21C Media Group

Yefim Bronfman: autumn 2010

2010-09-06

Yefim Bronfman covers a vast breadth of virtuoso piano repertoire, as his 2010-11 schedule serves to underscore. His autumn concerto programs across the U.S. and Europe range from Prokofiev and Bartók to Tchaikovsky and Brahms. As the duo partner of violinist-violist and longtime friend Pinchas Zukerman, he performs Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms on a November tour of America capped with an appearance at Carnegie Hall. And, in December, Bronfman tours Austria and Germany playing the Piano Concerto written for him by Esa-Pekka Salonen, with the composer conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. Nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award for their Deutsche Grammophon recording of the concerto, Bronfman and Salonen have a long history of winning awards together; they won a Grammy in 1997 for their Bartók concertos album.

“Music Makes a City” opens in New York, Sep 17

2010-08-31

From Sept 17 – 23, New Yorkers will have a chance to see a “tale of artistic vision” (Symphony) at the Quad Cinema. The feature-length documentary film Music Makes a City tells a tale of civic aspiration, cultural ingenuity, and how Louisville, Kentucky became the world's unlikely capital of new music in the 1950s. According to Sedgwick Clark, of MusicalAmerica.com, “Anyone interested in classical music should see this uplifting story of American ingenuity at its best.”

René Pape: autumn 2010

2010-08-30

René Pape will be the toast of the opera world again this season when he assumes two of his signature roles on two of the world's greatest stages: the title role of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in a new production at New York's Metropolitan Opera (Oct 11-30) and Wotan in Wagner's Die Walküre as part of the ongoing Ring cycle at Milan's La Scala (Dec 7 - Jan 2). The Dresden native, dubbed "today's reigning bass" by the Chicago Sun-Times, also features in another of his great roles – Gurnemanz in Wagner's Parsifal – on a recording of the opera led by Valery Gergiev, due out on September 14 on the Mariinsky label.

Seraphic Fire's Vespers hits #1 on iTunes

2010-08-29

Seraphic Fire’s self-released recording of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 soared to #1 on the iTunes classical chart over the weekend, and briefly rose above pop diva Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster (Deluxe Edition) on the iTunes all-genre chart on Sunday. The rapid success of Seraphic Fire’s “indie” outing prompted NPR’s All Things Considered to run its story about Seraphic Fire, “From Zero to Hero”, on its weekend edition. “It promptly landed in the Top 10 classical recordings on iTunes, sandwiched between the London Symphony Orchestra's Beethoven and Yo-Yo Ma’s Bach,” enthused NPR’s Jeff Lunden. “What makes this surprising is that the recording is by a little-known Miami-based professional choir called Seraphic Fire — and the musicians released it themselves.”

Dalbavie conducts world premiere of his Gesualdo at Zurich Opera

2010-08-28

The eagerly-awaited world premiere production of Marc-André Dalbavie’s new opera Gesualdo opens at Zurich Opera on October 9, for a run of seven performances. The opera depicts the controversial and colorful life of 16^th-century Italian composer and nobleman Carlo Gesualdo, after the brutal murder of his cuckolding wife and her lover by Gesualdo’s own hand.

Yefim Bronfman on PBS’s Great Performances tonight

2010-08-25

Tonight, Wednesday, August 25, PBS’s Great Performances premieres "Vienna Philharmonic's Summer Night Concert 2010", featuring Yefim Bronfman’s stunning interpretation of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the orchestra conducted by Franz Welser-Mös

eighth blackbird plays Reich’s Double Sextet on new CD (out Sep 14)

2010-08-24

eighth blackbird’s much-anticipated new recording of Steve Reich’s Double Sextet will be released by Nonesuch on September 14. Described by the composer as “one of [his] best works,” Double Sextet (2007) was commissioned by and written for eighth blackbird – “the straight-A students of the contemporary scene” (Washington Post) – who gave the work its world premiere in 2008. It won Reich the Pulitzer Prize in 2009 and features prominently in eighth blackbird’s programming.

Metropolitan Opera Guild news: September 2010

2010-08-18

As the opera world prepares for the new season, the September issue of Opera News looks forward to some of its upcoming highlights. The cover story profiles René Pape, king of the opera world’s basses, who takes on the title role of the Metropolitan Opera’s new Boris Godunov. Additional features explore the enduring popularity of Wagner’s Ring cycle, soon returning to the Met in Lepage’s new production; the life and poetry of Pablo Neruda, who inspired Daniel Catán’s new opera, Il Postino; tenor sensations Vittorio Grigolo and Michael Fabiano; and much more. The September issue also offers a guide to the smartest ticket choices of the 2010-11 season, plus an opportunity to win a trip to New York to attend the sixth annual Opera News Awards.

Met Opera Guild receives $1 million education grant

2010-08-17

The Metropolitan Opera Guild has received a $1 million grant, which will be awarded over the next four years, from the United States Department of Education (DOE) for the Guild’s Comprehensive Opera-Based Arts Learning and Teaching (COBALT) project. Of 200 applications reviewed by the Department of Education, the Guild’s ranked ninth among the 33 projects that received funding.

Jeremy Denk performs at Bard, Mostly Mozart, and Tanglewood (Aug 13-21)

2010-08-16

Jeremy Denk’s summer festival tour continues this week with appearances at three of the season’s most prestigious U.S. festivals: Bard (Aug 13-15), Mostly Mozart (Aug 17-19), and Tanglewood (Aug 21). In repertoire ranging from solo and chamber to orchestral, and from composers of the First Viennese School to those of the Second, the versatile pianist collaborates with leading artists including Joshua Bell and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.