Here are the twelve concerts I think warrant a journey to the Hollywood Bowl this summer:

JULY FOURTH FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR WITH HARRY CONNICK, JR. – July 2^nd – July 4^th

If you’ve never experienced a fireworks show at the Hollywood Bowl, you clearly don’t know what you’re missing. This year’s headliner for the annual July 4^th concerts is Harry Connick, Jr.

His most recent album centered on songs of faith, but I would expect this concert to focus more on the material he’s best known for which are jazz standards and songs from the Great American Songbook.

Thomas Wilkins leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in these three concerts.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

For those not in the Los Angeles area, he’ll be performing at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego on July 6^th; Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA on July 9^th and 10^th and at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, WA on July 12^th and 13^th. These are the only dates on his schedule right now.

ALL- GERSHWIN – July 11^th

Who could ask for anything more than pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, opera’s Isabel Leonard and Broadway star Tony Yazbeck in an evening of songs and music by George Gershwin?

The program opens with the Cuban Overture and is then followed by Variations on “I Got Rhythm.“ Leonard and Yazbeck conclude the first half with selections of Gershwin’s songs.

The second act features Thibaudet playined Rhapsody in Blue and closes with An American In Paris.

Lionel Bringuier conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

MAESTRO OF THE MOVIES: THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS AND MORE – July 12^th – July 14^th

This annual celebration of all things John Williams will be a little different. Yes, Williams curated the program utilizing his own music and many classic scores he loves from the Golden Age, but he will not be appearing this year.

Williams had to cancel all upcoming appearances due to a health issue “from which he is expected to make a full recovery.” Does that mean light sabers won’t be at the ready for the inevitable selections of music from Star Wars? Of course not. 

David Newman, who regularly conducts the first half of these concerts each year, will be conducting the full program.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

BIG BAND NIGHT – July 17^th

If you love large ensemble jazz music, this concert is for you. The evening opens with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (who have made countless appearances at the Hollywood Bowl).

Next up is The Count Basie Orchestra who will feature vocalist Nnenna Freelon. 

The headliner is the Maria Schneider Orchestra which is celebrating its 30^th anniversary. Earlier this year Maria Schneider released a 3-lp vinyl box set entitled Decades. You can’t stream that recording, you can only get it here. But you can hear this incredible artist and her musicians live. This is her only US appearance until September.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

STRAVINSKY & KHACHATURIAN – July 30^th

I’ve written before how Aram Khachaturian’s music isn’t performed often enough. As they did in the Walt Disney Concert Hall this season, the LA Philharmonic is breathing new life into his work in this program that features the composer’s Violin Concerto and the Spartacus Suite No. 2.  Martin Chalifour is the soloist for the concerto.

The concert closes with the 1919 version of Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite. Kevin John Edusei conducts.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

PROKOFIEV & SHOSTAKOVICH – August 6^th

One of my top five piano concerti of the entire repertoire is being performed by Denis Kozhukhin in this concert. It is Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26. (My favorite recording of it is by Martha Argerich.)

The second half of the program is Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. The work was completed the same year that Joseph Stalin died and is widely interpreted as the composer’s commentary on the brutality of the Soviet government during Stalin’s reign. It’s a big and powerful symphony.

Ryan Bancroft leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

HERBIE HANCOCK HEAD HUNTERS 50^th – August 14^th

Where were you on October 26, 1973? Maybe you remember the release of Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters which is considered amongst the best jazz-fusion/jazz-funk albums of all time.

Watermelon Man may not be a title recognize, but I guarantee you the music has burrowed its way into your soul. 

This is the ONLY reunion of Hancock with the surviving members of that record:  drummer Harvey Mason; saxophonist Bennie Maupin and percussionist Bill Summers.  Playing bass is Marcus Miller as original bassist Paul Jackson passed away in 2021.

The original four-track album runs less than 45 minutes. Which means there will be a whole lot more music performed by Hancock and his bandmates.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

THE ELEMENTS WITH JOSHUA BELL – August 15^th

Joshua Bell commissioned five composers to write individual movements based on the elements: Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Space.  Those composers are Kevin Puts, Edgar Meyer, Jennifer Higdon, Jake Heggie and Jessie Montgomery.

Bell performs the work with Rodolfo Barráez conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Also on the program are Aaron Copland’s El Salón México, which opens the concert and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story  which closes the concert.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

SARA BAREILLES WITH THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA – August 17^th

What at one point years ago might have seemed like a pop concert, is now pure heaven for musical theater lovers. Sara Bareilles is a three-time Tony Award nominee having received two nominations for Best Original Score (Waitress in 2016 and SpongeBob SquarePants in 2018) and for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for the 2023 revival of Into the Woods.

Of course, she’ll perform music from throughout her career and this is her only concert on her schedule until late September.

But wait, there’s more. Tony Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton) will open the show.

Thomas Wilkins conducts the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

THE RITE OF SPRING – August 22^nd

The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky is one of classical music’s most important and enduring works. Hearing this monumental work outside is reason enough to see this concert. But fans of Stravinsky’s music are in for a full evening of his genius.

Teddy Abrams, Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra, conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a concert that opens with Stravinsky’s arrangement of The Star-Spangled Banner. His Circus Polka follows and the first half closes with Leila Josefowicz performing his Violin Concerto. Then the main attraction is on tap for the second half of the program.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

DUDAMEL LEADS BEETHOVEN 9^th – September 10^th

Not sure what else anyone needs to know beyond Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. But here goes:

The soloists for this concert are bass Dashon Burton; mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey; tenor Anthony León; countertenor Key’mon Murrah and soprano Hera Kyesang Park. The Los Angeles Master Chorale also performs.

