Two wretches......

The “Music on the Hill” series closed out its year with a program that included Schubert’s Piano Trio in B flat major and Arensky’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor.  The performers were violinists Helen Kim, cellist Charae Krueger, and pianist Robert Henry.  All three are from Kennesaw State University. 

As with other performances in this series, the performers were technically skilled and they played beautifully together.  Henry is top-notch; he plays with subtle nuance and manages to shake the wobbly piano with his firm touch.  Both Kim and Krueger have a beautiful tone.  Kim tends toward a limited vibrato, but nevertheless has a warm sound that is enhanced in Northside Baptist’s great acoustics.   One of the advantages of a trio is that all of the instruments have their sound boards facing the listener.  This makes for a big sound that demonstrates how powerful three musical performers can be.

Schubert was a master of beautiful melodies.  The first movement is full of ideas and creativity.  It is a whirlwind of material.  The second movement showcases the cello to great effect.  The third movement Scherzo has a lovely waltz-like quality.  The final movement is a fast-paced high energy closing.  This music was well served by the performers. 

Arensky is a late romantic composer who was trained by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky.  Yet, the former suggested that Arensky had a paucity of original style and would not be remembered.  To some degree that is true.   Aside from this trio, he is most well known for his Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky for string orchestra.  As soon as the trio began there was little doubt that this was Russian music- it has broad melody and intense emotion.  From time to time, folk-like melodies were apparent.  This is wonderfully intense music that is heart-felt and, at times, sad.  It was played with appropriate passion and élan. 

It is hypothesized that Schubert died of typhus made worse by syphilis, and Arensky died of tuberculosis exacerbated by his alcoholism.  Their suffering probably added to the greatness of these two works. 

Schubert was eloquent about his suffering:

  In a word, I feel myself the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world.  Imagine a man whose health will never be right again, and who in sheer despair over this ever makes things worse and worse, instead of better; imagine a man, I say, whose most brilliant hopes have perished, to whom the happiness of love and friendship have nothing to offer but pain, at best, whose enthusiasm (at least of the stimulating kind) for all things beautiful threatens to disappear, and I ask you, is he not a miserable, unhappy being?

This was a very satisfying way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  The fall will bring a return of this rewarding chamber series.

For more information or to make a donation, send an e-mail to MOTHatNorthsideDrive@gmail.com.  Check out the website at www.musiconthehill.info. 

Not uniformly successful.....

The Atlanta Ballet presented a program including;

Moments of Dis, with choreography by Juel D. Lane and Music by Quentin Johnson

The Man in Black, with choreography by James Kudelka and music by Johnny Cash

1^st Flash, with choreography by Jorma Elo and music by Jean Sibelius

The performance was at the Cobb Energy Center.  The music for the performance was recorded and the sound system at Cobb was superb.

The Lane piece is explained on the website www.UrbanLuxMagazine.com thusly:

     (Lane)…brings his own personal experiences to “Moments Of Dis” and says “I was really fascinated with the prefix dis and how we use it in our lives and not realize that we are using it in expressions such as dis-combobulated, dis-ciplined or dis-illusioned. I wanted to bring these expressions to dance in a non-literal way.”

     “Moments of Dis” will speak to the soul and is accompanied by music from composer Quentin “EQ” Johnson who Juel recognizes as a great talent and friend.

This inspiration was also described in a short film that was presented prior to the performance.  That was a nice touch, but it would have also been helpful to have it in the program guide, which is, to put it kindly, sparse.  The piece consisted of about four sections each with its own differing mood based on Johnson’s music.  The dancers were fine, but a few lines were ragged and disorganized.  Health Gil, however, was a particular standout.  He is a strong dancer with long extensions and sharp and incisive moves.   I am not sure what all of it had to do with the use of the prefix “dis” but I take the choreographer’s word that it does. 

The Man in Black piece is “… a celebration of American working-class grit and of the man whose gravelly voice embodied it so movingly…” according to the program notes.  The piece consisted for Cash singing covers of the music of others, including the Beatles, Gordon Lightfoot, Trent Reznor, and Ian Tyson.  I am not sure why Cash’s own music was not incorporated into the piece. The staging was simple with four dancers dressed in dark colors against a black background.  Granted the piece is about a man in black, but it would have been an asset to have some contrast to the backdrop in order to appreciate the dancer’s movements a bit better.  The dancers were dressed in western wear, including cowboy boots. 

