December 2009

The best concerts of 2009

December 31, 2009

In no particular order, the top ten concerts of 2009 — according to me.

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Are SSO contract negotiations a canary in the coal mine?

December 29, 2009

Is the Seattle Symphony heading toward a civic calamity? The changing economics of the arts industry has left many orchestras on the brink of catastrophe. The Philadelphia Orchestra is the highest profile example. A large deficit, no permanent music director, and general disdain for the musicians is jeopardizing the future of this Big Five orchestra. [...]

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A Choral Arts Christmas

December 27, 2009

On Saturday, December 19th, Choral Arts gave a wonderful Christmas Concert at the Trinity Parish Church in Seattle. Led by Robert Bode, and accompanied by Libby Watrous, the Choral Arts choir sang Christmas songs and carols from multiple cultures. The concert was divided up into four parts: Seeking Sanctuary, Inviting Mystery, Mother and Child, and Love Came [...]

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Peter and the Wolf and Saint-Saens’s Christmas Oratorio: an unusual holiday pairing

December 23, 2009

Over the years, I have attended number of oddly programmed Orchestra Seattle concerts. Unique programs are George Shangrow (the long-time music director) staples. Before a concert once, Shangrow remarked that he likes variety, even if the pieces don’t naturally fit together. The December 20th Family Holiday concert at the First Free Methodist Church was probably [...]

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Happy (belated) birthday Beethoven

December 22, 2009

Of all the composers, if I had to choose one birthday to celebrate with a concert it would be Beethoven. Beethoven made his own rules and did as he pleased musically. He perfected forms (symphony, string quartet, and piano sonata) others made popular. He nearly topples Bach as the finest sacred music composer with the [...]

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In Memorium: Perry Lorenzo

December 21, 2009

There is no easy way to break this sad news.  I will let the the Seattle Opera’s press release speak for itself: Seattle—Seattle Opera’s General Director Speight Jenkins announced today that Perry Lorenzo, an internationally acclaimed speaker on opera and for almost twenty years Director of Education at Seattle Opera, passed away on December 19. [...]

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Messiah Returns to Benaroya Hall

December 21, 2009

By R.M. Campbell The performance of the “Messiah” during the Christmas season is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, traditions of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. There is nothing unusual in this commitment to Handel’s oratorio. It is a work of pure, seemingly inexhaustible, genius. Although the work was intended as a vehicle to [...]

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Questioning the conductors: Gary Thor Wedow

December 18, 2009

Gary Thor Wedow sat down with TGN to talk about his run of Messiah performances with the Seattle Symphony this weekend. Wedow is an active early music and opera conductor whose reputation continues to grow.  He has conducted both the Seattle Symphony and the Seattle Opera in recent years. This past fall, Wedow led the New York [...]

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Alan Gilbert and New York Phil make CONTACT!

December 18, 2009

By Gigi Yellen Writing from New York, where an exemplary innovation in music programming launched tonight in a hall you might know as the home of that radio show “Selected Shorts.” The Peter Norton Symphony Space holds about 750 people; looked like at least 600 came out for the launch of “Contact!” a new-music series [...]

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Doubting Thomas

December 17, 2009

Thomas Philion, the Seattle Symphony’s Executive Director, announced in a press release he was leaving the orchestra at the end of June 2010. Philion ends a short, but not unusual tenure at the helm of the Northwest’s premiere, professional orchestra. Philion, was chosen by the SSO board after a national search to replace Paul Meecham [...]

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Mozart and Manfred

December 16, 2009

Last Friday, UW’s University Symphony gave a lively performance in Meany Hall. The orchestra began their concert with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 featuring one of my favorite pianists: Craig Sheppard. I’ve been a fan of Sheppard’s since I heard his live recordings of the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas – [...]

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Snarky and the sublime: the Esoterics and the Seattle Men’s Chorus

December 16, 2009

Some ensembles pad their December concerts with traditional holiday music ranging from GF Handel’s Messiah (which the composer never intended as the holiday staple it has become) to tapestries of Christmas carols, often set in new or unfamiliar ways. A handful of ensembles in town buck these traditional formulas for programs that are different, but [...]

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“Messiah” with Handelian size forces

December 14, 2009

By Philippa Kiraly This time of year, we hear Handel’s “Messiah” sung in myriad venues with forces of all sizes and professional levels, but we rarely hear it done as Handel himself was apt to hear it, as in its initial performance in Dublin in 1742. Thanks to The Tudor Choir and Seattle Baroque Orchestra [...]

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More art, not less in these troubled times?

December 13, 2009

Courtesy of the Miami Herald is a story about Michael Kaiser’s (currently president of the Kennedy Center) view of arts organizations during the current economic downturn.  Kaiser believes the way forward isn’t for arts organizations to cut staff and reduce programs.  He believes exactly the opposite. “A lot of people think the way to get [...]

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Garlick and Cohen plays Ives’s Second Sonata for Violin and Piano

December 12, 2009

From James Garlick’s recital a week ago, here is a recording of him and Judith Cohen playing Charles Ives’s Second Sonata for Violin and Piano. I even include Garlick’s introduction to the piece. James Garlick and Judith Cohen play Ives’s 2nd Sonata for Violin and Piano from gatheringnote on Vimeo.

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Questioning Gary Thor Wedow

December 11, 2009

I’ll be doing a video interview with Gary Thor Wedow Monday. Wedow is in town to conduct the Messiah with the Seattle Symphony. Wedow has conducted the Seattle Symphony before and the Seattle Opera, but I suspect most people are unfamiliar with him as a conductor. Wedow is an active opera conductor and proponent of [...]

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OSSCS Messiah remains a Seattle holiday tradition

December 8, 2009

By: Dana Wen Seattle’s Messiah purists got their annual fix this past Sunday during Orchestra Seattle & Seattle Chamber Singers’ single performance of Handel’s masterpiece.  OSSCS, led by George Shangrow, is well-known in the region for their true-to-the-score Messiah (no cuts or abridged versions here).  Sunday’s concert was held at the First Free Methodist Church [...]

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Garlick and Cohen, two of Seattle’s newest Ivesiacs

December 8, 2009

When a musician is hard working and hungry for success there isn’t much they can’t accomplish. That includes convincing a music writer to turn down a chance to hear Renee Fleming and come to their recital instead. A few weeks ago, over espresso at Fuel in Wallingofrd, that is exactly what James Garlick did. Regular [...]

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Opus 7 celebrates Christmas at St. James

December 8, 2009

By: R.M. Campbell Opus 7, one of the most esteemed musical groups anywhere, has little interest in musical trinkets of the season, at least this year. At its annual Christmas concert Sunday night at St James Cathedral, the vocal ensemble looked to Mendelssohn as well as Einojuhani Rautavaara and Georg Schumann instead. All proved to [...]

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NY Phil season pass

December 7, 2009

An interesting concept has come from the New York Philharmonic — a NY Phil season pass on iTunes.  Everyone knows iTunes is a destination point for downloading music, but it has also become a source for downloading just about every other type of content as well (from podcasts to television shows).  Until know, iTunes season [...]

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