The Impact of Ainadamar - by Music Director Michael Christie
Ainadamar, I have to say must not be missed. As we were preparing for our performances in Boulder Kelly O'Connor, Jessica Rivera and I commented what a special place this piece has secured for our generation. This is the first work of its kind that has met with such critical and public acclaim and is entrusted to us as performers to carry forward. Sure, you can argue that there are other great pieces of our time as well but Golijov is overtly an oral tradition kind of composer and that extends a very special ownership to the performers involved on the ground floor.
It is a provocative bridge between folk/world music and the western orchestra and will be a benchmark for others that follow it.
I found it amazing after the performances here that the audience lingered for a such a long time discussing the piece and many were in tears. It impacts that listener on many levels. The story is moving and disturbing. I would encourage anyone coming to our Phoenix performances to download the CD from iTunes before you hear it in Symphony Hall. If you buy the CD itself you'll miss a listening guide that only comes with the download featuring Golijov himself describing each number in the show. I would also encourage listeners to become familiar with the text since Spanish isn't everyone's first language. During the performance there is a lot going on musically that I can imagine it more overwhelming than usual to try to read along with the translations and take in the artistry of the performers.
The impact is also felt because of the intensity of the music itself. Fiery flamenco and a bolero-like rhumba transport performer and listener alike.
Finally, because of this ground-floor, oral tradition idea there are only a few people who perform the work and quite frankly, they are superstars. Singers and instrumentalists of the highest order. Every presenter who puts this on, whether it be Phoenix Sym, Chicago Sym or the Adelaide Festival will marvel at the talent Osvaldo has hand selected to be his ambassadors for this work.
I know many are already coming from Boulder to hear it again.
Don't worry, Sonny, we are going to market the heck out of this thing. It shouldn't be missed. We were at about 85% capacity on the first show but our reviews are printed the next morning and the word of mouth filled up the second show.
It is a provocative bridge between folk/world music and the western orchestra and will be a benchmark for others that follow it.
I found it amazing after the performances here that the audience lingered for a such a long time discussing the piece and many were in tears. It impacts that listener on many levels. The story is moving and disturbing. I would encourage anyone coming to our Phoenix performances to download the CD from iTunes before you hear it in Symphony Hall. If you buy the CD itself you'll miss a listening guide that only comes with the download featuring Golijov himself describing each number in the show. I would also encourage listeners to become familiar with the text since Spanish isn't everyone's first language. During the performance there is a lot going on musically that I can imagine it more overwhelming than usual to try to read along with the translations and take in the artistry of the performers.
The impact is also felt because of the intensity of the music itself. Fiery flamenco and a bolero-like rhumba transport performer and listener alike.
Finally, because of this ground-floor, oral tradition idea there are only a few people who perform the work and quite frankly, they are superstars. Singers and instrumentalists of the highest order. Every presenter who puts this on, whether it be Phoenix Sym, Chicago Sym or the Adelaide Festival will marvel at the talent Osvaldo has hand selected to be his ambassadors for this work.
I know many are already coming from Boulder to hear it again.
Don't worry, Sonny, we are going to market the heck out of this thing. It shouldn't be missed. We were at about 85% capacity on the first show but our reviews are printed the next morning and the word of mouth filled up the second show.
9 Comments:
I only subscribed to "Classics A8" so I'll have to buy single tickets to "AINADAMAR."
Your website only states: "Tickets for this performance will go on sale at the beginning of August."
Please announce the exact date that all concerts go on sale to the public. Or if season subscribers get first crack at them? Anxiously sitting on-line with my credit card!
Sonny-
Look for the on-sale date to be listed on all the performance listings on our website next week - single tickets will be going on sale for the general public on August 5th.
However, if you're a subscriber you'll have an earlier opportunity as your ticket packet should be arriving sometime next week giving you the chance to get additional single tickets earlier by phone. Check out the information that comes with your season tickets next week for details.
Brendan Anderson
Web Administrator
This piece is not really "classical music" in the best or worst meaning of the word. It is a tremendous musical experience that, as it has been mentioned many times, is a synthesis of many styles of music. It presents nothing new in each area, but the sum of the parts is a unique piece of art.