At times, I actually saw some relationship between the dancing and the music, but not often.  The most effective piece for me was Tyson’s “Four Strong Winds.”  This is a beautiful song and one that Neil Young credits for piquing his interest in a music career.  Here, the dances tapped their boots on the floor in rhythm to the music.  This was very effective and in fact, one of the dancers had to do the tapping while walking backwards, which must have been very difficult.   At intermission, two patrons asked me if the next piece was going to be happier.  I said that I didn’t know, but asked if they liked the piece.  One said the dancers were great but that she didn’t understand how the choreography related to the music.  I had no explanation.  One also commented about how sad the piece was.  I could only agree.

The final piece was Jorma Elo’s choreography set to Sibelius’ violin concerto.  The set was again stark, but there was a hanging light that looked ever so much like one of the monoliths from “2001, A Space Odessey.”  There was also an arc of LED light at the back of the stage.  Sibelius’ music is always beautiful, but also bleak- it was inspired by the sometimes harsh and cold Finnish landscape.   I liked this work a lot.  It showed the dancer’s talent for constantly moving and stretching.  There did seem to be a match of the choreography to the intensity and feeling of the music.  My only criticism is that I think the lighting could have been used to greater effect.  The monolith only moved up and down and its lighting was fairly unfocused so that it did not add drama or excitement to any of the choreography.  It would have been even more effective if it could have moved about the stage, having different angles, and heights.  It could have provided great shadows and highlights, adding to the drama, and maybe even the anxiety of the piece.  But then, they didn’t ask me to do the staging.

This was a program that was variably successful.  One major drawback was that the intermissions were as long, or longer, than the pieces, which broke up the program a bit too much.  The pieces were variably successful.  I like the Elo, but the others simply didn’t rise to anything other than adequate.  But the dancers were uniformly wonderful. 

A hair band.....

he asks me why
I'm just a hairy guy
I'm hairy noon and night
Hair that's a fright
I'm hairy high and low
Don't ask me why
Don't know
It's not for lack of break
Like the Grateful Dead
Darling
(source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/)

On March 22, 2012, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra presented a program that included:

Mozart: Violin Concerto No 3 in G major

Mozart: Symphony No. 34 in C major

Beethoven: Symphony No. 34. in B-flat major

The Concerto featured Leonidas Kavakos in the dual role of soloist and conductor.  Mr. Kavakos also conducted the other two works.  This review will only discuss the Mozart pieces.  Because I love the hyperbole of artist-supplied biographies here is the description of Mr. Kavalos from the ASO Encore Magazine:  Leonida Kavakos has established himself as a violinist and artists of rare quality, known at the highest levels for his virtuosity, superb musicianship, and the integrity of his playing.”   At the highest levels?  Huh?

The program was made up of the standard repertory.  The ASO can probably play this music decently with just a metronome at the helm.  But it Mr. Kavalos did not even supply that.  He was quite accomplished as soloist.  His tone was measured and he seemed to play with precision and elegance.  His conducting of the piece consisted of waving his bow when he wasn’t playing.  The waving had little to do with what was going on and it mostly focused on the first violins.  Again, with this standard repertory maybe more wasn’t needed.

In the Mozart Symphony No. 34, Mr. Kavalos showed a rather odd conducting style.  He seemed to be acting out the music.  If the hall was dark and he held glow sticks in his hand, I would think I was watching one of those lighting set-ups in dance clubs where the color and intensity of the lights changes with the music.  His focused seemed to be on dynamics, especially for the first violins, although he also liked to prompt the entries of the woodwinds.  The performance was elegant and beautiful.  The ASO strings and reeds really sounded wonderful.  Whether Mr. Kavalos added to this, I am not sure.  But at least he did not get in the way.

 

Mr. Kavalos has long, shoulder length hair.  He had black facial stubble, and he wore a black outfit, the top of which reminded me of an old smoking jacket, or worse, a pair of pajamas.  These of course are not important- I must say that lest I seem shallow.  But his presentation tended to underline my belief that he is a relaxed (maybe even lazy) conductor.  But we must remember he is known at the highest levels for his virtuosity. 

Still basking in the glow of my trip to Vienna, I am reminded how different European orchestras sound.  Some of the continent’s music critics describe American orchestras as too bright and even vulgar sounding.  The ASO certainly did sound bright compared to the Vienna Philharmonic.  I think that the acoustical environment has something to do with it, but not totally.  I think we do tend to like our music big and bright, with sharp and colorful brass.  I know I do.  But that does not make European orchestras small and colorless- just different sounding.  European music critics have their own kind of provincialism.   Fortunately, I have none of that. 

