Philadelphia and Liepaja, Latvia

[Karl-G]

There were two splendid concerts this week.  On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Orchestra performed the world premier of Mason Bates' new "Piano Concerto" with soloist Daniil Trifonov.   No one else could have performed it like Daniil.  It was a combination of the traditional and very contemporary.   It was excellent, and I am sure it will become a part of the standard repertoire.  The discussion with Mason and Daniil was very helpful.  The program concluded with Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazad."  The Philadelphia sound is marvelous.

Then today Sunday, the Berlin Philharmonic performed the annual Europaconzert in the Great Amber Concert Hall in Liepaja, Latvia.   The concert had been planned for Ukraine, but had to be moved.  The Liebaja concert hall is a new circular building with outstanding acoustics.  The soloist was Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca.  She sang a group of folk songs in almost a dozen languages, including Azerbeijani.  To make the message clear, she was dressed in a stunning floor length coat-dress, with dress of deep sea blue and coat of canary yellow satin, with very large gold earrings and necklace.  Her voice was superb.  The two opening pieces were dirges and elegies, and you could hear the war raging.  The composer of the first was in the audience.  They were extremely powerful.  The last piece was Sibelius' "Finlandia," which the audience appreciated very much.

Both concerts were on the internet and watched around the world.

 

 

[TruHart1]

Ms. Garanča has had quite a long, impressive and consistently distinguished career. She is one of the finest mezzo sopranos singing right now, with a beautiful voice produced flawlessly throughout her entire and extensive vocal range. On the operatic stage, her physical beauty is matched by her exceptionally impressive acting ability!

TruHart1 😎

[TruHart1]

Here’s the dress she wore for the concert:

TruHart1 😎