"....a performance of unusual depth..."
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Comings and Goings
January 15, 2022
I knew Suren would be great, especially in Shostakovich, but what he unleashed from his instrument in last night’s concert with the Lansing Symphony left all of us a bit breathless. Suren Bagratuni’s ability to create a white-hot intensity in his sound made me think the instrument would spontaneously combust at any moment. It is rare to hear this kind of playing, playing that is not afraid to push the instrument to it’s limits. This is not to say he doesn’t also find the rich, warm and tender sides when needed, or the hollow, cold, and desolate character called for at the end of the slow movement of this masterpiece, the Concerto No. 1. It was a spectacular reading of this work from beginning to end. I just wish we could do it again.
We opened the program with a very evocative work of LSO’s Composer-in-Residence Patrick Harlin. The work is called “River of Doubt” and was inspired by Teddy Roosevelt’s ill-fated trek down the Amazon after losing a presidential re-election bid. The work incorporates soundscapes that Patrick himself recorded on his own trip down the Amazon, this one not ill-fated fortunately, but one full of wonderful stories and resulted in a very engaging piece of music. The audience loved it.
Speaking of the audience, thanks to those of you who braved a very chilly night and Omicron fears to share in this night of music making with us. We appreciated your enthusiastic support!
The concert closed with Dvorak’s Symphony No. 6. It was a welcome immersion in pure beauty and joy after what was a very intense 1st half. It felt like the works balanced each other nicely that way. More often than not, Dvorak’s music is deceptively challenging, sometimes not even deceptively so, just plain challenging. Kudos to the LSO players for bringing this difficult work to life with such grace and style.
Next for me is a trip back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Although I left my position as Music Director there a few years ago, they keep asking me back and I am very grateful for that! It is always a pleasure to see my friends and colleagues and visit a city and state that I love. We have Emanuel Ax on the program, the Pennington Great Performers in Concert Gala, so that will be a wonderful experience for sure. Rumor has it, the concert will be in the newly-renovated concert hall. Time will tell on that one.
NEXT UP
Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra
Emanuel Ax, piano
River Center Theater for the Performing Arts?
February 12, 2022
8:00 p.m.
TORKE Javelin
BERNSTEIN On the Town: Three Dance Episodes
GERSHWIN An American In Paris
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2
#lansingsymphony #surenbagratuni #patrickharlin #teddyroosevelt #emanuelax
December 20, 2021
Yesterday’s Holiday Pops with the Lansing Symphony was a wonderful time. Lansing’s own Travis Leon shared his fabulous vocal talents with us ranging from Handel’s “Comfort Ye” to “White Christmas” and he delivered! The audience loved him. It is always exciting to feature our local talent.
For me an “un-sung” star of the show was an arranger named Jim Stephenson. We did several works from his catalog, and they are some of the freshest and most engaging holiday arrangements I have encountered. I heard many comments from the orchestra players themselves about how great the arrangements sounded and how much they enjoyed playing them. It was obvious the audience enjoyed them too.
I am very excited about what’s next on my calendar, and that is the Lansing Symphony’s January Masterworks. Cellist Suren Bagratuni will join us in Shostakovich’s First Concerto, and I can’t wait. Suren is a truly wonderful musician with whom I have been looking forward to working for some time now, and I have a feeling Shostakovich is right in his “wheelhouse” as they say.
That program will open with a work by our Composer-in Residence, Patrick Harlin, called River of Doubt, a highly evocative work inspired by Teddy Roosevelt’s treacherous excursion down the Amazon. The work features soundscapes collected by Patrick’s on his own trip down that storied river (accompanied by his wife, and fellow composer, Audrey). It is a work unlike any other, and one that I know will engage the audience in a powerful way.
NEXT UP
LANSING SYMPHOHY ORCHESTRA
Suren Bagratuni, cello
January 14, 2022
Wharton Center
HARLIN River of Doubt
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1
DVORAK Symphony No. 6
#SurenBagratuni #Patrickharlin #TeddyRoosevelt #TravisLeon #LansingSymphony #JamesStephenson
December 10, 2021
Holiday Pops is coming up soon for the Lansing Symphony. I always look forward to our holiday programs because we tend to see new audience members for these concerts, and it is a nice opportunity to get acquainted. These concerts are quite "interactive."..I tell some bad jokes and people politely laugh. I especially appreciate the laughs that follow the jokes I have used every year for the last 15 years...those are nice, generous people out there.
