Classical Movements at 24: Changing the World Through Music

Back in the U.S.S.R.: "Slava" conducts the National Symphony and the Choral Arts Society of Washington.

RUSSIA, 1993—Mstislav Rostropovich is invited back to his native Russia, having defected in 1974. In those two decades, both the cellist, and his homeland, had drastically changed. What a homecoming it was, then, when now-Maestro "Slava" and the National Symphony Orchestra returned with a chorus nearly 200-strong. With just two months’ notice, Blue Heart Travel (what would become Classical Movements) arranged a landmark tour for the Choral Arts Society of Washington, culminating in the first-ever concert broadcast from Moscow's Red Square.

Not pictured: President Zemin conducting that night's encore, a Sousa march.

CHINA, 1999—After playing Bernstein, Gershwin and Copland for Chinese President Jiang Zemin at the Clinton White House, at President Zemin's request, Classical Movements is honored to arrange for the Leonard Slatkin-led National Symphony to perform Dvorak, Schumann and Mussorgsky at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. It's one of many stops on the NSO's 18-day tour of China and Japan.

The late NYPO music director, Kurt Masur.

TUESDSAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 - Classical Movements has the entire New York Philharmonic on tour in Europe. Company president Neeta Helms recalls, “By the time they took off from Hanover and landed in Frankfurt, the travel world, as we knew it, had changed forever." For four long days, all flights in and out of the U.S. were grounded. By Saturday, September 15, every last member of the New York Phil was on the first flight home.

Maestro Leonard Slatkin pauses for a picture with both NSO and INSO musicians.

IRAQ, 2003—The U.S. State Department and the Kennedy Center invite the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra to perform in Washington, alongside the National Symphony. With anti-aircraft missiles still lighting up the sky above Baghdad, flying the INSO out of Iraq proved difficult for Classical Movements. Moreover, many of the Iraqi musicians did not have basic travel documents; visas had to be issued in a country with no government. Military aircraft flew the orchestra to Jordan, and they landed in D.C. during a major blizzard.

The "Dude" leads Dr. José Antonio Abreu'sband.

VENEZUELA, 2007—Askonas Holt invites Classical Movements to organize the first U.S. tour for the 265-plus members of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, conducted by a then-27-year-old Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel. Venues include Carnegie Hall, Boston's Symphony Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco and an eventual home for that charismatic leader: the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, California. "Dudamel is absolutely revelatory," writes the L.A. Times.

"Broadcast yourself," indeed, with Classical Movements.

CYBERSPACE, 2009—Google, still Classical Movements' only for-profit client, contracts out all travel and logistics for the debut of its YouTube Symphony Orchestra, where musicians (and all of their instruments) from across the globe finally meet up at Carnegie Hall. It's such a successful venture for all parties, there's a reprise, two years later, at Australia's Sydney Opera House.

Combined Ihlombe! Choral Festival participants at the foot of Signal Hill in Cape Town. 

SOUTH AFRICA, 2009—By 1994, with the election of Nelson Mandela and the full abolition of apartheid, Blue Heart Travel was officially touring to South Africa. To celebrate 15 years there, and especially since Classical Movements' Rhapsody! and Melodia! Choral Festivals had become such hits in Europe and South America, respectively, Ihlombe! (pronounced "Ish-LOM-bay") is launched. The Zulu word for "applause," Ihlombe! quickly becomes the largest international choral gathering in the country.

Tony Ross, Minnesota's principal cello, shares some techniques with a Cuban student.

CUBA, 2015—Likewise, Blue Heart had been taking sanctioned tours to otherwise forbidden countries like Cuba, Vietnam and Syria since President Clinton's first term. “We knew Cuba held such a singular place in American’s minds and hearts," remembers Ms. Helms. With little more than 100 days’ notice, the Minnesota Orchestra tells Classical Movements they want to go, too. Leveraging its well-established ties to bypass decades of diplomatic stalemate, the tour is a triumph, including two performances at the Teatro Nacional, as well as outreach workshops with Cuban music students. The concerts are broadcast live, around the world, a substantial achievement, itself.

