Sounding the Millennium
York Minster is the place to be on the evening of Wednesday 3 November
for a concert by the BBC Philharmonic and BBC Singers in the Sounding
the Millennium series. Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a theme by Thomas
Tallis will be preluded by the Tallis original. Alfonso Lobo's Mass
from the 16th century and two 20th century works complete the programme:
Honegger's Liturgique Symphony and the première of Simon Bainbridge's
Chant, a Millennium celebration of live music with electronic amplification
to suit the vast interior of York Minster. Conductors will be Yan Pascal
Tortelier and Harry Christophers. Tickets: +44 (0)1904 432439.
Warwick Arts Society
Buoyed up by the Lindsays, Warwick Arts Society's 20th Anniversary year concerts in
the British Midlands continue with the Ludwig Quartet (Nov 12), who will
be exploring the rare G major Quartet by Franck's protege Ernest Chausson,
and the Skampa Quartet (Dec 3), who set Suk's Meditation and Richter's Divertimento
alongside Dvorak. Both concerts are in the newly refurbished Royal PumpRooms,
Leamington Spa. Events at St.Mary's, Warwick include Florilegium (2 Nov)
and the Wren Baroque Soloists (30 Nov). December showcases two mediaeval-inspired
groups - The City Waites (Dec l0) and Sirinu (Dec l6) - at the Lord Leycester
Hospital, Warwick, while the Mellstock Band revives raucous memories of
Thomas Hardy's Wessex in the historic village of Salford Priors (Dec 15).
Next year's Warwick and Leamington Festival will be on 1-l5 July 2000.
Full details : 01926-410747 /496277.
Roderic Dunnett
George Flynn webcast
'...In a general sense the vehemence of Flynn's music is the first thing
that one experiences. Here is music so harsh, so violent, so extreme that
one's senses virtually recoil. It is music of primal passion and orgiastic
madness. This is music to accompany the Bacchae of Euripides. It is music
that is built upon such long lines of tension and with such grandness of
vitality that the listener is overwhelmed, overawed and transcended.'
Gordon Rumson
A special feature about Chicago composer and pianist George Flynn will be webcast by WNUR 89.3 MHz (FM) on 24
October, 4pm CDST. Flynn will play (from recorded performances) his own
90-minute piano suite Trinity (consisting of pieces Kanal,
Wound and Salvage) and will also join Bob Falesch in conversation. The webcast can be heard via
the WNUR website.
Tippett in New York
Michael Tippett's large-scale choral work A Child of Our Time
can be heard in New York in performances by the NYPO, 4-6 Nov. Info: New York
Philharmonic.
Minnesota Hornsignal
Early November concerts by the Minnesota Orchestra under Eiji Oue on
3, 4, & 5 at the Orchestra Hall include Haydn's Hornsignal Symphony
No 31, Henze's scoring of Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder (soloist, Michelle
DeYoung), and Liszt's Les Preludes. Paavo Bergland directs Sibelius
Symphony No 4 on 10, 12, 13, together with Brahms Tragic Overture and Lalo's
Symphonie espagnole (soloist, Jorja Fleezanis).
Naive and sentimental music
Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam
on Oct 20, 21, 22 with Rudolf Buchbinder playing Brahms' First Piano Concerto.
Felicity Lott sings Strauss Four Last Songs on Nov 5 and 6 conducted by
Kurt Masur. Esa-Pekka Salonen includes the Dutch premiere of John Adams
Naive and sentimental music in Utrecht on Nov 11 and Amsterdam on
the following evening.
and previously published news ...
Tallis Scholars
The UK-based Tallis Scholars under their founder and conductor Peter
Phillips visit the USA 11-17 October (Kansas City 11th; Raleigh/Wingate
12th; New York 14th & 17th; Boston 15th & 16th), Italy 24-28 Nov
(Rome, Bolsena, Frosinone, Grotta Ferrata, Milan), and the Netherlands 12-13
January (Rotterdam and Enschede). Full info on their recordings at www.gimell.com.
