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Matt Haimovitz Unveils “A Moveable Feast”: Bach and the Unexpected

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September 16, 2015

“This ferociously talented cellist bring his megawatt sound and uncommon expressive gifts to a vast variety of styles …” – The New York Times, September 2015

NEW RECORDING: J.S. BACH The Cello Suites According to Anna Magdalena

Fifteen years after his pivotal first recording of the Cello Suites by J.S. Bach, which launched the newborn Oxingale Records, Matt Haimovitz returns with a profoundly transformed interpretation inspired and informed by an authoritative manuscript copy by Anna Magdalena, Bach’s second wife. In this second foray into the period-instrument sphere – following his revelatory recording of the complete Beethoven Sonatas and Variations with Christopher O’Riley – Haimovitz performs the Suites on baroque cello as well as cello piccolo, the five-string instrument for which Suite VI was likely intended. While on the surface, Anna Magdalena’s version provides seemingly little guidance, the manuscript ultimately reveals interpretive insights and an idiomatic grammar to articulation and phrasing. The manuscript becomes a holy testament for Haimovitz in his new document of the Cello Suites.

From Haimovitz’s liner notes: The original manuscript of J.S. Bach’s 6 Suites for Cello Solo has been lost to history. Our only apostles are Johann Peter Kellner, an acquaintance of Bach, and Anna Magdalena, Bach’s second wife. Hers is a faithful copy of the original … more and more I turned to Anna Magdalena’s manuscript as particularly valuable, becoming increasingly convinced that hers is closest in spirit to the original. With humility, and no small dose of courage, I continue on my journey with Bach and The Cello Suites, studying the gospel according to Anna Magdalena.

For more complete notes on the manuscript and recording please see: The Cello Suites. The 2-disc SACD HD surround-sound release on the PENTATONE Oxingale Series is available world-wide on October 9.

SIX NEW COMMISSIONS: Overtures to Bach

Celebrating his evolving perspective on Bach, Haimovitz builds a bridge to our time with Overtures to Bach, a series of six new commissions, each one introducing one of the six Cello Suites. Haimovitz has commissioned a new Overture from composers Philip Glass, Du Yun, Vijay Iyer, Roberto Sierra, Mohammed Fairouz, and Luna Pearl Woolf.

The six new Overtures to Bach aim to both anticipate and reflect each of the Suites, expanding on the multitude of spiritual, multicultural, and vernacular references found in the Bach. Philip Glass seamlessly connects to the first suite, while Du Yun’s The Veronica quotes Serbian chant and Christian imagery for the second. Vijay Iyer’s Run responds to Bach’s third suite with a virtuosic display celebrating the resonance of the instrument and the composer’s jazz roots. Then, for the fourth suite, Roberto Sierra’s La Memoria morphs Bach’s motives into Latin forms and rhythms. Inspiration comes even further afield from Mohammed Fairouz, whose Gabriel finds a Sufi melody to anticipate the fifth suite, and from Luna Pearl Woolf, who responds to the sixth suite and the cello piccolo with Lili’uokalani, a work inspired by pre-Western Hawaiian chant. The six Overtures to Bach will be recorded for release on the PENTATONE Oxingale Series in spring 2016.

“A MOVEABLE FEAST”: Innovative Residencies

Haimovitz has been closely associated with J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites since the year 2000, when the former child prodigy jump-started the alt-classical revolution by taking his cello on the road across the U.S., playing the Suites in bars and coffeehouses, including New York’s now-defunct punk palace CBGB’s. Haimovitz will perform the complete cycle of J. S. Bach: The Cello Suites, pairing each suite with its counterpart from the Overtures to Bach commissions in several cities this season. Haimovitz’s “A Moveable Feast” residencies bring this music to unusual locations throughout the community before culminating in concert-hall performances at major venues. “A Moveable Feast” will be heard at Columbia University during a residency at Miller Theatre from October 21-24; at SUNY Oswego’s Artswego Series on September 15-16; at The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec near Ottawa on October 3; on Bloomsburg University’s Celebrity Artist Series on October 11; at Lac Brome, near Montreal, on October 18; at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York on November 6-7; and at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Fine Arts Center on March 6-7, 2016. More dates in North America and Europe to be announced.

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Released in January 2015, Haimovitz’s debut release on the PENTATONE Oxingale Series was BEETHOVEN, Period., the complete Beethoven Sonatas and Variations with Christopher O’Riley. Gramophone said “Haimovitz and pianist Christopher O’Riley play the living daylights out of these works” and included it among its list of Top Ten Beethoven Recordings. This summer saw the release of ORBIT, a new compilation of contemporary solo cello works, which The New York Times called “fascinating … heartwarming, scary, playful and groovy, this recording reveals worlds inside a single instrument.”

Brian Current is the Winner of the Inaugural Azrieli Commissioning Competition

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September 10, 2015

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The Azrieli Music Project (AMP) is proud to announce that Brian Current is the winner of the inaugural Azrieli Commissioning Competition, a $50,000 prize for a new work of orchestral Jewish Music of 15 to 25 minutes duration, by a Canadian composer. Two new prizes of $50,000 each were established this year by the Azrieli Foundation in order to celebrate, foster and create opportunities for the performance of high quality new orchestral music on a Jewish theme or subject. Current’s new work – along with the work to be awarded the international Azrieli Music Prize in early 2016 – will be performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Maestro Kent Nagano at The Azrieli Music Project Gala Concert at Maison symphonique de Montréal on October 19, 2016.

