I caught up with our Concertmaster Martin Riseley today to talk about the upcoming Masters concerts on June 6 & 7. He's performing Bartok's Violin Concerto No. 2, and I'll let him do the talking:
Bill is back to conduct, and the concert also features former ESO composer-in-residence John Estacio's Light Eternal and Brahms' Symphony No. 1.
Tickets here.
Recently- Americans for the Arts launched new national arts education PSAs- encouraging parents to "feed" their children a healthy diet of the arts. I find them quite humorous. I've posted a few here- but you can view the rest of the commercials and listen to the radio ads here on the website. Enjoy!
Lots of coverage in the Edmonton Journal this weekend on Porgy and Bess, thanks to Elizabeth Withey (known here as Salad Daze). There's a slide show of her time in Lyon that's well worth watching here.
It seems that Renée Fleming (appearing with the ESO in the first concert of the 08/09 season on September 11, 2008) has won the Polar music prize, so congratulations are in order!
The Polar Music Prize was established by Stig Anderson, manager of ABBA. And funny thing... our last performance THIS season is "Rajaton sings ABBA" on June 10th.
Coincidence? I think not.
And while I'm oh-so-shamelessly hawking concerts, tonight and tomorrow Anton Kuerti is performing with the symphony, and HE just won the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. Word is that he wrote his own cadenzas (that's the part where the soloist gets to show off without the orchestra playing) for Mozart's Piano Concerto No 22. I'm also excited that this is the first performance of the piece by both the ESO and Anton Kuerti - so I'm looking forward to the freshness of it all. There's nothing more exciting than a premiere performance, even for a piece written a couple of hundred years ago.
Tickets for this weekend are available online up to 3 hours before showtime - or available at the door if you must.
Ok, I'm done now.
Here's a video that Elizabeth Withey took in the orchestra pit during the "official" dress rehearsal of Porgy & Bess.
Talk about surround sound:)
Enjoy!
First of all, Drew McManus has very kindly highlighted us on his blog, Adaptistration. I didn't expect that kind of attention so early on, but it is gratefully received.
And second, following up on my earlier post, apparently Toyota has their sights set on orchestral performances as well:
I'm already imagining the day a high-strung ASIMO robo-conductor flies off the handle at a particularly inflexible oboe-bot (or perhaps it would just be "obot").
Last night was the opening night of P&B. I think they liked it.
All I heard at intermission was comments of ( * insert French accent here) Magnifique! Super! Tres Tres Bon!. Let me rephrase that... I think they loved it! Everyone involved last night was in mighty form.
At the end of the show, there was a hearty applause-followed by rhythmic clapping and foot stomping that I'm sure went on for what I felt was at least 10 minutes. I guess this is the French version of a standing ovation. After the performance, we headed over to the reception- hoping to talk to some of the cast and maybe take a few pictures. Suddenly Bill comes in- and makes a beeline for the food,which hadn't been touched yet ( I have no idea what they were waiting for) Suddenly there is applause as everyone is recognizes at Bill's "bold" move to the food. He yells Mangez! Mangez! Everyone got the hint and suddenly it was like a heard of cattle. Fortunately, I got there right before the food ran out.
Porgy ( aka Derrick Lawrence ), Porgy's daughter and Bill
Bill and Serena (Kristin Lewis)
Bill and his assistant Dominic Grier
Keep a lookout in the Edmonton Journal for Elizabeth Withey's review, the weekend of May 25th and 26th.
Friday night was the second dress rehearsal for Porgy & Bess, and Elizabeth and I were allowed to sit in the pit so we could watch Bill. I guess we were the first to do that at Opera-Lyon. It was fun to see him from a different side, and how he interacts with the orchestra. I've known Bill for a few years now, so I'm pretty good at reading his expressions. The sheer look of glee in most parts told me he was having a blast up there. You could tell when the singers were doing something good because they got the Bill smile of approval. Oh and there was a tad bit of wiggling up there. Sorry-lets try that again... there was A LOT of wiggling. How could you not? That's some seriously great music! Talk about surround sound down there, and the musicians looked the they were having a great time with Bill. I almost offered to turn pages for the double bass player sitting beside me at one point...well- I felt I should be doing SOMETHING!!!
Sizing up the house
Gershwin's masterpiece
Warming up
Who's this guy? Bill posing for his 5 minute Journal photo shoot outside the opera house
Next post... opening night!
If you haven't been to Bill's blog recently, he's done a few posts in the last few days about the last week before opening. Definitely check it out.
The more I think about this particular production of Porgy & Bess- the more I compare it to the musical RENT. Not the music of course- but just the whole look and feel of everything. The costumes, the set- very Broadway like. Defintely not your typical opera set. The photos explain what I'm talking about
On another note- Lyon is a fantastic Food city. Yesterday, Bill took myself and Elizabeth Withey from the Edmonton Journal out to this great little back alley place. Seriously best food I had in a long while- and honestly, one of the best nights I've had out in awhile. I don't think I've laughed that much in a long time.
Story via Engadget.
As a bit of background, Honda is sponsoring the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's music education programs for children, and chose to launch their sponsorship by featuring a highly sophisticated robot at a concert yesterday. I really feel this is a story about achievements in robotic technology more than anything else, but it certainly highlights "technology in the arts" in a fun way.
Welcome to the ESO blog!
The first post belongs to me - so who am I? Let's call me "Phil". I've recently started as the ESO's New Media Specialist which means I do things like create blogs (like this one) and youtube channels, etc. I hope to have many contributers to this little page to give you the widest possible perspective from the inside, behind and underneath.
So, all aboard! This train leaves for France tomorrow (hopefully the atlantic won't derail us), where our own Sistah Girl is headed to cover Bill Eddins' exploits as he conducts Porgy and Bess.
Stay tuned.
