Archive for the ‘Classical Performances’ Category

Einladung zum Klavierabend am am 17.06. um 20.30h – Piano Salon Christophori – Berlin Freidrichshain/Kreuzberg

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Berlin Freidrichshain/Kreuzberg   15-06-2010

Liebe Freunde des Salons,

ich darf zu einem herausragenden Klavierabend einladen:

Konzertsaal Friedrichshain

Zellestraße 12      
10247 Berlin 

[5 min. walk -close to U-Bahn + S-Bahn stations Frankfurter Tor]

Am kommenden Donnerstag, dem 17.06. um 20.30h wird die große Pianistin Li-Chun Su einen virtuosen Klavierabend geben mit Werken von Schumann, Liszt, Prokofiev und Villa-Lobos.

Li-Chun Su ist eine der ernsthaftesten Pianisten unserer Tage und wird durch die Stringenz und Reinheit ihrer Interpretationen oft mit dem hoch verehrten Swjatoslaw Richter verglichen.

Das komplette Programm findet sich auf dem angehängten Flyer und könnte virtuoser und anspruchsvoller nicht sein.

Im übrigen beinhalten unsere Konzerte der neuen Stättte zum Trotz denselben Ritus und das gleiche Glas Wein wie gewohnt, und es ist durchaus reizvoll, die Fülle des Quattrochords in einem Konzertsaal zu erleben.

Sehr herzlich

Christoph Schreiber

www.konzertfluegel.com

Piano Salon Christophori

Ludwig van Beethoven + Anton Bruckner Cyclus- Daniel Barenboim + Staatskapelle Berlin / 20th June – 27th June at Berlin Philharmonie

Monday, June 14th, 2010

 

Berlin  14-06-2010

 

Ludwig van Beethoven - www.foto-face.com

Anton Bruckner / www.foto-face.com

Daniel Barenboim - Foto- uploaded by Alkan at en.wikipedia

Starting on Sunday  June 20th until the following Sunday June the 27th, Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin will undertake a Beethoven/Bruckner/cyclus performing the last 6 of the Bruckner Symphonies along with  all five Beethoven piano concerti and the violin concerto.

The concerts will take place  in Berlin’s Philharmonie – actually home of the competing Berlin Philharmonic – however the Staats Oper the usual home of the Staatskapelle orchestra  on the  ’Unter-den-Linden’ has just started a complete renovation.

Barenboim will conduct the Beethoven concertos from the piano, the Bruckner symphonies from the podium  and Frank Peter Zimmermann will perform the violin concerto ………we presume and hope standing with his violin in his arms!

We greatly appreciate the artistic comparison and programming dynamics which pairing Beethoven + Bruckner together can bring – good for Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin to take this initiative!

Bruckner and Beethoven do fit well together like for example coffee and milk – one adds to the other – historically we know that Bruckner [as well as Brahms] adored Beethoven.

Beethoven had long passed away by the time Bruckners symphonies starting making waves and it would have been great to have heard Beethovens opinions of them – alas this will have to wait until some creative soul takes this up in a movie or writes it up.

The  comments about Bruckner having written the same symphony nine different times notwithstanding – his stolid symphonies will combine well with the dynamic Beethoven concerti.

It could be an idea to also present Bruckners epic and magnus-opus work ‘Te Deum’ alongside Beethoven’s great masterpiece the  ’Missa Solemnis’.

On second thought – after having heard either of these works – they are so emotionally astronomic, so vastly herioc and monumental works that after hearing either one – you don’t really want to hear anything else for at least 24 hours!

There is a famous caricature from the Vienese newspaper  after the death of Anton Bruckner showing him being welcomed and greeted in heaven by all the greats including Beethoven, Bach, Mozart …and other biggies!

While Barenboim’s Beethoven is really fabulous – both as pianist and conductor -he understands him and likes him- not everyone is completely taken by Barenboim’s Bruckner.

