THE BEST OF 2016 FROM REVIEWERS OF SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL
Articles & Interviews
The master list of news, features and interviews
The Mastersingers Celebrate Wagner Past and Present with the Rehearsal Orchestra
United Kingdom Wagner, Götterdämmerung Act II: Soloists; Mastersingers Chorale; Rehearsal Orchestra / David Syrus (conductor), Henry Wood Hall, London, 30.10.2016. (JPr)
MONICA HUGGETT IN CONVERSATION WITH GEOFFREY NEWMAN
MONICA HUGGETT IN CONVERSATION WITH GEOFFREY NEWMAN
If one wanted a broad picture of the evolution of historical performance, with intriguing little nuances revealed along the way, there would be few better musicians to talk to than Monica Huggett. She has been an unremitting force for four decades, well known from her early association with the Academy of Ancient Music and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and these days as Artistic Director of the Portland and Irish Baroque Orchestras, and Adviser to the Juilliard Historical Program. This interview traces the violinist’s experiences from the time when the authentic movement was just gathering momentum. Most important are her insights about how historical performance has developed out of a number of contrasting approaches that have cross-fertilized each other. Equally interesting are her ideas on where historical scholarship and performance practice still have room to grow, what she wants to achieve from an orchestra in interpretation, and how she has maintained an undiminished inspiration all this time. The interview took place in conjunction with the Vancouver Bach Festival in August 2016, where Monica Huggett directed the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in the Complete Bach Orchestral Suites (review).
Movers Makers Musicians Mingle Part Two
Italy Cremona Musica: Cremonafiere 30.9.2016 to 2.10.2016 Fiere di Cremona. Part Two of a two-part report. (JB)
Movers Makers Musicians Mingle Part One
Italy Cremona Musica: Cremonafiere 30.9.2016 to 2.10.2016 Fiere di Cremona. Part One of a two-part report. (JB)
R.I.P. IN MEMORIAM – SIR NEVILLE MARRINER CH, CBE (1924 – 2016)
Sir Neville Marriner CH, CBE, Founder and Life President of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields has died
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is deeply saddened to announce the death of Sir Neville Marriner, Founder and Life President of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Sir Neville Marriner passed away peacefully in the night on 2 October.
ARABELLA STEINBACHER IN CONVERSATION WITH MICHAEL COOKSON
Arabella Steinbacher in conversation with Michael Cookson, Dresden 2016
My first exposure to the playing of Munich born violinist Arabella Steinbacher was in 2011 when reviewing her recording of the Shostakovich violin concertos on Orfeo. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/June11/Shostakovich_Steinbacher_C687061A.htm
A child prodigy on the violin Steinbacher started lessons aged 3 and 5 years later became the youngest violin student of Ana Chumachenko at the Munich Academy of Music. In 2000 Steinbacher won the Joseph-Joachim-Violinwettbewerbes Hannover when she was 19 and the Förderpreis des Freistaates Bayern a year later. In 2004 she made her concert debut playing at short notice for an indisposed soloist with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Sir Neville Marriner in Paris.
Certainly a thrilling musician, Steinbacher has made an impressive reputation for herself with several excellent recordings under her belt. One of the finest violinists around compared to a group of talented soloists of her generation, curiously, she is not as well known as her talent deserves; especially in the U.K.
R.I.P. IN MEMORIAM – JOHAN BOTHA (1965-2016)
JOHAN BOTHA (1965-2016) HAS DIED
Michael Lewin International Artists’ Management announces: This morning Johan Botha lost his battle against a severe illness.
For 23 years we have worked together with Johan Botha. His death not only means the loss of an irreplaceable artist but more importantly the indescribable loss of a great person.