Tag: Hill Auditorium

REVIEW: Rosanne Cash @ the Hill Auditorium!

krithika

Does this happen to you? You know that you have forgotten something but don’t now what and you let it remain at the back of your mind.

And then suddenly it comes to you-at the stoplight as you wait for the lights to go green, tapping your fingers on the steering wheel impatiently and hear the bells in the bell tower  nearby chime “500 miles away from home!”

Eureka! Oh, yeah,  of course I forgot to post the review for Rosanne Cash’s performance at the Hill Auditorium! Now, how did that happen? Well, I do have to tell you about the first show for the UMS for this year at the Hill Auditorium.

Rosanne Cash was here at the Hill auditorium in the not-so-recent past (in today’s world, I believe that anything more than a day old gets archived under “the not-so-recent past” category) performing songs from her album,The List.  The  songs were from a list of 100 that her father Johnny Cash gave her when she was 18 so that she could learn what he considered to be “the essential songs that  every country singer must know.”

Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash

I loved the way the stage was set. We had the guitarists, the pianist, the fiddler and the drummer all neatly spread out with  screens in ths backdrop. Paintings and drawings  of exotic birds, flowers and patterns (they seemed amateurish but very colorful) were projected onto the screens and they were interesting. My friend and I tried to make connections between the songs and the paintings. Unless someone would deem to correct me, I guess the projections were just random and nice distractions.

Miss Cash walked in to big applause and started off on a great song, William Heagney’s “miss the mississippi and you”. What struck me first as I listened to her live was  that her voice was very different. Neither too melodic nor too shrill, it seemed to have something very unique. I felt that her voice wasn’t suited to all the songs. But her rendition of “she’s got you”, “500 miles”  and ” miss the mississippi and you” was really very pleasant.

The song “500 miles” was my favorite. Ms Cash sang it more slowly than the Hedy West’s original and it was even more moving. The pace of West’s version made it  rushed and it feels as if the railroader was resigned  to his fate and so he shrugs it off in a  matter-of-fact manner with this song. Cash, on the other hand,  made it more like a lament and hence there was more pathos in it leaving room for even more empathy from the listener.  There is a Hindi song with this very same tune (the slow version) that I have loved for years  and I was surprised and sad to find that it had been, to put it euphemistically,   “inspired by” 500 miles! Well, I will leave that matter at that. <shrug>

Ms.Cash’s  songs were from a vide variety of genres that included folk, blues, pop and  rock. I loved her band. They were superb and made her shine. Especially when it came to them doing their lil solo improvisations, they were awesome! I loved the lead guitarist, John Leventhal, Ms.Cash’s husband, who would not be out of place in a rock band as he was so full of energy and really good.

That she gave two encores and the audience was still clamoring for more, goes to show her popularity. Would I listen to her? Hmm…yes, to some of her songs. I think her voice is something that grows on you and is more like a cultivated taste. As for her song choice from the list of 100, it is really good. That she chooses to “rerelease” these songs to introduce them to new generations is commendable.

Overall, it was a very pleasant evening. And thanks to the bells chiming “500 miles away from home” at noon in Kerry Town for reminding me about what I had forgotten.

more than 500 miles (8549 to be exact) from home ,

Krithika for  [art]seen

Preview: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra Today!

krithika

What beautiful weather we have been having! No longer does the sun disassociate its  twin functions of producing heat and light and to feel the lovely sunshine while you lay under the cerulean blue skies -it just makes you feel so alive!

Well , you can experience that same feeling of warmth and joy when you come to the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra performance under the direction of  the highly renowned Michael Tilson Thomas tonight. The performance will also feature Christian Tetzlaff, a violinist who is claimed to be the most important violinists in our times for his perfect technique and musical perception . Do I see you raising your eyebrows with disbelief? Then listen to this!

Christian Tetzlaff – Bach Sonata No. 3 (III. Largo)– Courtesy, www.youtube.com

Tonight’s program features works of Kissine, Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Liszt- all masters with such distinct signatures.

