Interchanging Idioms

Deborah Voigt’s 2010-11 season is truly remarkable – if not downright breathtaking – for its breadth and diversity, embracing iconic roles of the opera, concert, and Broadway stage, with several notable debuts along the way.  On the opera stage, she begins in October with her debut at Washington National Opera, where she will star as  Richard Strauss’s Salome .  In December she takes on Minnie in  Puccini’s  La fanciulla del West  (Girl of the Golden West) at the Metropolitan Opera, a production that marks the centenary of the opera’s debut there under the baton of Arturo Toscanini, as well as Voigt’s house debut in the role.  The following month, she reprises Minnie in a Lyric Opera of Chicago production – another house role debut for Voigt, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.  In April, Voigt takes on one of the greatest opera roles in the repertoire for the first time:  Brünnhilde  in Robert Lepage’s highly anticipated new Metropolitan Opera production of  Wagner’s  Die Walküre , cond

Photo: © Milos Todorovic and Ilona Karwinska (New York, NY) – Deutsche Grammophon is delighted to announce the signing of an  exclusive recording-agreement  with guitar virtuoso  Miloš Karadaglić . This young classical guitarist is preparing his début album for release in spring 2011. Michael Lang , President, Deutsche Grammophon, said, "We're thrilled to work with Miloš — he's a terrific talent, an engaging personality — and we know the time is now to re-establish the  classical guitar  in the world of music. Miloš is the one." The début album by Miloš will pay tribute to the guitarist’s own Mediterranean roots. Featuring music from his              Montenegro homeland and from the Balkans and Spain, and by composers such as Granados, Domeniconi and Albéniz, the recording will explore the Euro-Arabian world that his instrument has come from. Born in Montenegro in 1983, Miloš has already established himself as one of today’s most gifted gu

The intendant designate of the Salzburg Festival, Alexander Pereira, has appointed Cecilia Bartoli to the post of artistic director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival starting in 2012. “ I am tremendously pleased that Cecilia Bartoli’s long association with Salzburg, which has proved so inspirational in the past, can now be placed on a new footing. “ The admirable courage that characterizes Cecilia’s work in terms of its quality and imagination has persuaded me to ask her to become artistic director of the Whitsun Festival under my intendancy and to help in shaping the festival from 2012 onwards. “ In addition to her Baroque and Classical projects, Cecilia has in recent years made a distinguished contribution to the bel canto repertory. As a result, our work together will not be limited to Baroque projects, in spite of what has been written elsewhere, but will extend to all the different areas of artistic endeavor to which she has brought such commitment. ” Alexander Perei

“ Given his formidable technique as well as a big, singing tone and a sunny disposition, he is hardly in danger of wearing out his welcome. ”– New York Times Once again, Gil Shaham’s longterm exploration of “Violin Concertos of the 1930s” is central to the coming season, during which he performs masterpieces by Barber, Bartók, Berg, Hartmann, Prokofiev, and Walton. These he will play with leading orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Chicago Symphony, where he does double duty as soloist and conductor, and the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Mariinsky Orchestra, Berlin’s Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, and Orchestre de Paris. This season also sees the project yield its first recording when Shaham’s own label, Canary Classics, issues a CD of the Stravinsky, Barber, and Berg concertos, all conducted by David Robertson, with three high profile orchestras. Beyond the 1930s, Shaham joi

Spring 2011 Releases to feature music of Beethoven, Ives and Copland The San Francisco Symphony and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas today announced their recording plans for the 2010-11 season on the Orchestra’s own SFS Media™ label. Following the recent completion of its Grammy® award-winning Mahler recording project, the Orchestra will record and release works from both the core classical repertoire as well as works new to or rarely heard by most audiences. The new recordings will reflect the broad range of programming that has been a hallmark of the MTT/SFS partnership. SFS Media releases will be available on both hybrid SACD and digital download and will be recorded live in concert in Davies Symphony Hall. "The musicians of this Orchestra are playing at the highest level,” said SF Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas. “I continue to be impressed by the power, richness and sophistication of their sound whether performing repertoire by Beethoven or by Ameri

