Recent Concerts You've Enjoyed

Thought this might be a fun thread and a way to find out about acts on tour.

My wife and I saw the Smoke Fairies at the Tractor Tavern last evening as the opening act for Rasputina. The Smoke Fairies are a 'folk blues' duo from Wales and have been described as "Bob Dylan's dream." I thought that their debut release "Through Low Light and Trees" was one of last year's best. It was just the two principles singing and playing guitar. Really terrific concert with excellent acoustics and thankfully not too loud.

If you are ever in Seattle, the Tractor Tavern is a great venue in the Ballard neighborhood. Very fun people watching...I think my wife and I were the only ones without tattoos! I got to chat with them after their set and had my LP signed. I love the lilting Welsh accents!

Here's a video of "Hotel Room" from their debut LP:

[video]

 

i prefer middle too, or front of centre

My favorite seats at the BSO are row 12-20 center.

 

You guys have no sense of humor

 

The aesthetics of the interior are as remarkable the Gehry exterior. While the interior has many of Gehry's signature elements, it also shows the hand of others. I read that Gehry collaborated with a Japanese acoustician on the concert hall proper. Good to learn that the acoustics affirm the venue's visual beauty. A sublime combination.

I wonder how the pipe organ sounds. It is visually spectacular. It is a pretty spectacular looking building. Photo taken when visiting Ron in 2019.

 

I wonder how the pipe organ sounds. It is visually spectacular. It is a pretty spectacular looking building. Photo taken when visiting Ron in 2019.

View attachment 125196

I am going to try to find out. A must see and hear from my perspective.

 

Last Friday afternoon my friend Ian (Madfloyd) and I went to Symphony Hall in Boston to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing. The program was Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 and Bela Bartok's Duke Bluebeard's Castle. Karina Canellakis, who has had several appearances with the orchestra, was the conductor.

At the beginning though there was a short remembrance of Seiji Ozawa, a decades long chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra who had died a few days earlier, and the initially small orchestra played Bach's Air on the G String. It was beautiful, and the string sound really was uncommonly airy.

The same small string orchestra presented a much less airy, more compacted tone when they played Haydn's cello concerto. It was another interesting example of how different the sound of strings can be from the same players. The soloist, Alisa Weilerstein, whom Ian and I like from her interpretations of Bach's cello suites, played with vigor and sensibility, and apparently had a blast playing the piece. Obviously she loved the music and had put much thought into the phrasing of her musical lines. Alisa Weilerstein had an uncommon intensity in her eyes, and her playing and gestures "explained" the piece very well to me so that I could follow it easily; I had hardly known this particular music before I went to the concert even though I am a huge Haydn fan. Her playing was much more "scratchy", with abandon, than it would be in a more polished regular recording, but it fit the expressiveness of the music very well. The tone of the solo cello had less body than it would have in a smaller venue, but the sound was beautiful and its definition was superb.

After the pause we were treated to a much larger orchestra for the Bartok opera. The two soloists, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and bass-baritone
Nathan Berg sang expressively and with passion; essential and conveniently done for following the plot were the English subtitles to the sung Hungarian, projected on a large board located above the audience on the organ. There was no "action" by the singers on stage, but there was a tastefully simple "light show" with colors ranging from lily white to deep blood red.

The orchestral music was a feast of sound. We sat relatively close to the orchestra looking up to the stage, and the sound was very large and powerful. It featured incredible blends of timbre (Bartok was a master orchestrator), and even though the sound was so powerful, there was not the slightest hint of 'edge' or brightness. The sound had incredible tonal density while being emphatically airy at the same time. This kind of sound would be very hard to reproduce on a stereo system. First, that tonal density alone is out of reach of any system that I have heard so far. Second, either you have more emphasis on tonal density or more emphasis on airiness, but to have both combined with such intensity is something I have only heard live so far, and this occasion was a particularly striking example. Dynamics and their impact were out of this world, from very soft to extremely loud, at climaxes supported by the organ in the hall. Try that at home. Tempi and nuances were well judged by the conductor, and the BSO played the hell out of the score.

The concert was a wonderful, unforgettable experience.

 

Last Friday afternoon my friend Ian (Madfloyd) and I went to Symphony Hall in Boston to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing. The program was Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 and Bela Bartok's Duke Bluebeard's Castle. Karina Canellakis, who has had several appearances with the orchestra, was the conductor.