What:

San Francisco Symphony

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Christian Tetzlaff, violin

When: Friday, March 19, 8 pm
Where: Hill Auditorium

Tickets at Box Office  before the show or the Michigan League Ticket Office.

Come bask in the Hill Auditorium as the lovely notes of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra lift you to your heaven!

For [art]seen,

Krithika

The 100th post: Preview of Swedish Radio Choir :-)

krithika

I am so excited that this is the 100th post for [art]seen. To me, writing about the different art events that I go to, has helped me understand and enjoy the performances even better. Yeah for [art]seen!

So this sunday, FEb 21, the Swedish Radio choir are going to be in town. Made up of 32 professional singers and  sponsored by Sveriges Radio, this choir is one of the world’s best a cappella choirs that have a very wide a cappella and symphonic choir repertoire.They are the go-to choir for all the leading symphony orchestras in the world.

Maestro Ragnar Bohlin
Maestro Ragnar Bohlin

This tour is led by conductor Ragnar Bohlin, a Stockholm native who also serves as choral director for the San Francisco Symphony. He is another choral legend whose accomplishments are so many that it will take a long time to list them. He is one of the best in the field today.

The Swedish Radio Choir made its UMS debut in 2001 and their rendition of Verdi’s Requiem was a great hit. This time, the program starts with the sure crowd pleaser, Alven’s Aftonen (Evening). Also on the program are many choral pieces from various composers like Mahler, Bach and Sandström ,to name a few. This will be a treat for all of you who like a healthy dose of classical music to make your day.

When: Feb 21,2010 @ 4:00 pm

Where: Hill Auditorium

Tickets at the League Ticket Office or online at ums.org.

Yours truly,

Krithika, for [art]seen

Review: The date with Messieurs Thibaudet and Ravel

krithika

Saturday, Dec 12th ’09

I buy my concert tickets ahead of time and earlier today morning, I thought that I would be losing precious time at a concert when I should be really working on the zillion other things on the to-do list. But then I had a “”brain freeze” (when you can’t think anymore and the brain is just dead -something like  sleeping  with your eyes wide open) and I could no longer stare at the code I had been working on the whole day! So the concert proved to be a blessing and a nice break .

I am comparatively recent to the world of Western Classical music and as I go to various performances, I get to learn more about the composers and their music.  So today, it was an introduction to French Composer Ravel and his music.It also included a taste of the work of Brahms from his younger years.

French Compose Maurice Ravel
French Composer Maurice Ravel

Ahhhh… the French! They are so different from the rest. Their language, cuisine, culture, style and of course, music- it ees something deefferent (trying to speak french in eengleez and that seems to be an attempt in vain). They stand a class apart as does M. Thibaudet’s superb playing.

The evening’s performance made it clear that Mr.Thibaudet loves Ravel. Contrary to what I had posted in the preview, his love for Ravel was majorly influenced by his teacher, Lucette Descaves, a friend and collaborator of Ravel. As for M. Ravel himself, he is like a painter who evokes these images with a certain sensitivity of a poet. There is such a complex arrangement in his music and it is so full of color. Let me try to explain this more. Some directors show violence blatantly (for example, you can actually see a guillotine chopping off a person’s head  and the head with the eyes wide open with terror falls down with a thud in the wicker basket). Other directors just hint that something gruesome had happened (they show the blood spatter on the guillotine and a wicker basket covered with a blood-soaked rag) and leave it to the audience to picture the violence. And the second approach proves so much more effective (and often gets the Oscars!). Similarly, Ravel falls in the second category. His music just leaves so much to the  listener to interpret and the result is brilliant.

The first piece “Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess) was very different in the sense that I would start forming  a certain opinion about the mood of the piece and then suddenly, there would come an unexpected string of notes that would make me change my mind about it. The music felt as if the composer was trying to portray one’s wavering mind. I loved the ending of this piece as it just felt conclusive as if someone had finally made a decision. This is one of  the pieces that  just grows on you.

