1. Rufus Wainwright - Crossing Border, The Hague, November 18
Stunning. Great seats (second row, just left of centre) and an awesome view of the grand piano. The hands! The big surprise of seeing Stephen Oremus enter to accompany Rufus on a set of Judy songs. I could never have imagined that I would enjoy these so much. Stunning indeed :) Third time around this year but The Hague was the best. Meeting Rufus per chance again outside the venue. I love being able to thank him for the performance and I know he enjoys that. He truly loves his fans. Being recognized = bliss :)
The Walking Song. Emotions rippling through the theatre. The tears. Nuff said.
2. Sam Amidon - Cultuurcentrum Roepaen, Nijmegen, November 7
Imagine a nightclub setting in a former convent. Red drapes everywhere, small tables, red wine on the table. Front row. Sam singing 'Im Wunderschoenen Monat Mai', at least part of it. Alienating, mesmerizing. Saying hello to Sam passing by the ladies room. Getting a big smile and a 'Hi!'.
3. Jónsi - Paradiso , Amsterdam, June 3
Awesome show with amazing visuals. Great view from the balcony. Loved every moment! The album didn't make it to my list of 10 but was a great runner up!
4. Britten Sinfonia with Pekka Kuusisto & Mark Padmore - Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, January 27
A duet by Steve Reich, John Adams's Shaker Loops and a world premiere by Nico Muhly. Cafavy's poems set to music and sung heavenly by British tenor Mark Padmore. Goose bumps. So looking forward to see more world premieres by Nico next January!
5. The Whale Watching Tour - Barbican, London, September 27
Had front row tickets for the concert planned in April, went to London only to find the gig cancelled because of the ash cloud. Returned my tickets and got front row tickets again for September. Ah well, another trip to London... Glorious gig!
Showing posts with label concerts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concerts. Show all posts
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Whale Watching Tour - second time
Last Monday's concert was a second time in two ways. It was not only the second time I saw the Whale Watching Tour in full glory (the first time being in 2009, Eindhoven), but also the second time I travelled to London to catch them at the Barbican (the first time in April cancelled due to the Icelandic ash cloud).
Second time's always better, they say... we'll see.
What I liked better about this concert, was the fact that the four 'supporting musicians' -who were kept at the back of the stage in Eindhoven- got to take centre stage now in certain compositions. Una Sveinbjarnardóttir on violin was stunning in her glorious performing of 'Honest Music' by Nico Muhly. Her face reflected the different moods of the piece and I really got absorbed in those moods; absolutely beautiful.
And Nadia... I love Nadia Sirota and the things she does on her viola. When Nico Muhly asked her to step into the limelight for 'Keep in Touch', I held my breath for it's such a demanding song - not just to play, but also to listen to. The piano understream, the repetitively disrupting sounds made by Valgeir Sigurðsson tapping the microphone, together with Antony Hegarty's (taped) wailing vocals, provided a perfect background for the haunting sounds Nadia created. She's something else.
What I liked less was Helgi Hrafn Jónsson singing 'Baby Architect' and 'Kin' at the front of the stage. In Eindhoven, Helgi amazed us when he started to sing Nico's 'Mothertongue' composition from the back of the stage. Who'd have imagined that the unassuming trombonist could sing? Centre stage, and in these specific songs by Valgeir, Helgi is not well casted (IMO). His overly dramatic gesturing, his often artificial dynamics and abrupt changing from high to low singing, was a bit distressing to my ears. I would have loved to hear Sam Amidon sing 'Baby Architect' as he has done before.
Sam doesn't need any addings to his pleasant voice and easygoing stage presence. He's just there as if he was singing in his parents' living room.
It was very nice to see the chemistry between all these people on stage again. Nico brilliantly conducting with his eyebrows and pointed index finger, Ben Frost testing the hall's foundation with his deep drones (I can still feel them in my stomach). Ben & Valgeir exchanging glances & laptops. All four of them changing places at times. Borgar Magnason on double bass being the steadfast character on stage, providing rhythmic undertow and eerily channeling whales as well as wolves in Ben Frost's haunting noise pieces.
All in all an excellent evening that went past much too fast. Oh, did I mention the different start from Eindhoven? As an 'opening act', we got Marc Silver's bird film featuring half a million starlings, coupled with Ben Frost's music 'There are no others, there is only us'. Magnificent.
Some pictures to be found HERE.
Second time's always better, they say... we'll see.
What I liked better about this concert, was the fact that the four 'supporting musicians' -who were kept at the back of the stage in Eindhoven- got to take centre stage now in certain compositions. Una Sveinbjarnardóttir on violin was stunning in her glorious performing of 'Honest Music' by Nico Muhly. Her face reflected the different moods of the piece and I really got absorbed in those moods; absolutely beautiful.
And Nadia... I love Nadia Sirota and the things she does on her viola. When Nico Muhly asked her to step into the limelight for 'Keep in Touch', I held my breath for it's such a demanding song - not just to play, but also to listen to. The piano understream, the repetitively disrupting sounds made by Valgeir Sigurðsson tapping the microphone, together with Antony Hegarty's (taped) wailing vocals, provided a perfect background for the haunting sounds Nadia created. She's something else.
