Hot News May 2007

 

25 - 27 May 2007

Richard-Mühlfeld-Fest Meiningen 2007

Schloss Elisabethenburg Meiningen, Schlosskirche
 

Pfingsten, Germany

           During this past weekend in Germany, this Festival was held honoring the great Klarinettist Richard Muhlfeld who was an inspiration in the composition of Johannes Brahms, culminating in the writings of his 2 Klarinetten Sonata, Op 120,  the Trio Op 114, and the great Klarinetten Quintet Op 115 of which are some of the great hallmark works in the Clarinet literature.  Of interest is the Luciano Berio scoring of Brahm's Sonata #1 with Clarinet and Orchestra.  Information about the weekend and the programs performed posted below:

Konzerte - Vorträge - Ausstellungen
Eine gemeinsame Veranstaltung der Meininger Museen und der Deutschen Klarinetten-Gesellschaft e. V.

Meininger Museen          Deutsche Klarinetten-Gesellschaft


 

 

Freitag, 25. Mai Adolf Menzel: Richard Mühlfeld

19.00 Uhr - Begrüßung:
- Dana Kern, Kulturreferentin der Stadt Meiningen
- Winfried Wiegand, Direktor Meininger Museen
- Heribert Haase, Vorstandsmitglied der
  Deutschen Klarinetten-Gesellschaft e. V.

Programm:
Johannes Brahms: "Quintett für Klarinette, zwei Violinen,
Bratsche und Violoncello h-Moll op. 115"
(Allegro - Adagio - Andantino - Presto non assai,
ma con sentimento - Con moto)
Instrumentalisten:
- Hagen Biehler (Klarinette)
- Sönke Reger (1. Violine)
- Hans-Christoph Jahn (2. Violine)
- Ricarda Schmidt (Viola)
- Sebastian Keen (Violoncello)


Samstag, 26. Mai

9.30 Uhr - Musikalische Eröffnung:
Jochen Seggelke (Klarinette) und Christine Fesefeld (Klavier) mit Werken aus dem Umfeld Brahms/Mühlfeld

10.00 Uhr - Einführung:
Jochen Seggelke (Bamberg), Keith Puddy (London), Maren Goltz und Herta Müller (Meiningen)

10.15 Uhr bis 12 Uhr - Vorträge:
1.) Prof. Dr. Robert Pascall (Nottingham): "Brahms und Mühlfeld"
2.) Prof. Renate und Prof. Kurt Hofmann (Lübeck): "Johannes Brahms als Pianist und Dirigent"
3.) Maren Goltz (Meiningen): "... das stellt ihn neben Joachim, Liszt und die Barbi - Richard Mühlfeld im Spiegel seiner Rezensionen"

12.00 Uhr - Mittagspause (Parallel: Führung durch das Schloss Elisabethenburg)

13.30 Uhr - Buchvorstellung:
Maren Goltz/Herta Müller (Hrsg.): "Der Brahms-Klarinettist Richard Mühlfeld",
ARTIVO music, Dortmund 2007

14.00 Uhr - Musikalisches Zwischenspiel
Ensemble Clarimonia mit Werken auf Mühlfeld-Nachbauten

14.30 Uhr bis 15.30 Uhr - Vorträge I mit Ausstellung
4.) Thomas Reil (Uhingen): "Entwicklungswege zur Baermann-Ottensteiner-Klarinette"
5.) Wolfgang Wenke (Eisenach): Klarinetten in Thüringen zur Zeit Mühlfelds

15.30 Uhr - Kaffeepause

16.00 Uhr - Musikalisches Zwischenspiel
Ensemble Clarimonia mit Werken auf Mühlfeld- Nachbauten

16.00 Uhr bis 18.00 Uhr - Vorträge II mit Ausstellung
6.) Andeas Schöni (Bern): "Zu Aspekten des Kopierens historischer Holzblasinstrumente"
7.) Jochen Seggelke (Bamberg): "Das Spielen auf dem Nachbau der Ottensteiner-Klarinette - Besonderheiten und Möglichkeiten"

18.00 Uhr - Abendessen

19.30 Uhr - Gala-Konzert
Johannes Brahms: "Trio für Klarinette, Violoncello und Klavier a-Moll op. 114"
(Allegro - Adagio - Andantino grazioso - Allegro)
Instrumentalisten:
- Charles Neidich (Klarinette)
- Michael Sanderling (Violoncello), Katsura Mizumoto (Klavier)

Sonntag, 27. Mai

10.00 Uhr
Die Zauberklarinette
Klarinetten-Programm mit einer Klarinettenklasse der Musikschule Heilbronn
(Musikal. Leitung: Marion Potyka, Inszenierung: Alexander Preiß)

