Hot News January 2006

 

 250th Anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

2006 marks this special anniversary commemorating this legend composer.  Of interest to Clarinetists, many

performances of his music are slated to be performed as part of this special year.  Below are Mozart Concerto

performances by noted artists as will be updated as they come about.   There are several resource sites covering this

year of celebration including:

www.mozart.at

Celebration of the Salzbach

Steinway & Sons Mozart Resources

Mozart Project

28 January 2006

Mozart Birthday Weekend at St John's, Smith Square with London Mozart Players

London, England

          The London Mozart Players, conducted by Andrew Parrot, performed this as a series of programs commemorating the

250th Mozart Celebrations.

         The highlight of the weekend so far was Michael Collins' sterling performance of the Clarinet Concerto, K622.

It is one of Mozart's final pieces, and is a masterpiece of the highest order, even for him. The first movement had a joie de vivre

about it that drew smiles from the whole audience. Collins' eager communication with the conductor allowed exciting risk-taking

that drove the musicians' virtuosity to the limit. Lyricism and exquisite phrasing characterised the second movement, whilst the

third combined cheekiness, technical finesse and a synchronization of purpose between orchestra, soloist and conductor.

 

                                                         

January 30. 2006

Eclectic selections in spirit of Mozart?

Symphony celebrates 250th anniversary of composer's birth.

REVIEW

ANN MARIE STEWART
Tribune Correspondent


SOUTH BEND -- Saturday evening at the Morris Performing Arts Center, the South Bend Symphony Orchestra celebrated the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.

The performance began with a piece that was not originally on the program: Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings," performed in memory of the late Judd Leighton, a beloved patron of the symphony, and husband to the late Mary Morris Leighton.

The adagio began deliciously bittersweet and melancholy, displaying Barber's powerful ability to express human emotion. Led by Tsung Yeh, the orchestra embraced the ebb and tide of the musical phrases, and played with the greatest degree of passion that was to be heard that evening, taking the audience on an exquisite journey of grief and desolation.

After the conclusion of the adagio, the tone of the concert began anew, with the promise of the energy and ingenuity that has endeared generations of music lovers around the world to Mozart.

The first of three pieces by Mozart performed that evening was "The Magic Flute," a playful and surprising piece that revels in the instruments having a musical conversation. The woodwinds, with clear and high voices sang to the rich, deep, beautifully balanced orchestra, creating an electrically charged call and response.

The ballet music for "Idomeneo" followed, with the "Clarinet Concerto in A Major" quickly on its heels, featuring the Chicago Symphony's John Bruce Yeh.

The soloist played with delightful energy and flair, and took his prominent position towering over the orchestra with confidence. John Bruce Yeh is a musical symbiosis, so that when he plays there is no separation between man and instrument.

Mozart adored the clarinet and celebrates it capability to trill and soar through the upper registers, and bellow through the lower tones, subdued and ironic, then witty and sharp.

The program also included Alan Hohvaness' "Fantasy of Japanese Woodprints," featuring 16-year-old marimba soloist Molly Yeh, and concluding with Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition."

The style of the 20th century Hohvaness piece stood in sharp contrast with its dreamy dissonance and atonality. Molly Yeh tackled this challenging work with poise and power, with the strings at times reminiscent of running water, or a swarm of bees, punctuated by Tsung Yeh stabbing through the air into the glorious chaos.

Tsung Yeh isn't related to John Bruce Yeh and Molly Yeh, who are father and daughter.

Finally, "Pictures" provided a fresh new take on the Maurice Ravel favorite, highlighted by the sheer force that pummels forth from the brass section. If the evening began with grief and loss, it certainly concluded with celebration and redemption.

As a whole, the program made for a strangely eclectic evening, somewhat disjointed, not unlike pieces of a puzzle that although interesting in shape, do not quite fit together. And it is perhaps in its irreverence that it celebrated the brave spirit of Mozart himself.

  

21 January 2006

Amsterdam, Holland

       The Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra performed with Celeste Zewald the familiar K622 Clarinet Concerto, the 2nd

project performance this January as part of the 250th celebration of his musical contribution.  Four performances were

programmed and still scheduled.  Performances have sold out.  Zewald is a high visibility soloist and Chamber musician

and is member of many ensembles as indicated on her website.  As recently as July 2005 she performed recital at the

ClarinetFest in Tokyo, Japan as a stellar soloist.