For the sake of adding some other points of view we provide the following link -for a thoughtful but critcal review of his conducting of the Bruckner symphonies  – http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.music.classical.recordings/2010-05/msg01682.html

-PROGRAM-

Su 20 Jun 2010 | 20.00 h

Conductor and Soloist Daniel Barenboim

 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN  
Klavierkonzert Nr. 1 C-Dur op. 15  
 
 
ANTON BRUCKNER  
Sinfonie Nr. 4 Es-Dur »Romantische« (Fassung von 1878/80)
 

Mo 21 Jun 2010 | 20.00 h

Conductor and Soloist Daniel Barenboim

 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN  
Klavierkonzert Nr. 3 c-Moll op. 37  
 
 
ANTON BRUCKNER  
Sinfonie Nr. 5 B-Dur (Originalfassung)
 

Tu 22 Jun 2010 | 20.00 h

- BEETHOVEN-BRUCKNER ZYKLUS

Conductor Daniel Barenboim
Violin Frank Peter Zimmermann

 
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN  
Violinkonzert D-Dur op. 61  
 
 
ANTON BRUCKNER  
Sinfonie Nr. 6 A-Dur (Originalfassung)
 

Fr 25 Jun 2010 | 20.00 h

Conductor and Soloist Daniel Barenboim

 
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN  
Klavierkonzert Nr. 4 G-Dur op. 58  
 
ANTON BRUCKNER  
Sinfonie Nr. 7 E-Dur (Originalfassung)
 

Philharmonie Berlin

Sa 26 Jun 2010 | 20.00 h

Staatskapelle Berlin

- BEETHOVEN-BRUCKNER ZYKLUS

Conductor and Soloist Daniel Barenboim

 
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN  
Klavierkonzert Nr. 2 B-Dur op. 19  
 
ANTON BRUCKNER  
Sinfonie Nr. 8 c-Moll (Edition Robert Haas)
 

Su 27 Jun 2010 | 20.00 h

- BEETHOVEN-BRUCKNER ZYKLUS

Conductor and Soloist Daniel Barenboim

 
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN  
Klavierkonzert Nr. 5 Es-Dur op. 73  
 
ANTON BRUCKNER  
Sinfonie Nr. 9 d-Moll (Originalfassung)
 

This last concert is sold out!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

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Tickets for concerts;

http://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/en_EN/content/program_concert_beethovenbruckner

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 ‘OTA-Berlin Constituency Blog’ is part of OTA-Berlin – the economical   ‘Apartment-Alternative to Hotels’  in Berlin. 

The Blog provides OTA-Berlin guests  a quick overview of the cultural, sports, social and other related activities taking place in Berlin during their stay. 

With daily commentary entries, descriptions of events, and other material such as photographs or video, the blog has become popular amongst a growing number of OTA-Berlin guests - a way of keeping in touch with the city until their next visit. 

‘OTA-Berlin Constituency Blog’ has existed since May 2008 and its entries are displayed in reverse-chronological order. 

The blog also feeds short overviews of relevant information about German & European financial, political, and social news as this relates to Berlin – and it provides commentary on this news to enlighten and generate further interest in them. 

Young Canadian Talent in Berlin – augurs well for future of Classical Music in Canada !

Friday, June 11th, 2010

Berlin  11-06-2010

 

Concert this evening of  CARSON BECKE + YOLANDA BRUNO

2030 hrs        11th  June  2010

Konzertsaal Friedrichshain

Zellestraße 12      
10247 Berlin 

[5 min. walk -close to U-Bahn + S-Bahn stations Frankfurter Tor]

 

Classical music is alive and well in Canada – and that is at it should be!

Many young Canadian musicians come to Europe to extend their education and participate in the rich cultural life here – taking this varied, intense and bountiful experience back with them.

Two such Canadian artists are playing this evening in Berlin Friedrichshain – go and hear them – and bring your friends!