The concert opens with Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

DUDAMEL AND THE STARS OF OPERA – September 12^th

I couldn’t tell you the last time tenor Jonas Kaufmann performed in Los Angeles, but I can tell you the next time he will – at this concert where he will be joined by soprano Diana Damrau.

The two will perform selected arias and duets.

The concert opens with Verdi’s Overture to I vespri sicilliani which is followed by the ever-popular Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana by Mascagni. Respighi’s Pines of Rome closes the concert.

Gustavo Dudamel leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

Those are the 12 Hollywood Bowl Concerts Not to Miss in my opinion. What concerts are on the top of your list? Let me know in the comments.

Main Photo: Hollywood Bowl 2023 (Photo by Craig L. Byrd)

The post 12 Hollywood Bowl Concerts Not To Miss This Summer appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

The Elements had its world premiere on September 1st with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra with Alan Gilbert conducting. The US premiere took place in late September and early October with the New York Philharmonic. More performances are being scheduled and on October 25th Bell will perform three movements with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Higdon is one of the most acclaimed composers of her generation. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2010 for her violin concerto. She is the recipient of three Grammy Awards and her opera, Cold Mountain, had its world premiere in 2016 at Santa Fe Opera.

Higdon didn’t get to choose her movement. She took Air as her movement and thought quickly and decisively about the role her movement would play in Bell’s commission.

In this conversation she talks about her approach to Air, thinking about Joshua Bell as the soloist and the role of air in her daily life. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity. To see the full interview, please go to our YouTube channel.

Q: Joshua Bell had the idea of the elements and then adding space as a fifth component. But was it a lottery? How did you each composer get the element that you ended up writing? 

When Joshua called me he said, “Well, the elements have all been picked, so the only thing left is air.” And I said, okay, I’ll do air. At that point there were only four composers – we didn’t have space as part of it. At some point he decided he wanted space to be a part of the equation and they asked Jessie Montgomery. So I think the guys all picked the elements they wanted. Then they called me.

If it had all been open and you could have chosen any one of the five, which one do you think you would have chosen? 

Well, I think I could have come up with stuff for all of them. There was something interesting about air, though, because I’m a former flute player, so there was something striking about it and I might have picked that. 

I would say that if I were writing one of the other movements, it would be very different than what I wrote. Because to me the different elements feel like musically they would need to have different character just in the materials, the way it’s handled, the speed and the tempo. There are a lot of ways to go, but I think every composer approaches this according to their inner gyroscope. 

You weren’t dealing with air as wind. You were dealing with it as what we take in, what we breathe, what we need, what the planet needs. How did you go from conceiving the work as being about that component of air to what you actually put on paper?

I thought strategically, because I’ve written a lot for violin. My colleagues, I figured, would be excited to write some really virtuosic stuff for Joshua, which he plays fantastic. I thought to myself, what would the audience need to hold them through a long concerto? I love Joshua’s playing. His tone is beautiful in the lyrical lines he plays in all of the concertos and the solo stuff he does.

Maybe I should go and emphasize that and just make a quiet spot so the audience can breathe. I was thinking about the breathing thing. This is a much calmer sort of experience. It’s also a challenge for me because normally I write a lot of fast notes. 

For somebody who writes a lot of notes, how much does stillness, how much does silence, play a role in your concept of air? 

Actually quite a bit – especially in this. I used many more wind and brass voicings and less strings, partly to set off Joshua’s violin voice, but also just because they use air. I do put pauses in there. I make everything move slowly.

I was thinking a lot about the seasons. One of the things that strikes me is when seasonal changes come, the first thing we usually notice is the air when we step outside. The spring smells very different than the fall and winter. The bite of winter feels very different than the summer humidity that we often get on the East Coast. Part of it was just thinking about the distinctiveness of the air.

But I also thought about the fact that the word air is often used as a musical term meaning song, aria. The word aria came out of air, so that made for me a different kind of challenge than most people have. They have trouble filling things up. My goal is backing off and calming down. So I thought this would be a good way to do this. 

How does a work like The Elements come together given that five different composers are writing individual movements for it?

That’s the one thing about this concerto that’s fascinating. Every sound world is different because it’s a different composer. So you’re getting real variety in what you’re hearing. It makes the musical experience different than if you were listening to just a 40-minute concerto from one composer. The language is changing, the pacing, the rhythm, the interchange between the orchestra and the soloist. Actually it’s very, very effective. 

Is cohesion an outdated idea for contemporary works?

I think artists can’t really say anything is outdated. I think everything’s on the board. I like the idea of variety. We can have both. We could have cohesion within our own little movements.

One thing that gives Joshua a chance to do, if he does another piece with another orchestra and he wants to do one of these movements, he can do that. He can just pull it because the things work as self-contained units. They could also combine like maybe two or three of them if he needs a medium size work.

[As is the case with Bell’s October 25th concert with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra where he will perform the Bruch Violin Concerto and three movements from “The Elements.”]

