As Heartbeat Opera gears up for its fourth annual Spring Festival, Artistic Director Ethan Heard is in rehearsals for his poignant adaptation of Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio (May 3-13). Heard has written new English dialogue with Marcus Scott to bring the story of political prisoners into 2018; Heartbeat Opera's production features a primarily black cast, and a true "Prisoners' Chorus" of incarcerated members of 6 prison choirs across the Midwest.
In a long and multi-faced career as composer, conductor, and concert presenter, Victoria Bond has created a legacy not only of her own compositions, but also of works by other composers via her annual new music showcase, Cutting Edge Concerts. The 21st season opens on April 9 at Symphony Space with the world premiere staging of Eric Salzman’s opera Big Jim and the Small-Time Investors. Each of the four programs, on consecutive Monday evenings in April, features a different performing ensemble, and includes at least one world premiere.
In celebration of International Women's Day, WQXR asked 11 composers (Julia Adolphe, Victoria Bond, Valerie Coleman, Jennifer Higdon, Hannah Kendall, Missy Mazzoli, Thea Musgrave, Roxanna Panufnik, Kaija Saariaho,Caroline Shaw, and Julia Wolfe) to tell them about the single most influential woman in their professional lives. Here, in their own words, are touching tributes to teachers, mothers and other composers who have championed and inspired them every step of the way.
Concert pianist Orli Shaham played Sunday as if Bela Bartok had written the Piano Concerto No. 3 in E major for her instead of his wife. Shaham, renowned on four continents for her technique, passionately and exuberantly embraced the complex composition for the Bangor Symphony Orchestra’s Winter Dreams concert.
[Bartok's Third Piano Concerto] was sensitively performed by Orli Shaham with poetic grace or rhythmic forcefulness, as the music demanded. The performance displayed perfect rapport between soloist and orchestra, bringing out the exceptional lyricism of the first two movements and the dynamic intensity of the finale.