Plan It

For a calendar of arts events in the Atlanta area, be sure to check out www.atlantaplanit.com.  This is a handy guide to all things music-, dance-, theater-, art-related in the Atlanta area.  Its a handy reminder, also, of how much there is to see and hear in the city and surrounding communities.  

Don't forget this weekend.....

Plan to attend the "Music on the Hill"  series at the Northside Baptist Church featuring Violinist Helen Kim, cellist Charae Krueger and pianist Robert Henry performing Schubert's "Piano Trio in B Flat Major" and Arensky's "Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor." This is a great series in a great venue.  

Robert Spano on community

http://tedxatlanta.com/videos/03132012-community/robert-spano/

A haunting rendition of L. Cohen's Hallelujah from Salzburg

Video has been slightly compressed, so the quality has been affected a bit.

A Celtic harp in Salzburg

Some passionate street musicians in Vienna

And beautiful music....

More, but compressed:

Sir Simon Rattle (or at least his hair) walking in Salzburg

Vivaldi's Four Seasons at St. Anna's Church Vienna

Played by the Vienna Concertante Ensemble

A bit of humor....

Some humor about classical music: http://www.adaptistration.com/toons/3-18-2012/

Trouble in paradise....

The Minnesota Orchestra seems to be going through some of the financial and artistic pains that other orchestras are experiencing.  The notion that 'Pops" concerts are the primary rescue plan for many orchestras is chilling.  Let's hope that the dire predictions here do not come to pass for one of America's great orchestras. http://www.insidethearts.com/sticksanddrones/2012/03/17/billeddins/3672/

On the web...

Check out the evolving scandal concerning plagiarism and missed deadlines involving Osvaldo Golijov, a member of the "Atlanta School of Composers." http://www.philly.com/philly/insights/143593326.html

Recent Atlanta Symphony Programming- a nice change

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has programmed some interesting and challenging music over the last month.  The first was the Nielsen Symphony No. 5.  This symphony is not often heard in US concert halls but its performance in Atlanta enabled concertgoers to hear something that is a bit edgier than Nielsen’s contemporaries Rachmaninov, Sibelius, Elgar, etc.  It was a good choice also to counterbalance the sometimes syrupy Grieg concerto that was also on the program.  Maestro Spano also presented a new staging of the Bach St. Matthew Passion.  While I only say the first half, I appreciated a presentation that was more than four soloists sitting in front of the orchestra.  It was not cutting edge music theater but it was a new direction for an old work.  Thanks to the ASO and Mr. Spano for this kind of new and challenging programming. 

Vienna: Musical Nirvana

I explored the area around my apartment in Vienna the first night of my arrival.  I wanted to be sure I knew where the Konzerthaus was in order to be timely for the Vienna Philharmonic concert the following day.  On the route was the legendary Vienna Opera House.  A brief history of the Opera House appears at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_State_Opera.   Out of curiosity, I looked at the list of upcoming events, and, lo and behold, the Staatsballett was scheduled to perform that very evening a program of works choreographed by Balanchine and Robbins.   And what, you asked, was the program?  To my surprise and joy, the very first piece was scheduled to be Philip Glass’ Glass Pieces.  So I purchased a ticket and began to experience this grand building.  The lobbies and lounges are magnificent.  There are a myriad of coffee and champagne bars to wonder through, each with designs ranging from baroque to art deco to mid-century modern.  It was a treat just seeing these beautiful interiors.  I was seated in the top balcony and my seat was only slightly off the center of the row.  The almost circular auditorium is beautiful in red and gold.  The hall had been remodeled after the destruction of World War II and it retains that mid-century look.    

  

The Vienna State Opera Orchestra, under the direction of Peter Ernst Larsen, began playing.  The actual Glass pieces played were Rubric, Facades, and excerpts from Akhnaten.    Glass is one of my favorite composers and it was thrilling to hear his music played by one of the world’s premiere orchestras and to see it performed by one of the world’s premiere ballet companies.  The choreography by Balanchine is also in a class by itself.  Hearing familiar music transposed to different instruments can lead to hearing the music “with new ears.”  I know Glass’ work as played by his ensemble, which tends to rely on amplified instruments.  His music was even more beautiful played by a traditional orchestra, although it did include an electronic keyboard.  The orchestral version softens the music’s hard edges and allows its complexity and melody to be highlighted.  The choreography is typical Balanchine- it uses the dance to represent the music much like fountains that are synchronized to music.  The Vienna dancers were wonderful.  Rubric had a wonderful group of soloists including Masayu Kimoto who had some of the longest arm extensions I have ever seen.  Balanchine’s choreography is kinetic and sometimes the dancers would lose their line, which is easy to see from the balcony.  The excerpts from Akhnaten, driven as they are by two drums, were sizzling.  The orchestra’s percussionists were a treat to watch; there arms movements were large and flexible.  The entire performance was top-flight. 