One of Canada’s most followed and lauded young composers, Brian Current – a graduate of McGill University as well as UC Berkeley – won a Juno Award earlier this year for his opera Airline Icarus. Azrieli Music Project founder Dr. Sharon Azrieli Perez comments, “I would like to offer my personal congratulations to Brian for both his exceptional talent as a composer, as well as the fascinating proposal he submitted to the competition. In the submissions we received from across the country, the jury noted the extremely high quality of the applicants, as well as the care and thought that went into the excellent proposals. We were impressed with the variety of topics considered and the creative approaches the applicants employed in their attempts to interpret the musical and philosophical questions at the heart of the Azrieli Commissioning Competition.” The choice of Mr. Current was unanimous amongst the Azrieli Music Project jury, which includes conductor Boris Brott; composer Aaron Jay Kernis; musicologist Neil Levin; conductor and composer Steven Mercurio; and composer Ana Sokolović.

Kent Nagano, Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal remarks: “The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is delighted to take part in this ground-breaking new commissioning initiative, which sets an impressive example for both philanthropy and new creation in Canada. On behalf of the OSM, I offer our sincere congratulations to Brian Current on winning the inaugural Azrieli Commissioning Competition, and our gratitude to the Azrieli Foundation for spearheading this collaborative project.”

Brian Current comments: “I cannot tell you how inspiring it is for the entire musical community that there is an award like the Azrieli Commissioning Competition that supports new Canadian creation on a grand scale. It is a beautiful example of visionary patronage and I’m sure that it will inspire many others to support artists across Canada. I am supremely grateful to be chosen for this opportunity and will my do my utmost to create a lasting and heartfelt work, and one that I hope will stand up to the Foundation’s remarkable vision of the prize.”

Brian Current’s The Seven Heavenly Halls will be scored for choir, orchestra and solo tenor. Current was inspired by the Zohar, the foundational book of the Kabbalah and the most mysterious of Jewish mystical texts. “While reading through the Zohar, I immediately heard turbulent and gestural music full of orchestral colours,” says Current, “Even more inspiring was the reference to the Sefer Hekalot or the Seven Heavenly Halls, a series of ecstatic stages where each vision is marked by a different colour.” The new work will trace a mystical progression through seven ecstatic states, each described by a musical colour. Current will add brighter and brighter overtones to the orchestration, reaching a climax where the music depicts an infinitely bright and dense vision. Current intends for The Seven Heavenly Halls to become part of River of Light, a six-movement cycle for choir, orchestra and soloists to be completed in 2018.

Commenting further on winning the first Azrieli Commissioning Competition, Current said: “As you can imagine, it is humbling to be asked to confront the music of one of the world’s great traditions, especially one that is not only a religion but also a philosophy, culture and way of life. However, I am completely inspired by the texts, melodies and harmonies of the Judaic tradition and the courage and beauty that have shaped them over the centuries. I sincerely believe that the audience will find these materials to be as inspiring as I have, and can’t wait to get to work on exploring and celebrating them in collaboration with the outstanding musicians and chorus of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.”

The Azrieli Music Project is now seeking submissions for the $50,000 Azrieli Prize in Jewish Music. The international prize will be awarded to the living composer of a recently composed and/or performed work of orchestral Jewish music, of minimum 15 minutes duration. The work must have been written in the last 10 years (after January 1, 2005), and have never been commercially recorded. Composers may be of any age, experience level, nationality, faith, background or affiliation. Deadline for submissions by open nomination is January 1, 2016.

The Azrieli Foundation is a Canadian philanthropic organization that supports a wide range of initiatives and programs in the fields of education, architecture and design, Jewish community, Holocaust commemoration and education, scientific and medical research, and the arts.

www.azrielifoundation.org/music

TUR MALKA: Yiddish Poets of Montreal ~ With a Modern Soundtrack

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August 1, 2015

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Transposing the rich musical traditions of the old world into the new, the award-winning multi-instrumentalist and composer Henri Oppenheim has created Tur Malka, a set of new songs based on the works of Yiddish poets of Montreal. Using old world inspiration to create a distinctly contemporary sound, Oppenheim’s poignant melodic tunes reveal a range of styles from folk ballads to electro-infused pop. Oppenheim and his band Magillah – which Le Devoir calls “spectacular … jubilant, joyous, and full of emotions” – bring Tur Malka to La Sala Rossa on Thursday, August 20 at 8:30pm, presented by the Jewish Community Foundation. Tur Malka features Oppenheim on guitar, accordion, and vocals, with guest vocalist Karen Young, Vanessa Marcoux (violin and mandolin), Michael Emenau (laptop, MIDI vibraphone, percussion) and Blanche Baillargeon (bass).

In advance of the concert, the Museum of Jewish Montreal will offer a special “Rabbis, Writers and Radicals” walking tour around Mile End, featuring the schools, libraries, and social clubs frequented by the Yiddish poets of Tur Malka. The 90-minute tour begins at 6:30 pm at the corner of Mont-Royal and Esplanade and will end at La Sala Rossa at 8:00 pm. Registration information ($25 for walking tour and concert) can be found at: facebook.com/museedumontrealjuif

From the dawning of the 20^th century until several decades following the Holocaust, Montreal became home to a large number of Yiddish writers and poets, seven of which are featured in Tur Malka: Jacob Isaac Segal, Chava Rosenfarb, Rokhl Korn, Melekh Ravitch, Ida Maze, A.M. Klein, and N.I. Gotlib. They came to this city built around a mountain – a phrase from the Talmud, Tur Malka means “Royal Mountain” – to escape war, search for justice and to build a better life. Anna Gonshor, Professor at McGill University and a specialist in Yiddish Language and Culture comments: “In bringing Montreal, Quebec and Canada to the world through the works of the Montreal Yiddish poets and outstanding musical interpretations, Henri Oppenheim has added to the wealth of the corpus of modern Yiddish literature and culture. Bravo!”