In an interview that you gave to Annelena Lobb for the Wall Street Journal in 2005, she asked what you did to relax. After answering that you walked and went to the movies a lot, she said, “So it’s not music all the time?” And your response was, “I think that would be hard. The brain needs to breathe.” It seems as though, even 18 years ago, you were considering breath and air as part of your need to be healthy. 

My answer is still I take breaks. I compose about 6 hours a day, I have to take breaks. Our brain really does need to break because sometimes it has to solve the musical problems you’re wrestling with. If I go too long without walking, I get cranky in the same way that I get cranky if I go too long without composing. I’m really bad about taking the breaks, but I’ve learned through the years to make sure I do it because it actually helps the music.

What is the conversation that you would like to see amongst contemporary composers that maybe is a different conversation than the one that happens when contemporary works are sandwiched with the works by composers from anywhere from 100 or more years ago? 

I’m not sure how to answer that because I’m always on with older works. One of the things I have noticed when I attend concerts [is] the concerts that seem to be drawing more people are the ones that have some contemporary music on it. I’m not sure what shifted during the pandemic, but something did, and I can tell from quite a few of the concerts I have been to have been sold out. A lot of times I see orchestras just doing the same pieces over and over again, the audiences are shrinking.

One of the things I encounter a lot is the number of people who come up to me and say, “Oh my God, I’m so glad to see a woman on the program.” I didn’t realize how much it meant to other people. I just am writing the music. But other people take it as my voice is heard from the orchestral stage. I think that’s more important than a lot of people may realize because it makes it more relevant in the community. 

I always think of using music now to pull people in to hear an event or something that’s unusual and then program something else on that you really like. I fear that the audience is going to drop off too much. I think LA [Philharmonic] is doing an amazing job balancing that. It may be the orchestra that’s doing it probably better than anyone else.

You works get performed a lot around the world. You’re right up there with Phillip Glass and John Adams. Let’s say you’re in rarified air.

I’m lucky. I have like 250 performances a year, so I get pieces that are just repeated much more than Mozart or Beethoven ever heard in their lifetime. That’s actually an incredible, miraculous thing when I think about it.

I think that more people will get more performances if artistic administrators were looking around, were aware of more composers coming up. It’s ironic. I’m talking to you in L.A. The L.A. Phil is literally the last major orchestra in the United States who has not done my music. I think I’ve worked probably with 700 or 800 orchestras around the world. But the L.A. Phil is literally the only one that I’ve not had a performance with and I get asked about that now all the time. It’s unusual because [1999’s] Blue Cathedral, we’ve had 800 orchestras do that piece and even that hasn’t been in L.A. I’m sure it’ll get corrected in the next couple of years. 

Edith Wharton is quoted as having said, “The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.” How does the air of ideas inspire you as you move forward throughout your career?

It seems to me like anyone who is creative just lives in the era of ideas. Although I do know a lot of composers who struggle. If you’re able to actually write every day that tends to make the air produce more ideas. But I think you have to always be thinking. A lot of times people only get to work some small amount of time on a job. I think it’s hard to kind of air out the laundry and and get fresh ideas in what you’re doing. So it’s interesting. I know that’s a really good question. Isn’t that applicable to anyone doing anything creative, though?

Without that air and without those ideas, we’re stuck.

We’d be dead. It would not be an interesting world. Even the kids would come up with some cool idea of how to skateboard in a different way or something that’s also living in the air of ideas. That’s literally having your ideas fly through the air. But let’s look at the Wright brothers. Those are radical ideas. Same for astronauts and NASA. But I also realize that someone is cleaning a floor somewhere and they’re going, you know, there’s probably a better way to do this. The idea of raising kids, it takes constant creativity, always thinking. So I guess that quote is factual and is applicable to every human being that crosses this planet.

To see the full interview with Jennifer Higdon, please go here.

To learn more about The Elements, please go here.

Main Photo: Jennifer Higdon (Courtesy JenniferHigdon.com)

The post Composer Jennifer Higdon Lives in the Air of Ideas appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

The list begins with performances that have specific dates and start times. After those listings are performances you can discover at your leisure with their end dates included.

Here are my Classical Best Bets for the Holidays:

Bang on a Can Marathon 2020 – December 22nd – January 1st

For classical music fans who like very contemporary composition, you won’t want to miss this marathon streaming of all 90+ performances that were part of the four Bang on a Can Marathons this year.

Bang on a Can’s marathon presented 31 world premieres during their online festivals held in May, June, August and October of this year. If you didn’t catch the marathons as they happened, you ordinarily wouldn’t get a second chance to view them. Now you can.

You can also catch all of the other performances which include pianist/composer Vijay Iyer; works by John Adams, Philip Glass, Ted Hearne, Missy Mazzoli and Steve Reich; pianists Jeremy Denk and Conrad Tao; composer/musician Tyshawn Sorey and dozens more. The complete list is on the event’s website.

There is no charge to view these performances. However, Bang on a Can is encouraging donations.

New York String Orchestra – Carnegie Hall – December 24th – 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST

A fifty-year traditions continues with this popular Christmas eve concert that finds the young musicians of the New York String Orchestra performing with established soloists. This year they are joined by pianist Emanuel Ax.

Jaime Loredo conducts. Not much is known about the program, but half-a-century of this tradition means they must be on to something. There’s no charge to watch this concert.

Peter and the Wolf – Teatro alla Scala – December 25th – 5:00 AM EST/2:00 AM PST

You’ll have to be up late or get up early if you want to experience this Christmas Day concert from Milan’s legendary Teatro alla Scala, but it will be worth it. And for those restless kids eager to see what Santa brought them, they’ll enjoy this, too.

