# Concerts in Vienna, Austria



## Guest

I've been very privileged this year, from January, to attend some amazing concerts, operas and recitals at the Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus, Theater an der Wien and Wiener Staatsoper. The musicians I've seen perform are:

Yevgeny Kissin
Rudolph Buchbinder
Daniel Barenboim
Gidon Kremer
Leif Ove Andnes
Maurizio Pollini
Andras Schiff
Helene Grimaud (coming up 19th Oct.)
Yefim Bronfman
Anne Sophie von Otter

The orchestras:

Wiener Philharmoniker/Valery Gergiev
Berliner Philharmoniker/Rattle
Berliner Staatskapelle/Barenboim
Dresden Staatskapelle/Eschenbach
National Orchestra of France/Gatti
New York Philharmonic/Gilbert
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Muti
Los Angeles Philharmonic/Dudamel
Leipzig Gewandhausorchester/Chailly
Royal Philharmonic/Dutoit (coming up)
Budapest Festival Orchestra/Fischer

And Period Instrument Orchestras:

Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra/Brockman
Concentus Musicus Wien/Harnoncourt
Les Talens Lyriques/?
Musiciens de Louvre, Grenoble/Minkowski
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra/Koopman (coming up)
Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin/Jacobs (coming up)

Without doubt these are great artists and orchestras. I would like to post some reviews from now - at the end of my concertizing - with just a few remaining. The majority of these performances have already been experienced earlier this year. One thing I've learned is that very little separates the great orchestras from each other and also that live performances actually trounce anything available on CDs!! The greatest orchestras for me have been Berliner Philharmoniker and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, in that order. But there's not much in it. All the others were incredible as well. The Budapest Festival Orchestra deserves a special mention because of its incredible musicianship and amazing players who absolutely loved being in the Musikverein!

On Sunday evening last, I attended the Musikverein for the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester/Riccardo Chailly. They played Beethoven #2 and #5 and a modern work in between. The youngish composer was brought to the stage to acknowledge the applause. His was an interesting work but I cannot shake myself of the conviction that a lot of modern music sounds like atmospheric film music. I was thinking of Hitchcock, The Coen Brothers, Scorsese and a host of films whilst I was listening to it. Whilst not wanting to put the piece down - name forgotten - I think it a double-edge sword for modern composers that we live in a visual age and this surely informs their work. Anyway, some nice effects were created col legno in the strings.

The Beethoven was fabulous and I was sitting right next to two musicians in the First Violins section and could see, at close hand, how hard they were working. Yes, and the look of joy on their faces during the playing to a Viennese audience. I would have liked more tenderness in the slow movement of the Beethoven #2, but this has probably more to do with what I'm used to on my recordings of it. Chailly is an energetic and enthusiastic conductor who was animated throughout the performance.


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## kv466

While I've been lucky enough to have seen concerts throughout the world from really big orchestras, I still live in a pretty lame place as far as classical goes. Miami has had it's times and I feel it's actually kinda coming back now but for some reason they feel they have to cater to the masses. Take the opening night of the 'Miami Symphony Orchestra' (geez),...playing the Tchai One and Beethoven Five...really? Yup. Anyway,...I've never even heard this group but anything beats the now defunct Florida Philharmonic.

Lucky for me, a good friend of mine who is a Cuban concert pianist calls me up earlier last week and informs me that while I've been here writing about this stuff,...I've been missing it!! Honestly, I haven't liked the performances scheduled for the Adrienne Arsht Center although I love the venue...and, I had no idea that good ol' Michael Tilson Thomas had made it back to South Beach with my long time local favorite, New World Symphony.

"So you wanna go?" 'Sure, what's playing?' "Schumann piano concerto, and...something new, not sure"

Turns out, it was a very awesome evening! Program was:

*Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Javier Perianes, piano
Smetana: Overture to The Bartered Bride
Schumann: Piano Concerto
Lee: Sukkot Through Orion's Nebula (world premiere)
Janáček: Sinfonietta*

That Orion (thought of you, Kopa) Nebula piece was interesting, to say the least. I was tempted to catch an encore performance the next day but I had football :lol:

Anyway,...looks like I'm back! Gonna catch Beethoven's 2nd Symphony this coming Saturday...I've heard few recorded works conducted by MTT that I love but live and with the NWS, he is pretty magnificent and has been for as long as I can remember.

