The New York Times: 5 Things to Do This Weekend
The pianist Marc-André Hamelin has a penchant for choosing unfamiliar repertoire. In doing so, his quicksilver playing has sometimes helped elevate the reputation of a neglected composer. His latest release on the Hyperion label is devoted to pieces by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. And while you might not deem C.P.E. obscure, exactly — what with being the most famous of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sons — these works are hardly overfamiliar.
The New York Times
By Seth Colter Walls
The pianist Marc-André Hamelin has a penchant for choosing unfamiliar repertoire. In doing so, his quicksilver playing has sometimes helped elevate the reputation of a neglected composer. His latest release on the Hyperion label is devoted to pieces by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. And while you might not deem C.P.E. obscure, exactly — what with being the most famous of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sons — these works are hardly overfamiliar.
Read more here.
Blogcritics: Interview: Wray Armstrong and Evita Zhang of Armstrong Music & Arts on Bridging the China-West Cultural Divide
Cultural exchange has long served as a counterweight to international tensions. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us how nations are prone to cooperate poorly, purveyors of the arts persist in working to increase understanding and collaboration. Armstrong Music & Arts builds cultural bridges between China and the West through touring and management for artists and organizations in the West and in China, and by discovering and nurturing talented Chinese artists.
Blogcritics
By Jon Sobel
Cultural exchange has long served as a counterweight to international tensions. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us how nations are prone to cooperate poorly, purveyors of the arts persist in working to increase understanding and collaboration. Armstrong Music & Arts builds cultural bridges between China and the West through touring and management for artists and organizations in the West and in China, and by discovering and nurturing talented Chinese artists.
Read more here.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: The Queen’s Cartoonists can make a jazz lover out of anyone
As Joel Pierson can attest, most young people would say they do not like jazz or classical music — genres that seem inaccessible, out-of-date or stuffy. That’s why he formed The Queen’s Cartoonists, a live band that plays music synchronized to classic and contemporary animation.
The San Diego Union-Tribune
By Nina Garin
Hey, kids! Do you like jazz music?
As Joel Pierson can attest, most young people would say they do not like jazz or classical music — genres that seem inaccessible, out-of-date or stuffy. That’s why he formed The Queen’s Cartoonists, a live band that plays music synchronized to classic and contemporary animation.
“There’s a lot of stigma against jazz and classical music,” he says. “There’s this sense of ‘Oh, that’s not for me’ or ‘it’s too complicated’ and I don’t think that’s true. I think we just need the right kind of exposure. You know, cartoons were created introducing classical music to people — everyone learned some Wagner and Rossini from Bugs Bunny and that kind of stuff. So I thought maybe I could do that with musicians and a band.”
Read the full article here.
Strings Magazine: The Juilliard String Quartet Remains at the Nexus of Continuity and Change as it Celebrates Its 75th Anniversary
The endurance of the Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ) seems to offer a potent antidote to the sense of impending disruption and uncertainty that has crept into just about every aspect of musical life. This longevity shines a beacon of hope, enhancing the sense of celebration around the internationally acclaimed ensemble’s 75th anniversary this season.
Strings Magazine
By Thomas May
The endurance of the Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ) seems to offer a potent antidote to the sense of impending disruption and uncertainty that has crept into just about every aspect of musical life. This longevity shines a beacon of hope, enhancing the sense of celebration around the internationally acclaimed ensemble’s 75th anniversary this season.
Among the plans is a concert on November 30 at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center titled “Cavatina,” which presents a new commission series from the prolific German composer Jörg Widmann, whose work will interact with Beethovenian models. This will be juxtaposed with Beethoven’s late String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major. The ensemble will perform both finales the composer fashioned for Op. 130, including the Grosse Fuge originally intended as the capstone. This dual focus on core classic repertoire and new creation has consistently been part of the JSQ’s DNA.
Read more here.