The second piece was “In the Night” choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The beautiful nocturnes of Chopin were played on the solo piano by Igor Zapravdin.  This was an elegant ballet performed by three pairs of dancers.  All were technically grand and beautiful to watch.

The third piece was Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto.   The soloist was none other than Rainer Honeck, brother of Pittsburgh Symphony Music Director Manfred Honeck.  Rainer is concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic and also a noted soloist.  His performance here seemed to be note perfect.  At times, the orchestra seemed to overwhelm him, but I suspect that is the conductor’s fault.  Again Balanchine’s choreography provided a visual representation of the music through constantly moving dancers.  One of the dancers fell but was so quick to regain his footing that he did not miss a beat. 

The final piece, again choreographed by Balanchine was Theme and Variation, based on Tchaikovsky’s Orchestral Suite No. 3.  Of note, the costumes were designed by Christian Lacroix.  Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music was made even more wonderful by the rich and elegant playing of the Staatsoper Orchestra.  The dancers performed skillfully, but again lines were a problem.  There was one corps member who seemed chronically to a fraction of a beat behind her compatriots, thus causing her frequently to be slightly in the wrong place, which can play havoc with ensemble. 

This was a wonderful performance overall and I could not have enjoyed it more. 

The following day I attended a concert by the Vienna Philharmonic at the also legendary Weiner Konzerthaus.  It was a cold and blustery day, with a gray overcast sky.  I ate an overpriced breakfast at the Museum Café but the Earl Gray tea warmed me up for the walk.  The Konzerthaus is a sprawling building  (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Konzerthaus).  It has about 1800 seats.  The lobby of the building is not very impressive, except for its size.  The shoe-box-shaped auditorium is resplendent in red and gold, with large crystal chandeliers.  My seat was in the balcony, with excellent sight lines and no overhang.   Because of the shape of the hall, there are side boxes that seem odd to me, given that I am used to the typical American theater-style seating.  To see from these boxes requires turning the head or the chair to see.  It seems not that comfortable to me, but this shape of auditorium produces some of the finest acoustics to be had.  The program was conducted by wunderkind Yannick Nezet-Seguin, the incoming music director of the Philadelphia orchestra.  For about Nezet-Seguin, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yannick_N%C3%A9zet-S%C3%A9guin.  The program began with Brahms Piano Concert No. 1, featuring Helene Grimaud as soloist.  The second work on the program was Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony “Pathetique.”  Grimaud recently accompanied the Pittsburgh Symphony on its European tour. 

The stage of the Konzerthaus remained empty until the concertmaster appeared, followed by each member of the orchestra.  As they entered, there was sustained applause.  In Vienna, the players are accorded great respect, and they deserve it.  It also means that the orchestra doesn’t sit on stage tuning and practicing, creating the racket that American orchestras do.  I like the Viennese approach much better.  The sound of the Vienna Philharmonic is warm, golden, and smooth.  I noticed that the floor of the Konzerthaus vibrated sympathetically to the orchestra, which may help account for some of the warmth, but there is no doubt that the orchestra deserves its reputation as probably the best in the world.    Ms. Grimaud, who incidentally is a very handsome woman, appeared on stage in a very stylish jacket and slacks.  The Brahms was beautifully played, both by the Philharmonic and by Ms. Grimaud.  My only complaint is that the second movement adagio was played at a snail’s pace.  It seemed to be without momentum.  That slow tempo, combined with the excessive temperature in the auditorium and my jet lag, made my head bob a bit.  That is painful to admit!  The rousing finale helped make up for the languorous second movement.  The audience applauded vigorously in response to the performance, and Grimaud reciprocated with the love with a brief encore.

As an aside, as I type this, Nezet-Sequin is conducting  Bruckner’s Symphony  9 on Radioio Classical (http://www.radioio.com/channels/classical/?rp=genre/classical-jazz).