I guess it's not so bad here...plus, this new concert hall is a multi-media masterpiece and is very intimate and sounds incredible; not to mention, very beautiful place. Plus, when the concert is over, you're on South Beach! Drinks and dancing! Na,...I just head on back home for the most part.


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## Polednice

I've been away from Oxford for a while, so haven't been to much, but in the next month or so I'll be able to see Paul Lewis, Grimaud, and Kovacevich. That much keeps me very happy indeed.


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## Guest

And I would love to hear about all these experiences that others have with regard to concerts, especially after I return to Australia at Christmas!!


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## Guest

Tonight at the Wiener Konzerthaus: Helene Grimaud

Mozart: Sonata K310 in A minor - one of my favourites. She started off a bit heavy-handed and forced, I thought, with lots of pulling around the tempi but with quite a lot of nice light and shading. The second movement, with its achingly beautiful and simple melody was beautifully played. Again, she pulled and tugged at the tempi. The third movement: rather fast again, and some good discrimination between the right and left hand, but I was listening for that beautifully, emotion-charged main subject under those glistening runs in the left hand. I'm comparing with Brendel's recording, which is the benchmark for me. But, Grimaud is a pianist at the height of her powers and she made a good account of this work altogether.
Berg: Piano Sonata - look, this is a stunning and tumultuous and simply glorious work. I love it. We were all surprised when she sight-read the whole thing (most unusual for a recital). She was at her best in this work and it suits her style of playing. If anyone has no knowledge of this great, great work for piano they should rush to Amazon and grab a CD of it. Lush, written in the 12 tone idiom but with Rachmaninov 'written' all over it. Music to die for, and a stunning performance.
Liszt: B Minor Sonata. This old chestnut never fails to excite. She was all over it, with those bravura pyrotechnics everywhere in evidence, but the tender 'recitativo' passages were simply very moving and beautiful. 
Bartok: Romanian Folk-dances. What music this is and what a fitting end to the recital. This composer: what can one say? Grimaud brought all the rhythmic and melodic elements to the fore in a beautifully nuanced performance., light and graceful when needed, heavy and charged when moving forward.

She played two encores, Liszt and Chopin. All in all, a superb evening. Tomorrow night, Daniel Barenboim at Musikverein.


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## Guest

Tonight Barenboim at the Musikverein. 4 Schubert Impromtus and Schubert Sonata D960 - the latter a lovely performance, somewhat idiosyncratic and with much rubato. However, I felt it was a narrative - compared with Pollini, whom I heard playing this in Vienna in May this year. Preferred Daniel Barenboim's version. Also, the wonderful Viennese audience loves this stuff. I wondered if it's harder for a musician to play for an audience that really knows the music and is severe, or if it's "safer" to go with a lesser-known work?


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## Guest

I just found this U-Tube link of Grimaud playing the Berg Piano Sonata from my earlier posting. She's sight-reading it here for this concert in Japan, too!!


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## Guest

Tonight: Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra/Ton Koopman

Only one word to describe Maestro Koopman - JOY!! His face lights up when he's playing and he exudes enthusiasm, passion and joy. The highlight was a Bach Orchestral Suite, which I have a recording of at home. It's a specialty of theirs and was, of course, just wonderful. They played a Haydn Organ symphony and a work by CPE Bach - concentrating tonight in the first half on the Rococco/Style Galante period. I love Koopman's non-fussy harpsichord continuo.


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## Guest

Another stunning concert tonight at the Musikkverein: Concentus Musicus Vienna/Harnoncourt and an all-Haydn program. The "Military" symphony was the highlight. I love this orchestra and Harnoncourt always addresses the audience before starting the program. I didn't understand much as it was in Deutsch - all I know is there were lots of laughs!! Haydn is so under-rated and I don't know why.


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