This Week in Classical Music

by: Randy Kinkel

March 15, 2009

This Week in Classical Music-March 15, 2009

( Phoenix, AZ )
•NSO tours Asia
•Carreras cuts concert short
•Grimaud cancels CSO gigs

It’s This Week in Classical Music, an update on what’s happening in the classical music world; I’m Randy Kinkel.

The National Symphony orchestra is going on tour in China and South Korea in June. The orchestra will play 6 concerts in seven cities at the invitation of China’s ministry of Culture. Principal Conductor Ivan Fischer will lead the performances, which are timed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the US. The repertoire for the concerts includes Leonidas Kavakos playing the Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn violin concertos, and a new work by American Composer Daniel Kellogg called “western Skies”.

Tenor Jose Carreras recently stopped one of his recitals in West Palm Beach, Florida because he was suffering from a chest cold and couldn’t give the quality performance he wanted to. Carreras stopped accompanist Lorenzo Bavaj in the middle of “D’orenata”, a song by Catalan Composer Enrico Morera, and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for the respect you have shown us tonight. But I don’t think you are going to enjoy this. I’m certainly not enjoying myself. I promise to come back as soon as I can to sing for you.” It became evident the singer was having trouble after he began coughing during the interlude of a song soon after the beginning of the recital.

French Pianist and wolf lover Helene Grimaud cancelled her recent Chicago concerts for a different reason—She thought she was going to play Beethoven’s 4th piano concerto, which she says is her favorite Beethoven Concerto—and the CSO thought she was playing Beethoven’s Fifth, the “Emperor”. Apparently I it was a misunderstanding that was found out too late to do anything about—Grimaud’s management company sent this press release: “An unfortunate miscommunication has occurred between Hélène Grimaud and her artist management company regarding the repertoire for her concerts… This discrepancy has been discovered too late for Ms. Grimaud to have time to prepare Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 to her satisfaction. Sadly, the repertoire which she can offer on this occasion duplicates works already in the CSO’s recent programming. Therefore, she has by mutual agreement withdrawn from these concerts and will be replaced by Valentina Lisitsa.”

For more on these and other items and events, go to the website, kbaq.org; be listening each week at this time for another update; and join be every weekday for the Mozart Buffet, an hour of music by Mozart and his contemporaries; I’m Randy Kinkel for this week in Classical Music, on 89-five KBAQ Phoenix, a service of Rio Salado College and Arizona State University.