Aisle Be Seeing You

Student rush tickets avail. for pianist Fliter's recital Nov. 1

$20 student rush tickets are available for this Sunday's Jordan Hall recital by Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter. More details on student rush tickets are available here.

Sir Simon signs on with Berlin Philharmonic until 2018

From the Los Angeles Times' Culture Monster blog:

"The classical music world is known for planning concerts and events years in advance. But the Berlin Philharmonic takes the cake today with its announcement that it has secured Simon Rattle's tenure as head of the orchestra for another nine years."

Read the complete post.

Berlin Philharmonic comes to Boston November 15.

Christian Tetzlaff, sublime Bach

Christian Tetzlaff

Violinist Christian Tetzlaff's program was all J.S. Bach, all of Bach's unaccompanied sonatas and partitas, in fact, so it was not a complete representation of what Boston audiences will hear on January 31 at Jordan Hall. However, according to Allan Kozinn of the New York Times, Tetzlaff's performance (as well as the program) was sublime.

Bach's Sonata No. 3 in C and Partita No 2 in D minor, both of which were on Sunday's 92nd Street Y program and are mentioned in the review, will be played in Boston. But we will also hear Eugène Ysaÿe's Sonata for solo violin and for Paganinni caprices. Hear is a snippet of Kozinn's review to whet your appetite:

"Technique is never an issue with this violinist. The clarity and solidity he brings to the music’s chordal writing remain among the most striking characteristics of his Bach playing, as does the sharp articulation he uses to suggest independent lines of counterpoint. What has deepened is the intensity of the emotional charge he draws from this music, in readings that match Bach’s 18th-century ingenuity with passion and warmth in the here and now."

Read all of Emphasizing Bach's Unity.

Ask Stephen Sondheim. No, really, ask Stephen Sondheim ...

Stephen Sondheim

At the close of his onstage conversation with Stephen Sondheim at Sanders Theater on November 14, Frank Rich will include questions submitted in advance by audience members and other Sondheim fans.

Please email your questions for Stephen Sondheim by Thursday, November 12 to:

[email protected]

Questions will not be accepted after November 12. Questions may be presented in edited form. There is no guarantee your question(s) will be selected.

During this live, unscripted conversation, Mr. Sondheim and Mr. Rich will reminisce about Stephen Sondheim’s career including his collaborations with Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins; his predecessors, including his mentor Oscar Hammerstein II; the state of American musical theater; and, in a very personal series of reflections, his own creative process, speaking specifically on works ranging from his early shows Gypsy and West Side Story to such later classics as Company, Follies and Sweeney Todd.

Note: Remaining tickets for this event are limited.

Suzanne Vega live in Wattensheid, Germany (video)

Suzanne Vega sings "Small Blue Thing" in Wattensheid, Germany. It's probably the best of the fan-submitted videos from her summer 2009 tour. Suzanne comes to Sanders Theatre, Cambridge on November 6, courtesy of Celebrity Series of Boston (ahem).

For Maestro Slatkin and the DSO, "Change is in the Air ;-)"

Leonard Slatkin

A humorous little post from the blog of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra - a pseudo-introduction of the coming season - has confused a number of otherwise worldly and alert adults into thinking the cracks therein are to be taken seriously. Here are some rather obvious samples of Slatkin's playfulness:

On distraction:
"To begin, the orchestra will be seated with their backs to the audience. Music Director Leonard Slatkin said at a press conference yesterday, 'I feel that the listeners are distracted by seeing the faces of the musicians. By turning around, people will tire of looking at backsides and focus purely on the music.'"

On Beethoven's 5th Symphony:
"So for these performances of the overly familiar Beethoven score, the opening five bars will not be played, since everyone knows how they go. It will be straight into the 6th measure. In fact, every time the four-note motto comes in and is played loudly, the passage will either disappear or be performed softly."

Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring:
"Other emendations include orchestration changes. The opening of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, played by the bassoon in a high register, will now be intoned on the tuba, two octaves lower than printed."

On formal attire:
"Finally, in keeping with the new seating arrangement, the orchestra will perform in street clothes, but the audience is requested to come in formal attire.