Composer Henri Oppenheim’s own family came from Lodz – as did the poet Chava Rosenfarb’s – passing through Kazakhstan and Paris before settling in Montreal. For him, the project is “a celebration – Tur Malka gives this wonderful poetry a new life.” Through the project, Oppenheim aims to convey this rich Montreal history, and contribute to the revival of a significant aspect of Yiddish culture in Canada for a new generation. A recording of Tur Malka, also featuring guests artists Socalled, Michel Rivard and Basia Bulat, and produced by Howard Bilerman, will be released on the ATMA label in January 2016.

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Transposant les riches traditions musicales de l’Ancien Monde vers le Nouveau, le compositeur et multi-instrumentiste Henri Oppenheim présente Tur Malka, un cycle de chansons originales sur des poèmes Yiddish du Montréal du XX^e siècle. Inspirées du “Vieux Monde” mais enracinées dans le présent, les mélodies poignantes de Tur Malka couvrent un éventail très large de styles, de ballade folk jusqu’à des rythmes pop-électro. Oppenheim et son ensemble Magillah – que Le Devoir qualifie de “spectaculaire … jubilatoire, joyeux et plein d’émotions” – se produisent à la Sala Rossa le jeudi 20 août à 20 h 30, grâce au soutien de la Fondation communautaire juive de Montréal. En plus d’Henri Oppenheim à l’accordéon, guitare et chant, l’ensemble Magillah est constitué de la chanteuse invitée Karen Young, de Vanessa Marcoux au violon, de Michael Emenau au laptop et percussion, et de Blanche Baillargeon à la basse.

Avant le concert, le Musée du Montréal Juif offre une promenade historique dans le Mile End, “Rabbins, écrivains et militants radicaux”, présentant les écoles, bibliothèques et clubs sociaux que fréquentaient les poètes de Tur Malka. La promenade de 90 minutes commence à 18h30 au coin Mont-Royal Esplanade et s’achève à 20h à la Sala Rossa. Inscriptions (25$ pour ballade + concert) à facebook.com/museedumontrealjuif

Depuis l’aube du 20^e siècle jusqu’à bien après l’Holocauste, Montréal, ville construite autour d’une montagne – “Tur Malka”, issu du Talmud, signifie “Montagne du Roi” – a accueilli une large communauté de poètes et d’écrivains Yiddish qui fuyaient la misère, les persécutions et rêvaient d’une vie meilleure. Sept d’entre eux sont représentés dans le projet Tur Malka: Jacob Isaac Segal, Chava Rosenfarb, Rokhl Korn, Melekh Ravitch, Ida Maze, A.M. Klein, et N.I. Gotlib. D’après Anna Gonshor, Professeur à l’Université McGill et spécialiste en langue et culture Yiddish, “en ramenant à la lumière le travail des poètes Yiddish de Montréal dans de remarquables compositions musicales, Henri Oppenheim apporte une contribution significative au corpus de la littérature Yiddish moderne.”

À l’instar des poètes Yiddish de Montréal qu’il met en musique, Henri Oppenheim est le fruit de l’exil, de Lodz en Pologne (comme la poétesse Chava Rosenfarb) jusqu’à Montréal, en passant par le Kazakhstan, Nice et Paris. Il donne une nouvelle vie à des trésors oubliés de l’histoire de sa ville d’adoption et apporte un témoignage important de la culture juive canadienne pour les nouvelles générations. L’enregistrement de Tur Malka, réalisé et enregistré par Howard Bilerman et sur lequel apparaissent des invités prestigieux comme Socalled, Michel Rivard et Basia Bulat, sortira en janvier 2016 sous le label ATMA.

J.S. Bach’s Complete and Original Goldberg Variations With a Newly-Composed Counterpoint for the Violin by Joe Chindamo

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July 31, 2015

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ALFI Records is pleased to present The New Goldberg Variations, an inventive and inspired re-imagining of Bach’s masterwork, from Australian duo Zoë Black, violin, and pianist Joe Chindamo. First performed recently and to great acclaim in Melbourne, The New Goldberg Variations features Bach’s complete and original Goldberg Variations with a newly-composed counterpoint for the violin by Joe Chindamo. The world premiere recording will be released in North America on August 28. In addition, Black and Chindamo will make their U.S. debut as a duo, performing The New Goldberg Variations in recital at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall on Wednesday, September 30 at 8:00 pm.

Well-known in their native Australia, Black, a leading classical violinist, and Chindamo, an internationally-acclaimed jazz pianist, composer and arranger, are praised for combining the rigor of classical music and the excitement and urbanity of jazz. They are described by Limelight Magazine as “brimming with creativity … instead of breaking down boundaries, this duo appears not to notice them.”

