Stories » Lara Downes plays Berkeley's First Congregational Church / San Francisco Classical Voice

Stories for December 01, 2020

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    Wolfgang is back, Bach is back, KMZT1260 is back, K-Mozart is back
     
    Posted At : November 30, 2020 2:53 PM

    Mount Wilson FM announces new digital hybrid technology on KMZT AM 1260 to revive classical radio in Los Angeles and Southern California. 62 years ago Mount Wilson launched classical music on 105.1 FM when less than 25% of homes had FM receivers. Industry experts dismissed it as futile. December 1st, 2020 Mount Wilson again swims against the tide with the assistance of digital technology to re-launch Wolfgang and Bach on KMZT 1260 with an improved analog signal and hybrid technology providing KMZT with stereo. And assisted with Digital FM on 105.1 HD4, www.kmozart.com, and on smartphone app (K-MOZART) nationally. Listen As Follows: 1. KMZT 1260 Analog And Hybrid Digital 2. 105.1 Hd4 3. Kmozart.Com 4. K-Mozart App(On Your Smart Phone)

  • Sarah Mckenzie discusses the fantastic 'Schneller!' with Harmonious World Podcast
     
    Posted At : November 30, 2020 1:18 PM

    There's a brilliant story behind pianist and composer Sarah McKenzie's latest compositions, produced in lockdown in the UK, while Sarah was stranded at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The song SCHNELLER! was inspired by drives on the German highway, the Autobahn. It is one of the very few places in the world where there is no speed limit. For someone not used to this it is quite a frightening experience to travel at 130 mph.  The fantastic 'Schneller!' has four trumpets interweaving, performed by the magical Kenny Rampton and then the sublime 'Waiting Here For You' features more outstanding musicians from around the world. Hear Sarah tell the story of those recordings and more. Harmonious World Podcast host Hilary Robertson interviews Sarah McKenzie. LISTEN       To find out more about Sarah and her latest releases

  • Smaro Gregoriadou, an excellent interpreter guitar has an excellent new album; 'A Healing Fire' / Neuguitars
     
    Posted At : November 30, 2020 12:54 PM

    "The earliest experience of art must have been that it was incantatory, magical; art was and instrument of ritual.The earliets theory of art, that of the Greek philosophers, proposed that art was mimesis, imitation of reality." I met Smaro Gregoriadou's music a few years ago, in December 2016. I was struck by a couple of her records "Reinventing Guitar II" (2012) and "El Aleph" (2016), in both there was a strong tension towards innovation, towards forms different from those already known and stabilized in the classical field. "It is at this point that the peculiar question of the value art arose. For the mimetic theory, by its very terms, challenges art to justify itself."* The style and vision shown by Smaro Gregoriadou was, and still is, very different from Plato's "mimesis", with a focus not only on the content of the music she interpreted, but, above all, on the "form". "It is the defence of art which givesbirth to the odd vision by which something we have learned to call ‘content', and to the well-intentioned move which makes content essential and form accessory."* An attention that still seems to be in the strings of the classical guitar of this excellent interpreter, who has returned to the attention of the Neuguitars blog in this sad 2020, with this excellent cd "A Healing Fire". READ THE FULL Neuguitars REVIEW

  • PublicRadio90: Classiclectic Connection discusses 'To Shiver the Sky' with Christopher Tin
     
    Posted At : November 29, 2020 12:00 AM

    The history of flight is full of trial errors; from the stories of Daedalus and Icarus planning escape with wax and feathers, to The Wright Brothers' first successful airplane, human flight has been a dream for humanity for many years. That's what composer Christopher Tin's latest album, To Shiver the Sky, is all about. An "oratorio about the history of flight and mankind's quest to conquer the heavens," ...Sky tells a story of the evolution of this quest for flight, to reach higher than the earthbound. Throughout this album (featuring guest artists such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera Chorus, Danielle de Niese and more), the evolution of flight is paired with the evolution of Western classical music. The album's story is told through the perspective of eleven historical figures, a "who's who" of "astronomers, inventors, visionaries and pilots." Classiclectic host Kurt Hauswirth spoke with Christopher about his album, and how it relates to humanity's efforts to keep trying, even through adversity. LISTEN TO THE PublicRadio90: Classiclectic Connection INTERVIEW

  • Czech heritage is at the forefront of Elyse Anne Kakacek's 'Formless' / Rio Grande Guardian
     
    Posted At : November 27, 2020 12:00 AM

    Czech heritage is at the forefront with Elyse Anne Kakacek's album release "Formless." In 1894, composer Antonin Dvorak completed a song cycle in English that was translated from the 1579 Czech version of the Bible.  Elyse Anne Kakacek uses Dvorak's English text of the Bible translated from the Czech version in her album "Formless."    Rio Grande Guardian arts correspondent Mario Muñoz spoke to Kakacek about her album "Formless." This podcast features the interview.  LISTEN

