Classic Ross Amico

Tag: McCarter Theatre Center

ARB Ballet & PSO Pride and Prejudice on WPRB

Dropping by the WPRB studios at 9:00 EDT will be Douglas Martin, artistic director of American Repertory Ballet, and Marc Uys, executive director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. They’ll tell us a little bit about Martin’s new ballet, “Pride and Prejudice,” which sets the classic novel by Jane Austen to music by Ignaz Pleyel. The PSO will provide live musical accompaniment for the dancers, in its world premiere performances at McCarter Theatre Center on April 21 & 22.

Listen this morning at WPRB103.3 FM or at wprb.com.

April 13, 2017
Pride and Prejudice Ballet Princeton 2023

In the WPRB studio this morning with Douglas Martin, artistic director of American Repertory Ballet, and Marc Uys, executive director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. They dropped by to talk about their collaboration on “Pride and Prejudice,” a new ballet to be presented at McCarter Theatre Center on April 21 & 22. That guy on the left looks like he could really use a cup of coffee. (Photo by Dan Bauer)

April 13, 2017
Sharon Isbin Guitar at McCarter Princeton

With 25 recordings, four Grammy Awards, and a mastery of repertoire ranging from the baroque to the 21st century, it seems there is nothing guitarist Sharon Isbin can’t do well.

Isbin will appear at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton on Saturday at 8 p.m. “The theme of the program, for the most part, is folk-inspired music,” she says. “That would include Spain, Latin America – including South America and Cuba – as well as our own country.

“There will be another couple of works that have been written for me, one of which is by Leo Brouwer, which is based on African love stories.” Also on the program will be music by Andrew York, formerly of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and Bruce MacCombie.

Isbin is the kind of performer composers love to write for. In the case of Brouwer, arguably Cuba’s most celebrated living composer, he sent her, unsolicited, the manuscript of “The Black Decameron.” The piece became an instant classic.

She has also had guitar concertos written for her by a number of other respected composers, including John Corigliano, Tan Dun, Lukas Foss, Christopher Rouse, and Joseph Schwantner.

A 2015 documentary, “Sharon Isbin: Troubadour,” continues to air on PBS stations across the country. The film was a recipient of an ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Television Broadcast Award. Videos, including an excerpt from the documentary, news and touring information are posted at her website, http://www.sharonisbin.com.

Isbin will be the first of an impressive triumvirate of performers to appear at McCarter over the course of three days. Iranian-American harpsichord phenomenon Mahan Esfahani will present a stimulating program of works both old and new on Sunday at 3 p.m., and violinist Hilary Hahn will perform Bach, Mozart and Schubert, alongside music by Anton Garcia Abril and Hans Peter Turk, on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Learn more in my article in today’s Trenton Times.

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2017/03/classical_music_sharon_isbin_m.html

March 17, 2017
Kirill Gerstein Plays Liszt in Princeton

Pianist Kirill Gerstein will bring his transcendental technique to Princeton on Monday at 7:30 p.m., when he returns to McCarter Theatre Center with a recital that will include a selection of Franz Liszt’s “Transcendental Etudes.”

“They are showpieces, but in a much broader sense,” Gerstein says. “One could really say that Liszt, despite his enormous popularity, in some way is very much still an underrated composer. I think a lot of listeners and even some colleagues are distracted and partly disturbed by the flamboyance of some of the writing. But it is just one aspect, and a relatively small aspect, when you look at his entire, prodigious output. He was a serious composer and a fundamental musical force that really affected the course of music history. Of course he has his moments of being a superstar and tossing off glitter, which is also fine and part of life, but I don’t think that he was superficial.”

Gerstein has been touring the Etudes, with stops this month in Brussels, Liverpool and Vienna. He has recorded the entire cycle for the myrios classics label.

His McCarter program will also include sonatas by Beethoven (including the “Moonlight”) and Brahms (the Sonata No. 2) and four duets by Bach. Princeton Emeritus Professor Scott Burnham will deliver a pre-concert lecture at 6:30.

Gerstein will arrive at McCarter hot off a run of concerts with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark on Friday at 8 p.m., at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank on Saturday at 8 p.m., and at Mayo Performing Arts Center – MPAC in Morristown on Sunday at 3 p.m.

On March 1, he’ll join the Hagen Quartett for Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor at Carnegie Hall. The Hagen Quartet will appear at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium on March 2 at 8:00 p.m., as part of the Princeton University Concerts series.

Read more of Gerstein’s thoughts on Liszt’s ‘Transcendental Etudes’ in my article in today’s Trenton Times:

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2017/02/classical_music_kirill_gerstei.html

February 24, 2017
Youth Orchestra & Girlchoir Concerts This Weekend

For two local organizations that focus on young musicians, the future is now. Three concerts to be performed this weekend by the Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey (YOCJ) and the Princeton Girlchoir will demonstrate that music is shaping tomorrow today.

On Sunday at 3 & 7 p.m., YOCJ will present two separate programs at The College of New Jersey’s Kendall Hall. The afternoon program will include performances by its String Preparatory Orchestra, Wind Symphony and Pro Arte Orchestra. The evening program will include performances by the Saxophone Choir and Symphonic Orchestra.

Jennifer Montone will be the soloist for the Symphonic Orchestra concert, performing Emmanuel Chabrier’s “Larghetto” for horn and orchestra. Montone is the Principal Horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She also teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School. Her recording of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Horn Concerto with the Warsaw National Philharmonic was the recipient of a Grammy Award in 2013.

On March 21, Montone will visit West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North to conduct an interactive master class with students and brass ensembles. The master class is free and open to the public.

Also on Sunday evening, at 6 p.m., the Princeton Girlchoir will take to the stage at McCarter Theatre Center’s Matthews Theatre for its winter concert, “United in Song.” The program will bring together the organization’s six choirs, which range from the youngest beginners to the most polished pre-collegiate singers. The repertoire will include a wide variety of selections, from classical and folk song to contemporary.

The choirs will be directed by Lynnel Joy Jenkins, Melissa Keylock, Fred Meads and John Wilson. Two of the selections will feature the full battery of 290 girls. The last, Benjamin Britten’s “A New Year Carol,” will incorporate Princeton Girlchoir alumni.

Find out more about both organizations and all three events in my article in today’s Trenton Times.

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2017/01/jennifer_montone_yocj_princeto.html

January 20, 2017

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