The second piece,  Ravel’s “Miroirs”, a suite of musical portraits was something I was looking forward to. It  just turned out to be fabulous. Each movement was so beautifully executed. I loved the third movement, “Une barque sur l’océan (a boat on the ocean) the most. Here’s my interpretation. There was a slow melody (like the red wave in the picture below representing the movement of the boat  as it goes over the large waves) and then a complicated faster melody(like the green wave representing the rocking of the boat).As for the picture, maybe my mathematical mind wasn’t completely switched off yet. But, somehow, it seemed as if the  composer was looking at this boat and was trying to portray the emotions of  the oarsman as well.  This movement was definitely the highlight of the evening for me.

Underlying theme for Ravel's third mvmt in "Miroirs"- my interpretation!

I feel that the skill of a pianist lies in how well he can create a distinction between the various sounds that can be made on a piano- for example, like pianissimo and fortissimo. M. Thibaudet  is definitely one of those truly gifted pianists who can do this really really well (you should have heard him play the fifth movement, “Valley of the bells”). At the end of  the pieces that called for a soft ending, M.Thibaudet would press the sustain pedal and you could hear the dying sounds so well. The clarity was amazing (I was seated in the third row, yeah!) and as for the staccatos and the legatos, they were so perfect that I wanted to just run to the stage and hug M. Thibaudet. Ravel’s work is very complicated  and it is not for the faint. M. Thibaudet pulled it off with perfect grace.

The next program was Brahms’ sonata No.3 which Brahms had composed when he was still in his late teens (Wow,what a genius! It makes me feel so small and insignificant). This piece showed the difference between German and French music clearly. Brahms’ sonata was so full of a sort of authoritativeness  and had a clear underlying structure and there was heaviness mixed with doses of high energy! Ravel’s music, on the other hand,  had this fluidity to it and a certain grace that only the French know how to do ( You see this in Monet’s paintings and can hear it in Ravel’s music). The musical difference is as distinct as differences between the German and French languages themselves.

Somehow, in spite of Brahms’ excellent “teen” work and M. Thibaudet’s flawless playing, I wasn’t particularly attentive to this piece. Could be that I was so used to Brahms (I listen to his symphonies and concertos on a regular basis) and you know, “familiarity breeds contempt” or in mycase, “inattentiveness”.  Isn’t that so strange that when we are tired, something novel immediately gets our attention and yet we always crave for the familiar during other times? Ok, that didn’t make sense to me either. Still in my “brain freeze” stage, people!

Anyway,the encores (one other piece from Brahms (which was more uplifting ) and Chopin’s Nocturne(Oh, I love this one)) left me so content and satiated.

At concerts like these, I just wish I knew more to comment intelligently as the great music critics do and I feel so small and stupid when I realise how little I know about Music theory and the technicalities of Western music.

As I walked back from the Hill against a gale of wind that threatened to blow me away, there was a car that went past  that  “honked” Jingle Bells (it was very good) and I just had to smile!  And I had this epiphany that  the real purpose of music is just to please the heart and sometimes it is okay to listen with the heart and not be a “cerebral” listener. At the end of the day, the arpeggios or the cadenzas or the 101 techniques the artist had employed don’t matter. What matters is the euphoric feeling with which you leave the concert.

From the heart ,

Krithika, [art]seen reviewer


Preview: Ready for some Ravel by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet?

krithika

The noted French pianist, Jean-Yves Thibaudet will be playing at the Hill Auditorium on Dec 12th, saturday @ 8 pm. Mr.Thibaudet is very talented and has earned quite a reputation for himself, both as a soloist as well as a performer at a symphony orchestra. He is known for his unique interpretation and his superb mastery of the piano. He  studied with Aldo Ciccolini who was an ardent advocate for the piano music of French composers Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and Erik Satie (courtesy Wiki). So we will be getting a taste of Ravel’s music.

The program for the evening includes two solo piano compositions by Ravel and a Brahms sonata.