It is a work that depends on the power of the solo performers. The composer is very lucky to have found this cast. Pieces and productions that rely heavily on the cast often seemed forced, especially operatic voices. I think those melodramatic concerts drive even more people away from the concert hall. Not this one.
I believe that this is the kind of piece that a person cynical of concert music might hear and actually come back again. I wonder if there is a new strategy for marketing this piece other than the standard classical music ad in the Sunday paper. We read about how there are so many arts informed people out there that are avid readers and performance goers that would not be caught dead at a symphony concert. How do we get them to come to this? A great concert is the best marketing for return patrons. But how do we reach out in new ways. Certainly an add with the composer's name won't do it. Maybe this is an opportunity to expand our reach. But how?
My buddy T*Pet Cat says:
"I heard Ainadamar (the opera) in Santa Fe last Summer. That was some ANGRY music! Wow!"
The always curious Cat saw of composer Mark Grey's website that "The Summons" for orchestra was premiering in the summer 2oo7. But I couldn't find any such performances anywhere. So I wrote:
Dear Mark.
When and where will "The Summons" be premiered? I live in Phoenix and will be at the September 22 concert. Is that going to be the world premiere performance? Very interested.
The composer wrote back immediately:
Dear (Sonny),
Thank you for the message. Yes, The Summons will have its world premiere on 20 and 22 Sept at Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix. Please come and introduce yourself - I will be around...
Best wishes,
Mark
Wow! Another world premiere in addition to his "Navajo Oratorio" that is set to premiere on February 7, 2008. Let's change the concert listing to reflect that please.
BRAVO CHRISTIE!
By Kelly Dean Hansen, Camera Classical Music Critic
Friday, August 3, 2007
Conductor Michael Christie seems to stretch the limit a bit more every year (as Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival). In performing Mahler's Second, he showed that there may not be a limit at all. It was Christie's seventh season with the festival, a number rich in religious symbolism. The heaven-storming "Resurrection" Symphony was even appropriate for this anniversary.
As for the performance itself, the young conductor availed himself with triumphant aplomb. Few works have as many detailed and specific instructions from the composer to the conductor, and Christie understood all of them well.
I am dismayed that NONE of the concerts that The Phoenix Symphony is devoting to OSVALDO GOLIJOV are listed in the calendar page of the composer's official website.
They list many other orchestral performances, including those in San Antonio, Texas.
Given Maestro Christie's devotion to AINADAMAR, I feel this is an insult. Does the composer even know that he is our season's featured composer?
Will GOLIJOV even make an appearance in Phoenix?
Question for Maestro Christie. The Season Opener is fast approaching. The promotional material states that selections from Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" will be performed. Please tell us which arrangement you are using.
"Catfish Row, symphonic suite" (from Porgy and Bess, opera) includes a true orchestral medley of Catfish Row, Porgy Sings, Fugue, Hurricane, and Good Morning, Sister. Opening with the unforgettable xylophone run, this does sound authentically Gershwin.
"Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture" (arr. Robert Russell Bennett) surely has a lot more songs for the buck. Overture - Summertinme - A Woman Is A Sometime Thing - Honey Man - My Man's Gone Now - I Got Plenty O' Nuttin - Bess, You Is My Woman Now - It Ain't Necessarily So - Strawberry Woman - Crab Man - I Loves You, Porgy - There's A Boat Dat's Leaving Soon For New York - Oh Where's My Bess - Oh Lawd, I'm On My Way. But, the orchestration is pure glitz. It ain't necessarily by George.
On the other hand, do you plan on putting on a suite of your own? Perhaps with Dennis Rowland singing a tune or two? Curiosity is killing this cat.
----- Original Message -----
To: webmaster@osvaldogolijov.com
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2007
Subject: The Phoenix Symphony
Osvaldo Golijov is the featured composer for the 2007-2008 season here in Phoenix, Arizona.
Three of his works, Last Round, Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, and Ainadamar are
scheduled to be performed on September 13/15, March 13/15, and May 23/24 respectively.
Music Director Michael Christie has been a great advocate for Golijov's music.
Therefore, I am very disappointed that these featured concerts are not listed in the composer's
website under future performances.
Please remedy this situation.
(Sonny the Cat)
Season Subscriber
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