Tag: Summer 2017

Beyond NYC: Jason Vieaux, Guitar with Julien Labro, Bandoneon and Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Caramoor at Katonah, NY

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Beyond NYC: Jason Vieaux, Guitar with Julien Labro, Bandoneon and Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Caramoor at Katonah, NY

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Piazzolla on July 16, 2017

Jason Vieaux, Guitar with Julien Labro, Bandoneon and Orchestra of St. Luke's at Caramoor at Katonah, NY
Jason Vieaux, photo by Tyler Boye; image source jasonvieaux.com

With a program of chamber music heavily influenced by the genius of Vivaldi, this concert on July Sunday afternoon is promising to be a meditation on the past with classical guitar, bandoneon, violin and a chamber orchestra serenading the summer.

Jason Vieaux, a winner of 2015 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Solo, is returning to Caramoor with Julien Labro on bandoneon and Krista Benin Fenney on violin. Vieaux’s impeccable technique and musicality “makes the guitar sing” in the words of Tom Huizenga, NPR host. From the beginning of Vieaux’s engagement with the NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series when he was young-artist-in-residence, his mastery have flourished adding on a diverse sound palette of West-African rhythms, Argentinian tangos and classical preludes. On his return to the Tiny Desk Concert studio as a renown international musician seven years later, his music had transformed the studio into “a quiet, jasmine-scented garden in Andalusia” as described by Huizenga.

Jason Vieaux, Guitar with Julien Labro, Bandoneon and Orchestra of St. Luke's at Caramoor at Katonah, NY
Julien Labro photo by Anna Webber / image source julienlabro.com

Julien Labro is a well-known accordionist whose music blends folk and classical melodies into an eclectic and rich mix. In the course of his career Labro’s main influence was the music of an Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla. According to Labro’s autobiography, Piazzolla was the reason for Labro to pick up a bandoneon. Sharing this affection, Vieaux and Labro had already recorded 7 albums on the music by Piazzolla with the most recent one Infusion by Azica produced in 2016.

The combination of top quality music performance and spectacular Caramoor gardens and grounds makes it an ideal place for a summer night out. At Caramoor the visitors can enjoy architecture, history, art, horticulture and music all in one place. Arrive early to have a chance to explore them all.

Click here to book your tickets.

Venue: Caramoor Center for Music and Arts, Katonah, NY                                       Date: July 16, 4pm

Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival: Don Giovanni by Budapest Festival Orchestra

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Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival: Don Giovanni by Budapest Festival Orchestra

Ivan Fischer, conductor and director 

Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival: Don Giovanni by Budapest Festival Orchestra
Don Giovanni by Max Slevogt, 1912

This year Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center brings back to New York a fascinating production of opera Don Giovanni. The performance will take place at the Rose Theater at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Frederick P. Rose Hall.

Mozart wrote this opera to a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte which was based on the legend about Don Juan, a philanderer and seducer. Premiered at the National Theater of Bohemia in Prague in 1787, it was billed by Mozart himself as opera buffa. However, this particular rendition of the story is much more a tragedy and a learning lesson than a comedy or a melodrama.

Ivan Fischer, co-founder and conductor of Budapest Festival Orchestra, was also directing the production. In an interview  by NPR in anticipation of the opening in 2011, Fischer points out that this dual role as conductor and director lets him offer “much more unified experience” for the actors. The resulting accents in the story are on bringing the villain to justice. The costume, stage design and casting of the students of Bucharest Acting Academy in the supporting ensemble are both innovative and highly appropriate. Instead of a singing statue, the actors costumes are designed to resemble the stones serving as both the silent elements of the design and the embodiment of the fate and consequence that gets a final say. The New York Times review of the performance back in 2011 highlights the “climactic moment staged to such haunting effect” under Fischer’s direction.