Eun Sun Kim leads the La Scala Orchestra in a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. Mozart’s Concerto in A Major K. 622 for clarinet and orchestra will also be played with Fabrizio Meloni on bass clarinet.

Illustrations are part of the presentation of Peter and the Wolf.

The concert will stream on Teatro alla Scala’s website and also on their Facebook and YouTube channels.

Salute to Vienna and Budapest New Year’s Concert – December 27th – January 3rd

In a newly-filmed concert in Europe, operettas and waltzes are on the program. This Salute to Vienna and Budapest has been annual tradition for 25 years.

The concert has three premiere performances on December 27th: 5:30 PM EST/2:30 PM PST; 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST and 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST.

Tickets are $20 and that allows for re-streaming the concert to your heart’s content through January 3rd.

United in Song: Celebrating the Resilience of America – PBS Great Performances – December 31st 

In this concert airing on PBS soprano Jamie Barton, violinist Joshua Bell, opera singers Renée Fleming and Denyce Graves, Josh Groban, Juanes, R&B legend Patti LaBelle, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, 6-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet perform. The theme is celebrating Americans and their strength that has been required of us all throughout 2020. 

The concert was filmed at Mount Vernon and the Kennedy Center and opens with LaBelle singing Lady Marmalade. She also closes the concert and everything in between is a total delight.

As with all PBS programming, check your local listings for exact broadcast times. 

The Carnival of the Animals & Eine kleine Nachtmusik – Teatro alla Scala – January 1st – 5:00 AM EST/2:00 AM PST

Once again, the early riser or night owl will be able to watch this concert from Milan’s Teatro alla Scala.

As with their Christmas Day concert, Eun Sun Kim leads the La Scala orchestra. On the program are Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals and Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik.

The concert will stream on Teatro alla Scala’s website and also on their Facebook and YouTube channels.

Live with Carnegie Hall at Home – Carnegie Hall – Available now

If you haven’t taken a look at Carnegie Hall’s Live with series, luckily it’s still available for streaming. Amongst their guests during the year have been The Kronos Quartet, a celebration of violinist Isaac Stern; pianist Daniil Trifonov; pianist Emanuel Ax; cellist Alisa Weilerstein; violinist Joshua Bell and more.

Each program runs approximately one hour. There are also sessions with opera singers, Broadway stars, folk singers, conductors, world music singers and cabaret stars.

While you’re there you might want to check out their 2020 Opening Night Gala which combines new interviews and performances with archival footage from the venerable hall’s long history.

Los Angeles Philharmonic Watch & Listen – LA Phil – Available now

In addition to their Sound/Stage performances (click on the link built into Sound/Stage to read details on that series), the Los Angeles Philharmonic has a lot more to discover on their website.

Amongst the highlights are pianist Yuja Wang performing the first movement of John Adams’ Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? from a November 2019 concert; Thomas Ades’ Darkness Visible performed by LA Phil pianist Joanna Pearce Martin; timpanist Joseph Pereria performing Magnificent Obsession, a piece he wrote inspired by Buzz Aldrin’s experience on the moon; violinist Gabriela Peña-Kim performing Eugène Ysaÿe’s Obsession and more.

There’s plenty to entertain you and there’s no charge to watch the videos. If you haven’t watched Sound/Stage, I strongly encourage you to do so.

Handel’s Messiah – Oratorio Society of New York – Now – January 10th

Every year since 1874 the Oratorio Society of New York has performed the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah for the holidays. In spite of the pandemic, they are presenting a virtual version to keep that tradition alive.

Kent Tritle conducts chorus, orchestra, and soloists Susanna Phillips, Heather Petrie, Joshua Blue, and Sidney Outlaw in a safely-performed and filmed concert.

Oratorio Society of New York received a Grammy nomination earlier this year for Best Choral Performance for their recording Sanctuary Road.

There is no charge to watch this performance.

Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus – The Philharmonia Orchestra of London – Available Now

In February of this year, the Los Angeles Philharmonic had one of their most exciting concerts when Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simon McBurney and Gerard McBurney collaborated on The Weimar Republic: Salonen Conducts The Seven Deadly Sins.

Salonen and Gerard McBurney have once again collaborated on a concert. The Philharmonia Orchestra of London is performing Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus.

Most concertgoers are familiar with the work’s overture; far fewer are familiar with the complete score Beethoven composed for this ballet that had its world premiere in Vienna in 1801.

McBurney has written a new script for this concert. There will be animation by Hillary Leben whose work has been seen in performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Silk Road Ensemble and more.

When you add that the narration will be performed by Stephen Fry, what else do you need?

The link takes you directly to The Philharmonia Orchestra of London’s YouTube page where this performance can be seen for free.

Throughline: San Francisco Symphony From Hall to Home – San Francisco Symphony – Now available

This ambitious and exciting concert features performances of works by John Adams, Ludwig van Beethoven, Kev Choice, Ellen Reid and presents the world premiere of Throughline by Nico Muhly.

Joining Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen for this program are soprano Julia Bullock; composer/guitarist Bryce Dessner; Muhly on piano and conducting; bassist Esperanza Spalding and more.