You well say – but wait France is playing Uruquay at 2030 hrs!?

Rest assured that Uruguay will probably beat or tie France – so don’t worry about it – and get a life!!!!

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Some short biograhpical details about the artists/

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Yolanda Bruno has been studying the violin since the age of five with Joan Milkson, David Stewart and Elaine Klimasko. Six-time finalist and two-time winner at the Canadian Music Competition, Yolanda has won first prize in several concerto competitions, and has received numerous scholarships. She has performed with the Thirteen Strings Chamber Ensemble, the Ottawa Youth Orchestra and several community orchestras.  Yolanda has attended Encore Summer Institute (Cleveland, Ohio), Le Domaine Forget Summer Music Academy (Saint Irenée, Quebec), Morningside Music Bridge at Mount Royal College (Calgary, Alberta), the Junior Young Artists Program (Ottawa, Ontario) and the Orford Arts Centre (Magog, Quebec).  Last summer, she performed at the Casalmaggiore Summer Music Festival in Italy. Yolanda is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s of Music at McGill University.

Carson Becke, Canadian pianist (20) was born in Ottawa, and began learning the piano at the age of five with his Great Grandmother, Mary Mackey.

In 2005, he began his studies at the Purcell School, where he studied with Ilana Davids (Piano) and Jonothan Cole (Composition).

Within a year he won the top prize in the S.V. Rachmaninov International Piano Competition in Novgorod, Russia, and a special award from the Russian Ministry of Culture.

Performances in 2006 included giving a recital at the Canadian Embassy in Dublin, Ireland, and participating in the Dublin Master Classes Festival (with Jeno Jando).

In July 2006, Carson reached the finals of the Oberlin International Piano competition in Ohio.  A recital at the Wigmore Hall followed in October, where Carson played works of Shostakovich and Liszt.

In March 2007, Carson gave performances in the Leeds International Lunchtime Concerts series and with the Barnet Symphony Orchestra in London.

The premier of Carson’s orchestral composition “Three Orchestral Nocturnes” was performed by the Purcell School Symphony Orchestra at LSO St. Luke’s Hall in London in the presence of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.

In July, Carson participated in the Verbier Festival Academy in Verbier, Switzerland, where he performed in masterclasses with Emile Naoumoff, Claude Frank, Gabor Tackacs-Nagy and Yuri Bashmet.

Carson is now an official member of SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada).

In June 2007, he won 1st Prize in the BBC Proms/The Guardian Young Composers composition for his orchestral composition, which resulted in a broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and a performance in the summer of 2008 of a new piece in the BBC Proms.

In January 2008, he was a winner of the BBC performing arts fund bursary.         Carson commenced his studies on scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music in London in September 2007.  He studies piano there with Tatiana Sarkissova, and composition with Gary Carpenter.  He also studies conducting privately with Peter Stark.

Recent performances have included a recital for the International Rachmaninov Society in Wolverhampton, recitals in Wiesbaden, Berlin, Cambridge, London and Krakow, masterclass performances for Boris Berman and Stephen Hough, and solo recitals in and Canada.

He also recently won the “Harold Craxton Chamber Music Prize” at the Royal Academy.  In July he was the artist in residence at the “Festival Pontiac Enchante” in Quebec, where he performed a number of times as soloist and with chamber ensembles.

Piano Salon Christophori – Einladung zu den Konzerten am 10. und 11.06. um 20.30h -Konzertsaal ‘Musikschule Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg’

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

 Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg      08-06-2010

Carson Becke

Liebe Freunde des Salons,

ich darf an einen neuen Ort einladen: in Zusammenarbeit mit der Musikschule Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg führen wir unsere Konzertreihe im Konzertsaal in der Zellestraße 12 im Friedrichshain 10247 weiter.