Master Singers
The following Britten-Pears School Masterclasses at Aldeburgh, UK this
autumn are open to the public: Thomas Allen (Mozart and Britten) 13-20 October
(concert on 21 October); Anthony Rolfe Johnson and Ian Partridge (Bach)
23 October - 1 November (concert on 2 November). Email: enquiries@aldeburghfestivals.org.
Musicatreize in October
The French ensemble Musicatreize will perform music by De Orador, Marti,
Gesualdo, Gouttenoire and Lassus (Rouen, 17 October); music by Kopelent,
Janequin, Berio and Ohana (Aix en Provence, 28 October, to be confirmed,
and Brucknerhaus, Linz, 30 October, 7.30pm). Info: musicatreize@wanadoo.fr.
Even jazz
'Jazz on the level' will be a series at St David's Hall in Cardiff, Wales
on Tuesdays at 8.30: Just East of Jazz, 30 Nov; John Etheridge's Sweet Chorus,
25 Jan; Tony Coe Trio, 15 Feb; Marlene Verplank and her Musicians, 7 March.
Box Office: +44 (0)1222 878444.
Beethoven cycle
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will give a Beethoven symphony
cycle at the Royal Festival Hall in London commencing October 14 with conductor
Sir Roger Norrington. Info: +44 (0)171 960 4242.
Visiting Symphony Hall
Birmingham's Symphony Hall's autumn season includes the following visiting
orchestras: Slovenian Philharmonic (16 Oct), and Czech Philharmonic (17
Oct). Info: +44 (0)121 212 3333.
Oxford Contemporary Music
Commencing 15 October, Oxford Contemporary Music has a stimulating programme
of events opening with Thomas Ades opera Powder her face. Following
is a wide range of performers, composers and music - Terry Riley, Poul Ruders,
James Wood, and from jazz, Fred Hersch, Myra Melford, Gerard McChrystal,
Tommy Smith, and others. Info: oxfordfestival@ofcm.ndirect.co.uk.
Transformation
Major refurbishment to the tune of 2.5 million pounds has transformed
St George's Bristol into an arts venue for nearly 600 people. The building's
natural acoustic is perfect for music.
Following the relaunch on 15 October, a BBC Lunchtime Series entitled
Northern Lights will commence on 21 October. Repertory is drawn from
Scandinavia for eight concerts. Much of the music will be new to the UK,
so therefore UK readers should take note. Amongst composers to be heard
are Peteris Vasks, Per Norgard, Tryge Madsen, Tore Rangstrom and Veyo Tormis.
The BBC Celebrity series on Friday evenings includes Joanna MacGregor's
'Sound Circus', the Brodsky Quartet and Joshua Rifkin's Bach Ensemble.
St George's new resident chamber ensemble is Zenith, which includes Messiaen's
Quartet for the End of Time in its inaugural concert on 22 October.
Info/box office: +44 (0)117 923 0359.
1999/2000 season in Budapest
The Budapest Philharmonic's 1999/2000 season includes music by Richard
Strauss, Mahler and Brahms (18-19 October, conducted by E. Lukacs); Brahms
and Dvorak (conducted by Tamas Vasary, with J Achucarro, piano); Liszt,
Mozart and Tchaikovsky (13-14 December, conducted by Zuohang Chen, with
Barry Douglas, piano); Mozart, Brahms and Beethoven (31 January, with the
Beaux Arts Trio); Bach, Mozart and Bartók (28 February); Mahler's
3rd Symphony (20-21 March); Sibelius (3-4 April); Beethoven's Symphonies
1 and 9 (15-16 May).
Budapest Opera premières include Britten's Peter Grimes
(staged by Balazs Kovalik - 13, 14, 17, 19, 23, 28 November and 18, 20 January),
Three Sisters by Peter Eotvos (based on Chekhov, staged by Istvan
Szabo - 2, 5 April) and Bizet's Carmen (staged by Mikos Szinetar
- 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30 May).
