The New York Times: Hear the Martha Argerich Recording That Inspired Yekwon Sunwoo
We asked some of the most talented younger pianists (and one harpsichordist) to share and discuss their favorite Argerich recordings. Their answers — and the music — are below. Yekwon Sunwoo, the 28-year-old South Korean pianist who won this year’s Cliburn Competition, loved Ms. Argerich’s recording of “Gaspard de la Nuit,” but then he found a video of her playing the piece.
Miroirs CA: Anne Akiko Meyers with Philharmonia Orchestra
Anne Akiko Meyers gives transcendent and breathtaking performances in this new release of works by Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016), Karol Szymanowski and Maurice Ravel – using her Ex-Vieuxtemps 1741 Guarneri del Gesu - with beautifully crafted support from the Philharmonia Orchestra under Kristjan Jarvi.
Newstalk 1620 WTAW: Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra
Yekwon Sunwoo speaks with Zach Taylor at Bryan Broadcasting in College Station, Texas ahead of his performance with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra this weekend, October 22, playing Rachmaninoff's third concerto. See more of Yekwon's schedule here.
TimeOut Beijing: The best of Beijing Music Festival 2017
The very definition of a Beijing institution, this year the Beijing Music Festival (BMF) celebrates two decades and counting. Beijingers have grown accustomed to top music talent trolling through the city, but it was the BMF that first catapulted China onto the world stage. This year, the creative programming continues apace with an evening of Welsh music, a celebration of Chinese contemporary composers, Beijing’s first Beethoven symphonic cycle, a 12-hour musical marathon and opera events ranging from a single cast member to full-stage Wagner. With opening and closing concerts featuring Frank Peter and Serge Zimmerman (pictured top right), and Maxim Vengerov respectively, Beijing is where you want to be this month.
Strings: Cellist Julian Schwarz on the Whimsical Passion of Lalo’s Concerto in D Minor
The work is brilliantly written from a cellistic perspective, as it showcases the deepest register as well as the brightest. It is idiomatic, and fits well in the hand—most likely due to the fact that Lalo was himself both a cellist and violinist.
San Francisco Classical Voice: Yekwon Sunwoo Woos Audience With a Champion’s Technique and Expression
Sunwoo’s special quality became self-evident quickly: He possesses the uncanny ability to maintain soaring lyricism, holding counterpoint and accompaniment in an exquisite balance, laying them out clearly using well-differentiated tones and colors. Such a natural inclination turned the Rachmaninoff Sonata No. 2 in the second half of the program into something out of the ordinary.
Strings: The Majestic Sights & Musical Moments at the Grand Teton Music Festival
Writing about my experiences over the years at the Grand Teton Music Festival is a daunting prospect. How to describe the magic of a place where the physical beauty is beyond description, and where the quality of the music making defies rational explanation?
Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra Hosts Two-Day China Orchestra Administration & Management Forum
The two-day China Orchestra Administration & Management Forum was held in Guangzhou on September 25th and 26th September 2017. From Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei and Hong Kong and Macao Taiwan's nearly 30 orchestras and art institutions attended the 3rd annual forum organized by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and YL Consulting.
Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra Celebrates 60th Anniversary with World Premiere of Penderecki’s Symphony No. 6
In celebration of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra’s 60 th anniversary, the GSO launched its opening program of the 2017/18 season on September 24 with the world premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Symphony No. 6 (“Chinese Poems”) featuring celebrated baritone Chen-Ye Yuan. On the occasion of its 60th anniversary,
the GSO has selected 60 works from its recording archive of the past two decades,
covering such genres and styles as operas, symphonies, Chinese compositions
(including GSO commissions and premieres), concertos, song cycles, suites, overtures
and symphonic poems, spanning such diverse styles as European baroque and Chinese
contemporary.
WCNY: Anne Akiko Meyers
Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers stopped by the WCNY studios to chat with mid-day host Diane Jones about her upcoming performance with Symphoria. She talked about “Archeopteryx,” the violin concerto she commissioned from composer Mason Bates, as well as finding the emotion in new works.