Am kommenden Donnerstag, dem 10.06. und am Freitag, dem 11.06. jeweils um 20.30h wird ein Star unter den jungen Pianisten unserer Tage, der Canadier Carson Becke, zwei Konzerte geben: der nunmehr 20Jährige  hat mit  15 Jahren den Rachmaninoff Wettbewerb gewonnen und gehört seitdem zu den vielversprechendsten Begabungen des Klavieres. Er wird von Eingeweihten, ich schließe mich persönlich dieser Meinung an, zu den tiefsinnigsten Musikern derzeit gezählt.

Am Donnerstag, dem 10.06. wird er einen Kammermusikabend für Geige und Klavier mit der canadischen Geigerin Yolanda Bruno geben, selbst Gewinnerin verschiedenster Wettbewerbe u.a. mit einem der schönsten Werke der Romantik, der Franck Sonate.

Yolanda Bruno - foto - www.cadenzastrings.com

Am kommenden Freitag dann, dem 11.06. eiinen Klavierabend u.a. mit der Beethovenschen Waldsteinsonate und Werken Chopins.

Die kompletten Programme finden sich auf dem angehängten Flyer.

Sehr herzlich

Christoph Schreiber

www.konzertfluegel.com

Piano Salon Christophori

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Konzertsaal Friedrichshain

Zellestraße 12      
10247 Berlin 

http://ms-fk.de/Musikschule/index.php

HUGO WOLF – HIMMELSFLAMMEN -Programm ‘Chopin-und-Champagner’ für das Konzert am Donnerstag, den 10. Juni 2010, 19.30 Uhr

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

Hugo Wolf - Wikipedia

Berlin     07-06-2010

HUGO WOLF – HIMMELSFLAMMEN

Ein Liebesfrühling in Liedern und Briefen

Es singt die Sopranistin Christina Landshamer
es spricht der Schauspieler Gian Rupf
am Flügel Jendrik Springer
Regie Isolde Alber

chopin-und-champagner

Liebe Freunde und Bekannte,
Liebhaber unseres Salons,

Ich freue mich besonderes, Sie zu unserer nächsten Veranstaltung einladen zu dürfen. Durch einen großen Zufall kommt es dazu, das in unserem kleinen Salon große Namen auftreten; die Sopranistin Christina Landshamer, der Schauspieler Gian Rupf und am Flügel Jendrik Springer. Ich kann Ihnen diese Veranstaltung nur wärmstens empfehlen und freue mich auf zahlreiches Erscheinen.

Ihre Madalina Pasol

Torstraße 164, 10115 Berlin

im ehemaligen Königlichen Leihhaus
BAR – WALDO
Eingang über den Hof, linke Seite
U-Bhf Rosenthaler Platz, Linie U8

Piano Salon Christophori – Einladung zum Abschiedskonzerten am 05.06. um 20.30h

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

 Berlin – Prenzlauer Berg    01-06-2010

Piano Salon Christophori -Berlin

Liebe Freune des Salons,

ich darf und muß zum Abschiedskonzert in die Pappelallee einladen.

Wenngleich wir nach dem 05.06. die Konzertreihe glücklicherweise für einige Zeit werden fortführen können im Konzertsaal der Musikschule Friedrichshain, so bleibt es etwas wehmütig doch eine Einladung zu einem Abschiedskonzert. Und es ist ein guter Moment, um mich für Ihre / Eure Unterstüzung und Begeisterung zu bedanken, die wunderbare Konzerte ermöglicht hat.

Welche Freude nun aber, daß am kommenden Samstag, dem 05.06. um 20.30h einer der tiefsten und größten Pianisten unserer Tage, Benjamin Moser, diesen Klavierabend geben wird, der Werken der Romantik gewidmet ist. Doch damit nicht genug, die bescheidene Konzertserie wird Ihren Abschluß finden in einem der schönsten und anspruchsvollsten Klavierkonzerte, dem 3. von Rachmaninoff in der Version für zwei Flügel, begleitet von einem weiteren Großen und Freund, Ulugbek Palvanov.

