What concert did you attend in 2018?

kuma posted:

Morton posted:

Meanwhile I am very tempted by an all star, new production, of Parsifal at Munich in July; Jonas Kaufmann, Nina Stemme & Rene Pape, conducted by Kirill Petrenko.

That would be interesting to see. Out of curiosity what's the ticket price for something like that?

Sadly no luck with Munich, tickets were over subscribed and I lost out in the ballot, however I have finally had better luck with Bayreuth, I now have two tickets for Parsifal in August????????????????

January 25th, to the Jazz Café in Camden to see Jah Wobble and his Invaders of the Heart play two storming sets, comprising all the usual favourites from the PIL and Wobble back catalogues ("How Much Are They?", "Snake Charmer", "Socialist", "Poptones", "Public Image", etc) to some soundtrack choices ("Midnight Cowboy", "Get Carter"), jazz ("In A Silent Way") and deep dub.

Great band, superb guest appearance from the wonderful Aurora Dawn, and plenty of hilarious onstage bantz from Mr Wardle himself.

Always good value, our Wob...

Steven Wilson last night at the Birmingham Symphony Hall.

Excellent concert as usual drawing on his back catalogue as well as his newer stuff.

we were sat right behind Toyah and Fripp..

Morton posted:

Sadly no luck with Munich, tickets were over subscribed and I lost out in the ballot, however I have finally had better luck with Bayreuth, I now have two tickets for Parsifal in August????????????????

I am envious!

Be sure to report back your first Bayreuth experience!

Police Dog Hogan, St George's Bristol.

They say 'we are a folk band', one review paraphrased says 'high energy, eclectic multi instrumentalists'.

An exceptional live band, recordings do not do justice to the rapport with an audience, musicians who have other jobs are one of the tightest bands/groups I have seen in years, timing, tuning is spot on. FUN but serious. Then they enjoy their music, it comes across without taking themselves seriously. I've written before that I have a problem with the 'P' in PRAT, feeling that ensemble (Chord in their cable literature call it coherence) is more important. This band have it all, in abundance, eight performers who feed off each other, giving their best.

Interesting was that a number of songs were performed around a simple stereo pair of mikes, each person moving forward or back as they took the lead. Superb simple sound that was most effective. Not to suggest that the fully miked, plugged in sound was not good. Despite being involved, clapping, singing along as required, I found it easy to listen along, picking out each performer and they part they had to play. Definitely gestalt happening in the room.

Don't let genre prejudice affect you, go and see them for a good night out.

Rachel Podger and Voces8 at Kings Place.

Calexico at the Coston Hall Bristol - absolutely brilliant - catch them if you can.

Steven Wilson at the Sage, Gateshead last Sunday. First time seeing him live, and really enjoyed the evening. Animation on a screen behind the band added a lot to the evening, and the set was a good mix of current and older material. Was very impressed with the band as a whole.

Bach Mass in B minor, performed by the Gabrieli Consort and Players, conducted by Paul McCreesh at the Snape Maltings Concert Hall in Suffolk... a wonderful  and emotive performance with gorgeous interplay between the musicians and singers led by McCreesh enhanced by the wonderful acoustics of the Maltings concert hall... a fantastic evening

Nice one Simon. It's been a while since I'v heard the piece last.

Nagano/CSO:

His Schumann's Symphony no.1 was rhythmic and lively. Not was expressive as I would have liked but I enjoyed it. It's one of my favourite Schumann piece yet it does not get played often. Last time CSO played it was 18 years ago!

Siegfried Idyll sounded a bit monotonous. Felt 10 min. too long. It's a lovely piece but the same them over and over repeated, as if the composer ran out of idea. Nagano did not help.

CSO has been scheduling many Bernstein's work this year for his 100th Birthday. This was an intereseting piece and rare Lenny piece that did not sound like a show tune. Composed in the 40s but surprisingly still fresh. I think it held up pretty well. Intriguing and suspenseful yet it has a Copland like grand happy ending. Nagano's direction was rather work man like but perhaps it was ok for this piece. A young American pianist Gilles Vonsattel made a Chicago debut on this piece and I would like to see him come back and play more. CSO premiered it back in 1956 Lenny conducting and Byron Janis playing. Now that's I would have liked to hear!

Sometimes a gig is memorable - or just plain weird for reasons very little to do with the music played. Tarshish is a very large restaurant in Wood Green, North London. It's where the rich, flash young Turks (and others) of that community go on a Friday and Saturday nights: a place to eat, drink, be seen, show off and pull.

As well as the smell of (very good) Tirkish food, the place reeked of aftershave and perfume, and there were lots of shiny suits (the boys) and big bums in tight leather trousers or micro-skirts (girls).

Anyway, I mention this because Ese and her Vooduu People were playing there on Friday, 26th January (in the Mor Bar, a part of the restaurant that has huge floor to ceiling windows, offering a view over the streets below). The band did two good sets, with more covers than usual because of the venue/audience. The sound system there was excellent, although it is very odd trying to watch a band when you are surrounded by couples snogging or flirting...

It's been a well over 10 years since I heard Thibaudet play the Concerto for the Left Hand. I remember being disappointed as It was not powerful  and he made too many misplaying.  The dense places just sounded muddy. So I was skeptical of this set but CSO sent out a half off ticket sale notice so I decided to give it a go at a last minute. Quite surprised they could not fill the house but I reckon due to Dutoit'a withdrawal from all the performances this season.

Well, this time around Thibaudet delivered highly precise energetic powerful performance. It was much clean with very little misplaying ( just two spots i could detect ) and from where I was sitting I could see his hand movement close up. Remarkable clarity and power. Perhaps arpeggios might not be fluid as Zimerman's ( who is! ) I enjoyed it very much this time.

