Stories » Bartoli, a tour de force in Salzburg's Ariodante / The Hamilton Spectator

Stories for January 27, 2021

  •

    The pandemic forced touring musician Robin Spielberg to reinvent how she plies her trade / York Daily Record
     
    Posted At : January 26, 2021 12:00 AM

    York Daily Record - Mike Argento writes......Robin Spielberg was looking forward to a good 2020. The pianist and composer was working on her 19th record and had a tour scheduled with legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb, who penned such iconic songs as "By the Time I Get to Pheonix," "Galveston," "Wichita Lineman," "Up, Up and Away" and countless other timeless tunes.  She had toured with Webb before – her husband, producer and talent agent Larry Kosson represents Webb, among other artists – and it was always a great time. "I'm Jimmy's driver, shoe-shiner, everything," Spielberg said. "I always joke with him in the car, telling him, ‘You're an icon." And he would say, ‘Say that one more time and I'll slap you in the face.' So then, I'd have to say it over and over again."  She was also eager to get back on the road to promote her new record, "Love Story," released Feb. 7, her 19th record and first to be pressed on vinyl - bright red vinyl at that.   They played one date of the 20-city tour and were scheduled to play in her adopted home, York County, on March 28. Then the pandemic began.  And everything changed.  READ THE FULL York Daily Record ARTICLE

  • Cho Seong-jin to premiere unheard piece by Mozart, in Salzburg, on composer's 265th birthday / The Korea Times
     
    Posted At : January 25, 2021 12:00 AM

    The Korea Times - Kwon Mee-yoo writes.....Pianist Cho Seong-jin will premiere an unheard piece by Mozart in Salzburg on the occasion of the classical composer's 265th birthday. Cho will play Mozart's "Allegro in D K626b/16" at the Great Hall of the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation, Wednesday, which mark's the Austrian composer's birthday as well as the opening date of the first-ever virtual edition of Mozartwoche, or Mozart Week, festival. "It is a great honor to be invited to give the premiere of a formerly unknown work by Mozart in the city of Salzburg, where the composer was born," Cho wrote on his Twitter, Friday. READ THE FULL Korea Times ARTICLE

  • Luna Pearl Woolf discusses; 'Fire and Flood' with WVIA Public Media's 'Arts Scene'
     
    Posted At : January 25, 2021 12:00 AM

    From a deeply stirring Mass to hauntingly re-imagined Leonard Cohen masterpieces, composer LUNA PEARL WOOLF: Fire and Flood encompasses 25 years of vocal and choral works by the innovative American- Canadian composer. The composer-portrait album features new and compelling performances from The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and NOVUS NY conducted by Julian Wachner, cellist Matt Haimovitz, soprano Devon Guthrie, mezzo-soprano Elise Quagliata, and Broadway actress Nancy Anderson. In her penetrating album notes, The New York Times contributing writer Corinna Da Fonseca- Wollheim comments, "Luna Pearl Woolf trains a zoom lens on the collective experience, sometimes plunging us right into the midst of destruction and anarchy only to pull back, in one swoop, to a clear-eyed plane of compassion." These arresting works include her frequently-performed cello- choir concerto, Après moi, le deluge, which emerges from the tragic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; and the dramatic, low-voiced To the Fire, with its prophetic, Old Testament text. In One to One to One, "three female singers reflect and refract the male gaze in an uproar of vocal virtuosity" (Da Fonseca-Wollheim); while Missa in Fines Orbis Terrae journeys to the ends of the earth in search of revelation, mercy, peace. Released by Pentatone/Oxingale Series, LPW discusses 'Fire and Flood' with Pennsylvania's WVIA Public Media host Erika Funke for 'Arts Scene.' LISTEN

