Esa-Pekka attended the Cal Performances season announcement by videoconference. Everybody at my table pulled out cellphones or cameras to take a few photos.
It is quite a season, with many, MANY great performances. At the top of my must-see list would be Einstein on the Beach, the three concerts that Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia will be giving, and Christian Tetzlaff's solo recital. Here are my personal highlights:
- Mariinsky Ballet in the complete Swan Lake
- Einstein on the Beach
- Nancarrow 100 Celebration
- Salonen and the Philharmonia. The programs are Salonen's Helix, Beethoven's 7th, and the Symphonie Fantastique; a concert performance of Wozzeck (!!!); and Mahler's 9th. There are also a couple of extra-performance events associated with Salonen's visit, including a colloquium, E-SP conducting a rehearsal with the UC Symphony, and a symposium on Wozzeck.
- Mark Morris's The Hard Nut
- Nicolas Hodges, piano, in a recital that will include a Birtwistle commission/world premiere
- Christian Tetzlaff, my favorite living violinist, alone on stage
- Leonidis Kavakos, violin
- Nolan Gasser's The Secret Garden
- Brentano String Quartet (Purcell, Bartok 4, Beethoven Harp quartet)
- Jeffrey Kahane, piano
Bejart Ballet, the program with Le marteau sans maitre and Le sacre du printemps. What a pairing!Wah. Bejart cancelled their tour.- Nicola Luisotti and the SF Opera Orchestra in a pretty strange program, including Puccini, Rota, and Brahms
- Ojai North! curated by Mark Morris this year
I have tickets to Einstein at BAM in three weeks. I'll fire a note to you at least, if not post about it somewhere. I'm really looking forward to it; it's something I've wanted to see for about thirty years.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Almost everyone I know has wanted to see it for the last thirty years. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be reviewing it....which is a little scary. I can't leave if I am being driven mad by it.
I'm glad to see Kavakos on your list. He's stupendous. I hope you get to hear him.
ReplyDeleteI think Kavakos is on a Sunday afternoon, which greatly increases the chances of my getting to the program.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa. Cal Performances continues to dazzle and this is an especially amazing season! It's my understanding that the Bejart Ballet cancelled its US tour, including the Cal Perfs dates, alas. Also, among the performances added since the brochure went to press is a "portrait" of E-P Salonen and his own works, including, of course, live music. Seeing Einstein promises to be an incredible experience (I bought tickets to see it twice!), Wozzeck is super exciting, and I'm also especially looking forward to the Paris production of Ionesco's Rhinoceros, Concerto Koln, Hubbard Street Dance, Trisha Brown Dance, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Ojai North, and the other two EPS Salonen/Philharmonia concerts. WHAT A SEASON!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, SHIT, re Bejart. You are entirely correct.
ReplyDeleteYou're getting the Mariinsky Ballet after its run in Orange County. I'm doing a double-header on the Saturday they're here, I love Swan Lake and was blown away by the Bolshoi's performance of it a few months ago, so I'd like to do a compare and contrast.
ReplyDeleteDisney Hall gets E-PS and the Philharmonia's Wozzeck, OC gets one of the orchestral concerts.