Other orchestra program was more problematic. I am not familiar with this stand-in young conductor Matthias Pintscher. He did ok for the Piano Concerto but I find overall tonal balance of this set was too cold, hard and brittle! Missing that mysterious magical feel I get from the scores. ( including my favourite Sarabande ) It was a clean reading, all right but for me, it sounded just too academic lacking fine details to create the magic. Also he made hars and tambarines made too prominent and they made the score too cheap and garrish rather. Repeat of themes appears through out the score became too similar. I was bored half way through.

Finale, i reckon is mighty impressive with full chorus, but it sounded too forced for me. And overall phrasing too Hollywood like. I very much missed Boulez set or even Dutoit would have given more colours and flares. Pity they did not video tape Thibauet's Left Hand Concerto.

Have this evening another highlight of the season. Martha Argerich playing Liszt.....

Martha Argerich | Klavier

Kremerata Baltica

Lepo Sumera, „Symphone“
Mendelssohn, Oktett Es-Dur op. 20
(Fassung für Kammerorchester)
Chopin, Mazurka a-Moll op. 17/4 und Nocturne E-Dur op. 62/2
(Fassung für Kammerorchester von V. Kissine)
Liszt, Klavierkonzert Nr. 1 Es-Dur

Wow that's nice Bert!

I would have loved to hear that.

She cancelled her Chicago engagement earlier this year due to illness. And I don't see her in next year's line up.

Bert Schurink posted:

Have this evening another highlight of the season. Martha Argerich playing Liszt.....

 

Martha Argerich | Klavier

Kremerata Baltica

Lepo Sumera, „Symphone“
Mendelssohn, Oktett Es-Dur op. 20
(Fassung für Kammerorchester)
Chopin, Mazurka a-Moll op. 17/4 und Nocturne E-Dur op. 62/2
(Fassung für Kammerorchester von V. Kissine)
Liszt, Klavierkonzert Nr. 1 Es-Dur

It was a great concert, the only thing which was a bit odd was the first piece of the evening. The Kremerata Baltica was in great form and played a smooth a nice program with also beautiful arrangements....

The piano concerto was also very special. The setting with a small orchestra gives already a nice different perspective as the normal big orchestra setup. And Martha is still quite special, so it was a very nice concert overall. And I will still have another highlight in the concert season with Sokolov the week after next.

Gregory Porter at Symphony Hall, Birmingham. All his best songs, great voice, impressive presence, terrific band.

Marlon Williams at Scala London. Second time I have heard Marlon live. In great voice, and I do recommend his latest album Make Way for Love. My wife enjoyed the evening too. Played a variety of material from the album plus more. Dinner at Kimchee close to St Pancras International. So so on the food front....

29th January, and to Holborn in Central London. Pizza Express has a branch there with a music venue (Pizza Express Live!)  downstairs. The sound system is absolutely superb. Ese & The Voduu People played there on this Monday night to a sell-out crowd of fans and tourists. Despite the obvious advantages of the venue, it wasn't their greatest gig, with E's voice rather ragged after playing 13 dates in the preceding 16 days.

But if you are in the area and up for some live music, this is a great venue to catch jazz, soul, funk and more.

Accompanied Mrs Plane to Nashville On Tour last night at Leeds Arena. She's a big fan of the show. (I keep out of it.)

There were five individual artists and each did a couple of solo spots, plus various duos and trios.

It was pleasant enough and more rock than Yee-ha, which was all to the good. The outstanding bit was a chap called Jonathan Jackson performing a stunning version of Unchained Melody. Also impressed by the British member of the team, Sam Palladio. Decent singer and mult-instrumentalist too. The others were bit ho-hum for my taste.

No cliche left unturned and a fair slice of cheese but the crowd liked it.  A crowd that, incidentally, seemed to be 3 parts female to one part male.

Tokio Meier at Leeds Academy tomorrow...

steve

Go to a live jazz concert nearly every month at my local jazz club in Sarisbury, been 3 time's this year. Various opera, musicals, pop, rock, orchestral and plays etc in and around Southampton, Last one was Vincent and Flavia at the Mayflower. Rich 

The Dead South at the Garage in Highbury.

I called the box office a few months back, who would be narrating the Lincoln Portrait but they weren't sure. When I saw the program, to my delight! none other than Illinoian John Malcovich!

When he walked on the stage, it was a bit of a double take because he looked so much like Sviatoslav Richter! (  a bio-pic starring Malkovich would be mighty convincing )

On to the music! this was an all America night. It opened with a lovely Walker's Lyric for Strings. I've seen Muti conducts the piece with Philly. It was originally scored as a part of chamber music but full orchestra strings give a denser richer colours. Walker, an African American composer wrote this when he was at Curtis Institute in 1946. In the same veins as Barber's Adagio but much subtler in effect. A short piece but so sweet and poignant.

Malkovich/Muti/CSO Lincoln Portrait was terrific as well. His voice was not rich nor resonant as famous James Earl Jones set but  down to earth simplicity and sincerity, I find, is equally fitting for the score. It was powerful and moving listening experience.

The second half of concert was familiar Dvorak's Symphony 9. Quick dashing tempo and strong boned styling. I very much loved the way Muti handled the Largo avoiding saccharine sweet rendition. As Toscanini, I find Muti's *American* music performance very human. They seem to draw more American characters than many other conductors.

Chicago weather has been brutal this season and sure enough there were a lot of coughs between the movements ( Orchestra Hall turns into a TB ward :/  ) but at least noone coughed or cell phone rang during quiet movements.