Eines der prägnantesten Komplimente, die ich je gehört habe, wurde Benjamin Moser nach seinem letzten Klavierabend von einem Zuhörer mit den Worten gemacht: “So nah war ich Beethoven noch nie”. Ich kann einen Konzertabend voll Tiefe und Schwelgen versprechen.

Sehr herzlich

Christoph Schreiber

Ort: Salon Christophori
Pappelallee 3-4, zweiter Hinterhof
10437, Berlin (U2.Eberswalderstr.)

www.konzertfluegel.com

Piano Salon Christophori

www.benjaminmoser.com

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Und wer mithelfen möchte zu packen, der ist am Freitag, Samstag, Sonntag und Monatg auf das Herzlichste eingeladen. Absprachen am besten unter

0173 – 60 11 379

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Happy Birthday Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau + Thank You! – World famous Baritone turns 85 today – is, and will always be a Berliner !

Friday, May 28th, 2010
Berlin  28-05-2010

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau - Wikipedia

One of the world’s great lieder-singers of the 20th century, setting new standards and influencing a whole generation – the life-long Berliner  Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau turns 85 today – a prolific and  extraordinary artist with an almost 50 year singing career.

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was born in Berlin on May 28th 1925.

He may not especially welcome or enjoy the birthday event today – he has made it clear in the past that he did not particularly like becoming 80, nor 70 for that matter. He called them the start of the ‘final episode’ – and would prefer if he could ignore them!

However celebrate we will because in doing so we recognize and pay tribute to a living cultural treasure of Germany – a leading light of post-war classical music in Germany, and the world of vocal music internationally.

Fischer-Dieskau,  -, reached the  height of his career between 1950’s and 1980’s, and has left an amazing record of vocal history of classical music recorded sound.  

It has been more than 20 years since the most influential lieder singer of this last century left the limelight of public performances to seek comfortable retirement in the Berlin house where he has lived for more than 50 years.

He has recorded the entire songs of Schubert, Brahms and Richard Strauss, most of those by Mozart, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Liszt and Wolf, along with many other composers as diverse as  Bach to Henze.

He has sung and performed with the best musical artists of the last century – pianists, Alfred Brendel, Sviatoslav Richter and his ‘default’ accompanist Gerald Moore; composer Benjamin Britten and the conductors Beecham, Karajan, Kleiber and Klemperer. His favourite conductor and someone whom he respected professionally, his greatest musical influence above all others was the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. His favourite singer was the famous Wagnerian Hans Hotter.[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Hotter]

As a lifelong Berliner, in both good times and bad times, Fischer-Dieskau can remember one particular concert in 1943, when he was 17, in his first public performance of  , Schubert’s Winterreise.

It was being held municipal hall of the Berlin Zehlendorf, but had to be stopped mid-way because of a bombing raid!

The audience of around 200 along with the artists had to go into the bomb-shelter cellars and then continued the concert when the raid was over!

Looking bad at his life, he relates in his semi-autobigraphy ‘Reverberations: The Memoirs of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’  [ a very good book by the way ], translated by Ruth Hein. Fromm International, 1989. (ISBN 0-88064-137-1) that while he has been a fulfilled artist and father, his life has also known great sorrow  - caused most of all by his war years as a 16 yr old conscript into the losing Hitler army of 1943 and later the death of his first wife.

As a conscripted soldier he was captured in Italy by American troops at the end of the war and spent almost 2 years as a POW.

While openly critical of many of today’s generations of singers – he is also openly laudatory of many great singers whom he adores today – but his admiration does remain critical – which is only to be expected from a great artist.

However contemplatively looking back at his life,  he admits to not being unhappy and says in the end it is worthwhile to have had a life with good consequences.

For more info + photographs  about Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

http://www.mwolf.de/biography.html

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‘OTA-Berlin Constituency Blog’ is part of OTA-Berlin – the economical   ‘Apartment-Alternative to Hotels’  in Berlin. 

