The newly renovated Alice Tully Hall – Photo: Robert Polidori Alice Tully Hall, long reviled for its poor public spaces and horribly dry acoustics, has just undergone a $159 million renovation, and the initial response from both architecture critics and the musician tenants of the hall is very good. The hall’s main tenant is the
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I came across this video from Zach Carstensen’s Seattle-based arts blog The Gathering Note, and I’m quite impressed by the production values and the message that this video puts across – namely that music belongs everywhere in our lives, and that it is a joyful and affirming activity for listener and player alike. Also a
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(L – R) Kathrin Korngold Hubbard, Brendan G. Carroll (president of the International Korngold Society and author of Erich Korngold: The Last Prodigy – Amadeus Press 1997), Jessica Duchen (author of Erich Wolfgang Korngold – Phaidon Press 1996), and Guy Wagner at the dress rehearsal for Das Wunder der Heliane. Photo: Korngold Society. I’ve had
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Jun Iwasaki Photo: Absolute Images Be sure to check out James Bash’s excellent blog for an interview with OSO concertmaster Jun Iwasaki. Did you know that Jun first started on the cello? I didn’t!
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Carlos Kalmar – Photo: Oregon Symphony In case you missed it, the Oregonian ran a story about our music director Carlos Kalmar taking part in a brain study at OHSU. It involved Kalmar being put into an MRI machine, then listening to a movement of Dvorak’s Sixth Symphony (which he was rehearsing that week) while
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Alex Ross has an excellent article in the current issue of The New Yorker, where he talks about the fine arts as a more reasonable alternative to other forms of entertainment in difficult economic times: The image of the classical concert hall as a playground for the rich is planted deep in the cultural psyche.
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We’re halfway through the current pops run (plus one runout to Salem on Monday night) of Broadway classics/favorites, and now thoughts turn to the upcoming Classical series for next weekend. A highlight will be the solo debut of concertmaster Jun Iwasaki, playing the gorgeous Korngold Violin Concerto, Op. 35. The Violin Concerto is a lush,
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Itzhak Perlman, Gabriela Montero, Yo-Yo Ma and Anthony McGill (not pictured) at Obama’s Inauguration Tuesday (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg). There’s been a big to-do on every available media outlet about the bow/finger synching by the all-star classical quartet that performed at Obama’s inauguration this week. True, it would have been ideal if violinist Itzhak Perlman,
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I just got an email a couple days ago from Susan Franklin, who along with former OSO concertmaster Amy Schwarz Moretti, has founded the Portland Summer Ensembles program at Reed College. Here’s a bit of what she had to say about the program and its genesis: Amy and I started talking about having a chamber
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_MG_0727 | Originally uploaded by dbking click photo to enlarge …but this is our awesome First Couple!
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Photo: Bruce Forster Photography (click to enlarge) You really owe it to yourself to go to Third Angle New Music Ensemble’s Maximum Minimalism program this coming Friday, January 23 at 7:30 pm at Reed College Kaul Auditorium. For one, you’ll be hearing one of the great new music ensembles in town, featuring some of Portland’s
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Poor Yo-yo Ma gets harassed by an idiotic paparazzo at the airport. Pretty amusing, though. (Click the link below to watch the video) Thanks to Úna for finding this one! Yo-Yo Ma — Composed When Dissed – TMZ.com.
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I’ve been thinking about the elaborate process of playing in an orchestral section, and thought that hearing about that process might be enlightening for both casual and avid observers of orchestras. Particularly in the string sections, it’s a constant balancing act – literally. Keeping one’s sound both within the sound of the section and giving
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