The Violin Channel: Prizes Awarded at American Boulder International Duo Competition

Violin Channel

American cellist Julian Schwarz and Canadian pianist Marika Bournaki have been awarded 1st prize at the 2016 ‘Art of the Duo’ Boulder International Chamber Music Competition, in Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Both graduates of the Juilliard School, Julian is a former 1st prize winner at the Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition.

The duo will receive US $7,000 – plus a number of important concert engagements throughout the Boulder area during the 2017/2018 season.

2nd prize was awarded to American cellist Coleman Itzkoff and Armenian pianist Alin Melik-Adamyan.

3rd prize was awarded to Japanese violin and piano duo Hiroka Matsumoto and Gaku Sugibayashi.

JULIAN SCHWARZ & MARIKA BOURNAKI | DEBUSSY CELLO SONATA | 2015 EASTERN MUSIC FESTIVAL

Antarctica Choir Tour - April Fools' Joke Turns to Reality

Antarctica Choir Tour
Concerts in Antarctica, Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, & Aboard Cruise Ship
December 29, 2017 - January 14, 2018 (17-day, 15-night tour)

What started as an April Fools’ joke has turned into a once-in-a-lifetime musical
experience. On April 1, 2014 Classical Movements sent what was intended to be a prank email to their choral clients, encouraging them to consider touring in Antarctica and announcing a made-up choral festival. To the company’s astonishment, interest from choirs, conductors, and enthusiastic individuals flooded in; this was just the tip of the iceberg. Two years later, what seemed like a harmless joke and impossible feat has become a reality.

At the end of December 2017, including New Year’s Eve, singers from all over the world are invited to meet in Buenos Aires, Argentina for two days of intensive rehearsals with Maestro Oscar Escalada. The group will then travel to Ushuaia, the departure point to Antarctica and the southernmost city in the world, often referred to as fin del mundo (end of the world). The first concert of the tour will take place in one of Ushuaia’s churches on New Year’s Day.

The next nine days will be spent on board a cruise ship, where the singers will give two concerts and a weather (and penguin) permitting performance on the mainland of Antarctica. Classical Movements will also facilitate any possible tours and explorations to view some of the continent’s stunning scenery and rare wildlife, and provide the opportunity to hear lectures by scientists, biologists, photographers, and other expedition staff.

The final three days of the tour will bring the group back to Buenos Aires for a final concert in one of the city’s historic churches, and will offer the chance for travelers to explore Argentina’s capital.

The cruise portion of the Antarctica Choir Tour will take place aboard the G Expedition, the signature ship of G Adventures, a partner company of National Geographic. Classical Movements chose G Adventures based on their excellent safety record and 25 years of experience “putting travelers on a first-name basis with the planet’s people, cultures, landscapes and wildlife”. The relatively small size of the G Expedition (134 passengers total), which was completely refurbished in 2009, will allow for a more personalized, intimate experience and enables access to areas not accessible by larger vessels. All cabins feature ocean-facing windows and en-suite facilities.

This is an exclusive Classical Movements offer with only 50 available places. They expect to sell out.

Learn more here.

Global Times: Tan Dun and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra perform at The Orange

A part of the ongoing Beijing Music Festival (BMF), Chinese conductor Tan Dun presented a concert on Saturday at The Orange in Beijing with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. 

The one-hour mini concert, which marked the 15th anniversary of Tan and the BMF's collaboration, included two pieces from Tan: Secret of Wind and Birds and Farewell My Concubine. 

According to the conductor, Secret of Wind and Birds was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. Before the concert, Tan uploaded recordings of bird sounds made using musical instruments that audiences could download to their smartphones. During the performance, Tan gave cues to the audience to play the recordings, so they could become part of the orchestra themselves.  