Other events in Budapest include the Nureyev Ballet Competition (16 March
finals, 17 March gala. Opera House); Verdi's Requiem (1,3 November. Opera
House).
October at Tonhalle Düsseldorf
Highlights at Düsseldorf's Tonhalle include 'Sárka' from
Smetana's Ma Vlast, Dvorák's cello concerto (soloist Natalia
Gutman) and Glazunov's Symphony 5 (Dresdner Philharmonie / Walter Weller,
19 October at 8pm, großer Saal); Miserae by Karl Amadeus Hartmann
(with Peter Nikolaus Kante, speaker), Schönberg's Ode to Napoleon
Op 41b (with Peter Nikolaus Kante, speaker and Stefan Litwin, piano) and
Beethoven's Eroica Symphony (Düsseldorfer Symphoniker / Leon
Botstein, 22 October at 8pm, 24 at 11am and 25 at 8pm, großer Saal);
cellist Yo-yo Ma plays Mark O'Connor's Appalachia Waltz, Bright Sheng's
Seven Tunes Heard in China, The Cellist of Sarayevo by David
Wilde, and the Kodály solo cello sonata (27 October at 8pm, großer
Saal). Info: tonhalle@compuserve.com.
Welsh National Opera tour
In Cardiff during October Welsh
National Opera will perform Poulenc's The Carmelites (20), Mozart's
Don Giovanni (16, 22), and Verdi's Rigoletto (21, 23). Thereafter
they tour these operas to Southampton (26-30 October), Bristol (2-6 November),
Belfast (9-13 November), Birmingham (16-20 November), Liverpool (23-27 November),
and Oxford (7-11 December).
Galliard Ensemble
The Galliard
Ensemble Wind Quintet will play in London's Purcell Room as part of 'Fresh Young Artists Platform' on
7 December, 7.30pm. The ensemble will give the world première of
a work written for them - Paul Patterson's Westerley Winds, the European
première of Philip Bimstein's Casino for quintet and tape,
and music by Berio, Briccialid, Pärt and Tinoco. Tickets GBP 10 (GBP
8, concessions) from boxoffice@rfh.org.uk
or phone +44 (0)171 960 4242. Other Galliard Ensemble appearances include
20 October (Mozart and Poulenc - Leeds City Art Gallery); 6 November (Arnold,
Tinoco, Françaix, Ligeti, Berio and Patterson - West Dean College
Chichester); 27 November, 11am (Birtwistle, Olsen, Lindberg, Tinoco and
Ligeti - Huddersfield Festival, St Paul's Hall); 6 February 2000, 9pm (Cambini,
Briccialdi, Holst, Ibert, Pärt, Ligeti and Patterson - Balliol College
Oxford).
RFH Classics International
London's Royal Festival
Hall's Classic International Series continues with a procession of great
orchestras of Europe and one American will dazzle the musical scene on the
South Bank: Pierre Boulez directing the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (22
October), the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia,
Rome conducted by Myung Whun Chung (21 and 22 November), the Vienna Philharmonic
again with Seiji Ozawa (15 March), and the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted
by Wolfgang Sawallisch (19 May).
A Tale of Three Cities
An international conference is to be held at London University's Senate
House, 22-24 October 1999. Entitled, A Tale of Three Cities: Janácek's
Brno Between Vienna and Prague, the aim of the conference is to re-assess
the self-image of Brno and Moravia between (roughly) 1850 and 1930, using
Janácek as a focus. Info from Royal Holloway College.
Albright Tributes
Two further free concerts in October pay tribute to Michigan composer
William Albright (1944-1998), whose death in September last year has been
a great loss for musicians in Ann Arbor and for American music (info: Chris Kim) :
Brave New Works, in conjunction with the University of Michigan, present
an Albright tribute on 23 October, 8pm at the Britton Recital Hall, Ann
Arbor. Albright works performed will be Shadows - Eight Serenades
for solo Guitar (played by Matthew Ardizzone), Abiding Passions for
woodwind quintet, and the Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (Tim McAllister,
alto sax and Kathryn Goodson, piano). Albright by Albright student
Carter Pann will also be performed. Donations to the William Albright Scholarship
Fund at the door.