Reid’s Fear/Release opens the nearly one-hour program. That is followed by Adams’ Shaking and Trembling from Shaker Loops; Movements by Choice; Beethoven’s Allegro con brio from String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Opus 95 and the concert concludes with Throughline.

There is no charge to watch this concert.

Jeremy Denk Recital – 92nd Street Y – Now available

If you didn’t get a chance to see pianist Jeremy Denk‘s recital from Caramoor in October, he’s performed the same program from New York’s 92nd Street Y earlier this month and it is still available for streaming.

The program is scheduled to include: Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C Minor, K 457; Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins’s The Battle of Manassas; Joplin/Chauvin’s Heliotrope Bouquet; Tania León’s Ritual; Frederic Rzewski’s Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No 32 in C Minor, Op. 111.

You’ll get two classical period compositions, ragtime, the work of a young Black man during The Civil War and the work of two contemporary composers. How’s that for diverse?

Tickets are $15.

Those are my dozen recommendations for Classical Music Best Bets for the Holidays. I also have recommendations for Dance, Jazz and Musicals/Cabaret if you want even more choices.

Enjoy the music and the season.

Photo: Yosemite Trees (Photo by Craig L. Byrd)

The post Classical Music Best Bets for the Holidays appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

This weekend’s selections include Cuban jazz, a comedy from Shakespeare (and the conclusion of the Stratford Shakespeare Film Festival), George Gershwin’s only opera, live performances by a legendary tenor, a mandolin musician who straddles the worlds of classical and jazz music and so much more.

Here are this week’s Culture Best Bets at Home: July 17th – July 19th:

Virtual Fire Island Dance Festival – July 17th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

The Fire Island Dance Festival – Dancers Responding to AIDS, was launched in 1991 by Denise Roberts Hurlin and Hernando Cortez who were both former Paul Taylor Dance Company members. Nearly three decades later the festival is taking place during another pandemic.

And due to that pandemic, has been forced to go online.

This year’s line-up has a mix of world premiere pieces and some returning favorites. All pieces are being performed and/or were filmed keeping social distancing guidelines in place. Amongst the choreographers and dancers involved are:

Tap Dancer Ayodele Casel in a new work called Oscar Joy; When the Sum Comes Out from KEIGWIN + COMPANY’s Larry Keigwin with a number of dancers performing across Fire Island; Are You Lonesome Tonight from Stephen Petronio; Weekend ’76 from Al Blackstone; Continuum from Garrett Smith and an excerpt from a work in progress from A.I.M’s Kyle Abraham.

You need to register to get the link to Fire Island Dance Festival. There is no charge, but as this is an annual fundraiser, donations are definitely encouraged.

Afro-Cuban All-Stars with Juan de Marcos – SF Jazz – July 17th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

This week’s Friday at Five from SFJazz offers up the Afro-Cuban All-Stars performing at the venue in a concert on May 3, 2019.

Juan de Marcos has lead the band since the early 1990s. His mission is to celebrate classic Cuban music. This is the orchestra that appears in the film and on the records, Buena Vista Social Club. Like any ensemble, the line-up changes over the years.

If this isn’t music that puts a smile on your face at the end of a week, I don’t know what will.

SF Jazz’s Fridays at Five requires that you sign up for either a one-month package (for all of $5) or a one-year package ($60) to access these concerts. These concerts are only available at 5:00 PM PDT.

The Taming of the Shrew – Stratford Festival – Now – August 6th

Stratford Festival’s Shakespeare Film Festival comes to a conclusion with this 2015 production of The Taming of the Shrew.

Chris Abraham directed this production of two on-again/off-again lovers who appear in the play-within-the-play. Starring as Petruchio and Katherina are Ben Carlson and Deborah Hay.

This film festival has been a great way to get familiar with Shakespeare’s plays during the past few months. Since productions remain available for three weeks, you can still catch Antony and Cleopatra and Romeo and Juliet.

Great Performances: Porgy and Bess at The Met – July 17th – Check Local Listings

DuBose Heyward’s 1925 novel, Porgy, was the inspiration for a play written by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward. That play served as the inspiration for this opera by George Gershwin with a libretto by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. Porgy and Bess had its world premiere in 1935 at Boston’s Colonial Theatre.

In the opera, Porgy (Eric Owens) lives in Charleston’s slums. He’s disabled and spends his time begging.

He is enamored with Bess (Angel Blue) and does everything he can to rescue her from an abusive lover, Crown (Alfred Walker) and a far-too-seductive drug dealer, Sportin’ Life (Frederick Ballentine.)

James Robinson directed this production at the Met Opera. His production was first seen at the English National Opera. David Robertson conducts the Met Opera Orchestra.

Anthony Tommasini, writing for the New York Times raved about the production and, in particular, its two stars:

“As Porgy, the magnificent bass-baritone Eric Owens gives one of the finest performances of his distinguished career. His powerful voice, with its earthy textures and resonant sound, is ideal for the role. His sensitivity into the layered feelings and conflicts that drive his character made even the most familiar moments of the music seem startlingly fresh. And, as Bess, the sumptuously voiced soprano Angel Blue is radiant, capturing both the pride and fragility of the character.”

Denis Matsuev plays Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Prokofiev – Medici.tv – July 17th – July 19th

In this week’s recital from Carnegie Hall Russian pianist Denis Matsuev gives the second of two recitals he performed there in 2018. This performance is from November 9th.

The program is extensive and includes five encores.

