Latest news with #CelloConcerto
San Francisco Chronicle
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Esa-Pekka Salonen and S.F. Symphony release new recordings on Apple Music
As Esa-Pekka Salonen reaches the beginning of the end of his tenure as music director of the San Francisco Symphony, his work with the institution is being further memorialized on Apple Music Classical. The music platform has released Salonen and the Symphony's performance of Jean Sibelius' ' Finlandia,' recorded live in concert March 14-16, for fans to stream. Three additional digital-only spatial audio recordings are set to release on the Apple Music Classical app in the coming months. Igor Stravinsky's ' Symphony in Three Movements ' will be made available on July 4, followed by Sibelius' Symphony No. 1 on Aug. 15, and Salonen's Cello Concerto featuring principal cello Rainer Eudeikis, which does not have a release date yet. They are all produced through SFS Media, the Symphony's audio-visual label. The Symphony began its partnership with Apple Music Classical upon its release in 2023, and Salonen and the orchestra have previously released 11 recordings through the platform, including compositions by composers Anders Hillborg, Elizabeth Ogonek and Ottorino Respighi. Apple Music Classical is available for free to most Apple Music subscribers and allows its users to make playlists, utilize optimal search features, and enjoy high-quality immersive audio. Salonen's final shows with the Symphony are nearing as the 2024-25 season draws to a close, but classical music fans have a few more opportunities to catch the conductor in person. He is scheduled to conduct Stravinsky's 'The Firebird' Friday, May 23, through Sunday, May 25, and his last scheduled performances will be of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2, 'Resurrection,' on June 12-14. The Finnish conductor and composer took over the music director position from Michael Tilson Thomas in 2020 and announced his departure from the Symphony last spring. He attributed his decision to differences with leadership, stating that he does 'not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does.' Salonen currently has no plans to join the forthcoming season's lineup, not even to return for a guest appearance.
Otago Daily Times
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Conductor keen for finalists' concert
Dunedin Symphony Orchestra principal guest conductor James Judd is delighted to be working with the city's top young musicians ahead of Friday's "Rising Stars" Dunedin Concerto Competition concert. The concert will feature the three finalists in the concerto competition — cellist Portia Bell, 18, and pianists Ozan Biner-McGrath, 16, and Roy Zhang, 18, in performance, accompanied by a combined Dunedin Symphony Orchestra and Dunedin Youth Orchestra. Zhang has chosen to play the first two movements of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major , Bell has chosen to play the first movement of Dvorak's Cello Concerto and Biner-McGrath has chosen to play the first movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto in D Minor . This week, Judd has spent time with each of the young soloists, working through their performances and offering tips and support. "It has been marvellous working with them, because they are all so prepared and confident," he said. "It is very special and so important to encourage and celebrate such talented young musicians." Over the course of his long international career, Judd has worked with many young players and regards it as a privilege and a responsibility. "These sessions I have with them give me a chance to find out who they are, and encourage them to be courageous and free. "It is a real achievement to reach the final, so I'm hoping they will really enjoy the experience." The other aspect of the performance, combining the Dunedin Youth Orchestra with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, will be a new experience for him and is one he is looking forward to. "It is quite a different skill to provide accompaniment for a soloist, so I will be encouraging everyone to listen very closely to each other," he said. Judd has confidence in the skills of Dunedin Youth Orchestra director and conductor David Burchell to have the young players well prepared. "I am so impressed by all the work that music teachers and leaders of music organisations do to nurture the talent of our young people," he said. "It is something the Dunedin community can be very proud of and should celebrate." The Dunedin Youth Orchestra will feature during the concert's first half, conducted by Burchell, performing a selection of popular classics, including Offenbach's Overture to La Belle Helene , Arnold's Little Suite No. 2 , Prokofiev's Montagues and Capulets from the Romeo & Juliet Suite , and Coates' Knightsbridge March . Dunedin Concerto Competition Charitable Trust chairman Pieter du Plessis said the two-yearly event aimed provide exceptional performance opportunities for young classical musicians from across Otago and Southland. The competition was made possible through the long-term support of its patrons, led by Bruce Hodgson, the Towers Charitable Trust, the Bill and Clare Hodgson Bequest and funding from the Dunedin City Council Arts Grants, Creative Communities, Otago Community Trust and the Dunedin Casino Charitable Trust. Community support had been strong for the event, with good attendance at the preliminary rounds in March, and organisers were hoping for another full house for next week's finalists' concert, Mr du Plessis said. "By attending, you're not just supporting three finalists — you're backing the whole stage of young 'rising stars' who represent the next generation of musicians, educators and cultural leaders," he said.
