BBC In Tune: Nicolas Namoradze
Sean Rafferty is joined by pianist Nicolas Namoradze ahead of the Southbank 'Inside Out' concert (3:34). Listen until November 19.
BBC In Tune
Sean Rafferty is joined by pianist Nicolas Namoradze ahead of the Southbank 'Inside Out' concert.
Listen here until November 19, beginning at 3:34.
The New York Times: Whispers of an Italian-Jewish Past Fill Yotam Haber’s Music
Since early in his career, Yotam Haber has grappled with what it means to be a contemporary Jewish composer. The tentative answers offered by his music — full of allusions, distortion and whispers of the past — suggest that the grappling itself is a vital part of that identity.
The New York Times
Thomas May
Yotam Haber’s “Estro Poetico-armonico III” combines live singing with archival recordings of cantors.
Since early in his career, Yotam Haber has grappled with what it means to be a contemporary Jewish composer. The tentative answers offered by his music — full of allusions, distortion and whispers of the past — suggest that the grappling itself is a vital part of that identity.
Mr. Haber’s most recent work, “Estro Poetico-armonico III,” which juxtaposes a live mezzo-soprano and orchestra with decades-old recordings of Italian Jewish cantorial singing, dramatizes a subtle dialogue between creation and tradition. One of three composers to receive the Azrieli Foundation’s music prizes for 2020, Mr. Haber wrote the piece to fulfill the Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music.
Read more here.
Pianist: Anne-Marie McDermott celebrates 10 years as Artistic Director of Bravo! Vail
American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott chats with Pianist about 10 years with Bravo! Vail, the importance of protecting classical music, and an upcoming trip to Europe...
Pianist
Ellie Palmer
American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott chats with Pianist about 10 years with Bravo! Vail, the importance of protecting classical music, and an upcoming trip to Europe...
First, our congratulations on your tenth anniversary as Artistic Director of Bravo! Vail Music Festival. In your view, what makes Bravo! Vail such a unique and special summer festival?
What makes Bravo! Vail so unique to me is the combination of the extraordinary music-making with being located in one of the most magnificent locations on planet earth, and the incredible enthusiasm and love that our audience has for the music and for the musicians.
Read more of the interview here.
KWGN Denver: Bravo! Vail Music Box
Despite the challenges surrounding the pandemic, the Bravo! Vail Music Festival is committed to enriching its community with the power of music.
In lieu of their normal Summer festival season, Bravo! Vail hosted more than 40 community concerts this summer in their custom-built mobile performance stage, the Bravo! Vail Music Box. These concerts, though socially-distant, brought the joys of live chamber music to businesses, community groups and individuals throughout the Vail Valley.
KDVR
Despite the challenges surrounding the pandemic, the Bravo! Vail Music Festival is committed to enriching its community with the power of music.
In lieu of their normal Summer festival season, Bravo! Vail hosted more than 40 community concerts this summer in their custom-built mobile performance stage, the Bravo! Vail Music Box. These concerts, though socially-distant, brought the joys of live chamber music to businesses, community groups and individuals throughout the Vail Valley.
Watch the interview below.
Wyoming Public Media: Grand Teton Music Festival's New Executive Director Hopes To Connect Community To Music
The Grand Teton Music Festival has picked its new executive director. Emma Kail will lead the organization, which holds a world class orchestra during the summer months and offers other classical music events year round. Kail has a background in music performance and as an administrative leader in classical music organizations across the U.S. Wyoming Public Radio's Kamila Kudelska spoke with her about her vision and hopes for the festival.
Wyoming Public Media
Kamila Kudelska
The Grand Teton Music Festival has picked its new executive director. Emma Kail will lead the organization, which holds a world class orchestra during the summer months and offers other classical music events year round. Kail has a background in music performance and as an administrative leader in classical music organizations across the U.S. Wyoming Public Radio's Kamila Kudelska spoke with her about her vision and hopes for the festival.
Emma Kail: I am a lifelong music lover. I grew up until I was about 10 years old in very rural Kentucky. So, my introduction into classical music was thanks to public radio. We had a repeater station from Western Kentucky Public Radio. And so working on our farm, I heard music from a very early age and fell in love. I ended up studying music. But as I moved along, I began to see more about the other side of music beyond just what was happening on stage. So they need to have support not only backstage, but in the office and in the advocacy for music and how musical institutions connect to a community.
Read more and listen here.
My Scena: Nicolas Namoradze, Breakthrough Artist Here to Stay
Born in Georgia but raised in Hungary, the pianist-composer Nicolas Namoradze launched his international career in 2018 when he became the winner of the Honens International Piano Competition. This Calgary-based contest offers one of the biggest prize packages in the world, and has been picking out top talent every three years since 1992. Namoradze, at 28, is the latest laureate, and he has already established himself as an artist who is here to stay.
My Scena
Carol Xiong
Born in Georgia but raised in Hungary, the pianist-composer Nicolas Namoradze launched his international career in 2018 when he became the winner of the Honens International Piano Competition. This Calgary-based contest offers one of the biggest prize packages in the world, and has been picking out top talent every three years since 1992. Namoradze, at 28, is the latest laureate, and he has already established himself as an artist who is here to stay.