  • Jon Batiste lindy hops his way through 'I Need You' / boingboing
     
    Posted At : January 25, 2021 12:00 AM

    Multi Grammy & Emmy nominated recording artist, TV star and activist Jon Batiste announces a new single "I Need You" from his forthcoming ‘black pop' album WE ARE. The album is set for worldwide release on March 19 (Verve Records). On "I Need You" Batiste showcases his vocal range, accompanied by his once-in-a-generation musicianship. Produced and written in collaboration with songwriter Autumn Rowe and producer Kizzo, the song is communal and deceptively sophisticated. It fuses the sound of early 20th century black social music, with modern pop production and a hint of hip-hop storytelling. He expertly alternates between belting high notes in full voice, to singing harmony with himself on the choruses, to delivering the verses in a ‘farm rap' style. Batiste then dives into two killer instrumental breaks on both piano and saxophone - all in less than 3 minutes. Says Batiste, "This song is a vibe cleanse. After 2020, this is like a warm hug," says Batiste. "Let's bring the vibes back!" Watch Batiste Lindy Hop his way through new single on the attached video. About the video, boingboing's GARETH BRANWYN  writes.... "Jon Batiste everybody." One of the upsides of COVID-19 isolation has been getting to know Stephen Colbert and his musical director, Jon Batiste, a lot better. During the Trump Virus shit-show, Jon has been a little nightly dose of heartfelt music and unwavering positivity. In this video, the single to his forthcoming record, We Are, a group of Lindy Hoppers in a gallery photograph come to life and dance with him and another female patron. Sadly, upon seeing this, my first thought was: Where are their masks? SEE THE boingboing PAGE & WATCH THE VIDEO

  • The 48 minutes of William Susman's 'A Quiet Madness' offer more than their fair share of listening rewards / textura
     
    Posted At : January 24, 2021 12:00 AM

    textura writes.....A Quiet Madness is somewhat of a curious title for William Susman's latest release. The composer's music is seldom hushed, and neither is it deranged-not that there's any suggestion the title should be taken literally anyway.  The influence of classical minimalism on Susman's melodious music is undeniable, but he uses it as a foundation upon which to construct his own distinctive edifice. These settings enchant as they wend their way through different instrumental groupings, from the violin-and-piano serenity of the opening Aria on through the wholly transporting Seven Scenes for Four Flutes and beyond. Though its material was written between 2006 and 2013 and recorded on two continents, a cohesive impression forms due to the through-line of the composer's voice and the smart sequencing. By distributing three parts of the solo piano work Quiet Rhythms in amongst the other pieces, the album conveys a unified character capable of accommodating dramatic contrasts between the earthy and the ethereal. For now, the forty-eight minutes of A Quiet Madness offer more than their fair share of listening rewards as a representative sampling of his artistry. READ THE FULL textura REVIEW

  • 'We can't have a New York City without Birdland' / PIX11
     
    Posted At : January 24, 2021 12:00 AM

    Iconic NYC jazz club rallies to stay open amid pandemic. WPIX11's Magee Hickey writes....Like so many jazz clubs and music venues across the city, 'Birdland' has been shuttered on West 44th Street since the pandemic began last March, except for a brief reopening last month. What better way to open the Save Birdland fundraiser than hearing the legendary Catherine Russell sing its anthem: the lullaby of Birdland. Birdland, the jazz corner of the world, has been around for longer than most of us can remember. It first opened in 1949 on 52nd Street with big names, including Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday. They performed regularly with Billy Taylor as the house pianist. Owner Gianni Valenti feared would have to close permanently until producer Tom D'Angora held a successful fundraising telethon to save the West Bank Café on Christmas Day. "After a very successful West Bank Café campaign, some of my friends said 'can you do the same for Birdland,'" D'Angira told PIX11 News. "Birdland can't close. We can't have a New York without Birdland. That's impossible." READ THE FULL PIX11 ARTICLE

  • Vikingur Olafsson - Philip Glass: Piano Works. Simplicity that is almost majestic / The Guardian
     