At the beginning though there was a short remembrance of Seiji Ozawa, a decades long chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra who had died a few days earlier, and the initially small orchestra played Bach's Air on the G String. It was beautiful, and the string sound really was uncommonly airy.

The same small string orchestra presented a much less airy, more compacted tone when they played Haydn's cello concerto. It was another interesting example of how different the sound of strings can be from the same players. The soloist, Alisa Weilerstein, whom Ian and I like from her interpretations of Bach's cello suites, played with vigor and sensibility, and apparently had a blast playing the piece. Obviously she loved the music and had put much thought into the phrasing of her musical lines. Alisa Weilerstein had an uncommon intensity in her eyes, and her playing and gestures "explained" the piece very well to me so that I could follow it easily; I had hardly known this particular music before I went to the concert even though I am a huge Haydn fan. Her playing was much more "scratchy", with abandon, than it would be in a more polished regular recording, but it fit the expressiveness of the music very well. The tone of the solo cello had less body than it would have in a smaller venue, but the sound was beautiful and its definition was superb.

After the pause we were treated to a much larger orchestra for the Bartok opera. The two soloists, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and bass-baritone
Nathan Berg sang expressively and with passion; essential and conveniently done for following the plot were the English subtitles to the sung Hungarian, projected on a large board located above the audience on the organ. There was no "action" by the singers on stage, but there was a tastefully simple "light show" with colors ranging from lily white to deep blood red.

The orchestral music was a feast of sound. We sat relatively close to the orchestra looking up to the stage, and the sound was very large and powerful. It featured incredible blends of timbre (Bartok was a master orchestrator), and even though the sound was so powerful, there was not the slightest hint of 'edge' or brightness. The sound had incredible tonal density while being emphatically airy at the same time. This kind of sound would be very hard to reproduce on a stereo system. First, that tonal density alone is out of reach of any system that I have heard so far. Second, either you have more emphasis on tonal density or more emphasis on airiness, but to have both combined with such intensity is something I have only heard live so far, and this occasion was a particularly striking example. Dynamics and their impact were out of this world, from very soft to extremely loud, at climaxes supported by the organ in the hall. Try that at home. Tempi and nuances were well judged by the conductor, and the BSO played the hell out of the score.

The concert was a wonderful, unforgettable experience.

 

Last Friday afternoon my friend Ian (Madfloyd) and I went to Symphony Hall in Boston to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing. The program was Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 and Bela Bartok's Duke Bluebeard's Castle. Karina Canellakis, who has had several appearances with the orchestra, was the conductor.

At the beginning though there was a short remembrance of Seiji Ozawa, a decades long chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra who had died a few days earlier, and the initially small orchestra played Bach's Air on the G String. It was beautiful, and the string sound really was uncommonly airy.

The same small string orchestra presented a much less airy, more compacted tone when they played Haydn's cello concerto. It was another interesting example of how different the sound of strings can be from the same players. The soloist, Alisa Weilerstein, whom Ian and I like from her interpretations of Bach's cello suites, played with vigor and sensibility, and apparently had a blast playing the piece. Obviously she loved the music and had put much thought into the phrasing of her musical lines. Alisa Weilerstein had an uncommon intensity in her eyes, and her playing and gestures "explained" the piece very well to me so that I could follow it easily; I had hardly known this particular music before I went to the concert even though I am a huge Haydn fan. Her playing was much more "scratchy", with abandon, than it would be in a more polished regular recording, but it fit the expressiveness of the music very well. The tone of the solo cello had less body than it would have in a smaller venue, but the sound was beautiful and its definition was superb.

After the pause we were treated to a much larger orchestra for the Bartok opera. The two soloists, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and bass-baritone
Nathan Berg sang expressively and with passion; essential and conveniently done for following the plot were the English subtitles to the sung Hungarian, projected on a large board located above the audience on the organ. There was no "action" by the singers on stage, but there was a tastefully simple "light show" with colors ranging from lily white to deep blood red.