The Blog provides OTA-Berlin guests  a quick overview of the cultural, sports, social and other related activities taking place in Berlin during their stay. 

With daily commentary entries, descriptions of events, and other material such as photographs or video, the blog has become popular amongst a growing number of OTA-Berlin guests - a way of keeping in touch with the city until their next visit. 

‘OTA-Berlin Constituency Blog’ has existed since May 2008 and its entries are displayed in reverse-chronological order. 

The blog also feeds short overviews of relevant information about German & European financial, political, and social news as this relates to Berlin – and it provides commentary on this news to enlighten and generate further interest in them.

Klavierabend von Kotaro Fukuma am 29.05.10 – -

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

 

Berlin 26-05-2010

 

Kotaro Fukuma

 

 
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
 
ich hoffe, es geht Ihnen gut, obwohl das Wetter in Berlin nicht so typisch Frühling ist. 
Hiermit möchte ich Sie über mein nächstes Konzert in Berlin informieren und Sie dazu herzlich einladen.
 

Aufgeführt wird ein Galakonzert zum 150.Geburtstag von Isaac Albeniz und z 100.Todestag von Milly Balakirew. Beide Jubiläen fallen zufällig auf den gleichen Tag (Albeniz ist am 29.05.1860 geboren, und Balakirev ist am 29.05.1910 gestorben).

Daher ist es mir eine besondere Freude, ihre Musik in diesem Konzert zu spielen.
Im folgenden die Details zu der Veranstaltung:
Klavierabend von Kotaro Fukuma
Samstag, 29. Mai 2010

Beginn: 20:30Uhr
Ort: Salon Christophori
Pappelallee 3-4, zweiter Hinterhof
10437, Berlin (U2.Eberswalderstr.)
Programm:
J.S.Bach- aus der Kunst der Fuge
L.v.Beethoven-Sonate Op.110
I.Albéniz- Iberia 2ème cahier
M.Balakirew- Islamey

Sie können sich auch mit folgenden Videoaufnahmen in die Stücke von Bach und Balakirev einhören. Beide Aufnahmen sind aus meinem Konzert in Japan vom 28. November letzten Jahres.
Bach- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l50B6JeFiNA
Balakirew- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnPWGcVAkSQ
Einige Nachrichten von mir:
1. Meine spanische Tournee mit 10 Konzerten ging sehr gut im März. Ich hatte insbesondere Freude, dass mein Spiel von Albeniz vom spanischen Publikum hoch geschätzt wurde. Sie können die Kritiken (auf Spanisch) in meinem Blog sehen.
2. Ich hatte eine CD Aufnahme von Liszt in Japan am Anfang April. Die CD wird wahrscheinlich im September von Accustika Label herausgekommen!
3. Der übernächste Termin von meinem Berliner Konzert ist am 15.08. im Konzerthaus Kleiner Saal beim Young.Euro.Classics Festival! 
http://www.young-euro-classic.de/programm/details/2010-08-15-15-uhr-young-euro-classic-klavierfestival-kotaro-fukuma-424/

Ich würde mich sehr freuen, Sie beim Konzert wieder zu sehen, inzwischen wünsche ich Ihnen alles Gute und eine schöne Frühlingszeit!

 

 
Mit herzlichen Grüßen
von
Kotaro Fukuma

Catalin Serban – Klavier -Programm für das Konzert am Samstag, 29. Mai 2010, 17.00 Uhr

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Programm für das Konzert am Samstag, 29. Mai 2010, 17.00 Uhr

Catalin Serban – Klavier

Beethoven – Sonate G-Dur Op.31 Nr.1
Schubert – aus „3 Klavierstücke“ D.946, Nr.1 und 2 in Es-Dur
–Pause–
Schumann – Novellette in fis-Moll Op.21 Nr.8
Chopin – Barcarolle Fis-Dur Op.60