Venue: Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center, 10 Columbus Circle, NY                               Dates: August 17, 19, 20

August 2017 Jazz Concert: Cyrille Aimee at (Le) Poisson Rouge

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August 2017 Jazz Concert: Cyrille Aimee at (Le) Poisson Rouge

French jazz-cabaret singer

August 2017 Jazz Concert: Cyrille Aimee at (Le) Poisson Rouge
Cyrille Aimee / image source lpr.com

Crisp and delicate voice, playful style, dizzying mix of jazz, soul and ethnic music from France to Brazil –  at the concert of this talented singer Cyrille Aimee you will hear them all.

Born in Fontainebleau, France and raised in the village of Samois-sur-Seine where a famous french gypsy jazz musician Django Reinhardt lived, Aimee had a chance to learn and experience jazz music from her school days. Aimee writes in her bio that with easy proximity to the place of the annual Django Reinhardt Festival held at Samois-sur-Seine attracting gypsy musicians from around the world, she was sneaking out from her bedroom to hear the musicians at the encampment. Her rebellious character can be heard in her singing and in her selection of the songs to perform.

In 2012 Aimee had won Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition which invigorated her international career. Her singing can be described as mixing Sarah Vaughan in name and Michael Jackson in electronics. At her concerts she introduces the loop machine to the audience and delivers brilliant performance with it. “She is a one-woman rhythm machine” in the words of New York Times music critic S. Holden.  The AllAboutJazz calls her “the face of post-modernity”.

Check out Aimee’s website and youtube channel for the latest recordings and much more.

The informal setting at Le Poisson Rouge will make it a delightful musical experience with this amazing jazz singer!

To book tickets, click here.

Venue: (Le) Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, NY             Date: August 16, 2017 

 

2017 Lincoln Center Festival: Taming of the Shrew by Bolshoi Ballet

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2017 Lincoln Center Festival: Taming of the Shrew by Bolshoi Ballet

Ballet in two acts by Jean-Christophe Maillot

2017 Lincoln Center Festival: Taming of the Shrew by Bolshoi Ballet
Image source: lincolncenter.org

Elegant and witty choreography, superb technique, a swirl of energy  – what else can one wish to see at the ballet performance? The fans of this colorful art genre will be absolutely delighted to see this smart staging of the classic tale of the battle of the sexes. Ballet de Monte-Carlo director-choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot masterly production of  W. Shakespeare play for the Bolshoi to the selected compositions by D. Shostakovich had won a strong acclaim from the time of its opening in 2014. The Telegraph review praised Maillot choreographic style as “an eclectic, high-octane and often witty fusion of classical and modern”.

Bolshoi Ballet dancers bring their well-known mastery to the high-speed love story. The Guardian review points to “mesmerizing” rendering of Katarina’s role by Ekaterina Krysanova and “hypnotic energy” of Vladislav Lantratov as Petruchio. The rest of the main characters and ballet cast are as articulate and infectious in telling the story as the principals. In the critics’ opinion the high-speed of the production is the only comment that can be made. The rest is just a sheer joy!

Tickets can be booked here.

 

Venue: David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, NY                             Dates: July 26 – July 30, 2017

 

2017 Lincoln Center Festival: H’Sao Band Performance on July 28

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2017 Lincoln Center Festival: H’Sao Band Performance on July 28

A cappella performance mixing melodies from Chad with modern world soul and jazz

2017 Lincoln Center Festival: H'Sao Band Performance on July 28
H’Sao / image source lincolncenter.org

This amazing Montreal-based band was formed in 2001 when three brothers teamed up with their childhood friend to start performing. Using only their voice at first and adding musical instruments later the group caught the attention of the music fans and gained popularity in Montreal, Canada. H’Sao style can be described as Afro-fusion or Afro-jazz defined by authentic vocal harmonies, electrifying rhythm and stunning dance.

Masterly mixing a cappella singing from their native Chad with the new world gospels, soul and jazz music the group had established itself on the music scene. It travels around the world participating in the prominent musical festivals and events from New Zealand and Australia to Europe, Asia and Americas. Their lyrics are addressing the issues of social justice, love and peace.

H’Sao concert in NYC is part of the Nomadic Knights series of Lincoln Center Festival. More information about their albums can be found here.

 

Venue: Stanley Kaplan Penthouse, Lincoln Center, NY                                Date: July 28, at 8pm