Festive Classical
You’ve heard it over and over again — classical music is dead, audiences don’t want tough music, if not for state patronage classical music would be gone. Well, guess what? As reported in our Culture News, classical music festivals are on the rise. And from looking at the performers and playlists on the bill for this summer’s concerts, the bulk of the offerings are anything but watered down. Who’d a thunk it — you treat your audience as intelligent adults, feature challenging new composers, intelligent reviews of the classics, or discoveries of forgotten masters — and whaddya know, they come! Here’s our guide to some of the best of what the summer festivals have to offer — and if you think we missed someone, or make any discoveries of your own, please don’t hesitate to share them with us on our Forum:
Mira Calix — Umbra Penumbra
Joseph Haydn — String Quartet Op. 64, No. 5 — Elias Quartet
Hans Werner Henze — Gogo no Eiko — RAI Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht Cond.
Thomas Hewitt Jones — In My Craft or Sullen Art — Christina Haldane, Soprano
Michael Jarrell — Congruences — Ensemble InterContemporain
Frank Martin — Le Vin Herbé — Ensemble Domestica Rotterdam
Maurice Ravel — Sonata for Violin and Piano — Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin and Fazil Say, piano
Steve Reich — 2X5 — Bang On A Can
Giuseppe Tartini — Concert in D — Markus Wuersch, trumpet and Peter Solomon, organ
Mieczyslaw Weinberg — Sonata for Solo Double Bass, Op. 108 — Petru Iuga, double bass
