile in the programme had me beating my own chest on the way out  wondering why was Abbado allowed another go at Nabucco especially when his contribution was this dull and cold.

ROH Nabucco list

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Visit to NT Ickworth / 1 April 2013

6 Apr

On Monday visited for the first time Ickworth, as stately as a Georgian pile gets. Unfortunately I only had a compact camera with me, so apologies for the lack of sharpness in quite a few images but hope you will enjoy them regardless. Unusually for a National Trust property it has a number of really good quality artworks, including by Velasquez, Batoni, Gainsborough, Zoffany, Reynolds and Titian. The most impressive has to be John Flaxman’s The Fury of Athamas (1790-94) a great example of his monumental figure groups that he was so admired for. The Italianate gardens are also beautiful and possibly the earliest survivor of its type in Britain, they frame the Rotunda in the most exquisite fashion.

More information on the house: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ickworth/

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Lutosławski magic / Philharmonia Orchestra + Matthias Goerne + Jennifer Koh + Esa-Pekka Salonen / Royal Festival Hall – 21 March 2013

22 Mar

Philharmonia LutoslawskiTo call a concert an exhilarating, gripping experience with lots of unexpected contrasts twists and turns may seem an over the top description. But last night the Philharmonia’s smashing mix of Ravel and Lutosławski was a magical journey across 20th century repertoire without compromise and with a true visionary at the helm.

Esa-Pekka Salonen is a conductor/composer that is both inspirational and a great front for contemporary music. His tireless promotion of less popular and neglected repertoire a particular streak that runs through his work with the Philharmonia. A short film that preceded the performance was a touching introduction to the composer with a particular emphasis on EPS’s sense of duty to spread Lutosławski’s music to a new generation of audiences. And based on the outcome of this concert I am very interested to hear more of his music. He seems to bridge the gap between Debussy, Ravel , Stravinsky and the 60′s electronic avant-garde. But all with a purely acoustic sound. Some of the spectral effects and unusual combination of instruments brings surprise and is a reflection on his compositional methods based on chance. The overall effect of his 4th Symphony has a similar impact and quality to Stockhausen’s Mittwoch. Using the orchestra as a box of tricks, unleashing unexpected pairings and lush (alternating with harsh) contrasting textures. Despite the echoes of other works all three pieces by Lutosławski were individual and distinctive. The melodic line being kept lean and piercing, articulating the material with unfolding gradations.

The opening Ravel was conducted with utmost delicacy by a batonless EPS controlling the orchestra with balletic precision and astounding refinement. The suite permeated by playful accents and ethereal textures. A fantastic opener to an action packed evening.

Symphony No4 opens with a fantastic, otherworldly, shimmering conversation between strings and two harps. As imposing and as grand an opening as Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra and with an  equally unexpected development. He takes the formal arrangement of the instruments and cascades melodic sections from the timpani and horns down to the strings. Prominent roles for trumpet and the thundering piano add to some overwhelming tutti. There is a sense of fascination with the orchestra and its many possibilities. He keeps exploring and inventing throughout the body of the work. And concludes with a grandiose coda that brings clarity and resolution. The reception was thunderous and led to Salonen picking up the score and lifting it in the air in appreciation. Surely a work that means a lot to him personally as he was then starting his tenure with the LA Philharmonic who commissioned the work from the composer. And he conducted it with great skill and vibrancy.

Les espaces du sommeil was a wonderfully dreamy piece based on the surrealist poem by Robert Desnos. The composition of the constituent parts were inspired by the syllabic distribution of the piece. Written for  Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau it makes use of the hushed baritonal voice to create an atmosphere of dreamy lightness in the opening passages. Goerne adding his Germanic vocal heft was a good choice for this work that seems deceptively simple, but has quite a few high lying sustained passages toward the finale.

Chain 2: Dialogue for Violin and Orchestra has to be one of the most strikingly original and complex pieces ever written for violin. Jennifer Koh more than rose to the occasion, in the process sacrificing quite a few bow hairs. The intensity of the piece and the demands on the performer are phenomenal in terms of speed and agility. There is a great listening guide presented by the soloist on the Philharmonia’s website.

Ravel’s La valse was a great finale to this exquisite programme demonstrating the transparency of the orchestra’s string section and with EPS cutting through the distorted Viennese Waltz appearances with wit and fire. He managed to extract so much detail and force from the orchestra that the final burst was utterly glorious. In the concert’s context it almost felt as a farewell to the Austrian dream in the ashes of the Second World War instead of a ballet composition from 1920.  A wrap up of a truly memorable evening laced with lots of challenging repertoire performed to the highest standard.

All the contents of the season’s programme can be found here, do have a read if you want to know more about the composer and the performers.

Philharmonia Lutoslawski list

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Heard about the recitals…now get the CD (or download).

21 Mar

Opus Arte / Rosenblatt CoversAny long term readers will know that I am not in the business of selling merchandise for anyone and do avoid promoting commercial ventures. But since I unwittingly was quoted on the press release for Ailyn Pérez’s new CD under the new joint project by Opus Arte and Rosenblatt Recitals, it makes sense to let you know about it. Any attempt to preserve great evenings of music as a memory capsule for the future and a source of enjoyment for the present is surely a worthwhile cause.

Do not be put off by the fact that a major producer of filmed opera and ballet like Opus Arte has not got an operational website. On 2 April they release three discs. Poeme D’Un Jour featuring large part of the fantastic recital Ailyn Pérez gave just over a year ago. The Heart that Flutters featuring the bel canto stalwart Lawrence Brownlee and Songs of the Sea by Anthony Michaels-Moore, who was a very effective Giorgio Germont in the recent ENO Traviata by Peter Konwitschny. The recordings will also be available on iTunes if disc formats are not your bag anymore.

The Rosenblatt Recitals have been running since 2000 and have presented over 130 concerts. In the intervening years they have become the platform for important recital debuts in London for the likes of  Juan Diego Flórez, Joseph Calleja and Vittorio Grigolo. They seem to have a good eye at picking promising singers that are at the beginning of their international career.

If you want to read more about individual recitals here is quite a selection of my blogs over the last couple of years. With the recent move to the Wigmore Hall and now this label deal, it seems this promotion of young talent continues even faster and with more permanent results than ever before. It is expected that 5 to 6 recordings will be released per year.

The next scheduled releases for autumn 2013 will be featuring, Ailish Tynan and Ekaterina Siurina.

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