A concert of music written by Michigan composers in memory of William
Albright will be presented by the School of Music and the Society of Composers
Inc. on 24 October, 7pm at the Kerrytown Concert House. Donations to the
Scholarship Fund at the door.
New dance
The Baldwin Dance Company will present 'Julius Tomb' - one of three works
choreographed by Baldwin - as part of a UK national tour this autumn: Queen
Elizabeth Hall, South Bank (23 Oct); Wimbledon Theatre (27 Oct); Brunton
Theatre, Edinburgh.(6 Nov).
Norwegian Nationals
Norwegian National Opera in Oslo stages Vernon Mound's new production
of Andrea Chénier from October 23.
Norwegian National Ballet will present Michael Corder's celebrated production
of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet in its first visit to London, 16-20
November at Sadler's Wells. Booking: +44 (0)171 863 8000.
Forgotten genius of Renaissance Spain
A native of Flanders, Philippe Rogier (c1561-1596) lived and worked mostly
in southern Spain, and his music reflects both styles. Magnificat will perform two further concerts of Rogier's
music in London this Autumn. Both concerts are at St James, Piccadilly,
7.30pm: Missa Inclina Domine (30 October) and Missa Domine Dominus
Noster (10 December, also featuring The Wallace Collection in Rogier's
festive polychoral Christmas music).
Uncommon Artistry
The Plymouth Music Series in Minneapolis has announced its 1999-2000
season, called 'Uncommon Artistry'. Handel's Solomon will be performed
in Bethel College on 30 October; Witness will be partially African American
with a song cycle from John Williams and Dream N. the Hood, a rap
symphony by Gregory T.S.Walker to be programmed in Orchestra Hall on 19
Feb; The Kings Singers will present Aha! Cappella at Wooddale Church
on 7 April; Czech composer Jan Jiraseks reworking of Bach's St Luke's Passion
will be sung on 12 May at the Ted Mann Concert Hall. Info: +1 612 624 2345.
Music to move you
'Music to move you' is an eight-concert season announced for the St David's
Hall as the National Concert Hall of Wales from September through to May
2000. Apart from top ranking British orchestras and conductors there will
be visits by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Moscow Philharmonic
Orchestra.
Exploring Mozart
The months ahead for the London Mozart Players include the Mozart
Series of four concerts at St John's, Smith Square with an unusual format.
Each concert will contain a symphony and a concerto with a rare chamber
work, such as the Adagio and Rondo K617 for flute, oboe, viola, cello and
glass harmonica. There is a short talk about some aspect of the evening's
music at each concert. Email info@lmp.org.
Steel and Gold
'Steel and Gold' is the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra's title for a
forthcoming Rachmaninov retrospective. Over October and November, five concerts
will contain the three symphonies, Symphonic Dances, and a concert version
of his opera The Miserly Knight, as well as works by contemporaries.
A series booking will also include a free celebrity concert with Artur Pizarro.
Info: bbcso@bbc.co.uk
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is unusually focussed in advance publicity
for its 1999/2000 season, shared between the Royal Festival Hall and Fairfield
Halls, Croydon. Cristina Ortiz plays the Rachmaninov Paganini Variations
etc (RFH 2 Nov), and concerts with other celebrities go through to July.
Info: concert.orch@bbc.co.uk.
Del Cuarto Elemento
Music by James Dillon, featured recently at Norway's Ultima Festival,
can be heard in several countries during the coming weeks. The Arditti Quartet
will play the 3rd String Quartet in Köln, Germany on 4 November; cellist
Rohan de Saram will play Eos on 9 November in Badenweiler, Germany
(and will give the UK première on 23 November at the Huddersfield
Contemporary Music Festival), and in Austria, violinist Irvine Arditti will
play Del Cuarto Elemento at Wien Modern on 14 November. Dillon, who
is currently working on music for Stuttgart's ECLAT Festival in February,
will celebrate his 50th birthday in October 2000. Info: Edition Peters.
