Category Archives: Uncategorized

Enjoying “Sonorous Strings” courtesy of the Round Rock Symphony

~posted by Alison @ KMFA

I had the great pleasure of attending a chamber music concert last Monday evening… well, perhaps “attending” isn’t the right word: when you are listening to a talented quartet of musicians, it’s almost as if you participate. Chamber music is traditionally performed in smaller settings, and in this case in a wonderfully acoustic meeting room at the Georgetown Library. We could hear every distinct note from every instrument from only a few feet away. The pressure is on, then: not just for the musicians, but also for the audience, who for the most part perched on the edge of their seats and listened intently, all the while trying not to make a single sound that might distract from the beautiful music.

The Artisan Quartet performs Beethoven (Richard Kilmer, Paula Bird, Brice Williams, and Douglas Harvey)

Ms Toby Blumenthal, pianist, introduces the Mozart Piano Concerto (insider info: she said it was her favorite!)

These musicians in particular were the Artisan Quartet, joined by Toby Blumenthal on piano. The Artisan Quartet is sort of the “A” Team quartet of musicians who, in addition to being members of the Austin Symphony, are each performers and educators of international renown. Toby Blumenthal has similar credentials, and special thanks go out to the Round Rock Symphony who hosted their delightful collaborative performance. And there were even more classical music luminaries in the audience: Dr. Ellsworth Peterson was there, and he had kindly written the program notes for each piece.

The Artisan Quartet started the performance with a Beethoven piece (String Quartet Opus 18, No. 3 in D Major); then Ms. Blumenthal joined them for Mozart’s Piano Concerto (No. 14 in E flat Major), and after a short break, rounded out the evening with a Faure Piano Quartet (in C Minor, Opus 15).  Their music was wonderful, ranging at times from serene to optimistic to suspenseful.

Part of the Round Rock Symphony’s mission is “to musically enrich the greater Round Rock community by presenting affordable and accessible symphonic concerts of the highest artistic order,” and they certainly accomplished that when they hosted this event! Their “accessibility” isn’t just about location, it’s also about their warmth, hospitality, and devotion to promoting live classical music. I’m looking forward to attending their upcoming performances, especially the From Russia with Love concert, and of course the Georgetown Festival of the Arts!  You can check out their website for the dates and more info: www.roundrocksymphony.org/concerts.htm.

Performing the Faure piano quartet

Video preview of this week’s episode of “Pianoforte”

~posted by Sarah Addison, KMFA Development Associate and producer of Pianoforte

Tonight’s edition of Pianoforte features pieces that are a mixture of Classical and Jazz. One of those pieces is actually one that was brought to us by one of our great KMFA volunteers! The piece is called Baroque and Blue and is from a Grammy-nomiated album called Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano, with music composed by French jazz pianist Claude Bolling. Jean-Pierre Rampal is the flutist, and it’s worth mentioning that this is his first recording that isn’t strictly Classical.

Here is a music video of Baroque and Blue, filmed on location at Versailles!

Tune in Wednesday nights at 9pm to hear Pianoforte, hosted by Jules Brandon.

 

~posted by Sarah Addison, KMFA Development Associate and producer of Pianoforte

In the KMFA studios: stars from the cast of ALO’s “Turandot”!

~posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA mid-day announcer and producer of  KMFA’s program, Classical Austin

Lise Lindstrom (Turandot), Frank Poretta (Calaf), KMFA's Dianne Donovan, and ALO General Director Joseph Spector

Say, if you missed Classical Austin, you can still hear the interview I did with the two of the stars, Lise Lindstrom (starring in the title role as Turandot) and Frank Porretta (starring in the role of Calaf). I also got to chat with A.L.O.’s new General Director, Joseph Specter.

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

  • Hear how Lise Lindstrom keeps her signature role fresh.
  • Frank Poretta comes from a family of opera singers but that didn’t stop him from trying his vocal chords in rock (think: Aerosmith, Led Zepplin).
  • ….Guess who else did some rock singing?

If you missed the show on Wednesday night, you can hear the interview portion on our website.

Don’t forget KMFA’s Live Broadcast of A.L.O.’s production of Turandot: Saturday, April 14th @ 7pm.

      ~posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA announcer and producer of Classical Austin

Just for fun: “classical” architecture

~ posted by Alison @ KMFA 🙂
“When the owner of this structure asked for a music building, the architect took the request quite literally. Located in Huainan City, An Hui Province, China, the Piano House was built by the local government to draw interest to the newly developed area. It’s also a place where music students from the local college can practice and perform. A gorgeous transparent violin is attached to the piano building, which features a staircase that connects the two giant instruments.” ~ http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/the-piano-house

In the KMFA Studios: Robert Skiles

~posted by Sarah Addison, producer of KMFA’s Wednesday night program, Pianoforte

Pianist and composer Robert Skiles, with KMFA host Jules Brandon

We had the great pleasure of welcoming Austin pianist, composer, and professor Robert Skiles for an interview recently. He  joined KMFA host Jules Brandon in the KMFA studios and spoke about his music, teaching, and even improvised a couple of pieces. If you missed this interview, you can hear it again on our website. (May take a few moments to load.)

Tune in Wednesday night at 9pm for Pianoforte.

If you (or someone you know) is one of Austin’s fantastic group of pianists, and would like to be featured on this show, please contact Pianoforte producer Sarah Addison.

 

An April Fool’s blog post

~posted by Alison @ KMFA  🙂

KMFA just recently wrapped up our Spring Fund Drive (thanks to our dedicated and appreciative listeners and supporters). And while we were able to raise enough funds and awareness to continue broadcasting commercial-free classical music in Central Texas, we did end up a little shy of our goal… and I can’t help but wonder, “What if….?” What if we did not have a successful pledge drive? What if listeners kept listening, but stopped supporting this rare gem?