The orchestral music was a feast of sound. We sat relatively close to the orchestra looking up to the stage, and the sound was very large and powerful. It featured incredible blends of timbre (Bartok was a master orchestrator), and even though the sound was so powerful, there was not the slightest hint of 'edge' or brightness. The sound had incredible tonal density while being emphatically airy at the same time. This kind of sound would be very hard to reproduce on a stereo system. First, that tonal density alone is out of reach of any system that I have heard so far. Second, either you have more emphasis on tonal density or more emphasis on airiness, but to have both combined with such intensity is something I have only heard live so far, and this occasion was a particularly striking example. Dynamics and their impact were out of this world, from very soft to extremely loud, at climaxes supported by the organ in the hall. Try that at home. Tempi and nuances were well judged by the conductor, and the BSO played the hell out of the score.

The concert was a wonderful, unforgettable experience.

Thanks Al, Alicia Weilerstein is a fabulous cellist… her Bach cello suites are among my favourite contemporary performances as are her Shostakovich cello concertos which are for me also benchmark performances.

Brilliant to hear that you both got to hear her live.

 

Dylan LeBlanc at Barboza was outstanding

 

Thanks Al, Alicia Weilerstein is a fabulous cellist… her Bach cello suites are among my favourite contemporary performances as are her Shostakovich cello concertos which are for me also benchmark performances.

Brilliant to hear that you both got to hear her live.

i have seen her thrice including Elgar cello at Barbican and shostakovich sonata at wigmore. Watching her on the 6th next month again at wigmore. Barenboim when he conducted her in her early days said she was the next after his ex wife

 

i have seen her thrice including Elgar cello at Barbican and shostakovich sonata at wigmore. Watching her on the 6th next month again at wigmore. Barenboim when he conducted her in her early days said she was the next after his ex wife

She is fantastic… and such a big call from Barenboim though I think she is definitely in that league.

 

Oh best thing was her performing Shostakovich‘s 15th symphony arranged for trio. Absolutely brilliant. That was also at wigmore.

 

Scott Hamilton pizza Express Live Soho on 1/2/24

 

Last Friday afternoon my friend Ian (Madfloyd) and I went to Symphony Hall in Boston to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing. The program was Haydn's Cello Concerto

du pre Barenboim

 

Went last night to see Roberto Bolle in possibly his last full length classical performance since being discovered by Nureyev at La Scala in 1990. Danced Manon with Marienella Nunez (no surprises there). Pretty epic. Fans came from all over, lots from Japan, and plenty of top dancers came from around Europe to see the master at work before it’s too late. Compared to other top dancers we saw in this role two weeks ago, they were on another planet. Saw them dance this at Covent Garden in October 2019 and open the La Scala season in Onegin in September 2022, but this had a unique intensity. Celebrated with Strawberry Bellini’s.

 

The Folk Festival Society of Calgary recently put on a winter concert called Block Heater 2024. Those that live in a northernly climate will appreciate the humour.

The concert was at the intimate Central United Church in downtown Calgary, Alberta. The pews were uncomfortable, lol, but the amplified sound was excellent! The featured performers were Nico Paulo, a charming young folk singer from Newfoundland via Portugal, the eclectic Dominique Fils Aime from Montreal and Vieux Farka Toure, a Malian singer and guitarist.

All of the performers were entertaining but Dominique's jazzy creations were exceptional. If you haven't heard her you should check her out.

Apologies for the poor pictures it was difficult to get a clear shot.

 

Hrůša, CSO deliver a season highlight with bracing central European works

Chicago Classical Review » » Hrůša, CSO deliver a season highlight with bracing central European works

chicagoclassicalreview.com

The violinist's encore was stunning.

 

New conductor’s debut at Kauffman Hall

 

New conductor’s debut at Kauffman HallView attachment 127792View attachment 127793View attachment 127794View attachment 127795

A Nagata designed hall.. presume the acoustics are great ?

Phil

 

A Nagata designed hall.. presume the acoustics are great ?

Phil

We sat in the front of the center balcony and the acoustics were excellent.

 

The Folk Festival Society of Calgary recently put on a winter concert called Block Heater 2024. Those that live in a northernly climate will appreciate the humour.

The concert was at the intimate Central United Church in downtown Calgary, Alberta. The pews were uncomfortable, lol, but the amplified sound was excellent! The featured performers were Nico Paulo, a charming young folk singer from Newfoundland via Portugal, the eclectic Dominique Fils Aime from Montreal and Vieux Farka Toure, a Malian singer and guitarist.

All of the performers were entertaining but Dominique's jazzy creations were exceptional. If you haven't heard her you should check her out.

Apologies for the poor pictures it was difficult to get a clear shot.

Love Dominque Fils Aime!