The New York Times: One Composer, Four Players, ‘Seven Pillars’
Andy Akiho’s 11-part, 80-minute new work for percussion quartet is a lush, brooding celebration of noise.
The industrial stretch of south Brooklyn where Sandbox Percussion makes its home was nearly silent on a cool, clear Sunday afternoon at the end of September. Not so inside, where the Sandbox quartet had put in earplugs to rehearse Andy Akiho’s clangorous “Seven Pillars,” a lush, brooding celebration of noise.
Akiho, 42, an increasingly in-demand composer who rose as a steel pan virtuoso, sat watching, with a surfer’s laid-back demeanor but intently focused. He isn’t part of the group, but over the years has grown so close with its members, and has spent so much time in their studio, that he installed an espresso machine to fuel his work marathons there.
The New York Times
By Zachary Woolfe
Andy Akiho’s 11-part, 80-minute new work for percussion quartet is a lush, brooding celebration of noise.
The industrial stretch of south Brooklyn where Sandbox Percussion makes its home was nearly silent on a cool, clear Sunday afternoon at the end of September. Not so inside, where the Sandbox quartet had put in earplugs to rehearse Andy Akiho’s clangorous “Seven Pillars,” a lush, brooding celebration of noise.
Akiho, 42, an increasingly in-demand composer who rose as a steel pan virtuoso, sat watching, with a surfer’s laid-back demeanor but intently focused. He isn’t part of the group, but over the years has grown so close with its members, and has spent so much time in their studio, that he installed an espresso machine to fuel his work marathons there.
“That’s my bedroom,” he said, pointing to a tiny soundproofed recording space walled off in the corner.
Akiho has written substantial works for steel pan, for percussion, for marimba and string quartet, for snare drum and sampled dog barking, and many other configurations — even a concerto for onstage Ping-Pong players and orchestra. But “Seven Pillars” is a breakthrough for him, in its 80-minute length and its conceptual complexity.
Read more here.
Opera Wire: Conductor Steven Fox on the Clarion Choir, ‘Judas Maccabeus’ & Live Performances
On Dec. 1, the Clarion Choir and Clarion Orchestra will join forces for a free concert with Isabel Leonard and Anthony Roth Costanzo to perform a suite from “Judas Maccabeus” at historic Temple Emanu-El in celebration of Hanukkah.
The program will also include arias, duets, and choruses from Händel’s “Esther,” “Israel in Egypt,” and “Rodelinda.”
OperaWire had a chance to speak with conductor and Clarion Artistic Director Steven Fox about returning to the live performances and taking on Händel’s “Judas Maccabeus.”
Opera Wire
By Francisco Salazar
On Dec. 1, the Clarion Choir and Clarion Orchestra will join forces for a free concert with Isabel Leonard and Anthony Roth Costanzo to perform a suite from “Judas Maccabeus” at historic Temple Emanu-El in celebration of Hanukkah.
The program will also include arias, duets, and choruses from Händel’s “Esther,” “Israel in Egypt,” and “Rodelinda.”
OperaWire had a chance to speak with conductor and Clarion Artistic Director Steven Fox about returning to the live performances and taking on Händel’s “Judas Maccabeus.”
OperaWire: This is a return to holiday season concerts after the pandemic. How does it feel to be performing for a live audience after so long?
Steven Fox: It’s very exciting to be going in front of a live audience again. We have done some small concerts in recent months, but this will be our first Clarion production for a large audience, and we are all thrilled about it. I admire how creative musicians were in producing online content during the pandemic. But there is simply no replacement for live music. The energy that the audience brings, and the spontaneity of the performances that happen as a result of that, are part of the magic that makes us performers love to perform.
Read more here.
Pianist Magazine: Tianxu An’s time is here: The pianist talks about his quest for success
Tianxu An’s time is here: The pianist talks about his quest for success
In 2019, Tianxu An fell victim to a terrible error in the final of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. With the pianist expecting to play one piece, the accompanying orchestra started playing a completely different piece. Two years on, he's back and ready to aim for the stars.