Back to Vienna- the Tchaikovsky 6 is one of those works that I have heard so many times that it is no longer on my top-ten list.  As a result, I was not particularly excited about hearing it.  But to my great surprise, this was a stellar performance.  Nezet-Seguin provided an insightful performance that did not get bogged down in hyper-emotionality, which can happen to this work. NS kept the first three movements focused on hope, and longing, and fearlessness.  He did not let them become depressive or overly foreboding.   The final movement is very dark, sad, and hopeless, even though in this dismal landscape a bit of light shines from time to time.   For me, this movement has a touch of the hysteric in it so for it to be successful it requires that the conductor not be caught up in the theatrical emotionality thereby avoiding having the music seem like it needs electro-shock therapy.  NS brought dignity to the music, which made its sadness ring true but without hysteria.  The audience was thunderous in response.  NS was called back to the stage numerous times.  He deserved it.  My only quibble with the performance was a blooper in the trumpets.  Big deal!

I attended a concert at St. Anna Kirche by the Vienna Concertante.  This string quintet performed the complete Vivaldi Four Seasons.  St. Anna’s dates back to 1320 and is a stunningly beautiful Baroque church (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Anne's_Church,_Vienna).   It was a wonderful venue for this music.  It is highly reverberant and added warmth to the performance.  This was an absolutely first-class, stunning, delightful, wonderful, amazing, etc., etc., performance.  I would return to hear this in a heartbeat.  I have posted some excerpts from the event. 

As luck would have, the Staatsoper was performing Pucinni’s “Madam Butterfly.”   I checked at the box office and tickets were about $150.  Ugh.  There were street hawkers who were offering seats for about $15. I took the risk of buying one knowing that there was probably a catch.  Indeed there was.  I was in a box, but my seat was located such that if I sat down, I could not see the stage!  So, I stood.  It was worth it.  It still boggles my mind to think that I was hearing an opera at the world’s premier opera venue.  The cast included:

·         Svetla Vassileva | Cio-cio-san, Butterfly

·         Marco Caria | Sharpless

·         Aura Twarowska | Suzuki

·         Herwig Pecoraro | Goro

·         Hans Peter Kammerer | Yamadori

·         Lydia Rathkolb | Kate Pinkerton

·         Alexandru Moisiuc | Onkle Bonze

·         Hans Peter Kammerer | Der kaiserliche Kommissär

I believe that there was a substitution for the Pinkerton character.  I did not catch his name, but more of him later.  The staging of this performance was beautiful.  The sets were remarkable and so much more lavish than the recent Atlanta Opera performance of Madame Butterfly.   This a tragic opera about a callow American naval officer who takes advantage of Chinese-marriage law and marries a sweet young woman, only to ultimately leave her with his child.  He eventually returns with his new American wife, seeking custody of his and Cio-cio-san’s young son.  This is American exceptionalism at it worst.  It does not end happily!  The singing and performances were great.  My only hesitation was that Ms. Vassileva was a bit long in the tooth to play the young Chinese woman.  I could even see that from my perch.  The person who performed as Lt. Pinkerton had a weak tenor voice that had a difficult time rising about the orchestra.  His mannerisms were perfect for the young officer, but he simply didn’t have the voice to be convincing.  During curtain calls, he seemed only to want to get off the stage.  Maybe he felt he was weak also.  Nevertheless, this was an inspiring performance.

I went to see Ballet Revolucion the last night of my stay in Vienna.  I was already mourning having to leave the heart of classical music so I decided I had to see one more performance.   Ballet Revolucion is a Cuban-based dance company (see: http://www.balletrevolucion.com/australia/home).  The dancers in this group are so strong, both technically and physically, that their performance is a non-stop rush of energy.  They use classical ballet techniques while dancing to popular and Cuban-influenced jazz (or is it jazz-influenced Cuban music?).   The music included works by Beyonce, Prince,  Bob Marley and others.  

These dancers are large and even the women are substantial, but none have an ounce of body fat.  A particular stand out was Jesus Elias Almenares.  In one of the number, he had his back to the audience.  He took off his shirt and every muscle in his back was clearly visible.  He gave new meaning to being “ripped.”  Another standout was Moises Leon Noriega.  He too was muscular, especially in his legs.  The women were equally strong: Idania La Villa Palenzuela, Babara Patterson Sanchez, Lianett Rodriguez Gonzalez. And Jenny Sosa Martinez.  This was a high energy performance that energized the audience and sent me into the night with excitement.  Do not hesitate to see this group.  They probably can’t appear in the US- it is definitely our loss.

