August 14, 2023 • 10:55 am Comments Off on Mount Green: Monteverdi in Santa Fe
I wrote for Opera Now about Yuval Sharon’s Monteverdi production this summer at Santa Fe Opera:
The rousing fanfare that famously calls the audience to order for Orfeo was preceded by the sound of a modern orchestra tuning up – a preliminary signal of many surprises to come in Santa Fe Opera’s first-ever staging of the epochal work by Claudio Monteverdi.
continue
Filed under: directors, Monteverdi, review, Santa Fe Opera
August 11, 2023 • 11:29 am Comments Off on Orfeo in Santa Fe
The first of my reviews from Santa Fe Opera’s 2023 season is open through the weekend (no paywall) here. I discuss Yuval Sharon’s extraordinary new production of L’Orfeo (or Orfeo, as they’re calling it), which features new orchestrations commissioned from Nico Muhly.
My review of Tosca is here (but behind the paywall). More reviews upcoming in Opera Now.
Filed under: directors, Monteverdi, Musical America, Puccini, reviews, Santa Fe Opera
August 11, 2023 • 8:24 am Comments Off on Mahler 3 Opens Lucerne’s 2023 Summer Festival
Lucerne’s Summer Festival officially starts today with a performance of Mahler’s Third Symphony by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this season; Paavo Järvi conducts. This concert launches the 2023 Summer Festival: for the next five weeks, the Festival will explore musical reflections of the theme of “Paradise.” The concert is being streamed live on arte at 19:30 Swiss time.
on the 20th anniversary of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Filed under: Lucerne Festival, Mahler, music news
August 9, 2023 • 8:28 am Comments Off on A New Rheingold at Seattle Opera
Opening Seattle Opera’s 60th season this Saturday is a new production of Das Rheingold — staged here for the first time since 2013. It’s not the start of a new complete Ring but a stand-alone production. My Seattle Times preview:
At McCaw Hall, the gods are preparing once again to enter Valhalla.
Stagings of Richard Wagner’s cycle of four interlinked operas, together known as “The Ring of the Nibelung,” are what put Seattle Opera on the international map almost half a century ago. But a full decade has elapsed since the “Ring” was last produced here. So to open the milestone 60th anniversary season, General Director Christina Scheppelmann decided to pay homage to a central part of the company’s legacy with “Das Rheingold,” the first installment of the “Ring” operas, in a stand-alone new production directed by Brian Staufenbiel. It runs Aug. 12-20.
Filed under: directors, Ring cycle, Seattle Opera, Wagner
August 7, 2023 • 12:43 pm Comments Off on Hankyeol Yoon Wins Karajan Conductors Award
Congratulations to Hankyeol Yoon: the 29-year-old South Korean conductor was just announced as the winner of the 2023 Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award.
Hankyeol Yoon’s bio as of November 2022:
Conductor Hankyeol Yoon was the youngest ever recipient of the Neeme Järvi Prize at the 2019 Gstaad Menuhin Festival & Academy and subsequently received invitations from Kammerorchester Basel and the Basel and Bern symphony orchestras. Highlights of the 2022/23 season include debuts with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Bern Symphony Orchestra and Busan Philharmonic Orchestra and a return to KBS Symphony Orchestra for concerts in Tokyo. He is currently one of the three finalist of Karajan Young Conductors’ Award and will conduct a concert at the Salzburg Festival in August 2023.
Recent highlights include concerts with Münchner Symphoniker, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Neubrandenburger Philharmonie, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Kammerorchester Basel, Korean National Symphony Orchestra and Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2019 Hankyeol was awarded 3rd prize at CAMPUS Dirigieren in Nuremberg and in 2021 he won the 2nd and audience prizes at the inaugural KSO International Conducting Competition in Seoul. Hankyeol was also a finalist at the 2020 Georg Solti Competition and 2021 Deutscher Dirigentenpreis respectively.
In 2021 Hankyeol stepped down as 2nd Kapellmeister of Theater und Orchester Neubrandenburg Neustrelitz. During his two-year tenure Hankyeol conducted several symphonic concerts as well as performances of Pariser Leben and il Barbiere di Siviglia. He also led a production of V. Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis.
Hankyeol has previously worked as Assistant Conductor with Staatstheater Nürnberg, Grand Théâtre de Genève and Heidenheim Opera Festival, as well as with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Daniel Harding and at Lucerne Festival as a Conducting Fellow under Thomas Adès.