11.30 Uhr - Konzert
Serenaden-Konzert des Klarinettenchors der Deutschen Klarinetten-Gesellschaft
(Musikalische Leitung: Christof Hilger)
Ensemble Clarimonia:
- Bernhard Kösling (Oldenburg)
- Eckehard Sauer (Osnabrück)
- Jochen Seggelke (Bamberg)

Bassoon: Václav Vonásek; flute: Lenka Konderková; clarinet: Marco Mazzini; English horn: Jacqueline Leclair; oboe: Vilém Veverka)

21 May 2007

Orchestra of the S.E.M performs special concert dedicated to contemporary music at Carnegie Hall, with performance of Karl-Heinz Stockhausen's 'Zeitmasse' for Wind Quintet

New York City USA

          The Orchestra of the S.E.M and Ostravská Banda performed a special concert dedicated to contemporary music at Carnegie Hall. The program included Stefan Wolpe "Chamber Piece N°1", Earle Brown "Available Forms I", Richard Strauss "Metamorphosen", Somei Satoh "The Last Song" and Iannis Xenakis "Palimpsest". The guest musicians for this concert were the wind section of the  Ostravská Banda - a new chamber orchestra from the Czech Republic. These musicians performed in the program "ZeitmaBe", a woodwind quintet by German composer Karl-Heinz Stockhausen. Peruvian clarinetist Marco
Mazzini is the principal clarinet of the Ostravská  Banda. The New York Times published this review:
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/arts/music/23zank.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

 

May 14, 2007

Longy School of Music Students Win Coveted Boston Woodwind Society Awards - Harold Wright Merit Award Competition

Recognize High Standards of Musical Integrity and Artistry

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts USA.

           The Longy School of Music announced today that the Boston Woodwind Society recognized the musical achievement of two Longy students by awarding them 2007 Merit Awards.

           Sachiko Murata has won the 2007 Ralph Gomberg Oboe Merit Award and Yuan Gao has won the 2007 Harold Wright Clarinet Merit Award. Murata is a student of Keisuke Wakao. Gao is a student of Jonathan Cohler. Both Wakao and Cohler are Longy faculty members who draw students from across the region and the world to study at the school located in Harvard Square.

           The Boston Woodwind Society is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing educational opportunities for students of woodwind instruments and enhancing careers of professional woodwind artists. The organization established merit awards to honor the artistry and achievements of five legendary woodwind musicians. The awards are presented annually to outstanding young students hoping to fulfill their dream of entering the world of professional players. Selected by open competition and by woodwind artists of leading schools of music, the recipients of these awards each receive a cash prize of $1,000. The purpose of the awards is to recognize achievements of high standards of musical integrity and artistry as exemplified by the artists for whom the awards have been named. For additional information: http://www.bwws.org/BWS%20Merit%20Awards.htm.

 

11-13  May  2007

Clarinet Summit 2007 Stockholm

Nordiska Musikgymnasiet -  Stockholm, Sweden.

            This is the third time the Stockholm Clarinet Summit was held at the This time it attracted many players from professional to amateurs this is also  the intention of the event.

            The focus was on French clarinet music and representatives from France were present.  Bruno Martinez principal clarinet of the Paris Opera presented a concert of music by Poulenc; Sonata , Debussy ; Première Rhapsodie,  Widor,; Introduction et Rondo,  Boulez; Domaines and a master class which the focus was on focusing the sound and also giving hints of interpretation. Professor Katarina Ström-Harg accompanied him.  Laurent Sultan of Vandoren, Paris,  held a presentation/clinic on mouthpieces and reeds. He especially talked about the importance of finding the right combination for the individual player. He was present to help all the conference participants doing this.

          The Buffet Crampon was represented by Gregory Demailly, who showed a film and discussed the manufacturing process of their instruments. He also talked about the differences of wood, construction of the acoustics.   Both Deamailly and Sultan participated along with the others in the Clarinet choir and also displayed their virtuosic capacities on the clarinet.

          The artistic director of the Summit Stefan Harg presented a masterclass and also played a concert with the Schubert Arpeggione,  and a new piece by Swedish composer Katarina Leyman, both for Bassett clarinet and piano. He tries to increase the repertoire for this instrument by commissioning and arranging music. Stefan Harg  along with the American soprano Dr Kathleen Roland Silverstein and professor Katarina Ström-Harg on the piano played the Ned Rorem Ariel. Mr. Harg and Professor Ström-Harg also played the Sonatas by Hindemith and Brahms.