Otago Daily Times
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
New categories for region's business excellence awards
Dunedin Symphony Orchestra principal guest conductor James Judd is delighted to be working with the city's top young musicians ahead of Friday's "Rising Stars" Dunedin Concerto Competition concert. The concert will feature the three finalists in the concerto competition — cellist Portia Bell, 18, and pianists Ozan Biner-McGrath, 16, and Roy Zhang, 18, in performance, accompanied by a combined Dunedin Symphony Orchestra and Dunedin Youth Orchestra. Zhang has chosen to play the first two movements of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major , Bell has chosen to play the first movement of Dvorak's Cello Concerto and Biner-McGrath has chosen to play the first movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto in D Minor . This week, Judd has spent time with each of the young soloists, working through their performances and offering tips and support. "It has been marvellous working with them, because they are all so prepared and confident," he said. "It is very special and so important to encourage and celebrate such talented young musicians." Over the course of his long international career, Judd has worked with many young players and regards it as a privilege and a responsibility. "These sessions I have with them give me a chance to find out who they are, and encourage them to be courageous and free. "It is a real achievement to reach the final, so I'm hoping they will really enjoy the experience." The other aspect of the performance, combining the Dunedin Youth Orchestra with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, will be a new experience for him and is one he is looking forward to. "It is quite a different skill to provide accompaniment for a soloist, so I will be encouraging everyone to listen very closely to each other," he said. Judd has confidence in the skills of Dunedin Youth Orchestra director and conductor David Burchell to have the young players well prepared. "I am so impressed by all the work that music teachers and leaders of music organisations do to nurture the talent of our young people," he said. "It is something the Dunedin community can be very proud of and should celebrate." The Dunedin Youth Orchestra will feature during the concert's first half, conducted by Burchell, performing a selection of popular classics, including Offenbach's Overture to La Belle Helene , Arnold's Little Suite No. 2 , Prokofiev's Montagues and Capulets from the Romeo & Juliet Suite , and Coates' Knightsbridge March . Dunedin Concerto Competition Charitable Trust chairman Pieter du Plessis said the two-yearly event aimed provide exceptional performance opportunities for young classical musicians from across Otago and Southland. The competition was made possible through the long-term support of its patrons, led by Bruce Hodgson, the Towers Charitable Trust, the Bill and Clare Hodgson Bequest and funding from the Dunedin City Council Arts Grants, Creative Communities, Otago Community Trust and the Dunedin Casino Charitable Trust. Community support had been strong for the event, with good attendance at the preliminary rounds in March, and organisers were hoping for another full house for next week's finalists' concert, Mr du Plessis said. "By attending, you're not just supporting three finalists — you're backing the whole stage of young 'rising stars' who represent the next generation of musicians, educators and cultural leaders," he said.
The Guardian
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
LSO/Pappano review – salty breezes and a balmy Mediterranean sunset
'Behold, the sea itself,' declares Vaughan Williams's A Sea Symphony, but it could equally apply to any of the works in this carefully crafted concert of British music. The latest instalment in Antonio Pappano's ongoing odyssey opened with Elizabeth Maconchy, a gifted yet neglected contemporary of Shostakovich and Tippett, whose impressionistic Nocturne owed more of a debt to Holst and Debussy. A cinematic soundscape, complete with moody undertow and opulent climaxes, hinted at moon, clouds and waves in a spellbinding musical watercolour. William Walton's Cello Concerto sings of warmer waters, especially the shimmering finale, which seems to end in a balmy Mediterranean sunset. The spirit of Prokofiev hovered over the ticking opening, Pappano and orchestra relishing the smouldering harmonies flecked with vibraphone, harp and celesta. LSO principal cello Rebecca Gilliver, a natural team player, was at her finest in the third movement where double stopping and extended trills were rendered with pinpoint accuracy. Elsewhere, she took a more self-effacing approach, a touch smudgy in the spiky scherzo, though always warm of tone. Walt Whitman's metaphysical maritime poetry was the catalyst for Vaughan Williams's most operatic of symphonies. No surprise then that Pappano's 21 years helming the Royal Opera paid dividends in a thrilling performance of the composer's first symphony, his breakthrough work. As bracing fanfares issued a crisp call to arms and tempi broadened to accommodate impassioned choral entries you could feel the ocean's heaving breast and taste the salty breezes. American baritone Will Liverman radiated an ardent sense of pride and purpose. The top of the voice could have used a little more amplitude, but his commitment to the poetry was never in doubt. South African soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha sang with creamy tone, enviable diction and a commanding confidence as she hurled forth a battery of gleaming top notes. The London Symphony Chorus, singing with laser-focused discipline and an impressive homogeneity of sound, never put a foot wrong, from the briny tang of the scherzo through a series of goosebump-inducing a cappella sections. As Pappano guided ship and crew towards the distant horizon and its visionary conclusion, you could have heard a pin drop.