Also a prize-winning composer, Hankyeol has been recognised at the Luciano Berio International Composition Competition Rome in 2020, TonaLi Composition Competition Hamburg in 2018, Vareler Composition Competition in 2016 and Concours de Geneve in 2015. In 2019 Hankyeol was one of two composers mentored by the Peter Eötvös Foundation in Budapest where his compositions were conducted by Peter Eötvös and he received mentorship from Sir George Benjamin. Under Unsuk Chin, Hankyeol made his debut as conductor and composer in South Korea at the Tongyeong International Music Festival. In December 2021 his latest work, Grande Hipab, was premiered by Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt.
Born in Daegu, South Korea but calling Munich his home since 2011, Hankyeol studied conducting, composing, and piano performance at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.
Filed under: conductors, music news
August 3, 2023 • 11:01 am Comments Off on Jimmy López Bellido at BBC Proms
Prom 27 on Friday, 4 August 2023 at 19:30 London Time opens with the UK premiere of Jimmy López Bellido’s Perú negro. Also on the program are Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Yuja Wang and William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast; Klaus Mäkelä conducts. The performance will be broadcast here.
Filed under: music news
August 2, 2023 • 11:15 am Comments Off on Seattle’s Summer of Chamber Music
Here’s my report for Classical Voice North America on Seattle Chamber Music Society’s just-concluded 2023 Summer Festival:
There’s nothing quite like the gentle euphoria triggered by a heavy intake of live chamber music. In the heart of summer, the Emerald City becomes a magnet for chamber-music enthusiasts, lured by the quality and variety of the Seattle Chamber Music Society’s month-long Summer Festival. This bonanza of concerts and related programs fills up the month of July — yet always seems to end too soon.
Filed under: Uncategorized
July 30, 2023 • 5:17 pm Comments Off on Erin Jorgensen Fest
Seattle-based Erin Jorgensen, marimba player extraordinaire, is presenting a full week of performances, mini-classes, talks, and other arts goodness to kick off the month of August. Erin Jorgensen Fest (EJF) lasts from August 1 to 6 and will take place at the 18th & Union theater in the Central District. The fest is donation-based and follows a first-come, first-served basis.
EJF offers an amazing lineup: mini-classes from cellist Lori Goldston, audio legend Steve Fisk, composer/chess wizard Brian Lawlor, opera/noise artist Micaela Tobin, alt-bluegrass trio The Half Brothers, composer Benjamin Marx, armchair philosopher Pini Ben-Or, filmmaker SJ Chiro, neuroscientist/author Chantel Prat, and a ton more. Plus donuts courtesy of Mighty-O.
Here’s the schedule for just the first day (Tuesday, 1 August):
11 am music
Bach & Pancakes with Erin Jorgensen
Listen to a Bach cello suite performed on 5-octave marimba & eat pancakes made on-site. Today we’ll listen to Suite No. 1 in G Major. All-ages welcome!
12pm mini-class
Taiko Drumming 101 with Leanna Keith
Come for the loud huge drum, stay for the history of the Asian-American art form and chance to yell real loud. Ganbatte! (Do your best!)
| Leanna Keith (she/they) is the professor of Flute at Cornish College of the Arts, where she also found her way into teaching the taiko ensemble. She says flute is her profession, taiko is her passion. When not playing flute/taiko, Leanna composes with a focus on timbre-shifting, queer theory, and the breaking of performer/audience boundaries. www.leannakeithflute.com |
| 1pm record listening Intentional Record Listening | record chosen by Julian Martlew Let’s listen to a record together – no cell phones allowed! Each artist has written a short blurb on why they chose a particular record. We’ll read this together, and then hit play. Reduce your screen time while expanding your musical knowledge. Win-win.Julian Martlew is an audio engineer and media producer for KEXP – 90.3FM in Seattle. |
1pm record listening
Intentional Record Listening | record chosen by Julian Martlew
Let’s listen to a record together – no cell phones allowed! Each artist has written a short blurb on why they chose a particular record. We’ll read this together, and then hit play. Reduce your screen time while expanding your musical knowledge. Win-win.
| Julian Martlew is an audio engineer and media producer for KEXP – 90.3FM in Seattle. |
3pm film
Six Marimbas
directed by Marcy Stone-Francois
A beautifully hypnotic fever dream featuring six virtuosic marimba players.
Six Marimbas was commissioned by Erin Jorgensen and features original music written by Benjamin Marx & Brian Lawlor. Music performed by musicians Garrett Arney, Storm Benjamin, Erin Jorgensen, Rebekah Ko, Bonnie Whiting, & Mari Yoshinaga.
Marcy Stone-Francois is a multi-talented filmmaker who loves vibrant colors, 80s and 90s pop culture, cat memes, and all things cat related. See more of her work at Marcy Stone-Francois.com.
4pm mini-class
A Film Director/A Woman with SJ Chiro
A talk with film clips and Q&A about women in film.
