Interchanging Idioms

Deutsche Grammophon is pleased to announce the signing of an exclusive recording-agreement with the “incomparable” (Wiener Zeitung) percussionist Martin Grubinger, whose “mind-boggling fusion of meditation and wide-awake involvement” is celebrated by Germany’s Die Welt. Martin Grubinger’s first Deutsche Grammophon recording, to be released this autumn, is Drums ‘n’ Chants , in which he performs alongside the Gregorian chants sung by the Monks of the Benedictine Abbey Münsterschwarzach providing a tapestry of his vibrant percussion. Martin Grubinger’s second release, on DVD in 2011, will be a live recording of his acclaimed project The Percussive Planet, featuring performers from every corner of the globe. “This gifted young artist creates a sensation wherever he appears — and Deutsche Grammophon looks forward to these exceptional projects with a musician for whom, in his own words, ‘nothing is impossible’.” - Michael Lang, President of Deutsche Grammophon On signing t...

“[Shaham’s] glee and virtuosity were such that at one point, people burst into spontaneous applause and by the end people were laughing unashamedly. Strangers were smiling at each other. That is what this guy does.”– Buffalo News This summer festival season, Avery Fisher Prize-winner Gil Shaham performs key violin concertos by composers from Bach to Barber. He tackles the two great Romantic tours-de-force: the Tchaikovsky, at Colorado’s Aspen (July 2) and Bravo!-Vail Valley Music Festivals (July 9), and the Brahms, at two North Carolina festivals, the Eastern (July 31) and Brevard (Aug 8). In addition to performances at the International Viola Congress (June 19 and 20) and the Aspen Music Festival (July 2, 7 and 13), Shaham will continue both of his ongoing long-term projects, which respectively showcase the violin concertos of the 1930s and the music of Sarasate. The former is represented this summer by the Barber at Cleveland’s Blossom Music Festival (July 24) and at London’s B...

Under the baton of Larry Baird, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a full rock band and singers Terry Brock, Randy Jackson and John Hines will perform The Music of the Eagles on Friday, July 16 at 8 p.m. at Pier Six in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. This two-hour concert features 18 of the Eagles’ greatest hits including “Heartache Tonight,” “Desperado,” “New Kid in Town” and “Hotel California.” This concert marks the BSO’s third summer tribute performance at Pier Six. Past concerts have included the music of Led Zeppelin and Queen. Formed in 1971, the Eagles are one of the most successful bands in the world. With 14 Top 40 hits, five number one singles and four number one albums, the California-based band’s album Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is tied for the best-selling album of all time with Michael Jackson’s Thriller . The band is best known for its contributions to the classic rock genre by merging bluegrass, country and surfer-rock in unique vocal harmonies. The program’s cre...

“The ARC Ensemble play with fierce conviction” ― Alex Ross SONY MASTERWORKS announces the release of ARC Ensemble’s third recording, Two Roads to Exile . As part of its acclaimed “Music in Exile” series, Two Roads to Exile features repertoire by two brilliant but neglected composers, Adolf Busch and Walter Braunfels. Produced by multiple Grammy® award- winner David Frost, Two Roads to Exile comes on the heels of ARC Ensemble’s previous two Grammy®-nominated albums, On The Threshold of Hope (2006) and Right Through the Bone (2007). SONY MASTERWORKS releases Two Roads to Exile on Tuesday May 25, 2010. Adolf Busch and Walter Braunfels were major German musical figures in the 1920s and ‘30s, who were forced into two very different kinds of exile as their country moved toward institutionalized racial intolerance. Adolf Busch, praised by Hitler as “our German violinist” to differentiate him from his Jewish colleagues, was one of Europe's pre-eminent virtuos...

The Cypress String Quartet (Cecily Ward, violin; Tom Stone, violin; Ethan Filner, viola; and Jennifer Kloetzel, cello) is recording the six quartets written by Beethoven between 1822 and 1826 (historically known as Beethoven’s Late Period) for commercial release. The second disc of this three-volume set includes Beethoven’s String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130 and the Große Fuge , Op. 133. It will be available on iTunes, CDbaby.com, Amazon.com, and other major retailers on August 3, 2010. The disc was produced by Cypress first violinist Cecily Ward, engineered by Mark Willsher, and recorded at Skywalker Sound. Volume one of the Cypress’s Late Beethoven set was released in August 2009. Gramophone praised the disc as “revealing artistry of uncommon insight and cohesion.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, “The Cypress players converse with such rare sincerity as to make long-familiar music sound utterly fresh.” The album was featured as one of The Denver Post ’s “Best discs o...

The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Public Radio | 90.7 KWMU announced a new partnership today that includes live broadcasts of all Saturday night Wells Fargo Advisors Orchestral Series concerts beginning in the 2010-2011 season. The concerts will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio’s main channel, 90.7 KWMU and will be streamed live at www.stlpublicradio.org . The first live broadcast from Powell Hall will be Saturday, September 18 at 8:00 p.m. The program features violinist Joshua Bell performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and also includes Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé Symphonic Suite & Kalinnikov’s Symphony No.1. SLSO Music Director David Robertson conducts this concert. “We are thrilled to have developed a partnership with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and look forward to working with the m on the broadcast of the Saturday evening concert series,” said Tim Eby, General Manager. “St. Louis Public Radio is honored to play a part in bringing the...

An exuberant cacophony greeted audience members entering Riverside Church before a concert by the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra on Tuesday evening, as ensemble members sat onstage energetically rehearsing. Significant collective and individual preparation had clearly gone into their terrific concert, the orchestra’s New York debut appearance, celebrating the 40th anniversary of its founding by Leonard Slatkin, the former music director and now conductor laureate of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Ward Stare, music director of the youth ensemble (comprising musicians ages 12 to 22) and resident conductor of the St. Louis Symphony, has trained his charges exceptionally well. The string, woodwind, brass and percussion sections also received coaching from members of the New York Philharmonic before the concert, which was a benefit for the Riverside Food Pantry. Mr. Stare inspired the musicians to impressive heights here, opening with a polished and suitably spirited rendition of B...