Category Archives: KMFA recommends

Texas Early Music Project welcomes Spring

 

The Sweet and Merry Month of May

~posted by Sara Hessel, KMFA Music Director

“In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote that in the 19th century, but it was hardly news then, as Texas Early Music Project reminded us in their delightful concert “Spring Rites: The Lark in the Morning.”

T.E.M.P. drew a capacity crowd to First English Lutheran Church to hear songs of love lost, love found, love made and love despaired of. Artistic Director Daniel Johnson’s lively and varied program also included English madrigals, French folk songs and some fun surprises, such as an anonymous 16th century song called O Lusty May that morphed into Lusty Month of May from Camelot, sung very saucily by soprano Kathlene Ritch. (Early music all sober chant sung by monks in robes? Not a bit of it!)

Other personal favorites included Landini’s rousing welcome to spring Ecco la primavera, a tenderly melancholic troubadour song by Bernart de Ventadorn, performed by Daniel Johnson, a riotous French drinking song called Amis, buvons! and recorder pyrotechnics by Jacob van Eyck, brought to life by soloist Victor Eijkhout.

The ‘orchestra’ was in great form — we were treated to excellent violin and vielle playing by Laurie Young Stevens, along with other fine performances by John Walters (viol), Elaine Barber (harp) and James Brown (bass viol). The band had their chance to shine in an instrumental rendering of the Scottish song The Day it Dawes.

Sadly, this was the last concert in T.E.M.P.’s season, and we have to wait until September for more. But it will be worth the wait! In the first concert of the new season, the group revisits one of its greatest hits: Convivencia: The Three Worlds of Renaissance Spain, September 24-26, with special guest artists Tom Zajac (historical winds and percussion), Annette Bauer (recorders) and Kamran Hooshmand (santur and ud). At least we’ll have fond memories of fresh and springy early music to get us through the long, hot summer.

~Sara Hessel is KMFA’s Music Director, as well as producer and host of Ancient Voices. You can hear Ancient Voices on KMFA 89.5,  Sundays at 9am and 4pm.

Miró Quartet visits the KMFA studios

Today we welcomed Austin’s own Miró Quartet into our recording studio in preparation for this Wednesday’s airing of Classical Austin (with host Dianne Donovan). They are just the nicest! Here are a few photos I took as they were warming up their instruments.

Tune in this Wednesday, May 5th , at 8pm to hear these talented musicians chat about their upcoming performance on May 9th at the Texas Performing Arts Center (with guest cellist, the famous Lynn Harrell).

~ posted by Alison @ KMFA 🙂

Choir of the Future

This video has been making the rounds of the choral music networks. Eric Whitacre conducts a virtual choir of singers located in 12 different countries.

Brian Newhouse, the host of SymphonyCast, wrote: “You probably know the music: the Dale Warland Singers, Cantus, and just about any college choir worth its salt have made Eric Whitacre’s “Lux Aurumque” its own. And every one of these groups knows how hard it is to make it sound beautiful and easy. But how the producers of this video got every singer to enter and exit on cue, keep the pitch up, and make a beautiful sound—with none of them in the same room? Well, my hat is off to them!”

There are a series of these videos, but this piece might be the most famous… enjoy!

 

Brian Satterwhite’s own film score

I know that KMFA has lots of fans for Brian Satterwhite’s show, Film Score Focus. Brian is the host and producer of the show… but did you know that he is not *just* a fan of cinematic music, he’s actually a composer of film scores, by profession. 

Maybe you heard about one of his recent film scores: Artois the Goat. (You can click on the photo above to view the trailer.) But unless you were on the Indie Film circuit, or were able to acquire tickets during SXSW last year (it sold out all three screenings), you had to settle for those teasing trailers…. until now! It just came out on DVD!

Here’s a review from the Austin Chronicle that I particularly liked: http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=756702 (It speaks to the Austin creators and local talent, as well as the quality of the movie.)  I think it even says it’s “cheezy, but in a good way.”  😉

And there’s one more connection KMFA celebrates with this wonderful film score: Brian Satterwhite performed several of the pieces himself, and our sound engineers, Jeffrey Blair and Phil Pollack, recorded some of the cues (about seven or eight pieces I think) for the film right here in KMFA’s Studio 2000.

~posted by Alison @ KMFA 🙂

*** UPDATE!***  I just got a note from Brian:

Greetings,

I just wanted to send you a quick note that this week on Film Score Focus I’ll be playing music from ARTOIS THE GOAT with the filmmakers as my guests. The DVD just came out a month ago. Check out the FSF blog post and tune in if you can. It’s on 89.5 KMFA Friday night at 8PM or Sunday at 7PM. You can even tune in via the internet at http://www.kmfa.org.
Thanks!
~BMS

KMFA visits KLRU’s ACL set at UT

  

~ posted by Jules Brandon, host of KMFA’s Sunday Matinee.