Catalin Serban wurde in Bukarest geboren. Im Alter von 6 Jahren beginnt er das Klavierspielen und erhält seine Ausbildung am Musikgymnasium “George Enesco”.
1997 siedelt Catalin Serban nach Berlin über, wo er an der Universität der Künste in Berlin Hauptfach Klavier studiert. Nach dem Diplom erweitert er seine Ausbildung mit dem Aufbaustudium Klavier an der Musikhochschule Lübeck, das er im Jahr 2006 mit höchster Auszeichnung abschließt.
Sein Repertoire umfasst alle Stile, mit einer besonderen Affinität für klassisch-romantische Werke von Beethoven, Schubert und Chopin als auch für Komponisten des 20. Jahrhunderts wie Rachmaninow, Prokofiew oder Villa-Lobos.
Für seine Interpretation der “Rudepoema” von Villa-Lobos erhielt Catalin Serban den Preis für moderne Musik beim Breme Klavierwettbewerb.
Seit dem Sommer 2007 ist Catalin Serban Dozent für Klavier an der Musikhochschule Lübeck.

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Auf Grund begrenzter Sitzplätze bitten wir um Reservierung auf der Webseite

http://www.chopin-und-champagner.de/

Torstraße 164, 10115 Berlin

im ehemaligen Königlichen Leihhaus
Eingang über den Hof, linke Seite
U-Bhf Rosenthaler Platz, Linie U8

===================================================Dieses Konzert wird sehr nah zu den OTA-Berlin Appartements bei Schoenhauser Allee und bei Zehdeniker Strasse gehalten.

Eine vollkommene gute Weise, den langen Wochenende Samstag-Abend zu verbringen – eine große Prämie für die OTA-Berlin Gäste, die Berlin besichtigen.

Das „OTA-Berlin Besucher-Blog“ bietet Berlin-Gästen einen schnellen Überblick über kulturelle, sportliche und gesellschaftliche Ereignisse in Berlin während Ihres Aufenthaltes. Das „OTA-Berlin Besucher-Blog“ besteht bereits seit Mai 2008. Seine Einträge werden in abwärts chronologischer Weise dargestellt.

Das Blog enthält weiterhin kurze Überblicke über relevante Nachrichten aus Deutschland mit Bezug zu Berlin und kommentiert sie, um sie hervorzuheben und Interesse zu wecken. Die Möglichkeit für Leser des „OTA-Berlin Besucher-Blogs“ interaktiv Beiträge zu hinterlassen, ist ein wichtiges Merkmal und unterstützt die Teilnahme des Lesers.

Australian Woman Conductor leads Hamburg Opera in Richard Strauss’s ‘ELEKTRA’ – Audience enthralled…yet again! ‘OTA-Berlin Constituency Blog’ Review

Monday, May 24th, 2010
Berlin/Hamburg   24-05-2010

A very young Richard Strauss - www.foto-face.com

Simone Young at Hamburg Opera - foto Andreas Praefcke - Wikipedia

There are not that many women conductors, and there are not that many Australian conductors generally and in Europe specifically – and that makes Simon Young even more remarkable!

However as with this Friday’s performance of Strauss’s Elektra at the Hamburg Staats Oper – the remarkable is becoming more common-place.

As with so many of her other productions in Hamburg,  this ‘Elektra’ was extremely professional, well produced, well sung with extremely versatile orchestra – and befittingly it was warmly and very well received.

‘Elektra’ first performed at the Dresden State Opera in 1909, is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, adapted to a drama of the same name by Hugo von Hofmannsthal who set the German-language libretto.  –it was to be the first of much collaboration between composer and librettist.

The plot of the opera is based upon the Greek tragedy of the same name by   Sophocles. The unrelenting gloom and horror that permeate the original play produce, in the hands of Hofmannsthal and Strauss, a drama whose sole theme is revenge.

With Elektra Strauss would make his most radical departure from musical convention into modernity – from which he later retreated with his most successful and money making venture the Opera ‘Der Rosenkavalier’.

