One concert, that is, by artists on various instruments. If I could just hear one concert on each instrument or ensemble, who would I want to hear:
- piano: Grigory Sokolov
- lute: Thomas Dunford
- harpsichord: Jean Rondeau
- guitar: Marcin Dylla
- chamber orchestra: Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
- full orchestra: musicAeterna
- violin: uh-oh, here I have a conflict. Either Hilary Hahn or Patricia Kopatchinskaja
- early music singer: Lea Desandre
- other music singer: Marianne Crebassa
Who would you pick?
UPDATE: A commentator adds a link to an encore by L'Arpeggiata reminding us that people who play early music in concerts today are still very much people of today. Doesn't this make Taylor Swift concerts seem, well, a bit dull in comparison?
13 comments:
Hille Perl on viola da gamba.
I'm also quite enthusiastic about Christina Pluhar and her early music ensemble L'Arpeggiata.
Thanks, Will! The best recommendations come from people who play the instrument.
Long time reader here (well, a few years), first time commentator. So perhaps I should first say, thanks so much for all the time and effort you put into your blog. And that your Friday Miscellanea is one of the highlights of my week.
I too enjoy L'Arpeggiata, and this encore of theirs would be on my favorite encore list if there was such a thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5hOyasj5Zo
Welcome to the comments, Craig!
And thanks for the link.
I second L'Arpeggiata! The albums, good though they are, do not compare to just how extraordinary they are live. Though the video Craig links to goes some way. Their improvisational ability is also outstanding -- using improvisation between pieces as a way to change key, say. When I saw them at the Wigmore Hall, the cornetto player (in the shades in the video) gave the most breath-takingly wonderful -- and long -- solo during Flow My Tears.
Some others come to mind, most of whom I've seen live at least once:
Lute: Nigel North
Harpsichord: Mahan Esfahani
Guitar: Lorenzo Micheli
Chamber orchestra: Britten Sinfonia
Full orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
Singer: Allan Clayton
Accordion: Bartosz Glowacki
Recorder: Michala Petri
Another favourite L'Arpeggiata vid, which shows a different side to them: https://youtu.be/0qEsCgHV4NY
Thanks, Steven. And that reminds me of the most amazing vocal performance I have ever seen: Nigel Rogers, the fellow who revived the 17th century tradition of vocal ornamentation. I saw a concert he gave at McGill in the 70s with harpsichord in which he had to do eight (8) encores. Here is a sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLLxlSwBQcE
Bryan, as a player of plucked strings, I also recommend Stephen Stubbs!
What I should have said was that "TO YOU, a player of plucked strings..."
Thanks, Will. I'll check him out.
Yes, Rogers is incredible.
Regarding Stephen Stubbs, I recommend him to you Bryan especially because of his lute playing, but that might be hard to dig out because for the last 15 years he seems to be mostly a music director for baroque operas and other larger early music projects. But to really hear him play, in a small ensemble and mixing old and new, try his album Night Sessions:
https://open.spotify.com/album/7cED0r5tVQZSA7803JVZuq
Thanks. I'm not a subscriber to Spotify, but I will try to hunt him down.
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