Latest news with #clarinet
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
BBCSO/Ollikainen review – Stravinsky's sacrificial dance had serrated edges
A clarinet solo line carved, firm and fierce, out of the heatwave stuffiness. Twitches and rustles from the huge array of percussion. A bigger picture emerges, anchored by the deep throb of low brass. Bitonal parps cut through like car horns in gridlock. A century after its premiere, Edgard Varèse's Intégrales remains a beguiling listen – particularly in a performance as coolly loose-limbed as the BBC Symphony Orchestra served up under Finnish conductor Eva Ollikainen. Standing where the strings would normally be to marshal the piece's sparse wind, brass and percussion, Ollikainen made angular, hyper-efficient gestures. That not-for-show approach persisted throughout – with sonically spectacular results – as each item on the programme demanded an incrementally larger orchestra. The UK premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Before We Fall (Cello Concerto) began with a splash of cymbal and a tutti chord that disintegrated rapidly into tapping and sliding out of which soloist Johannes Moser soared, all generous vibrato and lyrical warmth. As with so many of Thorvaldsdottir's scores, the concerto has an elemental, immersive quality, its symphonic textures seeming at times to breath as if a living organism. Elsewhere, the orchestra was in danger of swallowing Moser's detailed passagework whole. Occasionally, the entire ensemble clicked briefly into tonal harmony – a remarkable, luminous effect. After the interval: Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring was performed with breathtaking clarity. The coordination was absolutely taut across the now-vast orchestra, the piece's sudden cut-offs of phrases and ideas brutal, Ollikainen maintaining a knife-edge balance between effortful, friction-heavy string playing and woodwind solos that might hail from another planet. The piece's tension between the mellow and the murderous, the natural and the machinic, felt genuinely high stakes: this sacrificial dance had serrated edges, every detail terrifying in its lucidity, its momentum intoxicating. The Rite's power was only increased by a cool-as-ice performance of Ravel's Boléro (earworm to end all earworms) at the end of the first half. Ollikainen's air of detachment came into its own here, holding back the tremendous power of Ravel's 13-minute crescendo until the very last minute so that the looping melody's final crash to earth came as a full-on orchestral catastrophe. Listen again on BBC Sounds until 12 October. The Proms continue until 13 September.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jonathan Bailey Has a Clarinet Solo in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth' Score: 'Highlight of My Career'
In addition to starring in Jurassic World Rebirth, Jonathan Bailey revealed that he also played a part in helping with the film's score. While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the late night host brought up that he heard the actor helped score the film. More from The Hollywood Reporter Scarlett Johansson on Her Viral Red Carpet Kisses With Jonathan Bailey: "I've Got a Lot of Love to Give" 'Jurassic World Rebirth' Team "High-Fived Each Other" When They Got Praise From Steven Spielberg Mahershala Ali Admits He Doesn't "Know Where Marvel Is at Right Now" After 'Blade' Delays 'This really was the highlight of my career,' Bailey said. 'The nerd in me erupted like Vesuvius.' Bailey explains that while performing in the Richard II theater production in London, Rebirth director Gareth Edwards told him they'd be recording Alexandre Desplat's new score at the Abbey Road Studios which was nearby. He also said they'd be incorporating some from John Williams' iconic original score. Bailey said he visited to watch the '105-piece world-class orchestra' and 'got goosebumps.' 'As the week progressed,' Bailey continued, 'I came back and I was like, 'Can I bring my clarinet?' I played the clarinet in school — I told you it was a nerdy story — and on the Friday, they said, 'Look, you can come.'' Bailey said that he just wanted to play one note even if it was 'one slightly sharp note' because it would've been a 'dream come true.' He manifested that dream because a clarinet solo eventually came up. Though Bailey admitted he was at initially hesitant and declined Desplat's offer to play he then changed his mind because he would regret not taking him up on the offer for 'the rest of my life.' When another clarinet solo opportunity came up Bailey recalled Desplat looking at him and saying, 'It's now or never.'' 'And I just went, 'Okay, let's do it.' And I ended up playing the theme of Dr. Henry Loomis, the character I play in a Jurassic film on the clarinet, which is in the score.' The actor explained that it proved to be a full circle moment given in 1993, the same year Jurassic Park premiered, his grandfather gave him his first clarinet. 'It just shows that if you find something you love and you commit to it, you never know how it comes full circle,' Bailey said. 'But honestly, it was so emotional.' Jurassic World Rebirth takes place five years after the franchise's last film fronted by Chris Pratt. In the film, dinosaurs have begun to die out, except along the equator. A pharmaceutical company sponsors a mission — executed by Scarlett Johansson's skilled covert operative, Mahershala Ali's fixer and Bailey's paleontologist — to collect genetic materials from the remaining dinos. When Bailey, as Dr. Henry Loomis, touched a dinosaur on set, he said in his Hollywood Reporter cover story that it was an emotional experience. 'Isn't that what all humans are really trying to find in their life, the equivalent of their passion in its natural environment?' Bailey said of the emotional impact of the scene. 'It doesn't get more pure than that.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jonathan Bailey Reveals He Has a Clarinet Solo in 'Jurassic World Rebirth': 'The Nerd in Me Erupted Like Vesuvius'
