Thursday, February 27, 2014

+~+ Piano at the Gardner +~+

 
 
Alexander Schimpf has risen to prominence by impressively winning a series of competitions, includidng the 2008 German Music Competition - a distinction no pianist had earned for 14 years-. First Prize at the 2009 International Beethoven Competition in Vienna, and finally emerging as the first German pianist ever to win First Prize at the 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition.   Since winning these notable awards,
Mr. Schimpf's career has gained momentum with regular appearances at important music centers around the world.    Mr. Schimpf made his debut appearance at Carnegie Hall in December 2001and has been performing in the USA frequently since then.  
In 2013 Mr. Schimpf was presented with the Bavarian State Award for the Advancement of the Arts.
*~*~*~*
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
 
Toccata in E Minor, BWV 914 (1710)    
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-17500
 
kLAVIERSTUCKE, oP. 119 (1893)  
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
 
L'isle joyeuse (1904)    
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
 
Piano Sonata, No. 29 in B-flat Major op. 106  
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
+~+~+~+~+~+~+
An absolutely thrilling performance on a wonderful afternoon at the Gardner Museum/Calderwood Hall!
 
 

Forbes House Museum -*-*-*-*-*-*- Adams St. Milton, MA

The Forbes House 
*~*~*~*~
an
Extraordinary Family,
a
Historic Place!
 
The 1833 mansion, now called the Forbes Museum, was designed by Boston architect Isaiah Rogers.  The Greek Revival design incorporated architectural elements reminiscent of classical temples; accordingly, the Museums façade boasts two prominent Ionic columnsThe layout of the house is symmetrical in design, also typical of the Greek Revival style, with rooms leading from a central front hallway. 

In 1871, the Captain's son, James Murray Forbes (1845-1837), came to live at Forbes House with his new wife, Alice Frances Bowditch Forbes (1848-1929), and made considerable renovations to the home.

An addition designed by Peabody & Sterns was built on the west side of the structure, and the south porch and carriage house were expanded.  The third floor was raised to make room for
servants' living quarters, and the plumbing was upgraded from the original 1833 system. -- The Forbes House was one of the first private homes whose design incorporated indoor plumbing.

The mansion was originally built for Margaret Perkins Forbes in 1833 and was used at first in spring and fall only.  Margaret Perkins shared the residence with her four daughters, Emma Perkins, Margaret Perkins, Mary Abbot, and Cornelia Francis.  With the exception of Mary Abbot, none were married, and all remained at the mansion for their lifetimes.          

The Captain, born in Jamaica Plain, MA, in 1804, was
introduced into the China Trade at age 12 by his uncle Thomas Handasyd Perkins (1764-1854) established the Boston-based Perkins & Company in 1803.  later became the Russell & Company.
The captain began his career as a cabin boy in 1817 on the Canton Packet, and was made a captain by age 20. 


He made several trips to Canton during his lifetime.  In addition to being a China Trade merchant, the Captain was a ship designer, model ship builder, writer, and philanthropist of international stature. 
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The museum, which was called the Museum of the American China Trade and the Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House before it was given its present name, now
takes visitors through rooms dedicated to Chinese furniture and art, nautical artifacts and documents from the Forbes trading activities, and the Lincoln memorabilia collected by Mary.  Bowditch Forbes, Museum personnel have also recently refurbished the basement kitchen and have 
been researching the lives of the 38 servants, all Irish, who worked in the house over the years.   
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Admission is $8.00 per person for adults and $5.00 for seniors and students.  The Museum grounds are open to the public free of charge daily from dawn to dusk/ Tours are limited to 15 attendees.
 


Saturday, February 8, 2014

WINTER --- 2014 ---- hate IT !

hate it....
HATE IT...
REALLY  HATE IT....
h a t e     IT
hate  I T
you know...
still hate it ...
he hates it too !
can't see the pool
still HATE IT ..
fill in the blank ________
yep !
more of the stuff I  h_ _e
even at night I  H_ _e IT.

OK, this one is very nice !
ENOUGH ! Bart hates it too !!

Monday, February 3, 2014

February 2014 begins.....

Sunday Chamber Music Series continues
at the 
 
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum/ Calderwood Hall 
 
 
 
Sunday Afternoon at the ISG:
starts with....
*
A FAR CRY with HELLEN CALLUS, viola
*
* This afternoon’s Program*
The King's Feast
 
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714 - 1788)
Sinfonia in Bb, Wq. 182 No 2
*
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Concert in E-flat Major for Viola, Strings, and Basso continuo
*
Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963)
Trauermusik for Viola and String Orchestra
*
Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934)
Introduction and Allegro for Strings, Op. 47 (1691)
*
Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695)
Suite from King Arthur - Z. 628 (1691)
*~*~*~*
*~*~*
~*~
*
The self-conducted orchestra “brims with personality or, better, personalities, many and varied.”
A Far Cry  was founded in 2007 by a tightly-knit collective of 17 young professional musicians – the Criers – and since the beginning has fostered those personalities, developing an innovative structure of rotating leadership both on stage and behind the scenes. By expanding the boundaries of orchestral repertoire and experimenting with the ways music is prepared, performed, and experienced, A Far Cry
has been embraced throughout the world with more than two hundred performances, three albums, a powerful presence on the internet, and a European debut tour planned for 2012. The Criers are proud to call Boston home, and maintain strong roots in the city rehearsing at their storefront music center in Jamaica Plain and fulfilling
the role of Chamber Orchestra in Residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Collaborating with local students through an educational partnership with the New England Conservatory, A Far Cry aims to pass on the spirit of collaboratively-empowered music to the next generation.
~*~*~*~*~*~
HELLEN CALLUS
Helen Callus, hailed as “one of the world’s greatest violists” (American Record Guide), “a violist of the highest caliber” (Strings magazine), and “one of the foremost violists of her generation” (Fanfare magazine), continues to captivate audiences with her lyrical tone, technical command, and profound artistry. Sought after as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist, Ms. Callus has performed with such world-class ensembles as the Tokyo and Juilliard String Quartets and the BBC Concert Orchestra. She is described by The Seattle Times as “a player with impeccable sensibilities and a beautiful sound, infinitely malleable into all kinds of musical subtleties.” The American Record Guide observed that “her playing is so deeply felt [that] the music’s message goes straight to the heart.”
*
For more information and a quick 'listen to'
A FAR CRY
check out U-Tube
9GKM&feature=share&list=UUJwusoaGrNqGvg4CYIzVoXQ
*
Calderwood Hall info.
The new Calderwood Hall is replacing the Tapestry Gallery as the site for concerts.
Calderwood Hall, designed by Renzo Piano and Yasuhisa Toyota, is built into a cube 44 feet on a side. Two rows of audience surround the musicians on the floor. The rest of the seating is in three tiers of four-sided balconies – each only one row deep. Seating capacity is approximately 300
The musicians are on the floor, and the audience surrounds them, as close as is practically possible.
The design of the Calderwood is unusual for our time, but it is not historically unprecedented. Most chamber music was written for performance in small spaces – holding at most a few hundred people, and richly supplied with sound absorbing furniture and fabric.
In the Calderwood the goal was to make the sound for each audience member as uniform as possible, giving each both a sonic and visual unobstructed view of the performance. When BMInt visited in December the reverberation time was quite low – about half a second. It is not obvious why the room was so absorptive. The visual walls are made of decorative plywood cut with linear slits. Eighteen inches behind the slits there is a structural wall. There were absorptive curtains in the space between the visual and the structural wall.
* And ends with....
*~*~*
So – how does the new hall sound? Short answer:
It sounds
Fantastic!