Classical Music - my/maSCENA

Video of the Day – The Art of Andres Segovia

By Paul E. Robinson on 12 March 2013 Strings, Video of the day

One of the greatest musical experiences of my life was seeing Andres Segovia (1893-1987) sitting alone on the stage of Massey Hall in Toronto, playing to a packed house. The sound of an unamplified classical guitar is very small but it filled the hall that night, and every note was a miracle of musicianship and artistry. No one before or since made the guitar sound so expressive. But more than that Segovia conveyed to his listeners the very soul of music. It was unforgettable.In this video you can see Segovia in his prime and marvel at the artistry. How did he…

A Tale of Two Cities/ A Tale of Two Orchestras

By Paul E. Robinson on 11 March 2013 Classical, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Opera, Orchestral

Paul E. Robinson Vivaldi: Concerto in C major for Recorder, Strings and Continuo RV 444 Vivaldi: Concerto in C major for Recorder, Strings and Continuo RV 443 Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor Erik Bosgraaf, recorder Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Jaap van Zweden Meyerson Symphony Center Dallas, Texas March 1, 2013 It was an interesting weekend. On Friday night, I heard the Dallas Symphony under its music director Jaap van Zweden performing Mahler’s massive Sixth Symphony at the Meyerson SymphonyCenter in preparation for its European tour. The next day I drove 250 miles down I-45 to hear a concert performance of…

Video of the Day – Van Cliburn: In Memoriam

By Paul E. Robinson on 5 March 2013 Piano, Video of the day

Music-lovers around the world mourned the loss last week of Van Cliburn (1934-2013), one of the giants among Twentieth Century pianists. Cliburn astonished the world of music when he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958, at the age of 23. He then went on to become a legend in his own time. And that became part of the problem. The real Van Cliburn was continually faced with living up to the legendary Van Cliburn. In 1978 he withdrew from public performance. After some years in retirement he returned to concertizing but he now lacked the confidence of…

Dallas Symphony Raises its Game for 1st European Tour with Maestro Jaap van Zweden!

By Paul E. Robinson on 26 February 2013 La Scena Spotlight, Newswire, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonWagner: Tristan und Isolde: Prelude and LiebestodBeethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major Op. 19Stucky: August 4, 1964: ElegyStrauss: Der Rosenkavalier: SuiteAnton Nel, pianoDallas Symphony Orchestra/Jaap van ZwedenMeyerson Symphony CenterDallas, TexasFebruary 22, 2013For five years now, Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden has been working steadily to build the Dallas Symphony (DSO) into a world-class orchestra. Critical reaction in Dallas has been consistently glowing and when conductor and orchestra were featured at the League of American Orchestras Conference in Dallas last year, the reaction from the ‘movers and shakers’ in the industry was ecstatic.Now comes the…

The Sacred Spirit of Russia in Texas

By Paul E. Robinson on 8 February 2013 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Scena Jazz

by Paul E. RobinsonCraig Hella Johnson and soloists of the Conspirare Company of VoicesMusic by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Gretchaninoff, Kastalsky, Martynov, Ippolitov-Ivanov and othersConspirare Company of VoicesCraig Hella Johnson, conductorSt. Martin’s Lutheran ChurchAustin, TexasFebruary 2, 2013St. Martin’s Lutheran Church in downtown Austin was miraculously transformed into a Russian Cathedral last weekend as Conspirare presented a concert of Russian Orthodox liturgical music. It was astonishing to hear the 41 voices of the Company of Voices singing their hearts out with total command of both the language and the style of the music.Conspirare’s artistic director and conductor, Craig Hella Johnson, (photo: right) has boundless…

Bronfman, Bay and the ASO Bring Austin to its Feet with Brahms!

By Paul E. Robinson on 15 January 2013 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic

by Paul E. RobinsonBrahms: Tragic Overture Op. 81Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem Op. 20Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor Op. 15Yefim Bronfman, pianoAustin Symphony (ASO)/Peter BayLong CenterAustin, TexasJanuary 12, 2013What a year 2013 is going to be for commemorative celebrations! Verdi and Wagner will be honoured on the occasion of the 200th anniversaries of their births in 1813, and Benjamin Britten for the 100th anniversary of his birth in 1913. In Britten’s case, the actual birth date is November 22, but conductor Peter Bay couldn’t wait that long. I don’t blame him; Britten’s greatness only grows with each passing…

Beethoven & Britten at the Movies

By Paul E. Robinson on 21 December 2012 Classical, Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Orchestral

by Paul E. Robinson From left to right: Mark Ivanir, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener A Late Quartet Director: Yaron Zilberman Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman/Christopher Walken/Catherine Keener/Mark Ivanir Music: Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 131 Moonrise Kingdom Director: Wes Anderson Cast: Bruce Willis/Bill Murray/Ed Norton/Frances McDormand Music: Britten: Noyes’ Flood/Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra/Songs for Friday Afternoons/A Midsummer Night’s Dream (excerpts) Films about classical music composers and performers are nearly always risible in the extreme. Think Song Without End (1960) with Dirk Bogarde as Liszt or Humoresque (1946) with John Garfield as an unlikely virtuoso…

James Ehnes Plays Bach

By Paul E. Robinson on 10 December 2012 Baroque and Early, Video of the day, Violin

Canadian violinist James Ehnes is no longer “an exciting young talent” but an international star. He plays regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors and his recordings invariably receive the highest praise. One of his most recent recordings in which he plays both Bartok Violin Concertos and the Viola Concerto (Chandos 10690) has had rave reviews.In this video Ehnes plays Bach’s Preludio and Gigue from Bach’s Partita No. 3 for Unaccompanied Violin. The performance was recorded in the studios of radio station WQXR in New York.Paul E. Robinson

Austin Symphony Takes Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring “Beyond the Score”

By Paul E. Robinson on 8 December 2012 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonStravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps (the Rite of Spring)Gerard McBurney, narratorRobert Faires, actorRick Rowley, actorAustin Symphony/Peter Bay, conductorDell Hall, Long Center for the Performing ArtsAustin, TexasFriday, November 30, 2012For major orchestras, Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printempshas become standard fare, but for second and third tier orchestras it is still a huge challenge, for both technical and financial reasons: for the players, the rhythms and harmonies are difficult; for managers and boards, the costs for additional players and extra rehearsal time are not easy to swallow. The Austin Symphonyis a part-time per service orchestra, which nonetheless manages to play consistently…

Gunther Schuller: A “Renaissance” Musician Tells All!

By Paul E. Robinson on 25 November 2012 Interviews, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonGunther Schuller: a Life in Pursuit of Music and BeautyUniversity of Rochester Press: Rochester, 2011664 pagesIn the fall of 1959, I made my third visit to New York City. I was an ambitious young bass player making a pilgrimage to the ‘Big Apple’ to play for one of the most respected of bass teachers anywhere at that time, Frederick Zimmermann of the New York Philharmonic. Fred and I got on very well and, in time, became the best of friends. I remember vividly that when I saw him in 1959, Fred was consumed with excitement about a new…

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