The announced program was Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in C Major, Op. 2 No. 3; Rachmaninov’s Variations on a theme by Corelli, Op. 42; Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52; Tchaikovsky’s Méditation from 18 Pieces, Op. 72 and Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, Op. 83.

The encores were Schumann’s Dreaming from Kinderszene, Op. 15; Schubert’s Impromptu No. 3 in G flat major from Four Impromptus, Op. 90, D. 899; Sibelius’ Etude from 13 Pieces for Piano, Op. 76; Scriabin’s 12th Etude in D-sharp minor from Twelve Etudes, Op. 8 and he concluded with Grieg’s In the Hall Of The Mountain King from Peer Gynt.

Amadeus – National Theatre Live – Now – July 23rd

Peter Shaffer’s play that inspired the Oscar-winning best picture of 1984, has been performed on stage many times. Amongst the memorable actors to appear as either Mozart or Salieri are Paul Scofield, Tim Curry, Ian McKellen, Peter Firth, Mark Hamill, Frank Langella, Michael Sheen and David Suchet.

In this 2016 National Theatre production directed by Michael Longhurst, those roles are played by Adam Gillen (Mozart) and Lucian Msamati (Salieri).

Longhurst came up with the idea of having an 20-person orchestra and six singers on stage to fully integrate the music into the narrative. The results, according to critics, were nothing short of amazing.

Michael Billington, writing for The Guardian, said of this idea, “What is startling about Longhurst’s production is that the band is fully integrated into the dramatic action. As Lucian Msamati’s Salieri strikes a bargain with God to live a virtuous life in exchange for fame, the onstage orchestra bow their heads in silent prayer. At other times, the players are more mutinous: when Salieri proudly refers to his opera, The Stolen Bucket, they disdain his plea to offer an excerpt. The singers are also, literally, to the fore: an adored Viennese soprano (lustrously sung by Fleur de Bray) is wheeled in on a portable dais and key moments from the operas of Salieri’s detested rival, Mozart, are played in full pomp downstage.”

Rossini’s Cinderella – SF Opera – July 17th – July 18th

Gioachino Rossini’s opera of the Cinderella story is based on Charles Perrault’s Cendrillon. The libertto, by Jacopo Ferretti, was based on two previous libretti for operas based on the same story: Charles-Guillaume Étienne’s libretto for Nicolas Isouard’s 1810 opera Cendrillon and Francesco Fiorini’s libretto for Stefano Pavesi’s 1814 opera, Agatina o La virtú premiata. La Cenerentola had its world premiere in 1817 in Rome.

The story is exactly you expect. After being relegated to chores around the house by her Stepmother and her Stepsisters, Cinderella dreams of going to the Prince’s ball. They mock her before leaving themselves for the event. Cinderella’s fairy godmother appears to make her dream a reality, but only if she returns by midnight.

This 2014 production was directed by Gregory Fortner, based on the 1969 Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production. The orchestra was lead by Jesus-López Cobos. Karine Deshayes sings the role of Cinderella.

Joshua Kosman, writing for the San Francisco Gate, said of her performance, ” …French mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes turned in a performance that grew continuously in strength and forcefulness, leading up to the big display of vocal fireworks with which Rossini caps the opera. Deshayes boasts a ripe upper register and the ability to maneuver her way through demanding passagework without breaking a sweat, and her stage demeanor suggests just the sort of inner fortitude that the character should convey.”

Jonas Kaufmann Live in Concert from Polling, Bavaria – Met Opera Stars Live in Concert – July 18th – 1:00 PM EDT/10:00 AM PDT

The Metropolitan Opera launches a new program this weekend with Met Opera Stars Live in Concert. For $20 you can get access to a live performance by one of opera’s biggest singers. You not only get access for the live event, but you can watch it as many times as you want for 12 days.

The series launches on Saturday with a recital by tenor Jonas Kaufmann who will be accompanied by pianist Helmut Deutsch. The venue is an abbey outside of Munich.

The program has been announced and will have Kaufmann singing 12 arias. He’s included works from such operas as Tosca, Carmen, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Andrea Chénier and the inevitable Nessun Dorma from Turandot.

Upcoming recitals will feature Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato, Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel and more.

Live from Lincoln Center – Lincoln Center at Home – Now Available

While researching this week’s selections, I discovered that there is a bounty of free streaming concerts from Lincoln Center currently available on their website. Here’s a quick rundown:

From the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: a concert celebrating the work of Brahms with Jessye Norman; Odyssey: The Chamber Music Society in Greece; The Chamber Music Society with Itzhak Perlman; Bach to Bach; Masters and Masterpieces; 25th Season Opening Gala; 30th Anniversary Gala; An Evening of Beethoven; The Chamber Society at Shaker Village and I Can’t Believe It’s Schoenberg.

From Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts: Cynthia Erivo in Concert; Annaleigh Ashford in Concert; Megan Hilty in Concert and Yo-Yo Ma Plays Dvorak.

From the New York Philharmonic: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel in Concert (previewed last week); Renée Fleming Sings Mozart and Strauss; Celebrating Sondheim; Itzhak Perlman plays Mendelssohn and Brahms; 9/11 Memorial Concert: A German Requiem; New York Philharmonic: Masur, Ax and Beethoven’s 5th and Symphony No. 1 with Maazel.