“The Goldberg Variations is my refuge,” says Chindamo, “it satisfies me intellectually and nurtures my soul.” However, the addition of an extra violin line to Bach’s work – where the piano part remains unaltered – is a daring venture, which Chindamo did not undertake lightly: “When Zoe asked me if I would write a part for her, the only self-imposed rule was that I would not alter a single note Bach wrote, and decided to adhere to Bach’s language and aesthetic. Now, this is dangerous idea because to write in the style of Bach is akin to introducing another character into one of Shakespeare’s plays!” Before long, the project became an obsession imbued with an intense sense of purpose for Chindamo, “As I worked through the variations, the violin part increasingly assumed a collaborative role and then, it was almost as if Bach’s original keyboard part began to posthumously respond to the violin!” With The New Goldberg Variations, Chindamo and Black have created an improvisational meeting between two players, across almost three centuries.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, violinist Zoë Black has performed throughout the world as soloist, chamber musician and as a member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, with whom she held the position of Assistant Leader for five years. During the past decade she has dedicated her energies to Chamber Music and was a founding member of Freshwater and Firebird Trios. Zoë has performed in Moscow and at Tanglewood; with the Juilliard, Guarneri and Takács Quartets; and in Israel with Shlomo Mintz. Recently, Black led the Australian String Quartet on a tour to Italy.

Described as one of the best jazz pianists in the world, Joe Chindamo has composed concertos, chamber music and film music. He has recorded 23 CDs and performed on more than 60 film scores. His performances around the world include concerts at the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Tokyo Dome, and Lincoln Centre in New York, numerous world tours with drummer Billy Cobham, and concerts in Italy with pianist Michele Campanella and at the invitation of celebrated piano maker Paolo Fazioli. As a composer, Chindamo has been commissioned by ensembles including the Acacia Quartet, the Freshwater and Seraphim Trios, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Black and Chindamo’s previous duo recordings include Re- Imaginings, featuring compositions by Chindamo alongside his re-imaginings of Chopin, Schumann, Handel; and Dido’s Lament, mixing Chindamo’s own compositions and re-imaginings of Scarlatti, Puccini and Purcell, with a verbatim reading of Prokofiev’s Five melodies, Op 35bis, which was nominated for Australia’s ARIA Award for Best Classical Album of 2014.

alfirecords.com joeandzoeduo.com

Montreal’s Boldly Inventive String Ensemble collectif9 Launches a Massive Tour of Over 50 Dates

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July 30, 2015

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Montreal’s collectif9, a nine-piece string ensemble that brings rock-style charisma to classical music, launches a massive tour of over 50 dates starting this July. With bold, innovative arrangements of classical repertoire, collectif9 brings classical music to pop-culture audiences in an array of diverse performance spaces. In music ranging from Brahms to Piazzolla to John Zorn, the extraordinary artists of collectif9 mix amplification, improvisation, and stage effects to heighten musical performances of the very highest standard. As Le Droit commented, “For classical music to become more accessible to all, the prevailing watchword is collectif9.”

Beginning July 8, collectif9 sets off on an extensive eight-month tour across Quebec, with the support of the Entrées en scène Loto-Québec program. The jam-packed fall season will also include dates in Ontario and the release of the ensemble’s debut recording, Volksmobiles. Back on the road in early 2016, collectif9 will hit select cities in New Brunswick and take the stage at major venues in Montreal (Théâtre Outremont on February 19) and Toronto (Music Toronto at the Jane Mallett Theatre on March 10).

With a vibrant collection of short, folk-inspired classical works, including Brahms’ Rondo alla zingarese, Quebec composer André Gagnon’s Petit concerto pour Carignan, and chamber works by Schnittke and Aldemaro Romero, each collectif9 show bursts with energy and the unexpected.

Founded in Montreal in 2011, collectif9 has performed at Montreal’s Club Soda and Rialto Theatre, and at Ottawa Chamberfest. In 2012, they launched LIVEshorts, a series of live online performances in unique settings. Videos featuring music by Bartók, Osvaldo Golijov, Shostakovich, and others, can be found at www.collectif9.ca.

collectif9 is: Thibault Bertin-Maghit, leader and bass; Scott Chancey, viola; Jérémie Cloutier, cello; Yubin Kim, violin; Xavier Lepage-Brault, viola; Frédéric Moisan, violin; Grégor Monlun, violin; Andrea Stewart, cello; Roland Arnassalon, violin; and sound engineer Rufat Aliev.

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L’ensemble montréalais collectif9, qui réunit neuf instrumentistes à cordes reconnus pour insuffler une énergie de concert rock au répertoire classique, amorce en juillet une importante tournée de plus de 50 spectacles. Avec des arrangements audacieux et novateurs, collectif9 présente la musique classique à des publics adeptes de culture pop dans des lieux de diffusion inusités. Dans un programme allant de Brahms à Piazzolla, et à John Zorn, les fabuleux instrumentistes de collectif9 combinent les ressources de la sonorisation, de l’improvisation et des effets scéniques pour magnifier leurs interprétations musicales du plus haut niveau. Comme on a pu le lire dans Le Droit : « Que la musique classique devienne plus accessible à tous : tel semble être le mot d’ordre qui prévaut chez collectif9. »

À compter du 8 juillet, collectif9 prend la route pour une longue tournée de huit mois à travers le Québec, rendue possible avec le soutien du programme Les Entrées en scène Loto-Québec. La saison automnale chargée comprendra également des concerts en Ontario, et le lancement du premier CD de la formation, intitule Volksmobiles. Au début 2016, collectif9 reprendra la route avec notamment des spectacles au Nouveau-Brunswick, et dans des salles d’envergure à Montréal (le 19 février au Théâtre Outremont) et à Toronto (le 10 mars, présenté par Music Toronto au Jane Mallett Theatre).