Mozart Concerto with Milano Classica Orchestra

Mozart bow

Prof Magistrelli and Leister Clarinet Class

Milano Clarinet Class with Meastro Leister

Humor in Milan

20 January 2006

International Music Academy of Milano, Italy

As part of its annual event directed by Luigi Magistrelli, Professor at the above Conservatory, esteemed artist

from the Berlin Philharmonic Karl Leister gave 2 days of Master Classes and on 18 January performed Mozart's

Clarinet Concerto K622 with the Milano Classica orchestra conducted by Massimiliano Caldi.
at the Liberty Palace.

The performance was really fantastic and the audience asked him an encore.
He repeated the slow movement.

At the end of the Adagio Leister was moved and also the audience was!

Mr Leister is in great demand across Europe and Asia.  In 2005 he gave a Master Class Tour to 6 USA Universities.

Luigi and Laura Magistrelli in performance

Hoffmeister Concertante

Hoffmeister performance

7 January 2006

Luigi Magistrelli and sister Laura perform the Hoffmeister Concertante for 2 clarinets

and orchestra with the Magenta Orchestra conducted by Alberto Malazzi 

 Magenta, Italy


            Luigi Magistrelli and sister Laura performed  the Hoffmeister Concertante for 2 clarinets

and orchestra with the Magenta Orchestra conducted by Alberto Malazzi on January 7th.

           The Magenta Symphony Orchestra has an official concert season including classical

and romantic repertory.  In the up coming season there will be some Salieri and Mozart compositions.

The members of this orchestra are players coming from the most important orchestras of Milano. Its

principal conductor, Alberto Malazzi is co-choir conductor at the La Scala Orchestra in Milano.

           Luigi Magistrelli was born in S. Stefano Ticino, near Milan, Italy .He studied clarinet at the

Conservatory of Milan with Prof. Primo Borali and attended some Master classes with D. Kloecker,

K. Leister and Giuseppe Garbarino. He has performed as soloist with the Orchestras of

”Pomeriggi musicali”, ”Angelicum”, “Teatro Litta” and Radio of Milan. He has also performed

with many chamber groups (from duo with piano to large ensembles also of contemporary music).

He played for one year as principal clarinet with Sanremo Symphony Orchestra and as extra

player with the orchestras of Pomeriggi Musicali, Angelicum, “Gaspare da Salò”, “Cantelli”,

Radio Orchestras of Milan and Turin, “Orchester der Jahrhunderte” in Germany and Moldova

Radio Symphony  and many others. He has participated in tours with the International Orchestra

of Italy. Currently he is principal clarinet at the” Milano Classica “Chamber Orchestra He has won

some prizes at the Competitions of Genoa and Stresa. He has performed in the principal cities of

Italy and also in Swizerland, Malta, Austria, Belgium, ex Yugoslavia, France, Africa (National Theatre of

Nairobi), India, Germany, Finland, Israel , Mexico, South Korea, U.S.A and in duo with the pianist Sumiko

Hojo in the Czech Republic, China  and Japan . He has recorded 30 CD’s of chamber music and as soloist

for “Pongo Classica” , “Bayer Records” , “Nuova Era”, “Stradivarius”, “Arta Records” (on early clarinets) ,

“ASV”, ”Clarinet Classics” ,”Leonarda”, “MDG gold” and ” Orfeo” with the well known clarinetist Dieter

Kloecker,  with the Orchestra “La Scala Philharmonic” conducted by R. Muti for “Sony Classical” and

with “Milano Classica Orchestra”  for “Dynamic”. He has recorded also two Mozart CD’s for

“Camerata Tokyo” with Prof. Karl Leister, well known solo clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic

for 34 years. He has recorded for the Italian Radio and BBC of London. He edited unknown clarinet

works for “Eufonia”, “Accolade”, ”Trio Musik”, “Poco Nota Verlag” and “Musica Rara”. He is the

chairman for Italy of the International Clarinet Association and has performed in many world clarinet

congresses .He held Master classes in Italy, China, Israel, South Korea, Mexico and USA. He has a

personal clarinet collection of more than 130 instruments of any kind. He is Professor of Clarinet at the

Conservatory of Milano.

         Laura Magistrelli, sister of Luigi, is the principal clarinet at the Cantelli Orchestra of Milano

and clarinet Professor at the Brescia Conservatory. She has won some important competitions and

performed as soloist with different  orchestras and recorded CDs for Chandos, Bayer Records etc.

She played under Claudio Abbado with the Mahler Jungend Orchestra and made tours in Austria,

Denmark, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Greece, Turkey and ex Yugoslavia and the USA. She is a

clarinet teacher at the Brescia Conservatory.

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