Not specified with a link to a particular program or venue: The Romantic Violin with Joshua Bell and Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Chris Thile Live – Caramoor – July 19th – July 20th

Bedford New York’s Caramoor has been a source of music and the arts since 1945. They have regular seasons there, but both ongoing work at the venue and the Covid crisis have them putting some performances online.

Mandolin musician Chris Thile will perform there on Saturday, July 18th. There won’t be audience, but the concert will be online the next day. Thile’s performance is being filmed and will be available for $10 for non-Caramoor members and free for members.

In addition to being a Grammy Award-winning artist, Thile is a MacArthur Fellow. He’s regularly performed across music genres and collaborated with a number of artists. Amongst those collaborators is pianist Brad Mehldau. When Thile and Mehldau were performing in Los Angeles in 2017, Mehldau told me about Thile, “I knew from hearing and seeing him that he is a true improviser – and that is what I like to do a lot. Second, his singing really affects me, and I was excited about the idea of making music with that kind of vocal expression.”

Before we close out your Best Bets at Home: July 17th – July 19th, a few reminders:

The weekend’s opera streams from the Metropolitan Opera include their 2008-2009 season of Rossini’s La Cenerentola (this is a popular weekend for Cinderella) on Friday; Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro on Saturday and Puccini’s La Bohème on Sunday.

Night of a Thousand Judys will still be available and features some terrific performances of songs made famous by Judy Garland.

That’s all for this week. I hope you enjoy your weekend and your Best Bets at Home: July 17th – July 19th.

Main photo: Angel Blue and Eric Owens in Porgy and Bess (Photo by Ken Howard/Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera)

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If you caught any of the recent Live with Carnegie Hall events (with Tituss Burgess, Ute Lemper, Emanuel Ax, Angélique Kidjo) you know that each event has a combination of conversation and performance. You also know that even if you miss the live stream, you can always catch the videos on the Live with Carnegie Hall page approximately 90 minutes after they conclude.

These three men have been performing together for years. There will be both an ease of performance and perhaps most importantly, an ease in conversation.

When I spoke to Bell last October, he told me what he finds appealing about performing chamber music versus his appearances as a soloist.

“Going in and playing Mendelsson is enjoyable, but you are there for 30 minutes and you leave and you usually have one or two rehearsals with the orchestra, but it doesn’t allow for the level of depth of rehearsal that chamber music does. I love that we can work hours and hours exploring the music and going on a tour and performing night after night and each time we work to see what we can improve.“

Bell first appeared at Carnegie Hall as a soloist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1985. Denk had his first solo recital at Carnegie Hall in 2008. Isserlis first performed at Carnegie Hall in 1993 where he gave the New York premiere performance of The Protecting Veil by Sir John Tavener. The trio first performed at Carnegie Hall together in 2006.

The current crisis obviously makes the opportunity to perform live for an audience impossible right now. So this live stream of Joshua Bell: Live with Carnegie Hall joined by Jeremy Denk and Stephen Isserlis should be quite entertaining for fans of chamber music.

Photo of Joshua Bell by Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of Carnegie Hall

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Smile came from Chaplin’s 1936 film Modern Times. It remains to this day his best-known composition and was recently used in the film Joker. But Chaplin wrote a lot more music than just this song. In fact, if you look at most of Chaplin’s films, particularly those in the sound era, you’ll find that he was the composer of each film’s score and that there were multiple songs amongst those scores.

Quint has recorded all of the standard classical music repertoire for the violin. He has made appearances with most of the best-known orchestras world-wide. Chaplin’s Smile is his 17th recording. Joshua Bell joins him for two tracks on the record. Marta Aznavoorian plays piano for the recording. Joining Quint for this concert is pianist John Novacek.

Quint created new arrangements for the thirteen tracks recorded. There are literally dozens upon dozens of compositions written by Chaplin that he could choose from. In addition to Smile there is music from Limelight, City Lights and tracks that will feel like completely new discoveries on Quint’s recording.

The concert will not be, according to the website, strictly music by Chaplin. It will also include music by Debussy, Stravinsky, Brahms, and Gershwin. Quint will perform to clips of Chaplin’s silent era films. There is also the promise of rare video footage of Chaplin conducting his orchestras in recording sessions.

Go here my interview with Quint about his project.

For tickets go here.

Photo by Isi Akahome/Courtesy of the artist’s website

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Bell is currently on a four-stop California tour with Italian pianist Alessio Bax. They begin their performances Wednesday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall before moving on to performances in Palo Alto, Davis and Oxnard.

On the cusp of turning 52 in December (and still holding to the fact he’s 51 for now), Bell is touring, he is the Music Director of the Academy of St. Martins in the Fields and he is also a father of three boys. This seemed like a perfect time to look back on his childhood, how someone like 18-year-old violinist Daniel Lozakovich can navigate similar territory as Bell did and when, if ever, Bell can have done it all.

You said in an interview on Violin Channel that if you could go back in time you would have practiced harder during your teenage years.

How challenging was it for you to balance being a teenager with being a musician?

I had a slightly unusual sort of teenager years. From the age of 12 I started getting really into music and studying at university. All of my closest friends were much older than I was. I went through the motions in high school, but I wasn’t really well understood there.

I can’t say I had a normal upbringing. I graduated high school at 16 and moved out of the house. I was young to be living on my own at 16, but I was close to my family – just ten minutes away – and  I could bring laundry over.