  • Celebrate virtual 'Thanksgiving at Jazz Standard' with the Maria Schneider Orchestra
     
    Posted At : November 27, 2020 12:00 AM

    From Maria Schneider: "We are heart-broken to miss our annual "Thanksgiving at Jazz Standard." So this year, we are coming to you, with never-before-seen videos and more. Tune in Friday, November 27th at 7:30PM EST to a live-stream (right here on Facebook or on mariaschneider.com). Afterwards, streamable at your leisure through Monday, November 30th, 11:00AM EST. Before you tune in, to bring in the smells and tastes of the room, perhaps order out a little barbecue (Blue Smoke is my favorite!), turn the lights down low, light a candle, and let us transport you, first to Jazz Standard with videos from our July & Nov. 2019 performances. Marie Le Claire is also editing her fabulous never-seen video (outtakes from our new recording Data Lords) to bring you inside of our recording session. At the end, you'll see the band reunite on Zoom to talk about music, life, to laugh or cry, and to tell you how much we miss you! From Nov. 27th-30th, 35% of all sales of recordings and downloads at www.mariaschneider.com will go to the musicians in the band, and 100% of "Additional Support" given at point of purchase will go to the musicians.   See the Page

  • Angele Dubeau's catalog of recordings reaches 100 million streams
     
    Posted At : November 27, 2020 12:00 AM

    Violinist Angèle Dubeau's catalog of recordings has now reached the impressive number of 100 million streams on streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify and Deezer. In her career, she has also sold over 600,000 albums and is one of the few classical musicians in the world to have received Gold Records. Her recent albums have been featured as Albums of the Week on important radio stations like Classic FM in London, KDFC in San Francisco and KUSC in Los Angeles. In recent years, she has performed with her ensemble La Pietà in Europe, Latin America, USA and Canada.

Top 10 for Dec

Lara Downes plays Berkeley's First Congregational Church / San Francisco Classical Voice

Posted: February 25, 2015 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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The San Francisco Chamber Orchestra brought their February concert series to a memorable conclusion on Sunday afternoon at Berkeley's First Congregational Church in a program featuring exceptional performances by pianist Lara Downes.

Music Director Ben Simon introduced the West Coast premiere of Maria Schneider's Carlos Drummond de Andrade Stories as music that's "neither jazz nor classical." He didn't go so far as to mention Duke Ellington's famous quote defining "good music" but he may as well have because however one views the piece -- a five-part suite setting the Brazilian poet's words to music-- it casts a spell quickly and holds on.

Lara Downes summoned the spirit of his Robert Schumann's famous wife Clara in Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, as the soloist in a sumptuous performance by everyone involved was perfectly in sync with the orchestra from the concerto's opening bark through its rollicking, dance-like coda. Downes proved to be the perfect co-conspirator for Schumann's paean to lyricism over flash.

During the first movement the pianist and orchestra explore the themes in tandem and in conversation before the orchestra drops out completely, leaving the piano teetering on the edge of a cliff. Downes stepped off this peak into the cadenza as if she were confidently descending a tightrope from dramatic heights into a delicate, sensual conversation before the orchestra rejoined her.

READ THE FULL San Francisco Classical Voice REVIEW

Crossover Media Projects with Lara Downes

  • Lara Downes

    Holes In the Sky

    On March 1, 2019, American pianist Lara Downes releases her new album, Holes in the Sky, on Portrait, an imprint of the Sony Music Masterworks label.

    Holes in the Sky is a genre-fluid collection of music written and performed by today's leading female artists, celebrating the contributions of phenomenal women to the past, present, and future of American music.

    The music of Holes in the Sky tells the story of what women and girls can contribute to the world when they are given a chance - their dreams can make holes in the sky. Lara collaborates with an extraordinary multi-generational group of female guest artists on this album, including the iconic singer / songwriter Judy Collins, boundary-breaking violinist Rachel Barton Pine, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, fast-rising cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing, and the urban youth vocal ensemble Musicality.

    The album is presented in direct support of PLAN International Because I Am A Girl, bolstering the rights and empowerment of girls and young women around the globe; Women's Empowerment in Sacramento, ending homelessness one woman - and one family - at a time; the Downtown Women's Center in Los Angeles, a permanent and supportive housing and healthcare provider for women; Girls on the Run in Spokane, teaching life skills through fun, engaging lessons that celebrate the joy of movement; and the Lower East Side Girls Club, breaking the cycle of poverty by training the next generation of ethical, entrepreneurial, and environmental leaders.