We mix the program up with a lot of variety from classical to popular. This year we are featuring tenor Travis Leon, a Lansing native who is now out making a name for himself in the world. It will be Mr. Leon's first time with the orchestra, and we are looking forward to it. He will present a nice range of styles ranging from some music from Handel's Messiah to Winter Wonderland and others.
This concert is always a wonderful community event and leaves everyone's spirits uplifted. Tickets are going quickly, so if you want to come you should call soon. Also, be sure to check out the Covid protocols. We are working hard to keep everyone safe.
NEXT UP:
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Travis Leon, tenor
December 19, 2021 3:00 p.m.
Wharton Center
HOLIDAY POPS!!
#lansingsymphony #holidaypops #travisleontenor
November 13, 2021
No one plays like Lucia. Of course, there are many great violinists who provide spectacular renderings of the repertoire, but there is something fresh, unique and deeply personal in what Lucia Micarelli brought to Sibelius last night in our concert with the Lansing Symphony. She is a musician who works in a broad range of styles, and I think that experience informs her approach to the masterworks. Aside from her ability to dispatch this monster of a work with flawless execution, among her other many wonderful attributes in a remarkable ability to connect with the audience, to draw them in to her world, and that is exactly what she did last night. I have had the pleasure of conducting the Sibelius concerto many times, all wonderful, but none like this one.
We opened the program with one of the “Top 40” in classical music right now, Jessie Montgomery’s “Strum.” This work is enjoying huge success in the US right now and for good reason. The players love it, the audience loves it. It is wonderful American music of today.
Schumann Symphony 4 brought the concert to a close. Schumann’s orchestral music is among the most difficult because of the degree of nuance needed to make the music come alive. I was so impressed with the way the LSO players found the spirit and style of this work and delivered a performance full of life, grace, drama and joy. What a pleasure it was to share the stage with them. Bravo!
November 7, 2021
What a thrill it was to once again share the stage with my long-time friends and colleagues of the Baton Rouge Symphony, joined by the brilliant pianist Jon Nakamatsu and a cameo appearance from the Louisiana Youth Orchestra!
The occasion was a sold-out concert celebration the BRSO’s 75th anniversary. We chose a program that highlighted some of the musical legacy of the orchestra including the work they played to open their Carnegie Hall concert in the 1980’s (Chadwick’s Jubilee), two works the orchestra had commissioned for their 40th and 50th anniversaries by Kenton Coe and Stephen Paulus, and a work from the orchestra’s first concert in 1947 (Borodin, Polovtsian Dances). Members of the Louisiana Youth Orchestra joined us for some music from Carmen to celebrate the wonderful contributions of that very successful program. Mr. Nakamatsu, a frequent guest of the orchestra over the years, joined us in Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto to bring the concert to a close (although he did add a very poetic Chopin encore to round out the evening).
BRSO also announced the much-anticipated Pennington Great Performer for 2022. Emanuel Ax will be joining the orchestra for Chopin’s Second Concerto…very exciting!
The concert was originally scheduled to be held in Baton Rouge’s newly remodeled River Center Theater. The work has not been completed though (imagine that…a construction project that’s behind schedule, who knew??). Instead, we held the program in a ballroom of the River Center, and it worked surprisingly well, even acoustically. Kudos to the River Center crew who made all that happen and exceeded expectations.
This week is an exciting one for me as well back in Lansing. The Lansing Symphony presents our second masterworks program of the season, joined by the fabulous violinist Lucia Micarelli. Lucia will be playing Sibelius with us (the whole thing…not morphing into Kashmir this time, although I must say I’m a big fan of that version too!! If you don’t know of what I speak, it’s on YouTube. Check it out). I have been trying to get Lucia in the concerto slot for years. We had her on board for 2019-20, and well we all know how that turned out. So we are thrilled to have her this season as we return to live music. Also on the program, “Strum” of America’s new classical rock-star composer Jessie Montgomery and Schumann’s wonderful Fourth Symphony. It’s going to be a great week.