'Let them learn how long it takes to put on white tie and tails.'"

And finally:
"Season tickets, subscription renewals and cancellations can be taken care of directly with the DSO box office."

If the Schikele-esque notions above were not adequate proof of mirth, the post even goes so far as to include the winking emoticon, ;-), in the headline, but still there were those who remained unsure if they were witnessing a joke or not. That tells this reader that the classical community in general could use a bit more of this sort of thing ...

DSO blog post, with comments

Leonard Slatkin's web site

Mind the Gap blog on Artsjournal.com

Daily Observations blog, with comment

Ingrid Fliter on Chopin, Argerich and piano competitions

Ingrid Fliter

Pianist Ingrid Fliter is definitely at the point in her career in which people are beginning to know her music and want to hear her story. She spoke to The Times (UK) recently on a range of topics, including Chopin, pianist Martha Argerich, and winning the Gilmore Artist Award:

"Her big break was a once-in-a-lifetime chance — the intervention of her all-time idol, the Argentine piano legend Martha Argerich, many of whose best qualities she shares, though she would never admit the comparison. 'A friend of mine told me that she was coming to Argentina and that she wanted to listen to some young pianists — in four days’ time. So I practised 12 hours, 14 hours, on the one piece I wanted to play, Chopin’s Sonata No 3.' After she had finished, Argerich told her to pack her bags and go to study with Vitaly Margulis in Freiburg, Germany. Then she gave her the keys to her flat in Geneva."

Read all of How Chopin came to the rescue of Argentine pianist Ingird Fliter.

Boston gets its first chance to hear Ms. Fliter on November 1 at NEC's Jordan Hall.

Mark Morris talks with The Guardian

Mark Morris

Entertaining, incisive, smart, honest - the only problem with Mark Morris' answers for interviewer's questions is that there are never enough of them:

"The Guardian: Who would you most like to work with?

Morris: This is worrisome. If I say somebody who's around today, then I'll get a phone call from their agent. So I'll have George Frideric Handel, because he taught me everything I know, but isn't around to take the credit."

Read all of Portrait of the Artist: Mark Morris, choreographer.

The Mark Morris Dance group will perform Mozart Dances with the orchestra of Emmanuel Music, conducted by Jane Glover with piano soloists Russell Sherman and Minsoo Sohn January 29-31 at the Boston Opera House.

Berlin, Germany and the Celebrity Series

Several things have us meditating on Germany in general and Berlin in particular this season (no, not Berlin, New Hampshire, watch the video!). For one we are presenting a remarkable and somewhat coincidental array of German performers and works in 2009-2010. And many of them are indeed from Berlin. So, Bostonians, once you finish watching Berlin in 3-D, take a look at Germany coming to your own back yard:

1. The Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, make their return visit to Symphony Hall within a week of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. (November 15, Symphony Hall)

2. Violinist Christian Tetzlaff, though he was born in Hamburg and lives near Frankfurt, is certainly German. Tetzlaff will perform an unaccompanied violin recital that will feature works by J.S.  Bach, among others. (January 31, NEC’s Jordan Hall)

3. The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, as the name implies, is made up of first chair players from their venerable parent ensemble. The orchestra has been here before, of course, but this concert is the Wind Quintet's Boston debut. (February 5, NEC’s Jordan Hall)

4. Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra will play an all-Beethoven program under the baton of Maestro Riccardo Chailly and featuring Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire. (February 25, Symphony Hall)

5. The Berlin-based Artemis String Quartet makes its Boston debut with an all-Beethoven program (March 5, NEC’s Jordan Hall)

6. Max Raabe & Palast Orchester capture the elegant decadence of pre-war Berlin of the 1920s and 30s in a program called “A Night in Berlin.” (March 6, Paramount Theatre, 2 shows)

7. German-born bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, in addition to being a truly gifted singer and profound communicator, is also  a teacher at Berlin’s Hans Eisler School of Music. His May 2 recital will feature works by German composer Johannes Brahms, among others.(May 2, NEC's Jordan Hall)

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later

Page for the Boston production at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, October 12, 2009

Emerson College Laramie Project blog