Tag Archives: Puccini

Songs for Alabama/ Dalok Alabamához

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The amazing Susanna Phillips
http://www.susannaphillips.com
gave the US premiere of my orchestral song ‘The Cloak, the Boat, and the Shoes’ on Saturday with the Huntsville Symphony. My piece, just like when it was performed for the very first time in Budapest, preceded Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs. We had a big and responsive audience at the Von Braun Center. In the first half of the concert Principal Bassoonist of the Rochester Philharmonic, Matthew McDonald played Weber’s Bassoon Concerto. Our last classical concert of the season was part of the Alabama Bicentennial Celebration, and we were happy to team up with Susanna and Matthew, co-artistic directors of Twickenham Fest, and musicians extraordinaire.
http://www.twickenhamfest.org

Sunday and Monday were dedicated to auditions. I am happy to report, that we have a new Principal Bassoonist, a new Second Trombone player, and three new violinist colleagues as well. I am looking forward to making music with old and new members of the HSO alike, since the Bicentennial Celebration continues into our next season and includes out first two classical concerts. Check out the fall program, and HSO’s complete 2019-2020 season here:
http://www.hso.org

Soon I will be on my way back to Budapest to start rehearsing for the revival of my Puppet-Opera, The Giant Baby, and also to get ready for two La Bohème performances at the Budapest Opera. Stay tuned for more!

Susanna Phillips, http://www.susannaphillips.com
a Metropolitan Opera sztárja, és a Huntsville közeli Twickenham Fest egyik művészeti vezetője volt az HSO szombati koncertje második felének szólistája. ‘The Cloak, the Boat, and the Shoes’ című zenekari dalom amerikai bemutatója, a pár évvel ezelőtti budapesti ősbemutatóhoz hasonlóan, Richard Strauss Négy utolsó éneke előtt hangzott fel, amelyet aztán Richard Wagner A bolygó hollandi nyitánya követett. A hangverseny első felében a Rochester Filharmonikusok első fagottosa, a Susanna Phillipshez hasonlóan huntsville-i születésű, Matthew McDonald, aki a Twickenham Fest
http://www.twickenhamfest.org
társ-művészeti vezetője is, adta elő Weber Fagottversenyét. A koncert első fele Weber Freischütz nyitányával indult, és a Berlioz által hangszerelt Felhívás keringőre című művével zárult. Nagyszámú és lelkes közönség ünneplésével fejeztük be az évadot, és erre számítunk a következőben is. Az őszi koncertek még a 2019-es Alabama Bicentenáriumi Ünnepségek részét képezik majd, és annak fényében a Hunsvtille Symphony zenészeit, valamint a Huntsville Community Chorus-t és helyi vokális szólistákat állít a programok középpontjába. Részletek az alábbi linken találhatóak
http://www.hso.org

Vasárnap és hétfőn egész nap meghallgatásokat tartottunk. Felvettünk egy új első fagottost, egy második harsonást, és három új kollégát a hegedű szólamba. Hamarosan indulok Budapestre, ahol kezdődnek a próbák Az Óriáscsecsemő című báboperám felújítására, és a Magyar Állami Operaház Bohémélet 2.0 előadásaira is.

To The Moaning And The Groaning Of The Bells

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Last Friday I conducted the concert version of Puccini’s La Boheme with the Huntsville Symphony, the Community and Children’s Chorus and a wonderful cast at the Von Braun Center. This was the first time ever in my life when I started a dress rehearsal with not all the principals present. Due to an unforeseen illness we needed to hire a replacement Mimi. She drove 4 hours from Atlanta and was just pulling into the parking lot as I started Act One (5 minutes late). She just walked on stage about 10 minutes into the act (Mimi’s first appearance) and did a wonderful job. See names and more read more details in FaceBook posts by Huntsville Symphony and myself. No matter in what format you are doing opera, the usual “operatic excitements” always do occur.
From the happy morning bells of Act 3 in La Boheme I have arrived to some very different bells in Budapest, Hungary. As part of the Hungarian Radio Symphony’s (MR Symphony) 70th Anniversary season concert series I am conducting a concert at the Palace of the Arts (MUPA) this Saturday. On the program:
Andras Szollosy (a great composer, often remembered as “The Great Third Master” with Gyorgy Ligeti and Gyorgy Kurtag): TRASFIGURAZIONI
Stravinsky: SYMPHONY OF PSALMS
Rachmaninov: THE BELLS

Fro the lyrics of the latter composition (a great symphony for orchestra, chorus and solo voices) see the following link
http://www.recmusic.org

I designed the entire concert program around “The Bells” theme. Andras Szollosy (FYI the letter “SZ” next to Bartok’s compositions refers to his name, since he was the one -a composer AND a musicologist- who put together the chronological order of Bela Bartok’s works) was obsessed with the sound of the bells. In this energetic and very much “Rite of Spring”-like piece (16 minutes of music) has a lot of great bell-effects masterfully orchestrated for a group of triple woodwinds, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 3 (!) violin sections, violas, celli and basses (note that the lack of percussion instruments including any type of bells here!) Szollosy was a big fan of Igor Stravinsky and his music. Needless to say, that the unmistakable Russian bell sound plays a big part in this unique and captivating composition entitled Symphony of Psalms. Here is the unusual orchestration of this piece:
5 flutes (incl. piccolo), 5 oboes (incl. English Horn), 4 bassoons (incl. Contrabassoon) 4 horns, 5 trumpets (incl. Piccolo Trumpet), 3 trombones, tuba, timpani + percussion, two pianos, celli and basses. Yes, you read it right, while the Szollosy piece has three violin sections this piece has NO violins or violas whatsoever.
The Psalms used by Stravinsky for the three movements are:
Psalm 38, verses 13&14
Psalm 39, verses 2,3 & 4
Psalm 150 (complete)

Here are the words for Psalm 150

1 Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.