Guest conductor Gilbert Varga makes BSO debut Violinist Midori reunites with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to perform Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 on Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore and Friday, October 22, 2010 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 8 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The program includes Mikhail Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture and features the BSO accompanying Midori in her performance of Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Also on the program is Stravinsky’s ballet score, Petrouchka, under the baton of conductor Gilbert Varga, making his BSO debut. Midori is no stranger to Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. In 2004, she released an album pairing the piece with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. Receiving rave reviews, Canada’s national newspaper The Globe and Mail described her playing as “an intensity of focus, a lyrical tenderness and a deep sense of the long perspectives and the singular c

At the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) annual Gala Celebration on Saturday, September 11, PNC Greater Maryland Regional President and BSO Gala Chair Louis (Lou) R. Cestello announced from stage a $500,000 gift from PNC. This leadership gift will underwrite for three seasons the Orchestra’s outreach and access initiatives, including continued affordable ticket pricing, the Off the Cuff series, the Music Matters campaign, OrchKids and Midweek Education Concerts. In 2007, PNC provided leadership support of $1 million to launch the BSO’s landmark, multi-year ticket initiative that made all subscription seats available for just $25 beginning with the 2007-2008 season. This historic pricing structure resulted in a 17% increase in the total number of Baltimore subscribers and cemented the BSO’s commitment to accessible ticket pricing. PNC’s most recent grant enables the BSO to offer affordable tickets and reach new audiences in this and future seasons. BSO Music Director Marin Alsop’s

"…a charismatic performer with undeniable audience appeal" – The New York Times Sony Classical proudly announces its debut release by the highly-acclaimed tenor Vittorio Grigolo. Hailed as one of the finest tenors in recent times, Grigolo’s recording of The Italian Tenor will be available on October 5 and features famous arias and lesser known discoveries. Also, on October 16, Grigolo makes his highly anticipated debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Rodolfo in La Bohème . Grigolo purposely waited to record his first operatic solo album until he had something unique to communicate in the repertoire. According to Grigolo, “ I chose arias representing the culture I come from. ” Born in Tuscany, Grigolo began his career as a young boy performing as a soloist in the celebrated Sistine Chapel Choir. His distinctive voice attracted the praise of the great Luciano Pavarotti when, at age thirteen, he starred alongside him as the Pastorello in Tosca at the Rome Opera. He w

Program features Actor Timothy Marrone in Lemony Snicket’s “The Composer is Dead The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will present “Halloween Spooktacular” led by the BSO-Peabody Bruno Walter Assistant Conductor Ilyich Rivas, Saturday, October 30 at 11 a.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The program features Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead with actor Timothy Marrone as narrator. The story is a gripping murder mystery that makes every member of the orchestra a suspect. As the inspector interrogates each orchestra section, each instrument is brought to life in this musical mystery. Children’s author Lemony Snicket is world-renowned for his stories captured in A Series of Unfortunate Events , selling more than 60 million copies worldwide in 39 languages. The first three stories in this series were later combined to create the film, A Series of Unfortunate Events , starring comedian Jim Carrey and Academy-Award winner Meryl Streep. Nathaniel Stookey originally created The Com

Colorado Symphony under the direction of Principal Guest Conductor Douglas Boyd Open their Masterworks Season with Olga Kern and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky's Waltz and Polonaise from Eugene Onégin & Beethoven's Fifth Symphony Open the first half of the concert A nearly packed house was thrilled with Colorado Symphony's Friday Night Concert. The thunderous applause at the end for Olga Kern's stunning performance of Tchiakovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 made the opening half of the concert almost seem like a warm-up for the main attraction. And that's saying something considering one of the world's most popular pieces, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, closed the first half of the concert. Colorado Symphony under the baton on Douglas Boyd, Principal Guest Conductor did an excellent performance of Beethoven; it's just that Olga brought her game and she can play!!! The opening of the Tchaikovsky is immediately recognizable wi

The much-anticipated Baltimore edition of “Rusty Musicians with the BSO” will take place tonight, Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. More than 450 amateur musicians applied to join members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra led by Music Director Marin Alsop in performances of Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture and the finale from Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, with 254 selected to participate. To accommodate the large number of participants, the evening will include four sessions starting at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Each session includes rehearsal time and a full performance. “Rusty Musicians with the BSO” is in keeping with the BSO’s vision to increase the community’s involvement in music and serve as a cultural resource for the Baltimore-Washington region. The first “Rusty Musicians with the BSO” was held at the Music Center at Strathmore in February 2010, with a response of more than 600 applicants and a turnout of 400 participants.