As far as balancing things, I was into tennis and basketball. I  was totally addicted to video games. I did waste a lot of hours when I was 13-16. My mother would drop me off at music school and I would sneak  out the back and go to the video arcade. I had my name on a lot of the games with the high score. I was a perfectionist and always wanted to do better. I did a lot of fun activities. Maybe that’s why I still love what I’m doing and I never got burned out and had that big crisis that others had.

I recently saw Daniel Lozakovich play with the LA Philharmonic the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. He earned so much applause at the end of the first movement…

If there is no applause after the 1st movement, there’s a problem. The first movement is an entity in itself. It ends so bombastically it seems ridiculous not to clap.

…Esa-Pekka Salonen was conducting and had to tell the audience there was more to come. But what I’m wondering is how do you handle that kind of attention and not let it overcome you, particularly now in the social media age?

If you are really sensitive, and we all are as musicians because you are baring your soul on stage – or at least you should be. Today people are brutal and cruel online. They hide behind their computers. It’s really a phenomenon that is so destructive. For me it is difficult. I try to avoid looking at social media places where people can be mean.

For a young person it might be more difficult. But you have to have good influences around you that balance the right amount of praise with the right amount of constructive criticism. 

When did you as a performer realize you had moved from knowing how to play a piece to knowing why you were playing a piece? In other words, where your level of maturity caught up to the work of the composer?

There’s no beginning or end to that. It’s a constant process. There’s never knowing a piece. Maybe because of my teachers, particularly Josef Gingold, it was never just about playing the piece, it was always about getting to the emotional content of the piece. It’s always cute when I talk to very young kids and I say, “Have you done the Bruch concerto?” And they respond, “Oh I’ve done that.” As if they’ve learned it, but they haven’t quite understood that this is an ongoing process. It’s a constant evolution about how you think about a piece. That’s why we play classical music, because it presents endless challenges. It’s never boring. You can always find new ways and it strikes you in different ways each time.

You’ve spent time lately playing more chamber music as you will this week with Alessio Bax. How do these concerts challenge you in ways being a soloist with an orchestra does not?

Going in and playing Mendelssohn is enjoyable, but you are there for 30 minutes and you leave. You usually have one or two rehearsals with the orchestra, but it doesn’t allow for the level of depth of rehearsal that chamber music does. I love that I can work hour and hours exploring the music and going on a tour and performing night after night. Each time we work to see what we can improve.

Violinist Jascha Heifetz said, “There is no top. There are always further heights to reach.” What further heights do you want to reach?

Of course he’s right. I’ve never heard that quote from him. If there was a top, he was pretty close. For me it is just as personal.  For me it is expanding my repertoire. I would like to get into doing more composing. I write all my own cadenzas for the major violin concertos and I’ve been doing arrangements.  I’m kind of a wannabe composer and that’s what I want to explore in the next decades. Life is a little bit too short or a lot too short that we can’t do all the things we want. That’s something, as I am getting older, I’m more aware of than when I was younger. I won’t  get to do everything I want to do.

Main photo of Joshua Bell by David Bazemore

All photos courtesy of Joshua Bell

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Bell has been playing the violin professionally for three decades. And somehow he still maintains a boyish appearance. But those years of experience have lead him to a worldwide career as both a musician and a Music Director (currently at the Academy of St. Martins-in-the-Fields.) If you heard and loved the soundtrack to The Red Violin, you were listening to Bell.

Bax, an Italian pianist, also began his career at a rather young age. His recordings regularly earn Gramophone Editor’s Choice selections. Bax has recorded the works of Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Bach, Scriabin and many more. He is married to pianist Lucille Chung and has recorded with her.

The program for this recital includes Schubert’s  Rondo in B minor; Franck’s Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano; Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 4 in C Minor and Ysaÿe’s Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 27, No. 3 “Ballade.” Additional selections are scheduled to be announced from the stage.

Bell will be signing CDs after the performance. Bax, who is apparently quite a foodie, will probably be having a great meal somewhere (or fixing one himself.)

Tomorrow we will have an interview with Joshua Bell. Be sure to check back for that.

For tickets go here.

Bell and Bax will also be performing at Stanford Live on November 1st, at Mondavi Arts in Davis on November 2nd and the Ventura Music Festival in Oxnard on November 3rd.

Photo of Joshua Bell by Benjamin Ealovega courtesy of Joshua Bell

Photo of Alessio Bax by Marco Borggreve courtesy of Alessiobax.com

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On the program for the concert are Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1, in D minor, Op. 49;
Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2, in E minor, Op. 67 and Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor. In the promo below they talk about also playing Rachmaninoff. Could that be the encore?

This tour marks the first time these three performers and friends have toured together. They played together on a 2016 Sony Classical recording For the Love of Brahms. They performed the Brahms Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8 on that record.

Bell & Denk recorded the music of Saint-Saëns, Ravel and Franck for their  2012 recording French Impressions.

Bell & Isserlis recorded French Chamber Music with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet for release in 2005.

Bell-Isserlis-Denk is billed as a super group of classical musicians. There have been super groups before and there will be super groups after. But this is going to be one of the finest performances of chamber music you can see this year.

The additional regional Bell-Isserlis-Denk Trio tour dates include May 7th at the Granada Theatre at UC Santa Barbara. May 9th at the Renée & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa and May 12th at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco

For tickets at The Soraya go here.

Photo of Joshua Bell, Jeremy Denk and Steven Isserlis by Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of The Soraya

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Photo Credit:  Chris Lee

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