Avec un programme débordant d’énergie dans lequel figurent des pièces classiques inspirées du folklore, telles que le Rondo alla zingarese de Brahms, le Petit concerto pour Carignan du québécois André Gagnon, ainsi que des œuvres de chambre de Schnittke et Aldemaro Romero, collectif9 donne une ambiance festive et un esprit de découverte à ses spectacles.

Fondé à Montréal en 2011, collectif9 s’est produit au Club Soda et au Théâtre Rialto ainsi qu’au Chamberfest d’Ottawa. En 2012, la formation mettait en ligne ses LIVEshorts, une série de capsules vidéo de performances présentées dans des lieux improbables. Des vidéos de pièces de Bartók, Osvaldo Golijov, Shostakovich, et autres sont accessibles en ligne à www.collectif9.ca.

collectif9 est : Thibault Bertin-Maghit, directeur et contrebasse ; Scott Chancey, alto ; Jérémie Cloutier, violoncelle ; Yubin Kim, violon ; Xavier Lepage-Brault, alto ; Frédéric Moisan, violon ; Grégor Monlun, violon ; Andrea Stewart, violoncelle ; Roland Arnassalon, violon ; et l’ingénieur du son Rufat Aliev.

ORBIT: A Fascinating Portrait of Cellist Matt Haimovitz Featuring a Kaleidoscope of Musical Influences from the Past Seventy Years

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July 20, 2015

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“A remarkable virtuoso” who “never turns in a predictable performance.”

– The New Yorker (April 2015)

Since the turn of the millennium, the solo cello recital has been a Matt Haimovitz trademark. Now, fresh off the release of his critically acclaimed BEETHOVEN, Period., a look back to period performance practice, Haimovitz reclaims his stake in the here and now with ORBIT, a new compilation of solo cello works from 22 contemporary composers. Comprised mainly of the solo tracks from five of his previous albums, this second release on the new Pentatone Oxingale Series also includes two new tracks: Orbit by Philip Glass and the world premiere recording of a new arrangement of the Beatles’ Helter Skelter by Luna Pearl Woolf. Featuring composers from Ligeti and Berio to Gilles Tremblay and Du Yun, ORBIT thrillingly charts Haimovitz’s 15-year journey of artistry, intensity, and adventure. The SACD HD surround sound release is available on August 14, 2015.

ORBIT draws from five thematic albums previously released on Oxingale Records: Anthem (2003), Goulash! (2005), After Reading Shakespeare (2007), Figment (2009), and Matteo (2011). The 3-CD collection also highlights Haimovitz’s remarkable partnership – in life and in art – with composer Luna Pearl Woolf, who produced almost all of the tracks, which have now been remastered for SACD HD surround sound.

“With the solo cello as our pilot, we steer headlong into the great musical debates of the past half-century,” says Haimovitz, “maximalist vs. minimalist; folk-rooted vs. abstract, absolute vs. narrative, tonal vs. atonal. In many ways, we live in a golden age of music. We can look back at the 20th century’s Tower of Babel and embrace its boldness, diversity, complexity, and its return to the natural order of harmony.”

Highlights of the collection include Haimovitz’s version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Star-Spangled Banner,” recorded live at the now defunct New York City punk palace CBGB. Also from Anthem are commissions from David Sanford and Toby Twining, steeped in jazz and blues, and works by Osvaldo Golijov and Tod Machover with far-flung exotic influences from Argentina and India. Folk-infused compositions by György Ligeti and Adrian Pop represent Goulash!, while Ned Rorem’s suite “After Reading Shakespeare” is joined by literary-influenced works by Lewis Spratlan and Paul Moravec. The works from the album Figment spring from the two “Figments” of Elliott Carter, leading to further virtuosic selections from Du Yun, Serge Provost, Luna Pearl Woolf, Ana Sokolovic, and Steven Stucky. The tracks from the album Matteo – which celebrated the 300^th birthday of Haimovitz’s Venetian Matteo Goffriller cello – highlight the Italian avant-garde with works by Luigi Dallapiccola, Luciano Berio, and Salvatore Sciarrino.

ORBIT will be launched at the Cabrillo Festival in Santa Cruz where Haimovitz will perform the west coast premiere of Philip Glass’ Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with violinist Tim Fain and conductor Marin Alsop, on August 15. The next month brings more Glass as Haimovitz performs alongside the Philip Glass ensemble for a screening of the 2002 film Naqoyqatsi at the Days & Nights Festival in Carmel, California on September 26. (Haimovitz has previously recorded Philip Glass’ Cello Concerto No. 2, which was adapted from the Naqoyqatsi score.) He can also be heard in a recent performance of Glass’ The Orchard, with pianist Christopher O’Riley, for an NPR Tiny Desk Concert here.

Having recently performed Vivaldi with Kent Nagano for his Musical Days Festival in San Francisco, Matt Haimovitz will also take on the Brahms Double Concerto with violinist Rachel Barton Pine at the Big Sky Classical Music Festival in Montana on August 9. Two weeks earlier, on July 26, he brings his all-cello ensemble Uccello to Napa Valley’s Festival del Sole for a performance of Angel Heart, a music storybook by Luna Pearl Woolf with a text by Cornelia Funke, also featuring singers Frederica von Stade and Lisa Delan. Come September, Haimovitz will open the concert season at Bourgie Hall at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, performing Ravel with violinist Andrew Wan and pianist André Laplante.