Kristjan Järvi, conductor Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin RIAS Kammerchor “A kinetic force on the podium” – The New York Times Sony Classical is pleased to announce a new, exclusive multi-album recording agreement with the dynamic the Estonian-born and American-raised conductor Kristjan Järvi. The new relationship launches with the release of Cantique , featuring the music of iconic Estonian composer Arvo Pärt in celebration of his 75th birthday. Järvi leads the Rundfunk Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin and the RIAS Kammerchor. Cantique includes Pärt’s 1971 masterpiece, Symphony No. 3, plus the world premiere recordings of the orchestral and choral version of his Stabat mater (1985/2008) and Cantique des degrès (1999/2002) for choir and orchestra. The album was produced by Florian Schmidt and recorded at Haus des Rundfunks in Berlin in February 2010. Cantique represents the culmination of a lifelong friendship between Kristjan Järvi and Arvo Pärt, which has been shaped as much by

JEFF NELSEN, horn IK-HWAN BAE, violin NAOMI KUDO, piano “A MUST HEAR performance which, I am sure, will be received with high musical and technical praise. Enjoy!” - Dale Clevenger, Principal Horn, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Opening Day Records proudly inaugurates a new imprint of its impressive catalogue, Soloists of Canadian Brass, with a new recording of Horn Trios featuring virtuoso hornist Jeff Nelsen, joined by veteran violinist Ik-Hwan Bae and new piano sensation Naomi Kudo. These are intimate and beautiful readings of two well-loved masterpieces of the chamber music repertoire featuring French horn: the Brahms Trio, Op.40, and a world premiere adaptation of the Mozart Horn Quintet for Horn Trio by Tony Rickard. Opening Day Records, headed by Canadian Brass founding member and tuba player Chuck Daellenbach, features a rich variety of great Canadian artists, showcasing the same musical range and quality that has made Canadian Brass famous for the last 40 years. With

Anne-Sophie Mutter & Lambert Orkis Release a New Recording of Brahms’ Three Violin Sonatas on Deutsche Grammophon, Available October 12, 2010 Acclaimed violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter returns to recording chamber music after two highly successful albums devoted primarily to concertos (Mendelssohn and Bach & Gubaidulina) and also returns to Brahms, a composer who has meant much to her over the years. Mutter is joined by longtime partner Lambert Orkis with whom she previously recorded the complete Beethoven sonatas, and the two reveal the musical benefits of frequent collaboration. This new recording will be available October 12, 2010 in both CD and DVD formats. Anne-Sophie Mutter came across the Brahms Sonatas at age five and a half when she heard David Oistrakh in concert. Soon she was performing the Brahms Concerto and Double Concerto with Karajan and even recorded them for DG in the early 1980s. Now, almost 30 years later, Ms. Mutter returns to Brahms with a different

Performance Also Available for Video-On-Demand (VOD) Viewing for 90 Days, Exclusively at www.medici.tv Concerts from This Summer’s Verbier Festival – Including Deborah Voigt Starring in Concert Version of Richard Strauss’s Salome , Conducted by Valery Gergiev – Also Available as Free VOD at www.medici.tv until September 30 Superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic will headline the fall offerings from www.medici.tv with a concert from the Lucerne Festival that will be webcast live, and for free, on Saturday, September 18 at 4:30pm GMT (10:30am EDT). The concert will also be available for 90 days of free VOD (video on demand) viewing exclusively at www.medici.tv, the increasingly popular performance arts website. The deliciously varied program – including music by Rossini, Orbón, Bernstein, and Ravel – is a preview of a performance Dudamel and the orchestra will give at New York’s Carnegie Hall this October, one of several the conductor will g