Recently, a group of us at KMFA had the opportunity to be part of the audience at the KLRU-TV taping of Anton Nel and Bion Tsang’s performance in the Austin City Limits sound stage (they were taping a segment for KLRU’s show, In Context). They played a few pieces from their new CD, eponymously titled “Bion Tsang and Anton Nel Live in Concert.” Both performers are instructors at the UT Butler School of music, so this is their “home turf.”

The experience we had was so special! Music like this is always moving, regardless of where you are when you hear it. But to be in such close proximity to the artists was wonderful. It felt like a private concert in a friend’s living room. We witnessed exactly how they bring music to life, as well as the nuances of their interactions with each other as partners who have performed together more times than you can count. All of this added a level of intensity to the experience that was nothing short of breathtaking. I’m looking forward to hearing the CD! And thanks, KLRU, for inviting us to be a part of this “Classically Austin” event.  🙂 

 
 

A Russian feast – Barbara Nissman’s visit to the Austin Symphony

 ~posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA weekday announcer

Sometimes my ears crave something special. On Saturday the Austin Symphony Orchestra served up a feast for the ears, that featured music by Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich.

The program began with a marvelous appetizer, namely, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s gorgeous “Vocalise,” just the piece to awaken the palate before the more dramatic fare on the menu.

The guest soloist with the ASO for this performance was Barbara Nissman, billed as “…one of the last pianists in the grand romantic tradition of Liszt, Rachmaninoff and Rubinstein.” The piece was Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor…a real “knuckle-buster.” When I think of this piece, I am reminded of the old story about how Michelangelo created his statue of David: “I just cut out all the parts that didn’t look like David.” I had the sense that Rachmaninoff started with black manuscript and simply erased all the parts that didn’t sound like a piano concerto (at least with regard to the piano part). Ms. Nissman gave a commanding performance.

The pièce de resistance for me was the performance of the Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47, by Dmitri Shostakovich. I have to say that this piece has been a favorite of mine for decades. A composer of the Soviet era, Shostakovich was under fierce scrutiny when he wrote this piece (or any other, for that manner), and that harsh reality is reflected throughout the work. Under the direction of Maestro Peter Bay, the ASO deftly caught the sudden shifting moods, with great attention to dynamics. I thought I saw the audience leaning forward and back, sympathetically, as the orchestra told Shostakovich’s compelling story.

As is often the case with such soirées, everyone in attendance (on stage and off) left the table a little bit slower, smiling and reflecting on the feast and the fine presentation. Kudos to Maestro Bay and the ASO!

Dianne Donovan is KMFA’s midday announcer and host/producer of Classical Austin. If you missed the recent Classical Austin episode (Feb. 24th) featuring Maestro Peter Bay’s insights on this event, you can listen to it again on our website by clicking here.

Classical Crossovers, Part 1 : The Beatles… Classically!

~ posted by Alison @ KMFA  🙂

Last week, a bunch of us had the opportunity to attend The Eggmen performance  (“with full orchestra”) at the Paramount Theater. It was a BLAST! If you have not yet heard of The Eggmen, they are a Beatles tribute band, winning “Best Cover Band” from the Austin Chronicle readers’ poll for the past 5 years.

This particular concert was a special benefit for the McCallum Fine Arts Academy Orchestra, and the McCallum Chamber Orchestra actually performed with them during their second set. The Beatles used a lot of orchestral music in the recordings of their later compositions, and the McCallum kids really stepped up and did a great job… and looked like they were having a great time, too!

Let me tell you, the singing, the music, the wardrobes…it was just like being at a real live Beatles concert! (Without the screaming girls fainting in the front row, that is.) They sang their first set with songs from the early years, wearing trim black suits and sporting Liverpool accents. For the second set, they changed into groovier psychedelic clothes from their later years, awash with color, including bell-bottom pants, peasant shirts and authentic instruments from the 1970s; there was a great light show in the background, and the whole thing looked like a Peter Max painting come to life!

 I’m pleased to report that they played at least 20 of my favorite Beatles songs.  😉  The highlight for me was the sing-along portions of Yellow Submarine and Hey, Jude. By the end of the concert we were just that giddy!

Speaking of McCallum, the opening act was a short set by The Apple Trio. They are McCallum students who have their own extracurricular trio, and they performed their own compositions which really were impressive.