In October, Haimovitz will launch his new recording of the Bach Cello Suites for Pentatone with a special residency at Miller Theatre, Columbia University, in New York City.

For a full list of concert dates please see: oxingalerecords.com/events-calendar

Debut Release on the CORO Connections Series Features Beethoven Sonatas for Fortepiano and Violin

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June 1, 2015

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CORO is proud to introduce CORO Connections, a new series from the award-winning London-based CORO record label. All of the artists on CORO Connections have links to Harry Christophers, The Sixteen, and Handel and Haydn Society. The first artists to be featured on the new series are violinist Susanna Ogata and pianist Ian Watson. This first of four volumes of the Beethoven Sonatas for Fortepiano and Violin features Beethoven’s Fourth Sonata, Op. 23 in A minor, as well as the revolutionary ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata, his ninth, Op. 47 in A major – a blazing landmark in violin virtuosity and classical music repertoire. The new recording (COR16138) is available this month from Allegro Classical.

In these tremendous works, the artists use period instruments for which the music was originally written. Watson and Ogata reveal not only the clarity of Beethoven’s extraordinary musical structure, but also an amazing palette of colors. In doing so, this duo aims to recreate the white-hot intensity of the moment these striking sonatas were written and first performed.

Praised for her musical “sensitivity and fire” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), violinist Susanna Ogata is dedicated to exploring music on historical instruments. She was recently appointed as Assistant Concertmaster of the Handel and Haydn Society orchestra, conducted by Harry Christophers.

Ian Watson has been described by The Times in London as a keyboard performer with “virtuosic panache and brilliantly articulated playing.” He was appointed Resident Conductor of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society 2014.

Additional artists on upcoming CORO Connections releases will include organist Robert Quinney, Welsh soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, and violist David Miller. A number of back-catalogue titles featuring all of CORO’s guest artists to date will also be re-branded with the new CORO Connections logo.

The Azrieli Music Project Announces Distinguished Jury

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May 5, 2015

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The Azrieli Music Project (AMP) is pleased to announce the distinguished jury for the Azrieli Prize in Jewish Music and the Azrieli Commissioning Competition: conductor Boris Brott; composer Aaron Jay Kernis; musicologist Neil Levin; conductor and composer Steven Mercurio; and composer Ana Sokolović. The two new prizes of $50,000 each were established this year to celebrate, foster and create opportunities for the performance of high quality new orchestral music on a Jewish theme or subject. The winning works will be performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Maestro Kent Nagano at The Azrieli Music Project Gala Concert at the Maison symphonique de Montréal in October 2016.

“I am delighted to announce the five members of the Azrieli Music Project jury, who collectively represent an extraordinary wealth of expertise and diverse experience,” comments Dr. Sharon Azrieli Perez, who spearheaded the creation of the new prizes. “From eminent composers Aaron Jay Kernis and Ana Sokolović, to internationally acclaimed conductors, Maestros Brott and Mercurio, to Neil Levin, who has added so much to our depth of knowledge and understanding of Jewish music through his work as a scholar and with the Milken Archive, we have a truly outstanding jury. I look forward to their selection of the two worthy prizewinners.”

Maestro Boris Brott is one of the most internationally recognized Canadian conductors, and enjoys an international career as guest conductor, educator, motivational speaker and cultural ambassador. He is Artistic Director of the McGill Chamber Orchestra in Montreal, the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari, Italy. He is also Artistic Director of the Brott Musical Festivals in Ontario and Founding Music Director of the New West Symphony in Los Angeles. Boris Brott served as Assistant Conductor to the New York Philharmonic under the late Leonard Bernstein, was Music Director and Conductor for the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, Chief Conductor of the BBC National Symphony of Wales, and Music Director of the Northern Sinfonia of England. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, Member of the Order of Ontario and Grand officier de l’Ordre national du Quebec.

Aaron Jay Kernis is one of the youngest composers ever to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and was winner of the coveted 2002 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. One of today’s most frequently performed composers, Kernis is noted for his “fearless originality [and] powerful voice” (The New York Times). Recent and upcoming commissions include new concerti for cellist Joshua Roman and for violist Paul Neubauer, works for eighth blackbird, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Chambermusic Northwest for David Shifrin and the Orion Quartet, and his third string quartet for the Jasper Quartet. Kernis was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Classical Music Hall of Fame. He was co-founder and Director of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Composer Institute for 15 years, and currently teaches composition at Yale School of Music, a position he’s occupied since 2003. His music has been recorded on Nonesuch, New Albion, Koch, Naxos, Virgin Classics, and Britain’s Argo label.

Neil W. Levin is recognized as one of the leading authorities in the field of Jewish music and is in much demand as a lecturer and presenter at university seminars and academic conferences throughout the United States, Europe, and Israel. Since 1993, he has been Artistic Director of the Milken Archive, which was founded to document, preserve, and disseminate the vast body of music that pertains to the American Jewish experience, and is also known for its groundbreaking 50-CD series released on the Naxos label. He has been professor of Jewish music on the faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York since 1982. Dr. Levin is also an accomplished pianist and a highly regarded choral conductor. He is the creator of “Vanished Voices,” a Holocaust commemoration incorporating his research into the music traditions of German-speaking Jewry, which was performed under his baton in 1996 at London’s Barbican Centre as well as in Los Angeles and New York.