Farewell My Concubine combines Peking Opera with piano to tell the life story of Yu Ji, a concubine that lived during the 3rd century BC.

Beijing Music Festival Pays Tribute to William Shakespeare

The Beijing Music Festival (BMF), having opened to record crowds this season, will kick off a series of events honoring the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. The highlight of this homage will be a production of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, directed by Robert Carsen in collaboration with the Festival d’Aix en Provence. Not only has this 1991 production never been seen outside of Europe--this will be the first-ever performance of Britten’s 20th century masterpiece in China.

A “Cross-Over Celebration”
The BMF is will commemorate William Shakespeare with a selection of musical works related to and inspired by his plays. Highlights include Mendelssohn’s Overture from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream (October 10th) performed by the West Australian Symphony, as well as Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” Overture-Fantasy, Richard Strauss’ “Macbeth”, William Walton’s “As you Like It”, and Vaughn Williams’ “Serenade to Music”, performed by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and Guangzhou Youth Orchestra. But BMF director Tu Song highlights Britten’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” as the main event: “We have invited world famous drama director Robert Carsen…to make something new under an old title”. Carsen is noted in China for his highly successful 2010 staging of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” in Shanghai. The opera will be accompanied by the China Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Stuart Bedford.

The BMF has a tradition of celebrating anniversaries with musical tributes. In 2006 the festival paid homage to Mozart and Shostakovich for their 250th and 100th birthday’s respectively. Other anniversaries have included Wagner, Verdi, Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Chopin.  

About the Beijing Music Festival
Held over 4 weeks every October, BMF is the most important cultural event in China. The Festival and its Founder and Artistic Director, Maestro Long Yu, pioneer China’s unique musical voice. The festival has presented numerous historical performances such as the China premiere of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (2002), the Asian premiere of Alban Berg's opera, “Lulu” (2002); Guo Wenjing's operas, “Ye Yan” (2003) and “Wolf Club Village” (2003); and the China premiere of Richard Wagner's complete Ring Cycle (2005). BMF’s co-commission with Opera Boston, “Madame White Snake,” was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize.

Newly Appointed NY Phil Conductor to Lead Closing Concert in Beijing

The Beijing Music Festival (BMF) will culminate this Saturday, October 29, in a closing concert by the Hong Kong Philharmonic under the baton of famed Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden. The soon-to-be Maestro of the New York Philharmonic, van Zweden comes to Beijing as the final of three city appearances in mainland China this week, returning to the country after a highly acclaimed tour in 2014 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. The program will feature a solo performance by Chinese violinist Tianwa Yang, recent winner of the prestigious ECHO Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year Award. 

A New Commission and a Star Violinist
The eclectic program will open with “Quintessence”, a new worked by Hong Kong composer Fung Lam, commissioned by the Hong Kong Philharmonic with the generous support of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.  Next will be Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D, K218, featuring virtuoso Tianwa Yang. Closing the evening will be Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”).

The program makes its way around mainland China this week in Shanghai and Tianjin before coming to Beijing.

The closing concert will mark the end of a highly successful three-week music festival with a record turnout and many spectacular firsts, including a 3D mini-opera production and a brand new Don Giovanni featuring state-of-the-art theatrical effects. President and Artistic Director Long Yu said of this bitter-sweet close: “We’ve come a long way and there’s still a long way to go. So I’d like to say thanks to all the people who have supported us for so many years.”

Currently Jaap van Zweden is Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and has been Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012. In that year he was named Musical America's Conductor of the Year.

The HK Philharmonic is recognized as Asia’s premiere classical orchestra, performing over 150 concerts per year. Recent guest artists have included Vladimir Ashkenazy, Ning Feng, Matthias Goerne, Lang Lang, Yu Long, Yundi Li, the late Lorin Maazel, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Yuja Wang.

