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SOUNDS OF AMERICA L A N G D O N S A R A : P H O T O G R A P H Y THE SCENE This month, two modern American oratorios are performed at Ravinia, Bernard Haitink conducts Mozart and Mahler at Tanglewood and the Salt Bay Chamberfest engages with folk music traditions LENOX Tanglewood Mozart: Violin Concerto No 5; Mahler: Symphony No 4 (August 17) Bernard Haitink leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in its summer home for this concert pairing Mozart and Mahler. The German-born violinist Isabelle Faust is the soloist for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 5, which is juxtaposed with Mahler’s Symphony No 4. The latter work is one of the composer’s ‘shorter’ symphonies, and built around a German folk poem, Das himmlische Leben, which evokes a joyful scene in heaven. Mahler’s setting of the text serves as the finale of the work, and is sung here by Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling. bso.org ANGEL FIRE, TAOS, RATON AND LAS VEGAS Music from Angel Fire The 30th Anniversary Season (August 16 – September 1) Tucked away amidst the beauty and seclusion of northern New Mexico, the communities of Angel Fire, Taos, Raton and Las Vegas (no, not that Vegas) play host to world-class chamber music. To celebrate the festival’s 30th anniversary, artistic director and violinist Ida Kavafian has programmed 30 favourite works from the chamber music repertoire, from Bach to Schubert to Piazzolla. An undoubted highlight of the festival is the engagement of the great jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea as the 2013 composerin-residence. He’ll be performing and also presenting the world premiere of a new work. musicfromangelfire.org HIGHLAND PARK Ravinia Lang: The Little Match Girl Passion (August 26) Adams: The Gospel According to the Other Mary (September 7) Two highly acclaimed oratorios written in recent years premiere at the Ravinia Festival. David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2008, sets Hans Christian Andersen’s sweet and sad fable. It features four soloists who also act as percussionists. In September, there’s a chance to hear John Adams’s ambitious and sometimes exotic take on the New Testament EVENT OF THE MONTH The Brentano String Quartet are guests at the Salt Bay Chamberfest DAMARISCOTTA Salt Bay Chamberfest Folk-influenced chamber works (August 6-17) This year’s Salt Bay Chamberfest explores the nexus between folk music and chamber works with a richly varied programme, from Schubert to Ives. Familiar faces like the Brentano String Quartet feature alongside fascinating musical guests including Norwegian folk singer Kjersti Kveli. On August 9, Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat is paired with a world-premiere work for rap, bass and drums by Derek Bermel. saltbaychamberfest.org in his oratorio The Gospel According to the Other Mary. The performance includes the mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor, contralto Tamara Mumford and the tenor Russell Thomas, all of whom presented the work at its world premiere in Los Angeles last year. ravinia.org NEW YORK Trinity Wall Street Celebrating Britten (September 5 – December 26) The Episcopal parish known as Trinity Wall Street based in Lower Manhattan has a strong music tradition, thanks to several full-time ensembles. Beginning in September, Trinity Wall Street celebrates the music of Benjamin Britten, integrating his sacred works into regular services, as well as hosting a series of highprofile concerts featuring guest artists such as tenor Nicholas Phan, chamber group The Declassified, the Jack Quartet and the piano duo of Grace Cho and Alejandro Hernandez. trinitywallstreet.org SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco Symphony Opening Night Gala (September 3) Gershwin: An American in Paris (September 6) With an opening night gala starring the singer and actress Audra McDonald, the San Francisco Symphony season begins on a decidedly jazzy note, with a festive programme of American masterpieces. On September 6, Michael Tilson Thomas opens with the riotous Jazz Symphony by the avant-garde composer George Antheil, the self-proclaimed ‘bad boy of music’, Barber’s Violin Concerto is performed by violinist James Ehnes, and the concert wraps up with Gershwin’s tone-poem An American in Paris. sfsymphony.org HOUSTON Houston Symphony Opening Night Gala with Renée Fleming (September 7) Following the annual scramble by symphony orchestras everywhere to feature an openingnight celebrity, Houston Symphony has snagged the diva Renée Fleming. With Houston Symphony she’ll perform selections from the opera repertoire and other classical favourites, plus some of her crossover material as featured on her recent album, ‘Dark Hope’, in which the soprano dips into the world of pop music. houstonsymphony.org Previews by Damian Fowler gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE AUGUST 2013 VII

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SOUNDS OF AMERICA

L A N G D O N

S A R A

:

P H O T O G R A P H Y

THE SCENE This month, two modern American oratorios are performed at Ravinia, Bernard Haitink conducts Mozart and Mahler at Tanglewood and the Salt Bay Chamberfest engages with folk music traditions

LENOX Tanglewood Mozart: Violin Concerto No 5; Mahler: Symphony No 4 (August 17) Bernard Haitink leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in its summer home for this concert pairing Mozart and Mahler. The German-born violinist Isabelle Faust is the soloist for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 5, which is juxtaposed with Mahler’s Symphony No 4. The latter work is one of the composer’s ‘shorter’ symphonies, and built around a German folk poem, Das himmlische Leben, which evokes a joyful scene in heaven. Mahler’s setting of the text serves as the finale of the work, and is sung here by Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling. bso.org

ANGEL FIRE, TAOS, RATON AND LAS VEGAS Music from Angel Fire The 30th Anniversary Season (August 16 – September 1) Tucked away amidst the beauty and seclusion of northern New Mexico, the communities of Angel Fire, Taos, Raton and Las Vegas (no, not that Vegas) play host to world-class chamber music. To celebrate the festival’s 30th anniversary, artistic director and violinist Ida Kavafian has programmed 30 favourite works from the chamber music repertoire, from Bach to Schubert to Piazzolla. An undoubted highlight of the festival is the engagement of the great jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea as the 2013 composerin-residence. He’ll be performing and also presenting the world premiere of a new work. musicfromangelfire.org

HIGHLAND PARK Ravinia Lang: The Little Match Girl Passion (August 26) Adams: The Gospel According to the Other Mary (September 7) Two highly acclaimed oratorios written in recent years premiere at the Ravinia Festival. David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2008, sets Hans Christian Andersen’s sweet and sad fable. It features four soloists who also act as percussionists. In September, there’s a chance to hear John Adams’s ambitious and sometimes exotic take on the New Testament

EVENT OF THE MONTH

The Brentano String Quartet are guests at the Salt Bay Chamberfest

DAMARISCOTTA Salt Bay Chamberfest Folk-influenced chamber works (August 6-17) This year’s Salt Bay Chamberfest explores the nexus between folk music and chamber works with a richly varied programme, from Schubert to Ives. Familiar faces like the Brentano String Quartet feature alongside fascinating musical guests including Norwegian folk singer Kjersti Kveli. On August 9, Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat is paired with a world-premiere work for rap, bass and drums by Derek Bermel. saltbaychamberfest.org in his oratorio The Gospel According to the Other Mary. The performance includes the mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor, contralto Tamara Mumford and the tenor Russell Thomas, all of whom presented the work at its world premiere in Los Angeles last year. ravinia.org

NEW YORK Trinity Wall Street Celebrating Britten (September 5 – December 26) The Episcopal parish known as Trinity Wall Street based in Lower Manhattan has a strong music tradition, thanks to several full-time ensembles. Beginning in September, Trinity Wall Street celebrates the music of Benjamin Britten, integrating his sacred works into regular services, as well as hosting a series of highprofile concerts featuring guest artists such as tenor Nicholas Phan, chamber group The Declassified, the Jack Quartet and the piano duo of Grace Cho and Alejandro Hernandez. trinitywallstreet.org

SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco Symphony Opening Night Gala (September 3) Gershwin: An American in Paris (September 6) With an opening night gala starring the singer and actress Audra McDonald, the San Francisco Symphony season begins on a decidedly jazzy note, with a festive programme of American masterpieces. On September 6, Michael Tilson Thomas opens with the riotous Jazz Symphony by the avant-garde composer George Antheil, the self-proclaimed ‘bad boy of music’, Barber’s Violin Concerto is performed by violinist James Ehnes, and the concert wraps up with Gershwin’s tone-poem An American in Paris. sfsymphony.org

HOUSTON Houston Symphony Opening Night Gala with Renée Fleming (September 7) Following the annual scramble by symphony orchestras everywhere to feature an openingnight celebrity, Houston Symphony has snagged the diva Renée Fleming. With Houston Symphony she’ll perform selections from the opera repertoire and other classical favourites, plus some of her crossover material as featured on her recent album, ‘Dark Hope’, in which the soprano dips into the world of pop music. houstonsymphony.org

Previews by Damian Fowler gramophone.co.uk

GRAMOPHONE AUGUST 2013 VII

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