Pianist Magazine
By Ellie Palmer
Tianxu An’s time is here: The pianist talks about his quest for success
In 2019, Tianxu An fell victim to a terrible error in the final of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. With the pianist expecting to play one piece, the accompanying orchestra started playing a completely different piece. Two years on, he's back and ready to aim for the stars.
Can you tell us a little bit about your musical background and what led you to pursue a career as a solo pianist?
I come from a non-musical family. My parents initially thought that playing piano would be a good way to help us kids develop our intelligence so they enrolled us in lessons. Since I had no musical knowledge at that time, my attitude was neutral. Thanks to my studies at the elementary and the middle school affiliated to Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, I began to love music and became more interested in playing the piano.
I am currently studying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, which gives me a closer connection with the western culture and environment. My experiences have showed me how music is a powerful language which establishes the deeply emotional bond among people that surpasses the limits of verbal language on its own. Because people’s lives nowadays are more occupied by electronic devices, the emotional bond mentioned above is rarer and thus more valuable. I want to use the piano as a tool to reconstruct that intimate connection with people, which is why I have continued pursuing this career.
While many musicians were still in quarantine, your new China-based manager Armstrong Music & Arts/Poly Armstrong organised a 19-city recital tour. Can you tell us about your recital programme and experience returning to performing for live audiences?
I prepared two programmes with some overlapping pieces. The repertoire includes Beethoven Op 110, Brahms Sonata Op 1 and Prokofiev Sonata No 6. Other works include selections from Rachmaninov's and Debussy’s preludes. I have been so lucky to have consistent performance engagements throughout this difficult time and I treasure each opportunity to play onstage. I give each of my performances my all and feel so grateful for the enthusiasm I’ve received from audiences.
Read more here.
Musical America: New Artist of the Month: Violist Jesús Rodolfo
At heart, Jesús Rodolfo is a storyteller who uses four strings and a bow to give voice to his restless imagination. The young Spanish violist constantly returns to the model of narrative—even when discussing music as formally abstract as Paul Hindemith’s sonatas for the instrument, which rank among his favorites. Two of his albums to date are devoted to the composer’s sonatas (those with piano accompaniment and the solo viola sonatas).
Musical America
By Thomas May
At heart, Jesús Rodolfo is a storyteller who uses four strings and a bow to give voice to his restless imagination. The young Spanish violist constantly returns to the model of narrative—even when discussing music as formally abstract as Paul Hindemith’s sonatas for the instrument, which rank among his favorites. Two of his albums to date are devoted to the composer’s sonatas (those with piano accompaniment and the solo viola sonatas).
Read more here.
The All-Star Orchestra Wins 8th and 9th EMMY Awards
The multi-Emmy® Award-winning All-Star Orchestra received its 8th and 9th awards at the 64th Annual New York Emmy® Awards Ceremony of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Award: Special Event - Edited
The All-Star Orchestra’s “From Italy and Hungary with Love,” a program featuring Mendelssohn’s beloved “Italian” Symphony No. 4, and Kodály’s orchestral showpiece, Dances of Galánta was awarded in the category: Special Event - Edited with Gerard Schwarz as Music Director, Abib Azar as Director, Dmitriy Lipay and Sascha Lipay as Audio Producers, and Andrew Mayatskiy as Editor.