Orchestrally, Elektra deploys dissonance, chromaticism and extremely fluid tonality in a way which recalls but moves beyond the same composer’s Opera ‘Salome’ four years earlier.

To support the overwhelming emotional content in the opera, Strauss requires a very large and in some ways unusual orchestra, with lots of brass and including unusually cymbals, tam-tam, triangle, tambourine, castanets, celesta ,glockenspiel and a doubling-up of Cellos and Violins into different groups.

The bi-tonal or ‘extended Elektra chord’ is a well known dissonance from the opera while harmonic parallelism is also prominent modernist technique.

Vocally the lead roles calls for 3 sopranos and a mezzo soprano and Ms Young did an outstanding job of keeping the ensemble together. Having the likes of top world-class Strauss & Wagner talent like MARIANA LIPOVSEK , and the absolutely fabulous DEBORAH POLASKI did make her work a bit easier

Her grip of the baton for the orchestra, ensuring Beat and tempo and the cueing of the singers along with imposing the demanding score make this a formidable task, and she was clearly up to the task. The opera will be presented again this coming Thursday………..in Hamburg? GO SEE IT!!

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Read  ’OTA-Berlin Constituency Blog’ Review of the greatest Strauss opera of all time………’Die Frau ohne Schatten’ ………….”Barak – but not Obama – enthralls Berlin !!”

.http://www.ota-berlin.de/blog/berlin/2009/12/14/barak-%e2%80%93-but-not-obama-%e2%80%93-enthralls-berlin/

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Following biographical information about Ms Young was based on information provided by Wikipedia.

Simone  Young  was born  in Sydney  1961 and studied composition, piano and conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Commencing in 1983 Young worked at Opera Australia as a repetiteur, under conductors including Charles Mackerras, Richard Bonynge, Carlo Felice Cillario and Stuart Challender. Young started her operatic conducting career at the Sydney Opera House in 1985. In her early years, she was assistant to James Conlon at the Cologne Opera, and to Daniel Barenboim at the Berlin State Opera and the Bayreuth Festival. Since then, she has conducted at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Vienna State Opera, the Opéra Bastille in Paris, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and at other important opera houses and with prestigious symphony orchestras worldwide. From 1998 until 2002, Young was principal conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway.

From 2001 to 2003, Young was chief conductor of Opera Australia in Sydney. Her contract was not renewed after 2003, with one given reason as the excessive expense of her programming ideas.

Young made her first conducting appearance at the Hamburg State Opera in 1996. In May 2003, she was named both chief executive of the Hamburg State Opera and chief conductor of the Philharmoniker Hamburg, posts which she assumed in 2005. In 2006, she became Professor of Music and Theatre in Hamburg University. Critics of the magazine Opera World selected her in October 2006 as the Dirigentin des Jahres (Conductor of the Year).

Young was the first female conductor at the Vienna State Opera in 1993. She conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra when they performed Advance Australia Fair at the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Sydney. In November 2005, she was the first female conductor to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic.

In August 2008 Young appeared in the reality TV talent show-themed television program, Maestro on BBC Two, when she was part of the judging panel.

She has been appointed a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of France. On 26 January 2004, in the Australia Day Honours, Young was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM):

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‘Elektra’ will be presented one more time this coming Thursday, 27th MAY in Hamburg – info at;

 http://www.hamburgische-staatsoper.de/de/2_spielplan/index.php?tmpl=performance&event=83435&t=Kalender&english=1

MUSIKALISCHE LEITUNG -SIMONE YOUNG

CHOR -FLORIAN CSIZMADIA

KLYTÄMNESTRA – MARIANA LIPOVSEK

ELEKTRA – DEBORAH POLASKI

CHRYSOTHEMIS -SILVANA DUSSMANN

AEGISTH -PETER GALLIARD

OREST -MICHAEL VOLLE

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