All in all, it was a great concert, and three hours flew like minutes, it was so much fun. There were even fellow audience members dancing in the aisles! Bravo to The Paramount for hosting this event, and to the McCallum Orchestra fund-raising team, and to The Eggmen, and to the wonderfully talented students of the McCallum Chamber Orchestra.  I can’t wait for next year!  🙂

Anne Akiko Meyers and Anton Nel perform together at UT

KMFA is out and about on the Austin classical-music scene…. this particular event was the recital with Anne Akiko Meyers and Anton Nel, last Sunday, Feb. 7, presented by The Jessen Series of Faculty Artists — The University of Texas at Austin, Butler School of Music — at the Bates Recital Hall

(posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA host and producer of KMFA’s Classical Austin)

It was a much anticipated event: violinist Anne Akiko Meyers’ first recital here since joining the faculty of the Butler School of Music at UT. She performed with piano-great Anton Nel (also part of the Butler Music School faculty).

In a varied and somewhat daring program that included Beethoven’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 5 (The Spring),  sandwiched between pieces by Alfred Schnittke (Suite in the Old Style and Stille Nacht) in the first half of the program, and a new work for electronics and violin by Jakub Ciupinski in the second half. Ms. Meyers proved why she has earned the title of “trailblazing violinist.” She is comfortable in many styles and sonic textures and is always reaching and growing. To cap the afternoon we were treated to lovely readings of the American standards, Autumn in New York (Vernon Duke) and Summertime (George Gershwin) — the former uncannily reminiscent of that hero fiddler of the Hot Club of France, Stéphane Grappelli.

The pairing with pianist Anton Nel was brilliant. They have a beautiful rapport.  I was reminded of how lucky we all are to have such great artists right here in Central Texas. We’ll look forward to this pairing again soon!

~ posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA host and producer  🙂

“From the Top” visits Texas

On From the Top this week, we’ll be hearing a performance by an 18-year-old organist who makes his home in Beaumont, Texas! Samuel Gaskin has been studying the organ since he was nine years old, and has already racked up some impressive credentials: in 2007 he was awarded first prize at the French Organ Music Seminar/Langlais competition in New York City, and in 2006 at age 14 he was the youngest person to be awarded first prize in the high school division of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition in Wethersfield, CT. In the summer of 2005, he visited Paris and performed in recital at St. Roch. Samuel is organist at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Beaumont. 

 

Here’s the official FTT description:

This week, from Jones Concert Hall at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, our line-up of outstanding performers includes an 18-year-old from California playing a rousing piano version of “Stars and Stripes Forever” and a 17-year-old Texan playing the great Jones Hall organ. You’ll also meet a teenager who is a touring bluegrass and Celtic musician when he’s not playing classical music, and catch up with an outstanding From the Top alumnus who now devotes his life to medicine.

Performers and Repertoire:

  • Violinist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Yurie Mitsuhashi, 17, from Fort Lee, NJ, performs Danse Hongroise by Sergei Rachmaninoff
  • Pianist Vijay Venkatesh, 18 from Laguna Niguel, CA, performs “Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa, arranged by Vladimir Horowitz
  • Organist Samuel Gaskin, organ, 17, from College Station, TX, performs II. Fugue from Prelude & Fugue on Alain, Op. 17 by Maurice Duruflé
  •  Bassoonist and 10th Anniversary Alumni Performer LaMont Barlow from New York, NY, performs I. Introduction and Allegro from Suite for Bassoon and Piano by Alexandre Tansman.
  • Cellist Nathaniel Smith, 15, from Brandon, MS, performs Serenade, Op. 54, No. 2 by David Popper
  • Cellist Nathaniel Smith; fiddler Mia Orosco, 16, from Lorena, TX; and guitarist Simon Stipp perform the traditional “Sally Goodin”

Tune in to KMFA for From the Top, this Saturday at 11am.

Anne Akiko Meyers and Anton Nel visit the KMFA studios

Anne Akiko Meyers and Anton Nel visited the KMFA studios yesterday for a live-to-tape interview with Dianne Donovan for her program, Classical Austin. Their interview premiers on KMFA this Wednesday evening at 8pm.

It was so exciting to eavesdrop through the studio door while they were warming up at their respective instruments…  Ms. Meyers at the Violin, and Mr. Nel on the piano… two of classical music’s brightest international stars, and they live right here in Austin, Texas!

In Wednesday’s Classical Austin, Ms. Meyers and Mr. Nel will be chatting with Ms. Donovan about their upcoming performance at the U.T. Butler School of Music, in the Bates Recital Hall, this Sunday, Feb. 7th at 4pm.  You can find out more about this event by clicking here. 

If you missed Dianne’s interview on Classical Austin (Wednesdays at 8pm) you can listen to the highlights by clicking here.