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Franz Liszt

Daily News Roundup: 29 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 29 July 2016 Contemporary, Daily News Roundup, Opera, Romantic

+ This is one the world has been waiting for: Norman Lebrecht reviews the Minnesota Orchestra’s final disc of their Sibelius cycle. + Shanghai Opera brings Thunderstorm to London. Read a review by the Financial Times here. + A recent biography about Liszt by Oliver Hilmes might simply be unnecessary. Read a review of the book here. “The weight of biographical commentary on Liszt is simply colossal. People have been writing full-length accounts of him since he was in his early 20s, and touring 1830s Europe. The first biographies written with the declared aim of stripping away accumulated myths appeared…

Daily News Roundup: 27 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 27 July 2016 Chamber Music, Daily News Roundup, Opera, Piano, Romantic

+ Read a review of the Carmel Bach festival by Richard S. Ginell. + Schmopera asks, “What else are singers great at?” “What do singers do well? Sing, obviously. But the career comes with plenty of extra skill-building opportunities. Not everyone is a master chef or a DIY pro, but working singers know that making sound with their throat is the tip of the iceberg.” + Lara St. John plays at the Ottawa Chamberfest tonight. Watch her performs songs from Shiksa on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts as today’s Video of the Day. + This Day in Music July 27, 1877,…

Marc Andre Hamelin (Photo: Fran Kaufmann)

Daily News Roundup: 26 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 26 July 2016 Daily News Roundup, Opera, Orchestral, Piano, Scena Jazz, Vocal Jazz

+ Sir Roger Norrington is celebrating the unorthodox at the Proms this week. “As a rule, conductors stand on their dignity. They take themselves seriously. They like to be revered. In his own idiosyncratic way, Norrington himself is all three: dignified, serious and revered. But he is also a lot of fun. He wants to connect with his audience. So when his listeners laughed out loud at a musical joke during his performance of a Haydn symphony, he was not offended but delighted.” + Speaking of the Proms, read a review of Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra performing…

The Witches Dance from The Witches of Venice, Photo: Gary David Gold

Opera Saratoga: Singing at the Springs

By Charles Geyer on 26 July 2016 Concert Reviews, Interviews, Opera

Nestled in the Adirondack foothills near the headstreams of the Hudson River, the City of Saratoga Springs in upstate New York was once the dowager empress of America’s great Victorian-era summer resorts, its fame resting on an abundance of fresh, natural mineral springs bubbling up from faults far below the earth’s surface, and alleged to possess restorative powers. Those magical waters still flow from the city’s protected aquifer today; but in a recreational economy that long ago diversified beyond mineral spas – racetrack, casino, restaurants and contending cultural attractions – one ought not overlook another local font whose output springs…

American composer Steve Reich

Daily News Roundup: 25 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 25 July 2016 Chamber Music, Contemporary, Daily News Roundup, Opera, Piano

Today’s Daily News Roundup is celebrating Bösendorfer pianos, welcoming a new contributor, and learning how to dress properly for concerts. + Read a review of three performances from the Lincoln Center Festival that featured maverick-turned-music-hero Steve Reich. + The Guardian’s Juanjo Mena explores the seduction of the Alhambra and Andalucían influences on Alberto Ginastera’s works. + La Scena Musicale’s newest contributor Andrew Burn asks if it is a good time to be a cynic. “When I am given the opportunity to speak in front of a group of musicians, I usually conduct an exercise or two. One of my most though-provoking…

Susanna Eastburn

Daily News Roundup: 22 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 22 July 2016 Contemporary, Daily News Roundup, Musical Theatre, Opera, Piano

Today’s Daily News Roundup responds to the questions “Where have the great composers gone?” Plus presidential operas, Norman Lebrecht’s latest, and more. + Soap opera or operatic tragedy? Schmopera’s Jenna Douglas evaluates the hypothetical operas of the 2016 American Presidential election. + Susanna Eastburn, a chief executive of Sound and Music and a champion of new music, responds to Philip Clark’s editorial “Where have the great composers gone?” “It’s necessary to acknowledge that the world is different from even 10 years ago, let alone the 20th century. We underestimate the disruptive societal impact of digital technology. Most obviously, access to…

Valery Gergiev

Daily News Roundup: 20 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 20 July 2016 Contemporary, Daily News Roundup, Opera, Orchestral, Popular Music, Scena Jazz

Today’s Daily News Roundup is wondering where the great British composers went. Plus a new appointment to the NAC, reviews, and more. + Veteran arts manager Heather Gibson has been named the head of the Canadian music series NAC Presents. + Philip Clark asks in The Guardian, “Where have the great [British] composers gone?” “There’s nothing unassuming about the BBC Proms, which launched its 2016 season last week, but the playbill of modern composition on offer again raises questions about where all those composers with real cultural weight, and a corresponding degree of mainstream visibility, might have gone. With all due…

Valérie Milot, 12 July 2016

Daily News Roundup: 13–15 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 15 July 2016 Classical Music, Contemporary, Daily News Roundup, Mainstream Jazz, Opera, Popular Music, Scena Jazz, Strings, Vocal Jazz

Here is your Daily News Roundup megapost for July 13 to 15. We apologize that the website experienced some turbulence during that period – we are working tirelessly to fix issues as they arise! + La Scena Musicale is launching its 2015–16 fundraising campaign. Learn what you can do to help here. + Read Norman Lebrecht’s weekly album review. This week he critiques a disc of Polish violin concertos performed by Piotr Plawner and the Kammersymphonie Berlin. “Piotr Plawner is a dexterous soloist and the Kammersymphonie Berlin offer decent accompaniment, but the interpretations are safe and somewhat anonymous. Compare the Panufnik…

Nikki Chooi

Daily News Roundup: 8 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 8 July 2016 Classical Music, Daily News Roundup, Mainstream Jazz, Musical Theatre, Opera, Popular Music, Romantic, Scena Jazz

+ Canadian violinist and winner of the OSM’s Manulife Competition in 2004, Nikki Chooi has been named the new concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera. + China’s Cultural Revolution made listening to Beethoven a political crime, but half a century later, the relationship between Chinese people and western classical music has evolved in unpredictable ways. “When it comes to ways of listening, the Chinese have long been open to other cultures and to change – not in a revolutionary way, but through a process that builds on its long musical tradition.” + Video of the Day: Lullabies with Alessio Bax on…

Daily News Roundup: 7 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 7 July 2016 Canadian Music, Circus, Daily News Roundup, Opera, Orchestral, Scena Jazz, Strings

+ The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble is coming to Cinéma du Parc on July 29. The movie will be shown in its original English with French subtitles. (French) + Canada’s History Society and Library and Archives Canada team up to explore Canada’s musical legacy with “Sounds Like History” podcast. + Should we cut the classics? The New York Times’ Michael Cooper weighs in about shortening operas. “After several decades in which the trend has been toward longer, uncut operas — drawing on the work of scholars to restore rarely performed passages, and putting a…

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