Jonathan Bailey recalled the "emotional" experience of getting to play a clarinet solo on the score for his new movie Jurassic World Rebirth "I ended up playing the theme of Dr. Henry Loomis, the character I play [in the film]," Bailey said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Wednesday, June 25 "It just shows that if you find something you love and you commit to it, you never know how it comes full circle," he addedJonathan Bailey got to go full music geek for Jurassic World Rebirth. The 37-year-old actor stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, June 25, where he revealed the story behind his clarinet solo on the upcoming movie's score. "This really was a highlight of my career. The nerd in me erupted like Vesuvius," he began, before launching into how it all came to be during his run of Richard II in London. As Bailey recalled, Rebirth director Gareth Edwards told him they'd be recording Alexandre Desplat's new score (incorporating some from John Williams' iconic original) at nearby Abbey Road Studios. And once he arrived, "I sat with my mate at the top just to watch, and got goosebumps" as he took in the "105-piece world-class orchestra," the Bridgerton star told host Jimmy Fallon. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. "As the week progressed," Bailey continued, "I came back and I was like, 'Can I bring my clarinet?' I played the clarinet in school. And on the Friday, they said, 'Look, you can come.' " "I just wanted to play one — even if it was, like, one slightly sharp note. ... Would've been my dream come true," the actor said. That wish-granting came to fruition (and then some) when a clarinet solo came up. Bailey admitted he was at first hesitant and declined Desplat's offer to play while being surrounded by "world-class musicians" — but he felt immediate regret. So once another clarinet solo came up, "[Desplat] said, 'It's now or never.' And I just went, 'Okay, let's do it.' And I ended up playing the theme of Dr. Henry Loomis, the character I play [in the film] ... on the clarinet, which is in the score." is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! Bailey's clarinet skills go back to his childhood more than 30 years ago — in 1993, the same year Jurassic Park premiered — when his grandfather gave him his first version of the instrument. "I got given a plastic clarinet by my granddad," said the Wicked star, continuing with a laugh, "who I think won it in a pub. And I started playing then." "It just shows that if you find something you love and you commit to it, you never know how it comes full circle," Bailey added. "But honestly, it was so emotional." Jurassic World Rebirth stomps into theaters July 2. Read the original article on People
The Independent
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
From the Greek mountains to Manhattan: folk music icon Petroloukas Chalkias honored after death
Greece is honoring the late clarinetist Petroloukas Chalkias, whose hypnotic, note-bending performances over the course of more than 70 years made him a hero of mountain folk music. Chalkias, who died at 90 over the weekend, lay in state Wednesday at the Athens Cathedral — a rare honor typically reserved for prime ministers and religious leaders. As pallbearers emerged through the doors in a chapel next to the cathedral, carrying the coffin, silence descended. Mourners then clapped and shouted 'immortal' as musicians played folk tunes. It was a solemn prelude to his funeral which will take place in the rugged highlands of Epirus, in northwest Greece, where he first took up the clarinet as a boy of 11. Greek President Constantine Tassoulas earlier this week described Chalkias as a 'legendary figure.' Epirus' folk music, slowly unfolding and often centered around the clarinet, is steeped in improvisation, with its wanderings inviting comparisons to rural blues and jazz. It's one of the reasons that, while not so distinguished as a recording artist, Chalkias' live performances made him a household name for Greeks young and old alike. His style evolved after settling in New York as a young man, joining a wave of musicians who emigrated along with other Greeks to escape the hardship of postwar poverty. Chalkias found an unlikely second stage: dimly-lit clubs filled with Greek emigres and curious outsiders. Among those drawn to his performances were jazz legends Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong. Musicians paying their respects on Wednesday praised Chalkias for his generosity with his time in helping fellow artists. 