    Posted At : January 24, 2021 12:00 AM

    For Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson's debut album on Deutsche Grammophon, he is performing selections of Philip Glass's Piano Etudes. Ólafsson's fascination with reinterpreting the Piano Etudes grew as he toured and performed the works with Glass himself. Released for the composer's 80th birthday, the pianist says; "On the surface, they seem to be filled with repetitions. But the more one plays and thinks about them, the more their narratives seem to travel along in a spiral," he explains. "My approach to each of the etudes is to enable the listener to create his or her own personal space of reflection." The Guardian's Killian Fox writes.....We got this as a Christmas present from my father-in-law, who's a pianist and musicologist, and I think it's one of his favourite records. Ólafsson is an Icelandic pianist and here he's playing works by Philip Glass, for whom repetition is a big thing. The album has a simplicity that for me becomes almost majestic in the end. It's so precise and so clear – it feels almost mathematical but also very soulful. You listen to it for a little while and new details keep emerging. I've been playing it all the time since we got it.    Photograph: Antonio Olmos SEE The Guardian PAGE

Top 10 for Jan

  • Jon Batiste :

    'I Need You' from 'We Are'

     Multi Grammy & Emmy nominated recording artist, TV star and activist Jon Batiste announces a new single "I Need You" from his forthcoming ‘black pop' album WE ARE.
  • SIGNUM saxophone quartet :

    Echoes

     An ensemble that attracts rave reviews and sell-out crowds at prestigious venues everywhere from Vienna to New York, the sensational SIGNUM saxophone quartet are now set to present their first Deutsche Grammophon album.
  • The Album Leaf :

    SYNCHRONIC - OMPS

     Milan Records announces the release of SYNCHRONIC (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) with music by The Album Leaf.
  • Shai Maestro :

    Human

     In its review of pianist Shai Maestro's leader debut, The Dream Thief, All About Jazz spoke of "a searching lyrical atmosphere, emotional eloquence and communal virtuosity that serves the music.
  • Poor Clare Sisters of Arundel :

    Light for the World

     More than 800 years since they were founded, the Poor Clare Sisters of Arundel – a community of 23 nuns living in the south of England – have found themselves unexpected recording stars.
  • Ilan Eshkeri :

    A Perfect Planet

     Sony Music today announces the January 8, 2021 release of A PERFECT PLANET (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE BBC SERIES) with music by composer ILAN ESHKERI (Stardust, The Young Victoria).
  • Jane Ira Bloom, Mark Helias :

    Some Kind of Tomorrow

     Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and bassist Mark Helias come together to create duets discovered in the moment in a way that is rarely heard today with Some Kind of Tomorrow.
  • Catalyst Quartet :

    Uncovered Vol. 1 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

     On Friday, February 5, 2021, GRAMMY Award-winning Catalyst Quartet releases UNCOVERED Volume 1 on Azica Records.
  • Laila Biali :

    A Case of You - LIVE

     SOCAN Music and JUNO Award winner Laila Biali shares an intimate acoustic cover of Joni Mitchell's classic love song, A Case of You, captured live off the floor at Revolution Recording Studios.
  • Max Richter :

    Beethoven - Opus 2020

     Max Richter and Deutsche Grammophon are set to release a brand-new orchestral composition to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birthday.

Bartoli, a tour de force in Salzburg's Ariodante / The Hamilton Spectator

Posted: August 23, 2017 12:00 AM | By: Admin
Bookmark and Share

What can pack a wallop and bowl over just about anything and anybody? If you said a 113 km/hr wind storm that ripped through the Salzburg area uprooting trees and knocking out electrical power for many, give yourself a pat on the back. If you also said Cecilia Bartoli in the Salzburg Festival's production of Handel's opera, "Ariodante," give yourself a double pat on the back. Bartoli was nothing short of a tour de force in the trouser role, a gender-bender which director Christof Loy and costume designer Ursula Renzenbrink had her all dolled up as a bearded man, then looking like Austria's Conchita Wurst, and then in the final act as herself. Sure, it's a topsy-turvy world, but trying to figure out those twists and turns wasn't worth the time.

