“A vivid Orlando makes history in Vienna” (New York Times International): Olga Neuwirth’s opera Orlando, based on Virginia Woolf’s novel of the same name, is the first full-length opera work by a woman celebrating its premiere at the Vienna State Opera. Olga Neuwirth, for a long time one of the great composers of the present, succeeds with this opera in creating a captivating arc across many musical genres. It’s an exciting, socially critical production by Polly Graham who puts a fantastically singing and playing Kate Lindsey in the center of the action. For Orlando Olga Neuwirth won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award, it became “world premiere of the year” by Opernwelt magazine and for Die Zeit it was “the premiere of the season”. BONUS: Interviews with Kate Lindsey, Will Duke (Video Designer), Lucas Niggli (drummer)
Julia Fischer – Violin and Piano
In her January 2008 concert with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie under Matthias Pintscher, Julia Fischer, named ‘Artist of the Year’ in 2007 by the U.K.’s ‘Gramophone’ magazine, did exactly as Bach and Mozart did: she appeared in public as a soloist on two completely different instruments, the violin and the piano. Fischer, who also trained as a pianist, pulled off this rare and risky feat with extraordinary prowess. In Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor op. 61, she weaves her lines seamlessly into the orchestral texture, emerging now with prominent embellishments, now with passionate cantilenas, or withdrawing to let the woodwinds express themselves as equals. For her ‘piano’ part of the evening, Julia Fischer chose the popular Grieg Concerto in A minor op. 16, a warhorse that shares with the previous work an intricate interweaving of the solo and orchestral parts. Commenting on her flawless piano technique and utterly natural artistry on this instrument, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote: ‘She mastered the work with bravura … a more than amazing double talent.’
Orlando
Orlando is the first work commissioned from a woman for the Vienna State Opera. Olga Neuwirth, for a long time one of the great composers of the present, succeeds with this opera in creating a captivating arc across many musical genres. An exciting, socially critical production by Polly Graham who puts a fantastically singing and playing Kate Lindsey in the center of the action. Opernwelt made it “First performance of the year” in its annual hit list. “The premiere of the season” Die Zeit
Ensemble Intercontemporain – Celestial Mechanics
In the year of its 40th anniversary, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, famous for its performances of 20th and 21st century music, presented five very special programmes at the Cité de la Musique and the Théâtre de Chaillot in Paris, each one of them dealing with its own particular subject. The single works performed in the 5 concerts are available as 23 individual films. Celestial Mechanics brings together the works of the basque composer Ramon Lazkano and his german colleague Matthias Pintscher, who, as different as their musical style may be, share the penchant of getting inspired by nature, the sky, the wind, and the evanescence of all living things.
Ensemble Intercontemporain – Genesis
In the year of its 40th anniversary, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, famous for its performances of 20th and 21st century music, presented five very special programmes at the Cité de la Musique and the Théâtre de Chaillot in Paris, each one of them dealing with its own particular subject. The single works performed in the 5 concerts are available as 23 individual films. Genesis has especially been commissioned on the occasion of the Ensemble’s 40th anniversary. Consisting of seven orders to seven composers, each one based on one day from the biblical genesis, it aims to question the concept of creation in various nuances.
Paris: Hommage à Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez, a seminal figure in the field of contemporary classical music, died on January 5th 2016. His name is closely connected to the Orchestre de Paris, which he has conducted more than a hundred times, and to the Philharmonie de Paris, whose “Grande Salle Pierre Boulez” was brought into existence due to his continuous endeavor.Two weeks after Boulez’ death, supported by young musicians from the Conservatoire de Paris, the Orchestra de Paris joined forces with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and the IRCAM – both founded by Pierre Boulez – in order to pay him tribute. The programme of this very special evening features a varied selection of the composer’s works. As a result of the concert night, “one simple word comes up, full of enthusiasm and emotion: merci…” (Bachtrack). PROGRAM: Pierre Boulez: Dialogue de l’ombre double extraits; Improvisation I; Messagesquisse; Dérive 1 pour six instruments; Improvisation II; Notations pour orchestre I, IV, III, II, VII