SJ Chiro‘s first feature film Lane 1974 (Sophia Mitri Schloss, Katherine Moennig), premiered at SXSW in 2017. LANE 1974 went on to win the FIPRESCI award for New American Cinema among other awards both in the U.S. and internationally. Her second film East of the Mountains (Tom Skerritt, Mira Sorvino, Annie Gonzalaz) premiered at SIFF 2021. East of the Mountains was nominated for two Satellite Awards: Best Picture, Drama and Best Actor in a Leading Role, Drama, and was included in the 2021 list of top ten films by the DGA’s Best DirectHER. She is also known for her award winning short films. SJChiro-director.com
5pm music
Marimba Happy Hour with Erin Jorgensen
An hour of acoustic/electric marimba, vocals, layers, loops, and whatever else Erin feels like doing. Spend the 5pm hour getting in some good vibes. Join anytime.
6pm mini-class + convo
A philosophical conversation about Friendship with Pini Ben-Or
What is special about friendship & why is it important? Why is it a philosophical question (what is philosophy anyway?)
Some dilemmas of friendship: Real vs Fake vs BS friendships & the trouble with BS in our lives…, and why we should invest in friends who disagree with us…
Pini Ben-Or is a father, a friend, a hiker, or a philosopher (but not an academic one…) and a data scientist puzzling over the possibility of good AI. He grew up in Israel, a 2nd grade and forever nerd, a 3rd grade rock-explorer, a 6th grade philosopher. His 10th grade math teacher said that his mathematical curiosity far exceeded his mathematical maturity. Yet he stuck with it until coming to NYC for grad school in philosophy. Then went for the action of the business world rather than settle in the ivory tower (ask him if he regrets that….). His preferred position is buried in books or being (almost) lost in the woods, or being truly lost in conversation. linkedin
7pm mini-class & meditation
live from NYC!
Noh theater investigation & Buddhist Meditation with Katiana Gonçales Rangel
Katiana will share excerpts of the Noh play Ama The Diver, and lead a guided meditation session.
Katiana Gonçales Rangel is a performer, director and educator from Brazil based in NYC. They have created independent theater work since 1998. Their most recent work was Ama The Diver at Brick Aux with their collaborators Jim Fletcher and the cellist Lori Goldston. Katiana is also a meditation instructor, yoga teacher and drag thing called Greta Room. KatianaGonçalesRangel.com
Filed under: music news
July 21, 2023 • 9:29 am Comments Off on Sameer Patel Named New Director of La Jolla Symphony & Chorus
Sameer Patel has been appointed Music Director and Orchestra Conductor of the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus. His tenure will begin with the new 2023-24 season and follows a year-long search after the departure of Steven Schick, who stepped down from the role in May 2022. La Jolla’s Search Committee invited a small group of internationally renowned conductors to audition for the position. Patel will work alongside Arian Khaefi, the Sally and Einar Gall Music Director and Chorus Conductor.
Already a familiar presence to audiences in the San Diego region, Patel is currently Artistic Director of the San Diego Youth Symphony and was previously Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony, where he reinvigorated the orchestra’s programming and connection with its community.
Hailed as a rising star in the conducting world, Patel brings an impressive resume of international performances and collaborations to La Jolla. Patel studied at the University of Michigan and furthered his training across Europe with some of the leading conductors of our time. He now makes his home in San Diego with his wife, Shannon, and their two children, Devan and Veda.
“I am thrilled to join the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus as Music Director and Orchestra Conductor. From my earliest experiences working with the musicians, I’ve consistently been impressed not only with their artistic integrity and curiosity, but also by the way they so joyfully and willingly share their humanity both onstage and off,” Patel said. “I am grateful and proud to expand my musical involvement in this community that I love and believe in, and I look forward to a bright future together.”
From my recent profile of Sameer Patel for Musical America, who was featured in April as their New Artist of the Month:
As he describes the career choices that have led to his current position, Sameer Patel refers to a verse from the Bhagavad Gita: “It’s better to strive in one’s own dharma than to succeed in the dharma of another’ — in other words, to follow your own virtue or path or journey.”
Filed under: conductors, music news
July 18, 2023 • 1:28 pm Comments Off on LA Master Chorale in Salzburg
So proud of the wonderful Los Angeles Master Chorale, which is on the program on 20 and 21 July open the 2023 Salzburg Festival in the Ouverture Spirituelle series with Music to Accompany a Departure, its interpretation of Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien, directed by Peter Sellars. They will also perform Sofia Gubaidulina’s Sonnengesang (The Canticle of the Sun) for cello, choir, and percussion.
Peter Sellars describes the program here.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Arts & Culture Stories from NPR
MEMETERIA by Thomas May 