Kathryn Thomas and Neil Crossland
Flautist Kathryn Thomas and pianist Neil Crossland will play a Sonata
by Otar Taktakishvilli at a free lunchtime recital at Sheffield's University
Drama Studio, Glossop Road, on 4 November, 1:10pm, during which you can
also hear Poulenc's Sonata, a work for solo piano by Ruth Byrchmore, Neil
Crossland's Reminiscences and Debussy's Syrinx for solo flute.
Thomas and Crossland will also be performing at Bradford's Alhambra Theatre
on 9 February 2000.
Real Fireworks
A concert will be staged in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, on 5 November,
7.45 p.m., in aid of the St.Mary Magdalen Restoration and Development Trust.
St.Mary Magdalen is a well known feature in the daily life and worshipof
the ancient university city. Its Lady Chapel dates back 800 years; an early
altar commemorates the death of St.Thomas a Becket.
The programme includes Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks
and Purcell's Ode on St.Cecilia's Day, performed by Voces Sacrae
choir and the Orchestra at St.Mary Magdalen, directed by Judy Martin.
Voces Sacrae's latest recordings include Michael Finnissy's Seven
Sacred Motets (l991), recorded on Metier MSV CD92023, and 'Except the
Lord Build the House', recorded in Exeter College Chapel together with the
choir of St.Mary Magdalen, and comprising music by Mendelssohn, Byrd, John
Rutter and W.S.Lloyd Webber (Metier ..........). The 8-voice choir was recently
heard at St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, during a tour of New South Wales.
Voces Sacrae's recording of Michael Berkeley's Eight Motets, together
with music by Magnus Williamson, Gabriel Jackson and Bob Chilcott, will
be released in the new year.
Voces Sacrae can be contacted
by e-mail, or visit their website.
Roderic Dunnett
Early Music Vancouver
A highlight of Early Music Vancouver's 1999-2000 season will be the visit of Musica
Antiqua Koln to the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on 8 November, with
concertos for one, two, three and four solo violins by Bach, Vivaldi and
Telemann.
Biped
A European tour by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company will bring Biped,
a new work to a commissioned score by Gavin Bryars to Paris for a season
9-20 November. The work explores a new animation technology of motion capture.
English Fancie Camarada
The English Fancie Camarada presents a retrospective series of 20th century
chamber music at the Holywell Music Room, Oxford, UK, all starting at 7.30pm.
On 13 November, 'the war years', you can hear the Phantasy for Piano
Quartet by Frank Bridge, Fantasy for String Quartet by Herbert
Howells, the Quintet for Oboe and String Quartet by Arnold Bax, Alan Rawsthorne's
Oboe Quartet, the Delius Cello Sonata, and Britten's Phantasy Quartet.
Further concerts (including many Camarada commissions and first performances)
will be held on 4 December - 'War years - the aftermath', 29 January - 'New
directions' (with a 6.30pm pre-concert talk by Richard Rodney Bennett) and
3 March - 'towards the millennium' (6.30pm pre-concert talk by Howard Skempton).
Tickets cost GBP 7 (concessions GBP 5) per concert, from The Playhouse,
Beaumont Street, Oxford, +44 (0)1865 798600 or at the door. Info: +44 (0)1252
727240.
Judith Lang Zaimont
Forthcoming U.S. performances of the music of Judith Lang Zaimont include the world première of
her Piano Sonata on November 14, 1999 at Washington D.C.'s Phillips Gallery
by Bradford Gowen.
St Ceciliatide International Festival
The 5th St Ceciliatide
International Festival of Music takes place at Stationers' Hall in the
City of London 20-28 November. American musicologist Joshua Rifkin and the
Bach Ensemble play Bach concertos and the Ouverture in D (minus the oboes,
trumpets and drums it later acquired) 24 Nov. Fiori Musicale present Vivaldi's
Seasons on 20 & 21 November with new music by Geoffrey Burgon reflecting
on the Vivaldi work and interweaving with it. Chapelle du Roi sing Guerrero's
Vespers for St Ceciliatide on 22 Nov, and the Finnish Yggdrasil Quartet
mark the 150th anniversary of Chopin's death on 25 November with pianist
Fumiko Shiraga playing new chamber arrangements of Chopin's two piano concertos.