Now, Ravel, a famous impressionist music composer, is known for his intricate and chiseled compositions that are so precisely arranged. The first of  Ravel’s works for the evening is “Pavane pour une infante défunte (“Pavane for a dead princess”). This slow piece is daunting and will test any pianist’s skills. It will be interesting to see how Mr.Thibaudet executes this!

The second Ravel piece is “Miroirs” (Reflections).  This is such an interesting ( and apparently very difficult) composition. There are five movements in the suite and each piece is intended to make us visualise a reflection when a certain person looked into the mirror (hence “reflections”). Ravel dedicated each of the movements to five people he knew. What an interesting poetic approach to music!  I am looking forward to listening to Mr.Thibaudet’s version.

Then we have Brahms’ Sonata No. 3 in F minor, another challenging work that requires a lot of skill. Brahms often found himself  in the shadow of Beethoven and this sonata, celebrates Brahms’ love for Beethoven as we can hear the motif from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (Yipppeeeeeeeee…one of my favorites!) .

Tickets are available at the Michigan League Office or at the Box Office  before the performance.

I could do with some end-of-semester stress-busting and listen to some good piano music (even if it means braving howling winds and the treacherous black ice). What about you? 

Krithika, [art]seen reviewer

 Krithika is now listening to Strauss’s “The Blue Danube Waltz”

REVIEW: A night to remember with Patti LuPone

krithika

Patti LuPone’s “Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda” at the Hill Auditorium on Nov 20, 09

The one and only Patti Lupone
The one and only Patti LuPone

You gotta love a woman who starts a show with “Go Blue” and “Buckeyes suck”. To those of you who don’t know Patti Lupone (come on now, really? 😉 ), she’s one of the divas of  Broadway whom you just gotta see. If you love musicals, then you would have definitely come across her.

The list of her awards- including Tonys, Best Actress in a Musical, etc. – is almost as long as her list of stage credits. She is one of the most illustrious stars of Broadway. Her critically acclaimed roles include Evita (she was the original Evita!), Sweeney Todd, “Fantine” in Les Miserables, Rose in Gypsy, just to name a wee few.

Patti LuPone was in town yesterday for her one-woman show “Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda”. This show is about the roles and songs that she could have, should have and would have done “had she been asked or had she been around or had she been a guy” (I faithfully quote her). She also delighted us with the roles she did play (oh yeah, she has had a great run).

Now, in concerts, the relationship between an audience and the artist is so different. Some artists are so god-like (and hence so cool and aloof) that the listeners, with a mingled feeling of respect and awe, sit up straight in their chairs, afraid to shift their bulk around. You can compare this to watching Zeus in heaven use his thunderbolts or the Berliner Philharmoniker perform, for instance.

Some other artists are so down-to-earth and warm that you feel as if you have been invited to a party in the artist’s very own living room and you kick off  your shoes and swing your legs up on the chair in front of you. This would be like going to a party that playful musically-gifted Hermes throws or watching  Patti (see, she made us feel so at home that I feel like I have known her for a really long time and I want to call her by her first name instead of the socially appropriate Ms. LuPone) perform.

Now about the show.

There was only Ms. Lupone’s magnificent brassy (and unique) voice and Mr. i-never-miss-a-beat-or-tune Joseph Thalken’ s  piano sounds on stage.

Mr. Thalken
Mr. Thalken

Ms. Lupone, started off with a lovely opening melody followed by “An English Teacher” from “Bye, Bye, Birdie”. She then regaled us with tales about her own career in between the songs. She was just so hilarious that you gotta see it. There was never a dull moment to the show. Her choice of songs was great and that is very important for any artist. Had Patti played those roles, she would have definitely owned these too. Throughout her show that night, you could see the stamina, the mannerisms and the unmatchable multi-tasking ability of a true Broadway actress. Only an actress from Broadway can sing, act, pose, mimic, dance and look fabulous while doing it all.

Here’s a list of songs that she performed and my comments about them. I wish they had posted the list in the program notes. But then again, it would have ruined the surprise. I am giving this list as I want people to go check these out. They are the perfect songs for a gloomy winter day (sigh, we will be having so many of those soon).