'I was a young woman when I started out and I was incredibly lucky to have him support me,' folk singer Giota Griva said. 'His influence was immense. He was an artist who will never leave us.' Born Petros Loukas Chalkias, the musician was the son and grandson of clarinet players. He was raised with the region's rich tradition of live music — an essential part of village festivals, celebrations, and mourning rituals. Discouraged at first by a family wary of the musician's path, the young Chalkias fashioned his own makeshift clarinet from a hollow reed, carving its finger holes. By his early teens, his playing — raw and instinctive, but undeniably gifted — was good enough to earn him a spot on national radio. Chalkias spent nearly 20 years in the US and raised a family there, but said he always intended to return to Greece. He did so in 1979, performing live across the country and reconnecting with Delvinaki, the red-roofed mountain village of his birth near Greece's border with Albania. Delvinaki bore deep scars from the devastations of World War II and the civil war that followed. Chalkias, like many of his generation, grew up with interrupted schooling and little formal training. His music was learned by ear and memory, and never performed using sheet music. 'In the hearts of all Greeks, he stands as the foremost ambassador of our folk song tradition,' President Tassoulas, also from Epirus, said in a statement. 'Though Petros Loukas Chalkias has departed this life, his voice has not fallen silent –- nor will it ever.' Chalkias died in Athens. His family did not announce the cause of his death. His funeral will be held at the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Delvinaki on Thursday. He is survived by a son and a daughter.
Associated Press
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
From the Greek mountains to Manhattan: folk music icon Petroloukas Chalkias honored after death
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece is honoring the late clarinetist Petroloukas Chalkias, whose hypnotic, note-bending performances over the course of more than 70 years made him a hero of mountain folk music. Chalkias, who died at 90 over the weekend, lay in state Wednesday at the Athens Cathedral — a rare honor typically reserved for prime ministers and religious leaders. As pallbearers emerged through the doors in a chapel next to the cathedral, carrying the coffin, silence descended. Mourners then clapped and shouted 'immortal' as musicians played folk tunes. It was a solemn prelude to his funeral which will take place in the rugged highlands of Epirus, in northwest Greece, where he first took up the clarinet as a boy of 11. Greek President Constantine Tassoulas earlier this week described Chalkias as a 'legendary figure.' Epirus' folk music, slowly unfolding and often centered around the clarinet, is steeped in improvisation, with its wanderings inviting comparisons to rural blues and jazz. It's one of the reasons that, while not so distinguished as a recording artist, Chalkias' live performances made him a household name for Greeks young and old alike. His style evolved after settling in New York as a young man, joining a wave of musicians who emigrated along with other Greeks to escape the hardship of postwar poverty. Chalkias found an unlikely second stage: dimly-lit clubs filled with Greek emigres and curious outsiders. Among those drawn to his performances were jazz legends Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong. Musicians paying their respects on Wednesday praised Chalkias for his generosity with his time in helping fellow artists. 'I was a young woman when I started out and I was incredibly lucky to have him support me,' folk singer Giota Griva said. 'His influence was immense. He was an artist who will never leave us.' Born Petros Loukas Chalkias, the musician was the son and grandson of clarinet players. He was raised with the region's rich tradition of live music — an essential part of village festivals, celebrations, and mourning rituals. Discouraged at first by a family wary of the musician's path, the young Chalkias fashioned his own makeshift clarinet from a hollow reed, carving its finger holes. By his early teens, his playing — raw and instinctive, but undeniably gifted — was good enough to earn him a spot on national radio. Chalkias spent nearly 20 years in the US and raised a family there, but said he always intended to return to Greece. He did so in 1979, performing live across the country and reconnecting with Delvinaki, the red-roofed mountain village of his birth near Greece's border with Albania. Delvinaki bore deep scars from the devastations of World War II and the civil war that followed. Chalkias, like many of his generation, grew up with interrupted schooling and little formal training. His music was learned by ear and memory, and never performed using sheet music. 'In the hearts of all Greeks, he stands as the foremost ambassador of our folk song tradition,' President Tassoulas, also from Epirus, said in a statement. 'Though Petros Loukas Chalkias has departed this life, his voice has not fallen silent –- nor will it ever.' Chalkias died in Athens. His family did not announce the cause of his death. His funeral will be held at the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Delvinaki on Thursday. He is survived by a son and a daughter.