The Lindsay Quartet plays Beethoven on the 26th and Fiori Musicale reappear
on 27 and 28 November with James Bowman presenting two choral works by Zelenka
and Bach Cantata 54 (Widerstehe doch der Sunde).
Song at St John's
The 30th Anniversary Season commencing in October at St John's Smith
Square, London, contains Song at St John's, a blossoming of solo
song with piano. Four Russian evenings commence on 27 November with Galina
Gorchakova. A Millennium Song Series, 'Across Time and Space', explores
themes of time, culture and society. There will be a Study Day led by Roderic
Swanston on 16 January with the first recital on 7 February bringing Susan
Bickley and Paul Robinson for a programme drawn from Italy, Spain, Russia
and the UK. Finally, on 17 March Rosalind Plowright and the Mastersingers
Company introduce a Celebrity Song Series. Box office: +44 (0)20 7233 1618
The Burning Bush
A distinctive integration of traditional musics
will be heard at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on 28 November. Lucie
Skeaping, Arab folk musicians and the The Burning Bush, an ensemble
specialising in traditional Jewish world music, will present it using a
wide array of exotic instruments.
Medieval Feast
York's involvement in early music is increasing progressively through
the activities of their Early Music Foundation. On 3 December is held a
Medieval Feast for the Archbishop of York, a re-creation of the celebration
in 1437, and on 17 December a programme of Christmas music by the group
Passacaglia. There is more pre-Christmas and Christmas music. Info boxoffice@yorkearlymusic.org
Epic Journey
Sir Colin Davis conducts a Berlioz Odyssey commencing on 5 December.
This is described as an 'epic journey' and will involve the London Symphony
Orchestra, various soloists and choirs. Full information on +44 (0)845 60
60 888.
About Time in Ely
On Sunday 12 December a BBC Millenium concert will take place in Ely
Cathedral presenting The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Birmingham
Contemporary Music Group conducted by Sir Simon Rattle in a programme including
Haydn's Te Deum and Beethoven's Ninth plus the première of
Mark-Anthony Turnage's About Time. Info: +44 (0)1353 660349.
Bach Millennium Pilgrimage
From 25 December 1999 to 1 January 2001, The Monteverdi Choir, English
Baroque Soloists and John Eliot Gardiner will perform all 200 of Bach's
surviving church cantatas, each on the precise liturgical date for which
it was written, in abbeys, cathedrals and churches throughout Europe. The
project will cost more than 5 million UK pounds (approx. 7.5 million US
dollars), and will involve Gardiner in 150 air flights. Deutsche Grammophon
will record the concerts, and many will be televised.
Danielpour Première
The illustrious Guaneri String Quartet, which has a residency at the
University of Maryland, is to première a Concerto for string quartet
and orchestra by Richard Danielpour with the National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Leonard Slatkin at Washington's Kennedy Center on 13, 14, and
15 January 2000 then in New York at Carnegie Hall on 25 January.
The Sixteen in sixteen cathedrals
From February to November 2000, The Sixteen will perform in 16 of England's
finest cathedrals. Starting in York and ending in Canterbury, the choir
will sing some of the best renaissance music by Byrd, Taverner and Tallis
- composers connected historically with the cathedrals. Watch out for a
new page on The Sixteen
website, which (by the end of October) will give further information
and booking details.
What Next?
Elliot Carter's recently premièred one act comic opera What
Next? is at the Deutsche Staatsoper Unter den Linden, 25 and 31 March
2000. With text by Paul Griffiths (after Jacques Tati's film Traffic),
What Next? is conducted by Daniel Barenboim and directed by Nicolas
Brieger, with decor by Gisbert Jaekel.
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