Maestro Steven Mercurio is an internationally acclaimed conductor and composer whose musical versatility encompasses the symphonic and operatic worlds. He has conducted more than forty-five different operas at many of the world’s best loved opera houses. As a symphonic conductor, he has led the London Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonia, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, among others, and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra where he was Music Director. Maestro Mercurio has conducted numerous historic telecasts, including the “Christmas in Vienna” series with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra for Sony Classical, highlighted by the 1999 concert featuring “The Three Tenors;” and the PBS special “American Dream–Andrea Bocelli’s Statue of Liberty Concert” with the New Jersey Symphony. Mercurio also led the worldwide tour of Sting, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and culminating in the DVD “Live in Berlin.” Also a composer, Mercurio’s “For Lost Loved Ones” was premiered by Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic.

Serbian born composer Ana Sokolović is currently a Professor of Composition at the University of Montreal. Active in Canada since the mid-1990s, she has written for many of Canada’s orchestras and chamber ensembles, including performances throughout Europe and North America. She was the recipient of a National Arts Centre Award in 2009, and the SOCAN Jan V. Matejcek Award in 2008, 2012, and 2013. Professor Sokolović has also been honoured with major awards from the Conseil québecois de la musique, the Canada Council for the Arts and the CBC Young Composer’s Competition. The Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) marked the 20th anniversary of Ana Sokolović’s arrival in Quebec with a celebration of her body of work; more than 200 events were presented in her honour across Canada. She has just received a prestigious commission from the Canadian Opera Company for a main-stage opera that will be premiered during the 2019/20 season.

For the purposes of the Azrieli Prize in Jewish Music and the Azrieli Commissioning Competition, Jewish Music is defined as incorporating a Jewish thematic or Jewish musical influence. Jewish themes may include biblical, historical, liturgical, secular or folk elements, as well as themes and content drawn from contemporary Jewish life and experience. The AMP challenges orchestral composers of all faiths, backgrounds and affiliations to engage creatively and critically with the meaning of “Jewish Music.”

The Azrieli Prize in Jewish Music is an international prize, awarded to the living composer of a recently composed and/or performed work of orchestral Jewish music, of minimum 15 minutes duration. The work must have been written in the last 10 years (after January 1, 2005), and have never been commercially recorded. Composers may be of any age, experience level, nationality, faith, background or affiliation. Deadline for submissions by open nomination is January 1, 2016.

The Azrieli Commissioning Competition is a commissioning grant for a work of new orchestral Jewish music between 15 and 25 minutes duration. This prize is limited to Canadian citizens or permanent residents of any age, experience level, faith, background or affiliation. Submissions are now closed; the winning composer will be announced in June 2015.

The Azrieli Foundation is a Canadian philanthropic organization that supports a wide range of initiatives and programs in the fields of education, architecture and design, Jewish community, Holocaust commemoration and education, scientific and medical research, and the arts.

www.azrielifoundation.org/music

Æolus Quartet in Recital: Death and Transfiguration

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April 21, 2015

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Music by Schubert, Schoenberg, and the World Premiere of Alcyone by Douglas Boyce

Praised by the Baltimore Sun for combining “smoothly meshed technique with a sense of spontaneity and discovery,” the Aeolus Quartet is one of the brightest and most versatile young string quartets on the scene today, committed to presenting time-seasoned masterworks and cutting-edge compositions with equal freshness, dedication, and fervor. The summation of the quartet’s two-year term as Graduate String Quartet in Residence at the Juilliard School is the concert Death and Transfiguration, the Lisa Arnhold Memorial Recital on Monday, May 4, 2015 at 8:00pm at Alice Tully Hall. The program features Schubert’s Death and the Maiden; Schoenberg’s string sextet Verklärte Nacht, with guest appearances from Juilliard String Quartet cellist Joel Krosnick and violist Samuel Rhodes; and the world premiere of Alcyone by Douglas Boyce, commissioned by the quartet.

The Aeolus Quartet is comprised of violinists Nicholas Tavani and Rachel Shapiro, violist Gregory Luce, and cellist Alan Richardson. Since coming together at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2008, the Aeolus Quartet has been a prizewinner at nearly every major competition in the United States and has performed around the world. They have released two critically acclaimed albums of classical and contemporary works on the Longhorn/Naxos label.

The quartet approached composer Douglas Boyce, associate professor of music and department chair at George Washington University, to create a new work for this recital. Taking inspiration from the quartet’s name Aeolus, the Greek god who governed the four winds, Boyce turned to the mythical figure of Alcyone – Aeolus’ daughter – who transforms into a kingfisher, as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Incorporating several short movements derived from scenes and images from the Alcyone myth, the quartet will occupy several arrangements in the performance space, setting an array of dramatic and sonic tableaux for aspects of the myth: lovers separated, spectral visitation, the reuniting and transformation of self, and the inescapable distances of memory and time.

Complementing this theme of transformation, the Aeolus Quartet performs Schubert’s testament to death, his String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, known as Death and the Maiden, from the composer’s own 1817 song which forms the theme of the second movement. The third major work making up the program is another pillar of the chamber music repertory: Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night). The string sextet in one movement from 1899 is based on a poem by Richard Dehmel which describes a man and woman walking through a dark forest on a moonlit night, and the woman’s revelation of a dark secret. For this powerful work, the Aeolus is joined by two superb artists and mentors, from the Juilliard String Quartet: cellist Joel Krosnick and violist Samuel Rhodes.