An English Teacher- Bye Bye Birdie (hilarious!)

A Wonderful Guy- South Pacific

Don’t rain on my parade- Barbra Streisand (Oh, this was so power-packed and she rocked this song)

Easy to be hard-  Hair (the high notes she hit in these were just mind-blowing)

Everything’s coming up Roses- Gypsy

She won a Tony award for her performance in this musical.  You will know why when you listen to her.

You mustn’t be discouraged- Fade out Fade in (my second favorite)

This was her audition song for Juilliard. This song is set in one of those make-you-feel-good tunes…until you hear the lyrics.

“When you think you’ve hit the bottom
And you’re feeling mighty low,
You mustn’t feel discouraged –
There’s always one step further down you can go.”

The song only gets better and everybody was cracking up  and I was laughing so hard that I almost fell off my seat (the guy sitting next to me didn’t notice as he was busy guffawing too).

Meadowlark- The Baker’s Wife

A boy Like that/ I have a love- West side story

Oh, this was so good- like eating fresh Creme Brulee at La Dolce Vita (hey, i just LOVE their desserts and am not advertising for them, ok).

A quiet thing- Flora the Red Menace (Originally sung by Liza Minelli)

Never Never Land- Peter Pan

This song is from the 1960 production of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, with Mary Martin as Peter. Aww…this was so good. I would love to be in a place where time is never planned. Wouldn’t we all?

Don’t Cry for me Argentina- Evita

My first favorite. This was so awesome. This is “her” song and she owns it. It doesn’t get better than this. You could see her transform into Evita (or Evita as we know her from musicals) almost instantly. The humor was gone and was replaced with the pleading in her voice that also conveyed power and charisma. I had to see it to believe it. This alone was worth going to the show.

Oh what a beautiful morning- Frank Sinatra (It was definitely a very beautiful evening for me.)

Trouble in River City (“Ya got Trouble”)– the Music Man

You just gotta listen to this song. Patti never missed a beat and it just suited her voice so well.  She just fired all her guns and sang it at a faster pace than Robert Preston. I love Patti’s version better now. Wish she would release a recording of that. Sigh! Patti, are you listening?

How to handle a woman- King Arthur’s lament from Camelot

Cole Porter’s “So in Love”- from Kiss me, Kate

Sleepy man– Robber Bridegroom

This “duet” was awesome. Mr.Thalken did the background vocals while flipping the pages of the sheet music while continuing his smooth playing of course. I just love it when a person multi-tasks. 🙂

As long as he needs me- Oliver!

She then did a Sondheim Set.  What a great composer Stephen Sondheim is!

I never do anything twice (the Madam’s song)– from the film The Seven-per-cent solution

Anyone can whistle-Anyone can whistle

As per the lyrics: “What’s hard is simple. What’s natural comes hard. ” What ??? I think will have to see the original musical to understand.

Send in the clowns– A Little Night Music

My Way- Frank Sinatra (loved this).  With this perfectly apt song, Patti ended the absolutely beautiful evening.

Did you think that we let her go so easily? We begged for more. She sang Sondheim’s  “Ladies who lunch” from the musical “Company”, Kurt Wiell’s “September Song” and a classic Sinatra “The way you look tonight” (she sang this without the mike and it was just so beautiful).

We were greedy and still wouldn’t let her go. The evening ended with the entire audience standing and Patti singing Sinatra’s  “A 100 years from today” sans the piano and sans the microphone. The air was electrifying and there was complete silence except for Patti’s golden voice. The scene is still etched in my mind and that I feel is what every artist strives for- the undying adoration of a devout audience.

Still enchanted, Krithika, for [art]seen

Krithika is learning to whistle and if you hear sounds like the squeak of a trapped  mouse or a horribly out-of-tune piccolo on campus, just ignore.

Disclaimer: If I have left out any song from the night’s performance or cited the wrong song, do lemme know. Folks, I am striving to be politically correct here, ok. 😉