Steinway Podcast: Soundboard – Marc-André Hamelin
In this episode of Soundboard, Marc-André Hamelin speaks with Steinway's Editor in Chief, Ben Finane, a day before his recital at Carnegie Hall, where he performed on Carnegie's Steinway Model D concert grand. Here, they discuss the music of Debussy, Feinberg, Haydn, Liszt, Ives and more.
Classical pianist Marc-André Hamelin is known for his consummate musicianship and brilliant technique in the great works of the established repertoire, as well as for his intrepid exploration of the rarities of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries — in concert and on disc. In this episode of Soundboard, Hamelin speaks with Steinway's Editor in Chief, Ben Finane, a day before his recital at Carnegie Hall, where he performed on Carnegie's Steinway Model D concert grand. Here, they discuss the music of Debussy, Feinberg, Haydn, Liszt, Ives and more.
Listen below:
The Telegraph: The best opera and music holidays for 2019
The Telegraphs’s experts round up the most exciting holidays in 2019 for fans of opera and music including Grand Teton Music Festival.
The Telegraph
Our experts round up the most exciting holidays in 2019 for fans of opera and music.
Grand Teton Music Festival
Aspen’s great classical music rival in the Rocky Mountains is the Grand Teton, which has been held in Jackson Hole since 1962 and at its heart is a timber concert hall, the Walk Festival Hall, famous for its intimate atmosphere and excellent acoustics. Despite its relatively modest size, the hall attracts the greats – current music director is the Scottish conductor Donald Runnicles. The programme for 2019 is yet to be announced but subscriptions are on sale from Feb 1, single tickets from March 1.
July 2–Aug 17 (gtmf.org)
Classical Source: Juilliard String Quartet at Wigmore Hall
The spirit of Beethoven hung over this recital, the first evening engagement played in Britain by the new line-up of the Juilliard String Quartet – there had been given a BBC lunchtime concert the previous day, also Wigmore Hall.
Classical Source
Tully Potter
The spirit of Beethoven hung over this recital, the first evening engagement played in Britain by the new line-up of the Juilliard String Quartet – there had been given a BBC lunchtime concert the previous day, also Wigmore Hall. Of the players who were in the ensemble the last time I saw them ‘live’, only veteran Ronald Copes remains: he has been in place since 1997. Leader Areta Zhulla joined at the start of this season, vastly experienced British violist Roger Tapping in 2013 and cellist Astrid Schween in 2016. For the first time, an entity which for decades was solidly male is now split evenly between the sexes. Thus a group founded in 1946 continues to evolve…
The unusual third movement – neither a Minuet nor a Scherzo – was delightful and the Presto Finale zipped along, right up to a beautifully achieved humorous ending which brought some audible sighs of appreciation from the audience.
Read more here.
WQXR Presents "19 for 19": Artists to Watch in the Upcoming Year
Contrary to the misguided and musty reputation often bestowed upon classical music, this art form is very much alive — and in the hands of many talented and creative musicians ushering it forward. That’s why WQXR is kicking off 2019 by introducing “19 for 19,” a group of artists we love that includes long-time heroes, established favorites and newcomers set for stardom.
WQXR
Contrary to the misguided and musty reputation often bestowed upon classical music, this art form is very much alive — and in the hands of many talented and creative musicians ushering it forward. That’s why WQXR is kicking off 2019 by introducing “19 for 19,” a group of artists we love that includes long-time heroes, established favorites and newcomers set for stardom. We’re planning all sorts of exciting collaborations across our platforms throughout the year, so stay tuned. Get to know them here, and if you haven’t yet heard what they can do, now’s the time.
Anne Akiko Meyers, violinist
Meyers has been busy on the international professional scene since she was 10 years old. She has a host of honors to her name, but is not one to rest on her laurels. Her 2019 is another year filled with premieres, outreach initiatives and new collaborations. Having given the world premiere in 2015 of Einojuhani Rautavaara’s final work, Fantasia, Meyers resurrects it for its Asian premiere in Japan. In the spring, she heads to London for the launch of The Strad’s new educational conference. On this side of the Atlantic she tours with classical guitarist Jason Vieaux, and joins the Pasadena Symphony for Adam Schoenberg’s Orchard in Fog, written especially for Meyers. Down the road, she’ll play commissions from Arturo Márquez, Michael Daugherty and Julia Adolphe. Catch her live at The Greene Space on January 31, performing music by Arvo Pärt, John Corigliano and John Williams.
Mahan Esfahani, harpsichordist
Throughout his career, Iranian-American Mahan Esfahani has been making a particularly strong case for ushering harpsichord performance practice into the modern era. If you’ve yet to experience his work, allow yourself to be challenged in the best possible way as he encourages you to consider the harpsichord unbound by the straightjacket of history: “Until (it) has the presence that any other mainstream instrument has,” he notes, “my work isn’t done.” Hot on the heels of his acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut last year (in which New Yorker critic Alex Ross singled out his “exuberant, anti-sentimental” playing), in 2019 he crosses the U.S. evangelizing for all that is good about the harpsichord. He has concert dates with the Seattle Symphony, an engagement at Indiana’s Purdue University and a collaboration with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at the 92nd Street Y.
Read more here.