  • Lara Downes

    for lenny

    Lara Downes' new album For Lenny celebrates the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein with a special friends-and-family tribute to the man behind the music. The recording features Bernstein's aptly-named Anniversaries for Piano, new arrangements of his songs, and world premieres of works dedicated to Bernstein by leading American composers including Stephen Sondheim, John Corigliano, and Stephen Schwartz. The album is introduced by an essay from acclaimed writer Adam Gopnik.

  • Lara Downes

    America Again

    Pianist Lara Downes releases a solo album, America Again, worldwide on Sono Luminus on October 28, 2016. The album's title is taken from Langston Hughes' poem, Let America Be America Again, written in 1938. America Again features twenty pieces selected by Downes that explore the elusive but essential American dream, written by composers including Duke Ellington, Lou Harrison, Morton Gould, Amy Beach, George Gershwin, Angélica Negrón, Dan Visconti, Leonard Bernstein, Scott Joplin, Irving Berlin, Florence Price, Aaron Copland, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and more.

    26 NEW  67 TOTAL
    SYND:     NPR/First Listen, Classical 24, CBC
    Direct: SiriusXM, MOOD, AccuRadio
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Portland, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Denver, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Austin, Hartford, KS(Network), IN(Network), IA(Network), Canada 
    Online: The Rehearsal Studio, Second Inversion, Passion Musique et Culture, I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, therumpus, Sacramento Bee  

  • Lara Downes

    A Billie Holiday Songbook

    In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Billie Holiday's birth, Lara Downes releases: A Billie Holiday Songbook on Steinway & Sons Records, A personal tribute to this sensitive, timeless icon of American music.Radiant. Intimate.

    Lara Downes grew up listening to Holiday's recordings with her father, born and raised in Harlem. Trained in the conservatories of San Francisco, Paris, Vienna and New York, Downes acknowledges that Holiday's singing has been a lifelong influence. "As a musician, I learned from Billie Holiday to make something completely personal when you make music," she says. "something that is completely your own - maybe something unexpected, something indefinable, perhaps complicated, but beautiful. To take a chance. As the song says: "But beautiful to take a chance, and if you fall, you fall. And I'm thinking I wouldn't mind at all."

    20 NEW   49 Total
    SYND:     PRI/Classical 24
    Direct: Music Choice
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Houston, Austin, St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Madison WI, Canada
    Online: Taintradio, Classical Candor, AXS, Party934

  • Lara Downes

    13 WAYS of Looking at the Goldberg

    In June of 1955, Glenn Gould made his groundbreaking recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations for Columbia Records, rescuing the Goldbergs from obscurity in one of the most significant classical recordings of a generation. Critically acclaimed pianist Lara Downes will be breaking ground of her own when Tritone Records releases her new CD 13 WAYS of Looking at the Goldberg, a fascinating new take on Bach's masterpiece. In an extraordinary coincidence of fate and timing, Lara's recording of her new Goldberg project took place over the same four days in June as Gould's historic 1955 sessions.

    11 New 'ON' this week: 93 Total
    Synd: NPR/Sunday Baroque, The Romantic Hours, PRI/Classical 24, Harmonia, Galaxy
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Seattle, Atlanta, Baltimore, St. Louis, Houston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, Berkeley CA, San Antonio, Louisville, Purto Rico
    Online: Live 365, RadioIO, Taintradio, Crystal Ball Report
  • Lara Downes

    Exiles Cafe

    Pianist Lara Downes is known for her fusing of rare pianistic sensitivity and evocative, thought-provoking concepts. Her latest album, Exiles' Café-released on the Steinway & Sons label [30016] -- is the result of a moment of inspiration after hearing a lovely little piece entitled Tango from the Exiles' Café. Downes fantasized about this café and created a narrative around it, which she describes as "both real and metaphorical." This album captures the pain, nostalgia, and freedom that are indelibly tied to this state of being-in exile. Featuring miniature works by composers such as Chopin, Milhaud, Bartok, Weill, and including a premiere work by Mohammed Fairouz, Exiles' Café goes beyond an examination of what is to be in exile, to consider the inspiration exiled composers drew from the musical communities they found in their new homes. Because in this sense, the exiles cafes were actual places – there were indeed such locations throughout history to which composers and musicians gravitated and found each other, and they and their music were influenced accordingly.

    17 New 'ON'   183 Total
    SYND:     PRI/Classical 24, The Romantic Hours
    Direct: SiriusXM, Music Choice, MOOD, Spafax
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Dallas, Houston, Cleveland, Atlanta, St. Louis, Seattle, Minneapolis, Portland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Denver, New Orleans, San Antonio, Memphis, Columbus OH, Buffalo, Louisville, Madison WI, Honolulu
    Online: Taintradio, RadioIO, WGOE