Vocal - my/maSCENA

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…

This Week in Toronto (Nov. 5 – 11)

By Paul E. Robinson on 4 November 2012 Chamber Music, Opera, Piano, This Week in Toronto

Canadian soprano Edith Wiens gives masterclass at University of TorontoNow that both the Canadian Opera Company and Opera Atelier have wrapped up their successful fall seasons, operatic offerings aren’t as plentiful this week. However, I can heartily recommend the masterclass given by retired Canadian soprano Edith Wiens. A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and the daughter of a Mennonite preacher, Wiens graced the international concert and opera stage for a quarter century, delighting audience with her crystalline tone and aristocratic stage presence. I had the pleasure of interviewing her two years ago in Munich, on occasion of her receiving the Opera…

Van Zweden/DSO “Passion” a Performance for the Ages!

By Paul E. Robinson on 9 April 2012 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, Orchestral

Author : (Paul E. Robinson)

J.S. Bach: St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 John McVeigh, tenor Morgan Smith, baritone (Christus) Camilla Tilling, soprano Jennifer Johnston, alto Johannes Chum, tenor (Evangelist) Alistair Miles, bass Dallas Symphony Chorus, Joshua Habermann, director Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas, Cynthia Nott, director Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden, conductor Meyerson Symphony Center Dallas, Texas Friday, March 29, 2012 Jaap van Zweden, recently named “Conductor of the Year” by Musical America, has been recognized by music-lovers in Dallas since 2008 – the start of his music directorship of the DSO – as an extraordinary leader of musicians. He has impressed audiences and critics alike in the “Big D” with his…

A Miraculous Musical Pilgrimage With Conspirare’s Company of Voices

By Paul E. Robinson on 2 February 2012 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonTalbot: Path of MiraclesConspirare: Company of Voices/Craig Hella Johnson, conductorSt. Martin’s Lutheran ChurchAustin, TexasFriday, January 20, 2012Now in the middle of its 19th season, Conspirare’s 24-member Company of Voices continues to be innovative and inspiring. Its latest presentation was the regional premiere of Path of Miracles,a 70-minute work by British composer Joby Talbot; a beautiful work, it was given a superb performance on this occasion by Craig Hella Johnson & Company.Path of Miracles depicts the famous medieval Christian pilgrims’ walk from France to Santiago, in homage to St. James, one of Jesus’ disciples, and the patron saint of…

Spring Highlights: Quebec City

By Michèle-Andrée Lanoue on 1 February 2012 Chamber Music, Opera, Orchestral, Violin

By Michèle-Andrée Lanoue Erreur de type 27The ensemble Erreur de type 27, the “presence of contemporary music” in Quebec City incarnate, is collaborating with Oktoécho for a reading where theatre and music collide for the presentation of Chants du prophète. Part improvised and part written, the performance draws on the philosophical/poetic anthology Le Prophète by Khalil Gibran. This premiere from composer Katia Makdissi-Warren and playwright-director Hanna Abd El Nour will be performed at the Palais Montcalm on March 31 at 8 p.m. www.erreurdetype27.comOrchestre symphonique de QuébecTwo orchestras, from the Conservatoire de musique de Québec and the music faculty of Université…

ALO Flute Lacks Magic!

By Paul E. Robinson on 8 November 2011 Classical, Concert Reviews, Opera

by Paul E. RobinsonMozart: The Magic Flute Austin Lyric Opera (ALO)Director: James MarvelConductor: Richard BuckleyThe Long Center Austin, TexasSaturday November 5, 2011Congratulations are in order for the Austin Lyric Opera on the occasion of its 25th Anniversary. The organization also deserves enormous credit for dealing quickly and apparently effectively with a serious financial crisis that came to a boil last spring. Changes since then have included the resignation of General Director Kevin Patterson, the listing of ALO’s office building for sale, and major program cuts to the 2011-2012 season. Kevin Smith was appointed interim General Director and principal conductor Richard…

Les débuts modestes du Festival Opéra de Québec

By La Scena Musicale Team on 21 July 2011 Classical, Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Opera

Par Julie Berardino Le très attendu Festival Opéra de Québec se déroulera cet été (du 25 juillet au 6 août) à Québec avec une version modeste du Rossignol et autres fables de Stravinsky et de la Flûte enchantée de Mozart. Tel que prévu, Robert Lepage, originaire de Québec, sera à l’honneur dans la production qu’offre sa compagnie Ex Machina de l’opéra de Stravinsky, qui fut créée par le Canadian Opera Company et a récemment complété une tournée à New York. La production amène chanteurs et marionnettiste à évoluer dans un grand bassin d’eau sur scène (salle Louis-Fréchette du Grand Théâtre de Québec)…

A Tale of Two Festivals: Castleton and BlackCreek

By Paul E. Robinson on 14 July 2011 Concert Reviews, Opera, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonEvery summer Marita and I drive from Austin, Texas back to our native Canada, varying our route each year according to events of particular interest on the road and the availability of friends we enjoy visiting.This year we decided to make a stop in Charlottesville, Virginia, a favourite place we hadn’t visited in too many years. This charming, lively, petite (pop: 40,000) mountain town is home to the University of Virginia where we fondly recalled once having inspected the tiny room inhabited by Edgar Allen Poe during his short tenure as a student here. The literary stature…

The Canadian Music Competition: 2011 Grand Prize winners

By La Scena Musicale Team on 12 July 2011 Piano, Violin, Vocal

By Rona NadlerThe Canadian Music Competition has announced its 2011 Grand Prize winners. Over two hundred young musicians from all over the country competed in the finals, held in Montreal from June 20-July 4. Grand Prizes for each age category were awarded to Kirsten MacKinnon, soprano (Burnaby, BC), Jason Kangsan Lee, piano (Missisauga, ON), Nicole Li, violin (Toronto, ON), Stephen Nguyen, piano (Calgary, AB), and Tiffany Yeung, violin (Richmond Hill, ON). The winners will give three performances with the Orchestre Métropolitain under the baton of Alain Trudel: a gala concert on July 14 at Centre Pierre-Charbonneau, at Parc La Fontaine…

Sierra’s “Missa Latina” Wins New Friends in Texas

By Paul E. Robinson on 3 July 2011 Choral, Concert Reviews, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonRoberto Sierra (photo: above) was born in Puerto Rico and studied with György Ligeti in Germany. Since 1992 he has been a member of the faculty of music at Cornell University, and is widely recognized as one of the leading composers of his generation.Sierra’s Missa Latina “Pro Pace” (For Peace) was commissioned by Washington’s National Symphony and the Choral Arts Society, and Leonard Slatkin conducted the premiere with those combined ensembles in 2006. Since that time the work has been performed in major cities around the United States, each time with great success.Craig Hella Johnson (photo: right)…

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