Top 18 of '18
8VA’s Top 18 of ‘18
June 2018
The Strad Magazine
Anne Akiko Meyers cover story
February 10, 2018
South China Morning Post
Yo-Yo Ma and Second Youth Music Culture Guangdong
September 2018
BBC Music Magazine
21st Beijing Music Festival Preview
February 19, 2018
The New York Times
Long Yu: Violin, Percussion...and Ping-Pong?
September 19, 2018
WQXR
Juilliard String Quartet performs live with new first violinist, Areta Zhulla
March 2018
Classics Today
Gerard Schwarz delivers the goods with 30-disc box set
April 29, 2018
KDFC
Anderson & Roe's "Mother" Released to Critical Acclaim
May 16, 2018
WQXR
Shanghai Quartet Celebrates 35th Anniversary
May 17, 2018
The New York Times
Grand Teton Music Festival Named One of Top 15 Festivals
June 25, 2018
Strings Magazine
Julian Schwarz Takes on Shostakovich's Cello Concerto
June 7, 2018
Gramophone
DG Signs Long Yu and Shanghai Symphony
January 18, 2018
WQXR
Yeethoven, led by Yuga Cohler, Takes Manhattan
December 18, 2018
The Strad
Nancy Zhou Wins Second Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition
September 19, 2018
The Seattle Times
Taiwan Philharmonic Orchestra Tours the United States
November 8, 2018
The New York Times
Marc-André Hamelin Caps 2018 with Carnegie Recital and Grammy Nomination
December 18, 2018
Strings Magazine
Shanghai Orchestra Academy Taps International Principal Players in Cutting-Edge Curriculum
January 3, 2018
New York Arts
Haochen Zhang Sells Out Carnegie Hall
December 14, 2018
Observer
8VA Named One of the Most Powerful Entertainment & Media PR Firms of 2018
Strings: Shanghai Orchestra Academy Taps International Principal Players in Cutting-Edge Curriculum
The Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA) launched in 2014, offering professional training along with a master’s degree in music curriculum (from the nearby Shanghai Conservatory of Music). There is a heavy emphasis on internships with professional orchestras.
Strings
Cristina Schreil
The Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA) launched in 2014, offering professional training along with a master’s degree in music curriculum (from the nearby Shanghai Conservatory of Music). There is a heavy emphasis on internships with professional orchestras. The academy is also a joint effort between the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and Germany’s NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. Principals comprise the faculty. The rigorous two-year program is the brainchild of Chinese maestro Long Yu. While SOA is international, its origins are very much homegrown. It rose from a booming classical-music movement sweeping China: In the past 20 years, the number of Chinese orchestras jumped from around ten to 72. Naturally, this proliferation demands skilled players. Maestro Yu dreamed of an epicenter for training the next generation.
Read more here.
Observer: 8VA Named One of the Most Powerful Entertainment and Media PR Firms of 2018
One of the planet’s few PR firms specializing in classical music, 8VA deserves an ovation for mellifluous work on clients like Lang Lang, The Cliburn, organist Cameron Carpenter, Anne Akiko Meyers, more. Bonus fact to make you smarter: 8VA also means a “musical notation used to instruct the musician to play the note an octave higher than written.”
Observer
Michael Kaminer
8VA Music Consultancy
One of the planet’s few PR firms specializing in classical music, 8VA deserves an ovation for mellifluous work on clients like Lang Lang, The Cliburn, organist Cameron Carpenter, Anne Akiko Meyers, more. Bonus fact to make you smarter: 8VA also means a “musical notation used to instruct the musician to play the note an octave higher than written.”
The Strad: Postcard From China
The 2018 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition showcased so many impressive performances that the scoring was a s tight as could be. Charlotte Smith attended the finals.
The Strad
Charlotte Smith
The second edition of the biennial Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition was a close-run affair. Judging from audience reactions post-performances, and from snippets of conversation here and there, three or four of the six female finalists might easily have taken the top accolade – and with it the eye-watering cash sum of $100,000.
Read more here.
Classical Classroom: On Discovering Hidden Classical Gems with Marc-André Hamelin
In this Classical Classroom episode, Marc-André Hamelin talks about how (and why) he finds music that’s new to him, about a few pieces he’s found that he loves, and gives advice on how you, too, can go a-(record)hunting.
Musical Classroom
Marc-André Hamelin is many things: a renowned pianist, a composer, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a record collector of major proportions. The hands-on, no robots or algorithms, no safety net, digging in dusty bins in record shops variety. In fact, hunting for classical music diamonds in the rough is part of his creative process, and he loves bringing lesser-known works that he finds out into the light before audiences. In this episode, Hamelin talks about how (and why) he finds music that’s new to him, about a few pieces he’s found that he loves, and gives advice on how you, too, can go a-(record)hunting.
Listen below or at Classical Classroom’s website here.
Violin Channel: Meet the Pros – American Conductor Gerard Schwarz
The Violin Channel recently caught up with American conductor and trumpeter Gerard Schwarz – in New York City.
Violin Channel
The Violin Channel recently caught up with American conductor and trumpeter Gerard Schwarz – in New York City.
We sat him down for a fun game of VC 20 Questions – to help gain some fascinating insight into the Maestro behind the music.