For the past few years, our average listener base has been approximately 100,000 listeners per week. You might be surprised to learn that only 5% of of that number actually support KMFA with personal donations in any dollar amount.

A while back, my colleagues and I shared a creative-writing exercise during our lunch break. It basically proceeded thus: What if KMFA vanished tomorrow? No longer existed? Poof, gone? We tasked ourselves to eulogize the very radio station that we assumed would be around forever. The point of our exercise was to articulate exactly what we valued most about KMFA, and what we would miss if we didn’t have an all-classical oasis on our radio dial. Of course, to keep it from being too sad, we injected a bit of hypothetical humor as well.

So, in the spirit of April Fool’s Day, here is what we wrote:

IN MEMORIAM

On [date of demise], Central Texas lost it’s only source for classical music on the radio. KMFA, our classical music friend and companion, departed this world after a long battle with apathy. It’s last words were reputed to have been “472-2221…”

In its 45 years on this earth, KMFA blossomed from a 1-room, 2-employee, 4-hour operation into a glorious enterprise consisting of a dozen employees and 24/7 service to the community. KMFA dedicated its life to expanding musical horizons in its community while providing the finest classical music programming. It also strove to provide comfort and solace to any who sought the warmth of its welcoming embrace. 

“The community is in a state of disbelief today at the loss of KMFA, Classical 89.5,” said Austin Mayor Leslie Cochran. “We thought it would always be there to provide its rare programming. There were only 9 such radio stations in the United States; now there are 8. Our city’s cultural landscape is devastated by its absence.” 

KMFA will be forever remembered as providing companionship, inspiration, therapy, and solace.

Survivors include listeners, (former) members, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. They will dearly miss the palliative effects on road rage, crying babies, pet-sitting, and late-night studying. 

Fans request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the KMFA Phoenix Fund.

~ posted by Alison @ KMFA 🙂

In the KMFA studios: Robert Kyr and Ryan Heller

~posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA mid-day announcer and host of Classical Austin

In last week’s episode of KMFA’s Classical Austin, I had the pleasure of interviewing composer Robert Kyr and Chorus Austin’s Artistic Director, Ryan Heller.  They offered a closer look at an event that is part of the Light/The Holocaust and Humanity Project. 

If you missed that episode, you can hear the interview portion again here, on the KMFA website.

~posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA announcer and producer of Classical Austin

Young performers shine at the ACO Pearl Amster Youth Concerto concert

~posted by Hannah Kate Schaeffer, KMFA Administrative Assistant

I had a chance to attend the Austin Civic Orchestra perform at the Bethany Lutheran Church this past weekend.  It’s a local event, with local artists providing their talents to a local audience. It isn’t every weekend you can hear live, classical music in this city, so I felt lucky to have two tickets to this performance.

The program began as a showcase of the talents of four talented winners of the Pearl Amster Youth Concerto competition. Three violinists and one pianist played along with the orchestra as if they had been performing like this for the entirety of their young lives. One blond violinist rocked out on his violin, like a young Mick Jagger who plays Scottish-themed concertos with symphonic orchestras instead of classic rock bands. Their parents and family members watched proudly as the young talents performed. Sure, a few of them have already  performed at Carnegie Hall, but that evening they had their own orchestras to back their solo performances in their home town.

Collin Turner, age 18, performing the final movement of Scottish Fantasy by Max Bruch as part of the ACO sponsored Pearl Amster Youth Concerto Festival at Bethany Lutheran Church on March 10, 2012

After a quick intermission filled with a deep yearning for a slice of the gigantic celebratory cake that sat in the back hall (to be eaten after the performance), ACO played the suite from Bernstein’s quintessential Broadway composition, West Side Story. I later asked conductor Dr. Ferrari why she chose this piece, assuming a connection between the young performers present and the young characters in West Side Story, but she just explained that she loved the musical, and the timing happened to be perfect. Well fine, Dr. Ferrari, but I’d still like to think that there’s something of a cosmic link between the young hopefuls at the concert that night and the adolescents who sang about their life’s springtime in West Side Story. But there at Bethany Church, the world provided a concrete ending to an age-old story that is rarely ever finished – the kids won.
    ~posted by Hannah Kate Schaeffer, KMFA Administrative Assistant

Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves visits the KMFA studios!

~posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA announcer and producer of Classical Austin

What a thrill it was to hear the great American mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. While it was an all-French program, it was a rare treat to have music from such different sources. It was interesting hearing the differences in the timbre Ms. Graves’ voice in Ravel’s hauntingly sumptuous and exotic Shéherazade to the vocal colors she used in the arias, which were delivered in full operatic throttle. There were a few sobs heard as she sang Saint-Saens’ “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Samson et Dalila, but when she came back on stage to sing arias from another one of her signature roles, Carmen, we had a taste of the opera itself. In the Habanera, “L’amour est un oiseaux rebelle,” Ms. Graves gave us some very creative, playful phrasing the likes of which I had not yet heard on recordings.

The Austin Symphony under the direction of Maestro Peter Bay was in fine form with the soloist and in the instrumental pieces, the highlight for me being, Maurice Ravel’s, “La Valse.”

Denyce Graves and KMFA's Dianne Donovan

[Dianne Donovan had the great honor of interviewing Ms. Graves while she was in Austin for her performance with the Austin Symphony. If you missed that episode of Classical Austin, you can listen to it again here.]

~posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA announcer and producer of Classical Austin