READ THE FULL Hamilton Spectator REVIEW

Crossover Media Projects with Cecilia Bartoli

  • Cecilia Bartoli

    Queen of Baroque

    Decca Classics releases a stunning collection of arias from Cecilia Bartoli, ‘The Queen of Baroque'. Cecilia's first compilation album in a decade features the very best of Bartoli's treasured recordings of musical delights and discoveries of the 17th and 18th centuries, including two previously unreleased, world premiere recordings of forgotten jewels by Italian composers Leonardo Vinci and Agostino Steffani.

    A champion of Baroque repertoire throughout her career, Cecilia is joined on this recording by special guests Philippe Jaroussky, June Anderson, Franco Fagioli and Sol Gabetta, sharing her passion for musical curiosities uncovered throughout the centuries.

  • Cecilia Bartoli

    Farinelli

    Celebrating over three decades on the Decca Classics label, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli releases a brand new album commemorating the life and career of the most famous opera singer of the 18th century: the castrato Farinelli. Set to release on November 29, the record includes arias by Farinelli's older brother Riccardo Broschi and his teacher and mentor Nicola Porpora. It also features a new recording of "Alto Giove" from Porpora's Polifemo, which celebrates Farinelli's unique capacity to sing long musical phrases and extraordinary high notes. Cecilia performs with the period ensemble Il Giardino Armonico and its conductor Giovanni Antonini, with whom she first collaborated on her Grammy Award-winning Vivaldi album, and again on Sacrificium, her first castrati album from 2009, which also won a Grammy for Best Classical Vocal Performance. 

  • Cecilia Bartoli

    Antonio Vivaldi

    Almost 20 years after her historic Vivaldi album, Cecilia Bartoli turns to the composer once again for her brand new solo recording, Antonio Vivaldi. The album is a glorious collection of Vivaldi arias, performed with French baroque orchestra Ensemble Matheus under Jean-Christophe Spinosi. This new release also marks 30 years since Bartoli signed to Decca Classics.

    Cecilia Bartoli's 1999 recording The Vivaldi Album redefined her status as an artist: for the first time, she was widely appreciated as a rescuer of neglected or forgotten music, in her dual role as meticulous researcher and passionate interpreter.

    The Vivaldi Album shone a spotlight on the Italian as a composer of vocal works, sparking a revival in the operas of Vivaldi, who had hitherto been primarily known for his concerti. The album sold 700,000 copies in five years and went Gold in six countries. It paved the way for similarly trailblazing releases, including the Italian arias of Christoph Willibald Gluck, the legendary castratos (on the album Sacrificium) and Bartoli's personal 19th-century hero, the mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran.

  • Cecilia Bartoli

    St Petersburg

    This fall, best-selling mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli looks to the little-known operas of 18th-century Russia on her upcoming release, Cecilia Bartoli– St Petersburg. These Baroque musical treasures were written by Italian and German composers working for the Russian court: specifically, Francesco Araia (at the court 1735–59), Hermann Friedrich Raupach (1759–61), Vincenzo Manfredini (1761–63), and Domenico Cimarosa (1787–91). The works were commissioned under the rules of empresses Anna Ioannovna (1730–40), Elizaveta Petrovna (Elizabeth, 1741–62), and Catherine II (known as Catherine the Great, 1762–96). The three rulers continued and completed the wholesale redefinition of Russia into an enlightened European state that began under Peter the Great. Cecilia Bartoli – St Petersburg, which releases on October 14, aims to shed new light on this incredible and momentous time for Russia, while simultaneously exploring the first instances of operatic music writing in the country.

    30 NEW -  35 Total
    SYND:     Classical 24, CBC
    Direct: Music Choice, MOOD
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Dallas, Atlanta, St. Louis, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Austin, New Orleans, Honolulu, Canada
    Online: ClassicallyHip