I have a few final observations.  Vienna is alive with music nearly every night and it will be even more so in the warm months.  The same can be said of Budapest.  There are musicians everywhere to be seen- on the streets and in the theaters.  The audiences are made up of a broad range of ages and races.  That is certainly a contrast to audiences in the US.  New music is greeted with the same enthusiasm as old masterworks.  These are great musical centers that will carry on the great Euro-centric tradition of classical music.  

Another triumph on the hill...... (pardon the bad sound)

The Music on the Hill series presented another wonderful concert at Northside Baptist Church.  The artists were Charae Krueger,cello, and Robert Henry, piano.  The concert began with Beethoven's 12 Variations on a theme from Handel's "Judas Maccabaeus."  For anyone who has worked the Suzuki system with their children, this theme is very familiar.  The Variations is a fairly early work of Beethoven's and it contains many baroque references.  As the piece progressed it became more interesting and the soloists seemed to enjoy it.  It was great to hear this music so well played.  Krueger and Henry play well together- their balances seem to be on target and neither drowns out the other.

Three Works for Piano comprised the second section of the program.  Prokofiev's Prelude in C Major began the set.  Robert Henry played the music authoritatively.  Ravel's Jeux d'eau followed.  It  was clear from the outset that Henry is a master of the keyboard.  His fingers skillfully traversed the keyboard, which is essential in this piece.  Ravel included many runs that included the very highest notes on the piano.  Henry never missed the proverbial beat.  Prokofiev's Scherzo and March from "The Love for Three Oranges" was next.  This is familiar music, even if the listener can not quite place where it was heard. It has appeared in the soundtrack of several cartoons, for example.  The orchestral version is rich, in part because of Prokofiev's strong orchestration.  Henry's command of his instrument enabled him to bring the same kind of color with just his keyboard.  Henry closed this section with his composition called "Waltz", based on a theme by Chet Akins.

The final portion of the of the first half of the concert was Chopin's Polonaise Brillante.  Again, Henry was in top form and provided a rich and powerful performance.

The second half of the concert featured Chopin's Cello sonata in G minor.  This is a stunning exploration of the composer's despair over his separation from George Sand.  The piece begins with heart achingly beautiful music that reflects the composer's loss and subsequent pain.  The second movement, in ABA form, begins with an angry waltz followed by more music about love lost, with a final return to the hard-edged waltz. The thisr movement is a gentle reflection of the composer's feelings, as if time had almost healed the loss, without taking the love. The final movement had a very different character.  the mood was lighter, yet always beautiful, as we expect from Chopin.  Henry and Krueger played this music so effectively.  Ms. Krueger exploits the full range of her instrument's dynamics, from pianissimo to fortissimo.  She can dig into the strings without sounding excessively growly  or out of control.  Mr. Henry again gave a standout performance. He moves easily from being an accompanist, to a soloist, to one member of the dialogue between his instrument and the cello.

This was another in the series of triumphs by this intimate series of chamber works.  I am very gratified to be able to hear such top echelon perfromances in such a wonderful acoustic space.

For information about the schedule for Music on the Hill, click here: http://www.musiconthehill.info/concert-schedule/

For the best in classical streaming....

Check out http://www.radioio.com/channels/classical/?rp=genre/classical-jazz.  Radioio classical plays the best in classical music from the late 1800's to now.  No more of the 10 minute baroque pieces or  over reliance on Mozart and Beethoven.  There is so much that is unexplored by most radio stations, as well as most US-based symphony orchestras.   

The Fabulous Philadelphians......

What, me worry?

The beleaguered once-great orchestra is not yet out of  bankruptcy, but never mind, some are doing quite well in the sea of red ink.  http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/artswatch/140961213.html 

Jupiter String Quartet

The Jupiter String Quarter, as part of the Spivey Hall community outreach program, played for a lunchtime event at the studio of WABE.  The quartet played two movements from  Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 1.  They also played the second movement of Ravel's String Quartet.  Nelson Lee, the first violinist, noted that this music was inspired by Indonesian gamelon music.  Once he said it, I heard it.  It was a good piece of information.  John Lemley from WABE was the host and interviewed the members of the quartet, which will be broadcast as part of WABE's City Cafe.  It was interesting to hear a string quartet play in a TV studios very dry acoustical environment.  Each instrument stood out, especially the viola, so no one could  take refuge in a rich reverberation venue.  An aural sptolight was cast on each player and they performed very well.

My phone takes terrible pictures.