Evan Williams News
American operatic tenor
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2024-03-29
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2024-03-28 07:52:00
Marriner 100: the Academy of St Martin in the Fields celebrates the centenary of its founder
Sir Neville MarrinerNext month, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields is celebrating the centenary of its founder Sir Neville Marriner (1924-2016) with a programme events beginning on what would have been Sir Neville's 100th birthday (15 April 2024), with concerts celebrating both Marriner and the orchestra's long-standing relationships with other musicians.Things begin with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields at its spiritual home, St Martin in the Fields, with direction shared between Joshua Bell, Tomo Keller and Jaime Martin in a programme of Handel, Mozart, Haydn, Vaughan Williams and Errollyn Wallen. Then on 16 April, the ASMF Chamber Ensemble is joined by Joshua Bell and pianist Murray Perrahia, in what will be his first performance in six years, at Wigmore Hall for Mendelssohn, Schumann and Sally Beamish [see my 2019 interview where Sally Beamish talks about her personal links with the orchestra]. There is a centenary gala concert […]
2024-03-26 10:14:00
Young Lovers: Louise Alder and Joseph Middleton in an entrancing evening at Wigmore Hall
Joseph Middleton & Louise Alder at Wigmore Hall in 2022Young Lovers: Fauré, Nadia Boulanger & Raoul Pugno, Mahler, Copland, Ned Rorem, Rogers & Hammerstein; Louise Alder, Joseph Middleton; Wigmore HallReviewed 25 March 2024Young love in all its forms in an entrancing recital from this duo partnership which took is from France to settings of a Belgian symbolist to intimate Mahler, then evocations of a New England poet and an American composer in Paris, before ending with a damned good song from musical theatreSoprano Louise Alder and pianist Joseph Middleton returned to Wigmore Hall on Monday 25 March 2024 with Young Lovers, a programme that moved from French song to German, to American, beginning with Fauré and Nadia Boulanger, then Mahler's Rückert Lieder followed by Copland's 12 poems of Emily Dickinson, two songs by Ned Rorem and ending with Hello, Young Lovers from Rogers & Hammerstein's The King and I.We began […]
2024-03-25 08:15:00
Lush romanticism was a long way away: an immersive contemporary interpretation of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater from Figure
Our Mother - Rowan Pierce, Emma Kirkby, Alexandra Achillea Pouta - Figure at Stone Nest (Photo: Kristina Allen)Our Mother: Pergolesi: Stabat Mater with interludes by Alex Mills; Emma Kirkby, Catherine Carby, Rowan Pierce, Alexandra Achillea Pouta, Nadya Pickup, Figure, Frederick Waxman, Sophie Daneman; Stone NestReviewed 23 March 2024An abstract, immersive staging, concentrating on dramatising the emotional arc of Pergolesi's work interleaved with impressive new interludes from young composer Alex MillsHistorical performance group, Figure, music director Frederick Waxman, has become known for its fascinatingly staged interpretation of classics and recent work has included Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream at Opera Holland Park and This is my Body, an immersive staging of Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri [see my review]. For their latest project, Our Mother at Stone Nest (seen 23 March 2024), Figure performed Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with new interludes by composer Alex Mills. The soloists were Dame Emma Kirkby, Catherine Carby, Rowan Pierce, Alexandra Achillea Pouta and Nadya […]
2024-03-23 09:49:00
Writing Italian-influenced music in the depths of Northamptonshire: organist William Whitehead on the music of English Baroque composer George Jeffreys
Solomon's Knot at Kirby HallThe Baroque collective, Solomon's Knot's recent disc on Prospero Classical [see my review] showcased the music of the almost forgotten 17th-century English composer George Jeffreys, revealing him as a remarkable talent, writing Italian-influenced music in the depths of darkest Northamptonshire during the Civil War. Born around 1610 and living until 1683, his lifetime coincided with a complex piece of English history; for most of his life he worked for Lord Hatton, much of the time at Hatton's seat of Kirby Hall in Northamptonshire. For the recent recording, featuring 16 pieces by Jeffreys, Solomon's Knot included organist William Whitehead for recording sessions at Kirby Hall (now in the care of English Heritage). I recently chatted to William about Jeffreys' and his music, and how the recording came about, as well as touching on William's passion project, the Orgelbuchlein project, a modern-day completion of Bach's youthful collection of chorale […]
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