The multi-Emmy® Award-winning All-Star Orchestra received its 8th and 9th awards at the 64th Annual New York Emmy® Awards Ceremony of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Award: Special Event - Edited
The All-Star Orchestra’s “From Italy and Hungary with Love,” a program featuring Mendelssohn’s beloved “Italian” Symphony No. 4, and Kodály’s orchestral showpiece, Dances of Galánta was awarded in the category: Special Event - Edited with Gerard Schwarz as Music Director, Abib Azar as Director, Dmitriy Lipay and Sascha Lipay as Audio Producers, and Andrew Mayatskiy as Editor. Co-Producers are Gerard Schwarz and Paul Schwendener. The program is part of the acclaimed classical music series featuring top musicians from across the country performing major symphonic masterpieces and works from leading contemporary American composers. The series has been broadcast nationwide on public television since September 2013, and has won Emmy® awards in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. National broadcasts of Season Five began in July, 2020, in partnership with WNET/Thirteen, American Public Television, and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Award: Audio - Post Production
The program “From Italy and Hungary with Love,” was also awarded this year in the category Audio Post- production, with Dmitriy Lipay and Sascha Lipay as Audio Engineers/Editors.
Music Director Gerard Schwarz said, “For all of us at the All-Star Orchestra receiving these awards is confirmation of the importance of making great music accessible to all, especially in these challenging times of the pandemic. Great music brings hope and inspiration. It builds a sense of community. We are so grateful to WNET/Thirteen and to all of the remarkable public television stations in our vast country for believing in classical music.”
Maestro Schwarz’s All-Star Orchestra is comprised of top players from some of the country’s greatest orchestra’s including Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Houston, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Nashville, New Jersey, New York (the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Oregon, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, St Louis, Utah, Washington D.C., and more. Together these musicians perform on one stage under the leadership of Maestro Schwarz who serves as Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, Palm Beach Symphony, and Mozart Orchestra of New York and is Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony and Conductor Emeritus of the Mostly Mozart Festival. He holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Music; Conducting and Orchestral Studies of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and Music Director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra.
The series features classical masterpieces as well as new works from leading contemporary American composers. The series aims to expose classical music to an even broader audience while keeping the listening experience informative and accessible. In addition to performances of classical and contemporary works, the programs also feature musical excerpts, images, interviews and educational commentary by Maestro Schwarz, the All-Star Orchestra musicians, and special guests.
The All-Star Orchestra’s Music Education Academy - in partnership with the Khan Academy – was founded in 2014 to bring great classical music to millions of students (over five million students as of March 2021). Online features and lessons present unique content including award-winning HD video, and enable self-learning via the Khan Academy– the world’s leading free education website.
The Strad: Back to business: Postcard from Sun Valley
Following 2020’s Summer Season of broadcasts, this year’s Sun Valley Music Festival returned to free live performances, much to the delight of its thousands of fans, writes Laurence Vittes
Although the ski and summer resort area of Sun Valley, Idaho, is noted for the rich and famous celebrities who have been flocking here since the 1930s – from Ernest Hemingway and Marilyn Monroe to Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks and Matt Damon – it boasts a thriving cultural life, including the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference and Sun Valley Film Festival, and the brand new state-of-the-art Argyros Performing Arts Center. And then there is the 37-year-old Sun Valley Music Festival, led by music director Alasdair Neale, which draws 50,000 concertgoers annually to its free Winter and Summer Season events.
The Strad
By Laurence Vittes
Following 2020’s Summer Season of broadcasts, this year’s Sun Valley Music Festival returned to free live performances, much to the delight of its thousands of fans, writes Laurence Vittes
Although the ski and summer resort area of Sun Valley, Idaho, is noted for the rich and famous celebrities who have been flocking here since the 1930s – from Ernest Hemingway and Marilyn Monroe to Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks and Matt Damon – it boasts a thriving cultural life, including the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference and Sun Valley Film Festival, and the brand new state-of-the-art Argyros Performing Arts Center. And then there is the 37-year-old Sun Valley Music Festival, led by music director Alasdair Neale, which draws 50,000 concertgoers annually to its free Winter and Summer Season events.
After reinventing its 2020 Summer Season – with 14 original concert broadcasts brought to life by artists and production crews across North America – and receiving $2.8 million in donations to keep the concerts (including the Winter Season performances) free for everyone, the Summer 2021 Season came to full bloom as Covid-19 seemed to be retreating.