         The master technician Jonas Näslund presented a seminar and he was also present with a exhibition on Vandoren products and Buffet- Crampon instruments.

          Eva Rosén- Lundquist that also worked with ensemble playing in small groups conducted the clarinet choir. The 3 days ended with a joint concert with faculty and participants playing together..

          The Clarinet Summit will be back in November and the focus will be on world music for clarinet but also clarinet choir and concerts around standard works.  The artistic idea is just to attract the big range of repertoire that the clarinet possesses and to present world leading specialists.

Mensi Competition Jury

Mensi Competition participants and judges

12 May 2007

 “G. Mensi” “International Clarinet Competition” of  Breno

 Breno, Italy

            The fifth edition of the Breno “International Clarinet Competition” “G. Mensi” has taken place the 10th, 11th and 12th of May.  Breno is a nice little town in the north part of Italy where Giacomo Mensi was born.  Giacomo Mensi was a talented clarinetist who studied  at the local Conservatory,  in Darfo Boario Terme, and then took a diploma at the Hochschule of Freiburg (Germany) studying with the well known player Dieter Kloecker. Soon after his graduation he died in a tragic car accident. This competition has been organized in order to keep alive the memory of this young player. In the competition the clarinetists  could compete in three  different categories : “young promises” Cat. A  (till 13 years old) and B  (from 14 till 17 years old) and “excellence”. President of the jury in the major category  was Wenzel Fuchs of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The other members of the jury were: Luigi Magistrelli, Nicola Miorada, Primo Borali and Silvio Maggioni, who was also the organizer and Artistic Director of the Competition, from Italy. A good number of participants arrived from Italy and other European countries. In the young promises the winners ex- aequo of Cat. A have been Stefano Borghi from Modena (Italy) and  Kalin Kante Aliaz from Slovenia, who won 100 euros each. Second prize to Stefano Martinelli from Vercelli (Italy) who won 150 euro, and third price to Filip Rusnov from Croazia, who won 100 euro.Special mention to Marco Laffranchini from Darfo Boario Terme (Italy).In the Cat. B first price was  Andrea Fallico from Bronte who won 300 euro, (Italy), second prize ex-aequo to Calogero Presti from Caltanisetta (Italy) and to Daniele Zamboni from Darfo Boario Terme  who won 100 euro each.Third price ex aequo to Fabio Maini from San Giovanni Bianco (Italy) and to Damiano Pè from Darfo Boario Terme (Italy) who won 75 euros each. Special mention to Fabrizio Alessandrini from Roccafranca (Italy) and Gioele Rudari from Desenzano, (Italy). In the first round of the “Excellence” category the compulsory pieces were the Weber Concerto n 1 op 73   and a modern and interesting piece. Elegy for Danny of Ciro Scarponi, Italian clarinetist who recently died. In the second round passed eleven players out of thirty five and they had to play the Stravinsky 3 Pieces and the Mozart Concerto. Five players were selected for the last round, where the last two movements of the Weber Clarinet Concerto Op 73 were  chosen as a piece for the final round.  The winner was the Hungarian Balazs Rumy, who received 2000 euros and the opportunity to perform the Weber  Concerto  op 73  and Elegy for Danny with “Vivaldi chamber orchestra” conducted by Silvio Maggioni, the day after the conclusion of the competition.  Second prize and  350 euros each was given to Igor Armani from Trento (Italy) and to  Antonio Piemonte from Regalbuto (Italy) and  third price to Manuela Vettori from Trento (Italy)  who received 300 euro. Special mention to Maria Francesca Latella from Lamantea  (Italy).

              

11 May 2007

Anat Cohen Quartet in performance at the Jazz Standard in New York introducing 2 new CD releases and Quartet performance at the 12th Annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater in Washington, DC -  11 May 2007

New York City and Washington, DC USA

            This has been a very busy week for this jazz phenomenan Anat Cohen from Israel, who has made an impressive mark with her own brand of jazz using elements of Latin American music, American jazz, and Israeli influences.   At the Jazz Standard Club in New York, 2 programs were presented introducing new release CD's Poetica and Noir, both to enthusiastic audiences with her own Jazz Quartet, which was repeated at the 12th Annual  Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival held at the Kennedy Center in Washington.       May 10 - 12, 2007  Terrace Theater  About the Kennedy Center Jazz Series

Information and a New York Times review below:

May 11, 2007

Music Review | Anat Cohen Quartet

A Musical World Traveler Who Likes to Mix Things Up

By BEN RATLIFF, The New York Times

Anat Cohen’s quartet was playing jazz at the Jazz Standard on Wednesday night, and it was jazz that imported elements from the Middle East and South America and the language of early-20th-century classical music. That’s impressive, but not so surprising; those elements have all become moving parts in a jazz composer’s vocabulary. More curiously, it was jazz that behaved like pop — determined, encased in strong melodies and played at medium-full projection — and the musicians were articulating every note.