In recent months the Aeolus Quartet has traversed the globe – including a residency in Abu Dhabi in affiliation with Khalifa University and Chamber Music Abu Dhabi, and as featured ensemble in residence at the Jeju Island Music Festival in South Korea. Upcoming dates include New York’s Bargemusic and the OK Mozart festival, including a recital with pianist Jon Kimura Parker, in June; and the Bay Chamber Music Summer Series and Maine’s Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in July. The Aeolus Quartet is also widely recognized for their highly innovative and engaging outreach programs and was awarded the 2013 Educator Award by The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association.

DCINY Presents Verdi’s Majestic Requiem with 400 Voices at Carnegie Hall

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April 21, 2015

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Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, a monumental work for chorus, soloists and orchestra, replete with intense drama and gloriously beautiful melodies. The composer’s only large-scale work not written for the stage, the Requiem stands in stature and artistry alongside Verdi’s great operatic masterpieces. DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Jonathan Griffith leads the Distinguished Concerts Singers International, a majestic force of 400 voices, comprised of outstanding choirs from seven states as well as the U.K., Canada and Denmark, and the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra. DCINY is delighted to welcome back acclaimed soloists: soprano Penelope Shumate; mezzo-soprano Claudia Chapa; tenor John Pickle; and baritone Christopher Job. Verdi’s Messa da Requiem will be performed on Sunday, May 24 at 8:30pm at Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall.

Giuseppe Verdi first wrote his famous Libera me (Deliver me) after the death of operatic great Gioacchino Rossini, and was inspired to complete his Requiem following the death of his personal hero, poet Alessandro Manzoni. The work met with tremendous success when it was debuted in May 1874 – first very reverently at the cathedral of Saint Mark in Milan, then at La Scala opera house. The music of the Requiem is characterized by wild undulations – from sparse, otherworldly vocals to brass-heavy brimstone and fire, and back again. Throughout, Verdi uses the terrifying theme of the Dies irae (Day of Wrath) to remind the listener of his inevitable mortality and judgment. The work’s far-reaching spiritual and emotional magnitude has been met with tremendous longevity and popularity over the last 140 years.

An acclaimed conductor, educator and lecturer, JONATHAN GRIFFITH has led performances across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Griffith is the 2014 winner of The American Prize in Conducting, in the professional orchestra division. The American Prize is a series of new, non-profit competitions designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, ensembles and composers in the United States. In naming Griffith as its winner, the American Prize judges specifically noted his “energetic” and “committed” performances. Jonathan Griffith is co-founder and artistic director of DCINY which has brought together, under Griffith’s artistic leadership, thousands of musicians and choral singers in concert at prestigious venues across the United States, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Disney Hall.

Soprano Penelope Shumate last appeared with DCINY as soprano soloist for Messiah … Refreshed!, when The New York Times said she “sang the soprano solos with appealing bell-like clarity and surpassing sweetness.” Recently she has performed as soloist with the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Rapides Symphony Orchestra, and Oklahoma City Philharmonic, among others, and with opera companies including Baltimore Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Saratoga, and Utah Festival Opera.

Mexican mezzo-soprano Claudia Chapa recently made a return appearance with Houston’s Opera in the Heights as The Witch in Hansel und Gretel, and was soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Gulf Coast Symphony. She returns this season to The Glimmerglass Festival as Third Lady in The Magic Flute. Other recent roles include Dame Quickly in Falstaff for Opera St. Louis, and Azucena in Verdi’s Il Trovatore for Opera in Williamsburg. On a concert soloist, Ms. Chapa’s has performed Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, and De Falla’s El Amor Brujo.

Tenor John Pickle recently made his debut with Los Angeles Opera as Erik in Der fliegende Holländer, a role which he has performed to great acclaim with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Utah Festival Opera and Michigan Opera Theatre. Additional roles include Cavaradossi in Tosca, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Don José in Carmen, and Radamés in Aïda. In concert, his appearances include Mahler’s 8th Symphony with Houston Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Lima Symphony. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2008 with Schubert’s Mass in G Major and the Mozart Requiem conducted by John Rutter. Mr. Pickle can be heard on several operetta recordings for the Albany Records and Newport Classic labels.

Baritone Christopher Job returns to The Metropolitan Opera this season to sing The Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo and for Macbeth. He will also sing Ashby in La fanciulla del West for Des Moines Metro Opera, and appears in The Manchurian Candidate at Minnesota Opera. Recent notable roles include his Italian debut at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Il Podestà in Rossini’s La gazza ladra; Escamillo in Carmen with Lyric Opera Virginia; and Alidoro in La Cenerentola with the Festival Lyrique de Belle-Île-en-Mer in France. Job has appeared in numerous Metropolitan Opera productions including Janáček’s From the House of the Dead, and Shostakovich’s The Nose. Mr. Job’s concert appearances include My Fair Lady with the New York Philharmonic, sharing the stage with Kelsey Grammer and Brian Dennehy; soloist in Mozart’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall; Verdi’s Requiem with the Denver Opera Company; and Handel’s Messiah with DCINY.

Distinguished Concerts International New York Founded by Iris Derke (general director) and Jonathan Griffith (artistic director and principal conductor) Distinguished Concerts International is driven by passion, innovative vision, a total belief in its artists, and unwavering commitment to bringing forth unforgettable audience experiences. DCINY is a creative producing entity with unmatched integrity that is a talent incubator, a star-maker, and a presenter of broadly accessible, world-class musical entertainment. For more information about upcoming DCINY musical events around the world, please visit: www.DCINY.org.

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