NEXT UP
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
November 12, 2021
Lucia Micarelli, violin
MONTGOMERY. Strum
SIBELIUS. Violin Concerto
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4
#jonnakmatsu #batonrouge #batonrougesymphony #stephenpaulus #kentoncoe #emanuelax #luciamicarelli #jessiemontgomery
October 27, 2021
I just came off two exciting concert weeks. For starters, the Lansing Symphony opened its season this month with our first indoor performance since things shut down. It was beyond beautiful to share the stage with my fabulous colleagues and share music with our wonderful audience.
Pianist Michael Brown brought elegance, grace, (and power when needed) to Tchaikovsky’s 1st Concerto. Is was a great pleasure to have him with us. The other highlight of the program was Roger Brigg’s work “Gathering Together.” It was written in 1996, but perfect in every way for the occasion of our first gathering since early 2020.
From there I was off to Baton Rouge for the fifth annual installment of “Bachtoberfest.” The name says it all, beer, brats, and Bach (with a few friends added for good measure). It is exciting to see this new series be so successful, selling beyond capacity, and it was great to make music again with my long-time friends in the orchestra.
I head back to BR next week for a concert celebrating the orchestra’s 75th anniversary. We have a great program exploring some of the ensemble’s musical legacy including a work from it’s very first program in 1947 (Polovstian Dances), the work with which they opened their concert in Carnegie Hall (Chadwick Jubilee), and two works the orchestra had commissioned from composers Kenton Coe and Stephen Paulus. Also joining the program will be members of the Louisiana Youth Orchestra for a side-by-side performance of some music from Carmen, and the great Jon Nakamatsu closes the program with Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto. It promises to be a wonderful night!
I knew Suren would be great, especially in Shostakovich, but what he unleashed from his instrument in last night’s concert with the Lansing Symphony left all of us a bit breathless. Suren Bagratuni’s ability to create a white-hot intensity in his sound made me think the instrument would spontaneously combust at any moment. It is rare to hear this kind of playing, playing that is not afraid to push the instrument to it’s limits. This is not to say he doesn’t also find the rich, warm and tender sides when needed, or the hollow, cold, and desolate character called for at the end of the slow movement of this masterpiece, the Concerto No. 1. It was a spectacular reading of this work from beginning to end. I just wish we could do it again.
We opened the program with a very evocative work of LSO’s Composer-in-Residence Patrick Harlin. The work is called “River of Doubt” and was inspired by Teddy Roosevelt’s ill-fated trek down the Amazon after losing a presidential re-election bid. The work incorporates soundscapes that Patrick himself recorded on his own trip down the Amazon, this one not ill-fated fortunately, but one full of wonderful stories and resulted in a very engaging piece of music. The audience loved it.
Speaking of the audience, thanks to those of you who braved a very chilly night and Omicron fears to share in this night of music making with us. We appreciated your enthusiastic support!
The concert closed with Dvorak’s Symphony No. 6. It was a welcome immersion in pure beauty and joy after what was a very intense 1st half. It felt like the works balanced each other nicely that way. More often than not, Dvorak’s music is deceptively challenging, sometimes not even deceptively so, just plain challenging. Kudos to the LSO players for bringing this difficult work to life with such grace and style.
Next for me is a trip back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Although I left my position as Music Director there a few years ago, they keep asking me back and I am very grateful for that! It is always a pleasure to see my friends and colleagues and visit a city and state that I love. We have Emanuel Ax on the program, the Pennington Great Performers in Concert Gala, so that will be a wonderful experience for sure. Rumor has it, the concert will be in the newly-renovated concert hall. Time will tell on that one.
NEXT UP
Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra
Emanuel Ax, piano
River Center Theater for the Performing Arts?
February 12, 2022
8:00 p.m.