But one of the possible refinements for a young jazz group is to take things away, put some spaces in the notes and phrases and test the elasticity of the band. Playing music from Ms. Cohen’s new album “Poetica” (Anzic), her band created a sound that felt carved in stone, a little inflexible, with an almost full-body impact.

Ms. Cohen, an Israeli musician who came to New York in 1999, has been a valuable part of the local jazz scene ever since: playing lead tenor saxophone with the all-female Diva Jazz Orchestra, playing Louis Armstrong’s music with David Ostwald’s Gully Low Jazz Band, playing Brazilian choro and samba with local bands and getting into the thick of the new mainstream jazz, sometimes with her brothers Avishai, the trumpeter, and Yuval, the pianist.

In many ways she’s an ideal: well prepared, passionately literate in music far outside her local circle, an improviser with gusto. She understands how dance rhythms leaven and quicken jazz; her piece “La Casa del Llano,” moving between five-beat and two-beat bounces, was tight with energy. And she has a full, even, unsqueaking tone, especially on the clarinet, an instrument that could use another distinctive voice in jazz.

Ms. Cohen played only clarinet on Wednesday. (The night before, at the same club, she had played saxophone with a whole other show of ambition: a 14-piece orchestra, performing music from her other new record, “Noir.”) Between Jason Lindner’s steady vamps and inside-the-piano thumping, Omer Avital’s big, woody bass notes and Daniel Freedman’s drum grooves, the rhythm section felt heavy, almost battering. This was offset by the appearance of a string quartet, playing arrangements written by Mr. Avital, and in the presence of the strings the jazz quartet reduced itself. For a version of John Coltrane’s “Lonnie’s Lament,” the string players usefully deepened the harmony implied in the original piece; for the Israeli song “Ein Gedi” — rendered as pastoral classical music — they were the music itself, with the rhythm section dropping out completely.

During her solo in “Lonnie’s Lament” Ms. Cohen intimated her strength as a soloist, shifting into double time over the ballad tempo, lengthening improvised phrases at will and leaving a few holes. Here, in her ability to alter what was already there and shift the music’s focus to revision and reinvention, lay the promise of the band.

The Anat Cohen Quartet will perform tonight at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

4 May 2007

The United States Army Band  (Pershing's Own)  85th Anniversary Concert at the Strathmore Performing Arts Center

Bethesda, Maryland USA

           A very special concert event celebrating this major Birthday event showcased the major musical elements of this great Band under Commander Colonel Thomas Rotondi, Jr and filled this recently built facility of over 3000 seats.  Programs and details in the above galleries.  Top dignitaries including several Generals from Washington participated and introduced the Band and explained the importance and reach of the its musical mission in supporting the public and the Military personnel including overseas in War zones and the importance of supporting morale and reaching out in hope for them.  Many Alumni of past association with this Band attended and also participated in a major Dinner / Dance the following evening, bringing  back friendships and catch-ups.   Annually the Band holds an Alumni Band concert and weekend to benefit all concerned.   In past years, the Band has had countless numbers of Clarinetists who served, and presently has 2 openings for interested players who need only to check their vacancy list and apply.  Career opportunities are rich and worth inquiring.    For that reason, the Band is worth watching and involving with.  

           Performance of all the elements was incredible.

3 May 2007

Luigi Magistrelli Master Class and Concert 

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Israel

          Noted Clarinetist and Milan Conservatory Professor Mr Magistrelli, one of the most respected players in Europe gave a Major Master Class at the Conservatory Givatayim with hosts Eva-Margolis Wasserman and over 30 students who studied literature of Italian Opera and Recital pieces, performed by Professor Magistrelli. 

May 2nd Program and Lecture on Italian clarinetists and composers Conservatory Givatayim

      

LUIGI  MAGISTRELLI

קונסרבטוריון גבעתיים, יום רביעי 2 במאי

 

G. Sciroli                        Sonata

G. Leonesi                      Solo e Romanza from "La Forza del Destino"

G. Rossini – Mueller       Ecco ridente in ciel….   From The Barber of Seville

E. Cavallini                      Serenade

 Nino Rota                       Sonata

Bellini-Bassi           Fantasy from  "I Puritani"

 

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Revised: January 16, 2008