What was the last concert you went in 2015?
Posted by: kuma on 11 January 2015
My first concert for 2015 started with youthful pairing of Paul Lewis/Vasily Petrenko at the Orchestra Hall last night.
- Elgar In the South (Alassio)
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor)
- Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances
Petrenko opened with Elgar's 'In the South' Overture and I was pleasantly surprised how lively and energetically it was played. Even the CSO musicians seemed more upbeat and animated than usual. I throughly enjoyed Petrenko's refreshing take on this tune.
Lewis has been a *regular* at the CSO for a few years. His Emperor Concerto is heroic, bold and confident as I expected him to be. The only draw back I felt was the orchestra was a bit soft and not as rhythmic feeling they were trailing a tad behind Lewis. A bit of a surprise really after such a lively Elgar piece.
Lewis did not offer his own cadenza in the Emperor but he played Schubert's Allegretto in C Minor as an encore. The trouble was he was still on the Beethoven mode. ( I love his Beethoven but not totally sold on his Schubert work )
Symphonic Dances was exciting Petrenko keeping the CSO on their toes. Perhaps it did not have the menacing weight of Berliner/Rattle set but the CSO Brass rose to the occasion adding an extra brilliance.
And it was cool that noone coughed after the final gong and kept the silence for a pretty good duration.
The next concert was from Kamasi Washington. As his album, the sound was overwhelming with also playing with two drummers. While skillful played and clearly hearing the different influences of the guys he has played with, not so much my favorite concert of the evening....the least liked one actually - which doesn't mean it was bad, but the level was so high...
The concert of Thomas Echno was just brilliant. Very gentle and classical based playing within a tight trio. For me the clear highlight of the evening. What also helped was that the concert was in the grand cafe part and I was at a very small distance. If you have the opportunity see them.
The last of the evening for me was a bit of a challenge. After a long drive and quite some music I was really getting tired. So while it was a great concert with the Quartet of Mark Turner with Avishai Cohen......, with some brilliant improvisation, I didn't finish this one. if I would have been fresh I would have definitely watched until the end......
This evening I saw a great concert of Michael Wollny. He calls it solo, due and trio which it was. They of course played a lot of music of the latest album Natchfahrten. Good sound, good oversight of the concert, good playing. So a great concert which could have taken a bit longer for me. i saw that in the same venue they have next week Marcin Wasileski, so if possible I will also see that concert...
Arcanto Quartett:
Antje Weithaas, Daniel Sepec, Tabea Zimmermann, Jean-Guihen Queyras
Program:
- J.S. Bach: The Art of Fugue (selection)
- Schumann: String Quartet in A minor, Op. 41
- Smetana: String Quartet No. 1, From my life
Another new ( to me ) venue on the University of Chicago campus is the Mandel Hall for smaller chamber performances for this season.
I was most interested in hearing Jean-Guihen Queyras' gorgeous cello as well as The Art of Fugue played with 4 string instruments.
They sure did not disappoint in their fresh and rhythmic playing. I was astonished the melody line was so easy to follow in Fugue pieces. Also I was moved from the rich colourful tone of the instruments. These Baroque music are not supposed to be deliberately *romantic* but this particular performance by Arcanto Quartett had a greater emotional impact than I ever imagined.
I've a Fine Arts Quartet playing these tunes on a record but it gives a good reason noone wants to listen to classical music. BORING!
Mandel Hall turned out to be an acoustic stunner from where we were sitting up in the box seat which the music was clear but retained rich warm tone and tactile oily textures.
Schumann piece was played with a romantic sensitivity & sensibility ( altho, I would have loved it if they just kept playing more pieces from Art of the Fugue, instead ) and Smetana's poignant Quartet No.1's final movement was heart-rending.
If you are near NYC, they'll be at Carnegie this Sunday. ( Purcell/Britton/Beethoven program ) Catch their excellent playing!
The Montrose Trio, at Duke's Baldwin Auditorium, November 7.
http://www.opus3artists.com/artists/the-montrose-trio
Program
Joaquín Turina: Piano Trio No. 2 in B Minor, op. 76
Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 1 in E-flat Major, op. 1
Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, op. 8
I've only been to symphony performances over the last decade. I last saw a quartet back in college (@ '91). As I have been listening to recordings by quartets and trios lately, I thought it would be great to hear a live performance.
I had never heard Turina before, so it was fun to hear this. Of the three, the Brahms piece was my favorite, but they were all very enjoyable.
I am not familiar with this group. But it seems they are regular performers on the Duke calendar. I believe they were originally a quintet, and the members had changed through the years. Recently 2 retired and rather than adding to the group, it remained a Trio.
The venue was very nice, renovated in 2013, and with a capacity of 685, not a bad seat anywhere. Had seats in the center orchestra.
Patk,
The hall looks fabulous!
Nice, small and intimate. Looks like they gut the entire interior and started over.
The Mandel Hall we were at seats also 680.
They also have gone through restoration process ( acoustics and safety updates ) but they kept the original appearance and decorations as much as possible.
I see that Igor Levit and Fazil Say will be touring there. ( I would have loved to attend those concerts as they never come around to Chicago ) Attend those recitals and report back! 
Patk,
The hall looks fabulous!
Nice, small and intimate. Looks like they gut the entire interior and started over.
The Mandel Hall we were at seats also 680.
They also have gone through restoration process ( acoustics and safety updates ) but they kept the original appearance and decorations as much as possible.
I see that Igor Levit and Fazil Say will be touring there. ( I would have loved to attend those concerts as they never come around to Chicago ) Attend those recitals and report back!
Hi Kuma,
Thanks for the additional pics of The Mandel Hall. I was admiring it from your original post. Yes, they gutted the Baldwin Auditorium as well. It was built in 1927. We so thoroughly enjoyed being in a small venue.
Thank you for the tips about Igor Levit and Fazil Say. By coincidence, went to a local Turkish restaurant last week and they had a picture of Fazil Say and his recital date on the front door. Forgot to look it up when I got home, Thanks for the reminder!
BR,
Pat
A concert at Pershore Abbey this afternoon, with the Worcester Philharmonic Orchestra doing an American or American inspired programme.
Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue
Copeland – Four Dances from ‘Rodeo’
Barber – Adagio
Dvorak – Symphony No 9 (From the New World)
Nicely played, but not helped by the acoustics of the Abbey
Saw the utterly brilliant Thea Gilmore at a live acoustic set last night. Beguiling and better than ever.
Support act was an amazing singer songwriter called Kelly Oliver. Well worth checking out imho.
wow. he's still alive! :0
Love his funky records from the 70s.
Did he play Space Princess?