About the Beijing Music Festival
Held over 4 weeks every October, BMF is the most important cultural event in China. The Festival and its Founder and Artistic Director, Maestro Long Yu, pioneer China’s unique musical voice. The festival has presented numerous historical performances such as the China premiere of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (2002), the Asian premiere of Alban Berg's opera, “Lulu” (2002); Guo Wenjing's operas, “Ye Yan” (2003) and “Wolf Club Village” (2003); and the China premiere of Richard Wagner's complete Ring Cycle (2005). BMF’s co-commission with Opera Boston, “Madame White Snake,” was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize.

19th Beijing Music Festival Opens to Record Crowds

Long Yu, President and Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival (BMF) Announces 19th Season. Photo: Beijing Music Festival

The Beijing Music Festival (BMF) opened its annual classical music festival last Sunday with a concert by the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of Maestro Lü Jia. This marked the first collaboration between BMF and NCPA. The concert, which featured symphonies and choral works by Brahms and Shostakovich, elicited several standing ovations from the sold-out crowd.

Festival to Celebrate “Musical Legacy and Innovation”

After nearly two decades as China’s leading cultural event, the 19th BMF will present 30 shows covering a wide range of music genres such as opera, symphony, ethnic music, crossover, and more. As in previous years, there will be public activities that include children's musical, urban musical, Chinese music concert, as well as music-themed seminars, lectures and dialogues. The festival runs from October 9th to 29th.

Music of Old Masters Performed by New Artists

Highlights of the 19th BMF include the China premiere of Britten’s opera “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on October 15th and 16th (the first production in a 5-year partnership with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence), a 3D-chamber opera “Blank Out” by Dutch composer Michel van der Aa (October 20th and 21st), Mozart’s operatic masterpiece “Don Giovanni” featuring site-specific immersive theatrics and technology (Oct. 12 to 14th), and multimedia performances of Schubert’s song cycle “Die Winterreise” (October 26th to 28th).

Other highlights include the complete Tchaikovsky symphonies conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev (October 26th to 28th), concerts with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (October 10th) featuring French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (October 23rd and 24th), Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and Youth Orchestra (October 22nd), virtuoso organist Cameron Carpenter (October 25th), and a closing concert with the Hong Kong Philharmonic led by Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden (October 29th).

About the Beijing Music Festival

Held over 4 weeks every October, BMF is the most important cultural event in China. The Festival and its Founder and Artistic Director, Maestro Long Yu, pioneer China’s unique musical voice. The festival has presented numerous historical performances such as the China premiere of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (2002), the Asian premiere of Alban Berg's opera, “Lulu” (2002); Guo Wenjing's operas, “Ye Yan” (2003) and “Wolf Club Village” (2003); and the China premiere of Richard Wagner's complete Ring Cycle (2005). BMF’s co-commission with Opera Boston, “Madame White Snake,” was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize.

Strings: Conductor Long Yu, Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and Sheng Virtuoso Wu Tong Tour the Gobi Desert

Strings Magazine

This September, conductor Long Yu, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and sheng virtuoso Wu Tong embarked on a four-city tour of China. The tour kicked off with the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s season opening concerts on September 9 and 10. The three then traveled to Xi’an for an open-air concert at the old city wall on September 12 and reprised the work on September 15 at Lanzhou’s Jincheng Theatre and on September 17 at Ürümqi’s People’s Grand Hall.

Maestro Long Yu provided Strings magazine with an exclusive look and commentary on the tour, which marked the first time many of these cities had ever seen Yo-Yo Ma perform in person.

September 9/Hong Kong: The first concert of the tour with the Hong Kong Philharmonic (opening concert of the 2016/17 season). Yo-Yo Ma joined the HK Phil and myself for Dvorak’s Silent Woods, and then took the stage with sheng virtuoso Wu Tong for Zhao Lin’s Duo.

Inspired by the Chinese epic Journey to the West, Duo was composed for sheng player Wu Tong and Ma. It is a partnership of two lyrical instruments with liquid, expressive sounds.