TORKE Javelin
BERNSTEIN On the Town: Three Dance Episodes
GERSHWIN An American In Paris
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2
#lansingsymphony #surenbagratuni #patrickharlin #teddyroosevelt #emanuelax
December 20, 2021
Yesterday’s Holiday Pops with the Lansing Symphony was a wonderful time. Lansing’s own Travis Leon shared his fabulous vocal talents with us ranging from Handel’s “Comfort Ye” to “White Christmas” and he delivered! The audience loved him. It is always exciting to feature our local talent.
For me an “un-sung” star of the show was an arranger named Jim Stephenson. We did several works from his catalog, and they are some of the freshest and most engaging holiday arrangements I have encountered. I heard many comments from the orchestra players themselves about how great the arrangements sounded and how much they enjoyed playing them. It was obvious the audience enjoyed them too.
I am very excited about what’s next on my calendar, and that is the Lansing Symphony’s January Masterworks. Cellist Suren Bagratuni will join us in Shostakovich’s First Concerto, and I can’t wait. Suren is a truly wonderful musician with whom I have been looking forward to working for some time now, and I have a feeling Shostakovich is right in his “wheelhouse” as they say.
That program will open with a work by our Composer-in Residence, Patrick Harlin, called River of Doubt, a highly evocative work inspired by Teddy Roosevelt’s treacherous excursion down the Amazon. The work features soundscapes collected by Patrick’s on his own trip down that storied river (accompanied by his wife, and fellow composer, Audrey). It is a work unlike any other, and one that I know will engage the audience in a powerful way.
NEXT UP
LANSING SYMPHOHY ORCHESTRA
Suren Bagratuni, cello
January 14, 2022
Wharton Center
HARLIN River of Doubt
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1
DVORAK Symphony No. 6
#SurenBagratuni #Patrickharlin #TeddyRoosevelt #TravisLeon #LansingSymphony #JamesStephenson
December 10, 2021
Holiday Pops is coming up soon for the Lansing Symphony. I always look forward to our holiday programs because we tend to see new audience members for these concerts, and it is a nice opportunity to get acquainted. These concerts are quite "interactive."..I tell some bad jokes and people politely laugh. I especially appreciate the laughs that follow the jokes I have used every year for the last 15 years...those are nice, generous people out there.
We mix the program up with a lot of variety from classical to popular. This year we are featuring tenor Travis Leon, a Lansing native who is now out making a name for himself in the world. It will be Mr. Leon's first time with the orchestra, and we are looking forward to it. He will present a nice range of styles ranging from some music from Handel's Messiah to Winter Wonderland and others.
This concert is always a wonderful community event and leaves everyone's spirits uplifted. Tickets are going quickly, so if you want to come you should call soon. Also, be sure to check out the Covid protocols. We are working hard to keep everyone safe.
NEXT UP:
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Travis Leon, tenor
December 19, 2021 3:00 p.m.
Wharton Center
HOLIDAY POPS!!
#lansingsymphony #holidaypops #travisleontenor
November 13, 2021
No one plays like Lucia. Of course, there are many great violinists who provide spectacular renderings of the repertoire, but there is something fresh, unique and deeply personal in what Lucia Micarelli brought to Sibelius last night in our concert with the Lansing Symphony. She is a musician who works in a broad range of styles, and I think that experience informs her approach to the masterworks. Aside from her ability to dispatch this monster of a work with flawless execution, among her other many wonderful attributes in a remarkable ability to connect with the audience, to draw them in to her world, and that is exactly what she did last night. I have had the pleasure of conducting the Sibelius concerto many times, all wonderful, but none like this one.
We opened the program with one of the “Top 40” in classical music right now, Jessie Montgomery’s “Strum.” This work is enjoying huge success in the US right now and for good reason. The players love it, the audience loves it. It is wonderful American music of today.
Schumann Symphony 4 brought the concert to a close. Schumann’s orchestral music is among the most difficult because of the degree of nuance needed to make the music come alive. I was so impressed with the way the LSO players found the spirit and style of this work and delivered a performance full of life, grace, drama and joy. What a pleasure it was to share the stage with them. Bravo!
November 7, 2021
What a thrill it was to once again share the stage with my long-time friends and colleagues of the Baton Rouge Symphony, joined by the brilliant pianist Jon Nakamatsu and a cameo appearance from the Louisiana Youth Orchestra!
