It’s not often these days that I am grabbed immediately by modern classical works. But Donnacha Dennehy’s latest release, Grá agus Bás, stands as a firm exception. Of course, there are plenty of pieces I enjoy from an intellectual standpoint, like Steve Reich’s Four Organs. I find that as the piece evolves, so does my understanding of it. But unlike Dennehy’s work, there isn’t anything about it that really strikes me in the first few seconds.
Dennehy’s titular piece is a twenty-five minute odyssey that grabs the listener and maintains that grip right to the end. Its sonic landscapes are a barren depiction of Dennehy’s native Ireland, and they are reminiscent of the spectral works of Murail and Grisey particularly in orchestration. The piece opens with Irish folk singer Iarla Ó Lionáird and develops slowly but gorgeously. While the presence of minimalist traditions is undeniable, so is Dennehy’s transcendence of the genre’s limitations. The strings provide a rippling sound which allows Ó Lionáird’s voice, punctuated by the winds, percussion, and the perhaps unexpected electric guitar, to soar.
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Posts Tagged ‘review’
Album Review: Grá agus Bás
Soprano Renée Fleming to Release Alt Rock Cover Album
Starts Shopping at Hot Topic
Knock-out soprano Renée Fleming will release her new pop album, Dark Hope, on June 8 in the United States. Already out in Europe, the album represents the underside of Fleming’s newest leaf: popular music.
Her classical credits bud with acclaimed performances in the world’s best opera houses, multiple solo albums, and the moniker of “America’s Favorite Soprano.” None of this, however, receives a mention in the liner notes of her new release. Instead, Fleming wants to earn her alt-rock plaudits with a breathy, alto-range timbre that reflects little of her previous professional exploits. That tone, though antithetical to her pure, operatic upper register, is a tool she carefully crafted to convey an authentic pop feeling. Fleming and her producers have consistently asserted that the album is not a “crossover” but a purebred rock/pop release. The difference, they stress, is that a crossover album is classically styled performances of popular songs. Fleming’s recording is pop covers of pop songs. View Full Article »
Dudamel and LA Phil Come to East Coast
Bring West Coast Glam
Last Thursday and Friday, Gustavo Dudamel gave tri-staters the opportunity to see him conduct for the first time since his inauguration as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. At Avery Fisher Hall on Thursday, Dudamel and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet performed Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety.” Times critic Anthony Tommasini called the performance “arresting” and said the work “if sometimes wild and brassy, was basically wonderful.” However, he was not as enamored with the LA rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique.”
Tommasini felt that technical faults in the performance hinted at under-preparation despite Dudamel’s emotive and carefully executed direction. While the lush, expressive lyricism lent itself to a poignant interpretation from the maestro, The NY Times thought the orchestra’s inability to deliver resulted in a performance that was “rough and unfocused.”
But on Friday, The Sound Post was able to see Dudamel continue his east coast performances with a similar program in Prudential Hall at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Dudamel and Thibaudet began the performance by repeating the same pristine execution of Bernstein’s 2nd Symphony “The Age of Anxiety” from the night before. View Full Article »
A Night At The Met: Verdict – They Still Got It
And Renée Flemming is still beautiful
Most news coming from the Metropolitan Opera these days has not been uplifting. From the boos toward director Luc Bondy after Tosca, to the similar signs of vexation shown to maestro Daniele Gatti after Aida, this native New Yorker is a tad worried that we are developing a penchant for being hard impossible to please. Could this reputation possibly prevent performers from coming to New York? Probably not, since New York is “where dreams are made,” after all. However, I’m afraid we may yet become known as a city full of critics—not the art lovers and appreciators we are. Because I had not yet visited my favorite opera house this season, I splurged and purchased tickets for myself and a musician-colleague to Friday night’s performance of Der Rosenkavalier featuring Renée Fleming.
Perhaps it was the mediocre review given by the New York Times on Tuesday’s opening night, the flowing negativity for the other two productions currently at the venue, or the absence of James Levine, but let’s just say that I was hesitant to purchase last-minute-tickets for the sold out show (thanks to allshows.com for the tickets, but damn you for the 200% inflation without even delivering them to will-call). Upon arriving and immediately ordering champagne with the last of my cash, I took my seat.
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