September 11 / Xi’an: Rehearsal at the historic “South Gate” at the Old City Wall in Xi’an in Central China. Xi’an marks the Silk Road’s eastern end and was home to the Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang dynasties’ ruling houses.

September 12 / Xi’an: Everyone is preparing their own Yangrou Paomo (flatbread soaked in lamb soup).

September 12: / Xi’an: Oh no! It’s raining! We hold an emergency meeting to decide whether to cancel the outdoor concert.

September 12: / Xi’an: 40 minutes later, the rain stopped and things are just perfect!

September 13 / Dunhang (Gansu Province): We’ve traveled to the edge of the Gobi Desert to the city of Dunhang. Once a frontier town on the Silk Road, the area is known for its caves, cliffs, and Buddhist statues.

September 13 / Mingsha Shan (Singing Sands Mountain) in Dunhuang:  Mingsha Shan is about 5 miles from Dunhuang. Seen from afar, the mountain is just like a golden dragon winding its way over the horizon. At first, the sand under your feet just whispers; but the further you slide, the louder the sound until it reaches a crescendo like thunder or a drum beat. Some say that the sand is singing, while to others it is like an echo and this is how the mountain gets its name. We wore these bright orange “boots” to keep the sand out from our shoes!

September 14 & 15 / Lanzhou: A wonderful concert with the Lanzhou Symphony Orchestra. The audience was so appreciative of the playing and we were so appreciative to be here! Wu Tong performed an encore afterward and Yo-Yo and I sat and watched. As you can see, Yo-Yo didn’t want to stop listening!

September 16 / Ürümqi: We traveled more than 2,000 miles today from Lanzhou to the Northwest city of Ürümqi—another former major hub on the Silk Road. Upon arrival, we rehearsed with the Xinjiang Philharmonic Orchestra. The XPO was founded in 1996 and is made up of many ethnic groups, including Han Chinese, Uyghurs, Hui, Kazaks, Tajiks and Xibe. So many different languages and cultures but they come together through music in complete harmony!

September 17 / Ürümqi: Final concert of the tour. It’s hard to say goodbye to dear friends like Yo-Yo and Wu Tong but we ended on a high note and look forward to making music again soon.

Inaugural Olga Kern International Piano Competition

The inaugural Olga Kern International Piano Competition launches in Albuquerque, New Mexico November 13-30, 2016. Chosen from more than 100 applications, 24 contestants will compete in front of eight international jury members for a total of $30,000 in cash prizes in addition to international concert engagements and a professional recording.

Over the past summer, the selection panel listened to very talented pianists from all over the world and selected the following 24 participants representing 15 countries for the week-long competition:

Nino Bakradze, Georgia
Sung Chang, Korea
Guang Chen, China
Junhui Chen, China
Willem de Beer, South Africa
Anna Dmytrenko, Ukraine (US)
Mehdi Ghazi, Canada
Shino Hidaka, Japan
Kyohei Imaizumi, Japan
Elizaveta Ivanova, Russia
Richard Octaviano Kogima, Brasil
Seong-Hyeon Leem, South Korea
Steven Massicotte, Canada
Francisco Montero, Spain
Liana Paniyeva, Ukraine
Joshua Rupley, US (NM)
Wenting Shi, China
Marie Sumnikova, Czech Republic
Stefan Weiler, Germany
Yumin Wu, China
Rui Xu, China
Yundi Xu, China
Fahrettin Eren Yahsi, Turkey
Yevgeny Yontov, Israel
Our 2 Alternates are: 
Solomon Eichner, US (MD)
Anastasiya Naplekova, Ukrane (US)

The competition will take place every 3 years in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is open to pianists 18 to 32 years old.

Klara Min on WWFM Radio, The Classical Network

This past May, Klara Min was featured in a Radio Showcase/Interview on WWFM.org - Between the Keys with Jed Distler.

 Listen to the podcast below.