The occasion was a sold-out concert celebration the BRSO’s 75th anniversary. We chose a program that highlighted some of the musical legacy of the orchestra including the work they played to open their Carnegie Hall concert in the 1980’s (Chadwick’s Jubilee), two works the orchestra had commissioned for their 40th and 50th anniversaries by Kenton Coe and Stephen Paulus, and a work from the orchestra’s first concert in 1947 (Borodin, Polovtsian Dances). Members of the Louisiana Youth Orchestra joined us for some music from Carmen to celebrate the wonderful contributions of that very successful program. Mr. Nakamatsu, a frequent guest of the orchestra over the years, joined us in Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto to bring the concert to a close (although he did add a very poetic Chopin encore to round out the evening).
BRSO also announced the much-anticipated Pennington Great Performer for 2022. Emanuel Ax will be joining the orchestra for Chopin’s Second Concerto…very exciting!
The concert was originally scheduled to be held in Baton Rouge’s newly remodeled River Center Theater. The work has not been completed though (imagine that…a construction project that’s behind schedule, who knew??). Instead, we held the program in a ballroom of the River Center, and it worked surprisingly well, even acoustically. Kudos to the River Center crew who made all that happen and exceeded expectations.
This week is an exciting one for me as well back in Lansing. The Lansing Symphony presents our second masterworks program of the season, joined by the fabulous violinist Lucia Micarelli. Lucia will be playing Sibelius with us (the whole thing…not morphing into Kashmir this time, although I must say I’m a big fan of that version too!! If you don’t know of what I speak, it’s on YouTube. Check it out). I have been trying to get Lucia in the concerto slot for years. We had her on board for 2019-20, and well we all know how that turned out. So we are thrilled to have her this season as we return to live music. Also on the program, “Strum” of America’s new classical rock-star composer Jessie Montgomery and Schumann’s wonderful Fourth Symphony. It’s going to be a great week.
NEXT UP
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
November 12, 2021
Lucia Micarelli, violin
MONTGOMERY. Strum
SIBELIUS. Violin Concerto
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4
#jonnakmatsu #batonrouge #batonrougesymphony #stephenpaulus #kentoncoe #emanuelax #luciamicarelli #jessiemontgomery
October 27, 2021
I just came off two exciting concert weeks. For starters, the Lansing Symphony opened its season this month with our first indoor performance since things shut down. It was beyond beautiful to share the stage with my fabulous colleagues and share music with our wonderful audience.
Pianist Michael Brown brought elegance, grace, (and power when needed) to Tchaikovsky’s 1st Concerto. Is was a great pleasure to have him with us. The other highlight of the program was Roger Brigg’s work “Gathering Together.” It was written in 1996, but perfect in every way for the occasion of our first gathering since early 2020.
From there I was off to Baton Rouge for the fifth annual installment of “Bachtoberfest.” The name says it all, beer, brats, and Bach (with a few friends added for good measure). It is exciting to see this new series be so successful, selling beyond capacity, and it was great to make music again with my long-time friends in the orchestra.
I head back to BR next week for a concert celebrating the orchestra’s 75th anniversary. We have a great program exploring some of the ensemble’s musical legacy including a work from it’s very first program in 1947 (Polovstian Dances), the work with which they opened their concert in Carnegie Hall (Chadwick Jubilee), and two works the orchestra had commissioned from composers Kenton Coe and Stephen Paulus. Also joining the program will be members of the Louisiana Youth Orchestra for a side-by-side performance of some music from Carmen, and the great Jon Nakamatsu closes the program with Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto. It promises to be a wonderful night!
NEXT UP
Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra
Jon Nakamatsu, piano
November 5, 2021
CHADWICK Jubilee
KOE Ischiana
PAULUS Age of American Passions
BORDIN Polovtsian Dances
BIZET Selections from Carmen (with LYO)
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1
#lansingsymphony #batonrougesymphony #rogerbriggs #michealbrownpianist #jonnakamatsu #lansingmichigan #batonrouge #kentoncoe #stephenpaulus #michaelbrownpiano
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