What I liked less was Helgi Hrafn Jónsson singing 'Baby Architect' and 'Kin' at the front of the stage. In Eindhoven, Helgi amazed us when he started to sing Nico's 'Mothertongue' composition from the back of the stage. Who'd have imagined that the unassuming trombonist could sing? Centre stage, and in these specific songs by Valgeir, Helgi is not well casted (IMO). His overly dramatic gesturing, his often artificial dynamics and abrupt changing from high to low singing, was a bit distressing to my ears. I would have loved to hear Sam Amidon sing 'Baby Architect' as he has done before.
Sam doesn't need any addings to his pleasant voice and easygoing stage presence. He's just there as if he was singing in his parents' living room.
It was very nice to see the chemistry between all these people on stage again. Nico brilliantly conducting with his eyebrows and pointed index finger, Ben Frost testing the hall's foundation with his deep drones (I can still feel them in my stomach). Ben & Valgeir exchanging glances & laptops. All four of them changing places at times. Borgar Magnason on double bass being the steadfast character on stage, providing rhythmic undertow and eerily channeling whales as well as wolves in Ben Frost's haunting noise pieces.
All in all an excellent evening that went past much too fast. Oh, did I mention the different start from Eindhoven? As an 'opening act', we got Marc Silver's bird film featuring half a million starlings, coupled with Ben Frost's music 'There are no others, there is only us'. Magnificent.
Some pictures to be found HERE.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Birthday weekend
Had a lovely birthday last Saturday! Per chance, I'd found out only a week ago there was to be a festival of sacred music in Maastricht (which is quite close to us), called Musica Sacra. The two things on Saturday that I wanted to attend were both free and quite extraordinary! The family was with me.
We saw Alain Louafi performing 'Inori' by Karlheinz Stockhausen in the morning. Inori is Japanese for prayer, evocation, adoration, and the performance consisted of ritual movements as laid down meticulously in the score by the composer. The Centre de Recherche et de Formation Musicales de Wallonie delivered the sounds, beautifully distributed over the immense factory hall of Ainsi. When we lived in Maastricht, we used to know this as Enci (Eerste Nederlandse Cement Industrie), a cement factory that took away large chunks of the landscape of the Sint Pietersberg. It's great to see these old industrial buildings being reused as buzzing cultural centres.
I was very moved by Stockhausen's score and the performance of Louafi. My husband couldn't stand watching him because of the 'artificial movements' that kept repeating to certain recurring sounds. Well, ritual movements are inherently artificial and I found the repetition in both music and movements quite trance inducing. But then again, listening with eyes closed is nice too :)
After lunch we went for the heart of the city, the relatively new Entre Deux city mall. This is an enclosed, but open-aired mall - check the picture! Imagine the impact of the beggar's voice in 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet', slowly pervading the space between the shops. This well known composition by Gavin Bryars was performed by ensemble Insomnio, sitting in the middle of the mall. A lonesome trombonist walking the higher shopping galleries, intermittently taking over from the beggar's voice. Powerful stuff. Nice to see some people watching and listening for a while, then just going on with their shopping - while others stood there silently and attentively for 45 minutes.
A lovely dinner with my beloved ones afterwards, what more could one wish for? Extended family on Sunday, as it should be... Great weekend all in all, thanks everyone!
We saw Alain Louafi performing 'Inori' by Karlheinz Stockhausen in the morning. Inori is Japanese for prayer, evocation, adoration, and the performance consisted of ritual movements as laid down meticulously in the score by the composer. The Centre de Recherche et de Formation Musicales de Wallonie delivered the sounds, beautifully distributed over the immense factory hall of Ainsi. When we lived in Maastricht, we used to know this as Enci (Eerste Nederlandse Cement Industrie), a cement factory that took away large chunks of the landscape of the Sint Pietersberg. It's great to see these old industrial buildings being reused as buzzing cultural centres.
I was very moved by Stockhausen's score and the performance of Louafi. My husband couldn't stand watching him because of the 'artificial movements' that kept repeating to certain recurring sounds. Well, ritual movements are inherently artificial and I found the repetition in both music and movements quite trance inducing. But then again, listening with eyes closed is nice too :)
After lunch we went for the heart of the city, the relatively new Entre Deux city mall. This is an enclosed, but open-aired mall - check the picture! Imagine the impact of the beggar's voice in 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet', slowly pervading the space between the shops. This well known composition by Gavin Bryars was performed by ensemble Insomnio, sitting in the middle of the mall. A lonesome trombonist walking the higher shopping galleries, intermittently taking over from the beggar's voice. Powerful stuff. Nice to see some people watching and listening for a while, then just going on with their shopping - while others stood there silently and attentively for 45 minutes.
A lovely dinner with my beloved ones afterwards, what more could one wish for? Extended family on Sunday, as it should be... Great weekend all in all, thanks everyone!
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