Namoradze’s schedule is packed. This summer includes the release of a debut disc for Hyperion, appearances at the Toronto Summer Music festival and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, among others, as well as a recital tour in Japan. Prior to Honens, Namoradze made the bold and unconventional decision to step out of the limelight for four years to find his voice as an artist. For anyone who has ever listened to Namoradze play, the results of his retreat speak for themselves.
Read more here.
BBC Radio 3 In Tune: Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin visits the BBC Radio 3 studios to discuss his upcoming performance at the BBC Proms premiering Ryan Wigglesworth’s piano concerto and he performs his Toccata on L'Homme Armé among other works.
BBC Radio 3 In Tune
Marc-André Hamelin visits the BBC Radio 3 studios to discuss his upcoming performance at the BBC Proms premiering Ryan Wigglesworth’s piano concerto and he performs his Toccata on L'Homme Armé among other works.
Listen here.
Minnesota Public Radio: Pianist Haochen Zhang offers a fresh take on Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev
Chinese American pianist Haochen Zhang became a gold medalist and a first prize winner of the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. At age 19, he was one of the youngest winners in the competition. Ten years later, Haochen has just released his second recording. It features Tchaikovsky's powerful Piano Concerto No. 1 and the work he performed in the final round of the Cliburn Competition: Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2.
Minnesota Public Radio
Julie Amacher
Haochen Zhang — Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 / Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 (BIS)
Chinese American pianist Haochen Zhang became a gold medalist and a first prize winner of the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. At age 19, he was one of the youngest winners in the competition. Ten years later, Haochen has just released his second recording. It features Tchaikovsky's powerful Piano Concerto No. 1 and the work he performed in the final round of the Cliburn Competition: Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2.
"This is exactly 10 years after 2009, when I won the Cliburn. There's a personal feeling to this piece that I've been performing ever since.
"It's known for being the most technically challenging piano concerto, with the crazy cadenza in the first movement and nerve-racking second movement, and so forth.
Listen to Haochen’s interview with Julie Amacher here.
Chicago Tribune: Shanghai Symphony Brings 140-Year Tradition to America
When the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra makes its Chicago-area debut Aug. 16 at the Ravinia Festival, no one will be prouder of the occasion than its music director, Long Yu.
Chicago Tribune
Howard Reich
When the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra makes its Chicago-area debut Aug. 16 at the Ravinia Festival, no one will be prouder of the occasion than its music director, Long Yu.
For to him, the Shanghai ensemble will be more than just a visitor from the other side of the world – it will be bringing with it a legacy stretching back to 1879, when it was established under a previous name.
“This is the first orchestra not only in China, but in the Far East,” says Yu, speaking by phone from Hong Kong.
“A lot of work was premiered in Asia by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. For example, Beethoven’s Ninth (Symphony), (Stravinsky’s) ‘Firebird’ – all those pieces premiered in Shanghai.”
In effect, adds Yu, this orchestra “introduced most of the classical music to China and to Asia.”
That in itself is significant, but all the more considering the dramatic growth of classical music in China and elsewhere in Asia. We may lament the shrinking and aging of the classical audience in the United States, with only the most celebrated soloists and ensembles able to fill large concert halls and festivals that routinely sold out in the mid-20th century. But in China and environs, the music seems to be on a perpetual rise.
Read more here.
Clef Notes: Q&A with Celebrated Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers
One of the most gifted violinists of her generation, Anne Akiko Meyers embodies what a virtuoso violinist should be as a powerful interpreter of beloved repertoire that spans centuries and yet poised to open that same repertoire to new music, serving as a vanguard in what has traditionally been a guarded space.
Clef Notes
One of the most gifted violinists of her generation, Anne Akiko Meyers embodies what a virtuoso violinist should be as a powerful interpreter of beloved repertoire that spans centuries and yet poised to open that same repertoire to new music, serving as a vanguard in what has traditionally been a guarded space. Of course, only time will tell what new music survives to take its place alongside classic works of the cannon, but Meyers is a truly nimble artist open to the idea of breaking musical boundaries that remain only because those before her hesitated to breach them.
With ground-breaking collaborations with top artists from electro-pop to jazz, Meyers refuses to rest on her laurels, sated by her own dominance of the violin repertoire. Marshaling the potency of her storied career, she broadens the scope of the cannon she interprets and the scope of her own experience at the same time.
This summer, I had an opportunity to pose a few questions to the one-time wunderkind and gained a little more insight into just why today she is simply a wonder, not only in her mastery of the repertoire, but also in her advocacy for it.
Q: As a young violin student studying in Southern California, did you ever imagine the kind of career for yourself you now enjoy?
A: I dreamed of becoming a concert violinist at age 7 after hearing Tchaikovsky at the Hollywood Bowl. Little did I know what an incredible journey I would go on. I am so grateful to all the teachers I studied with, the amazing musicians and collaborators I have worked with, and my family, for their unconditional support. It takes one heck of a village, luck, patience and perseverance to accomplish one’s dream.
Read more here.