Frederica von Stade in a Charming Farewell

by Lyn Bronson
November 7, 2011

Pianist Kristin Pankonin & Frederica von Stade

Mezzo soprano Frederica von Stade appeared on stage at Sunset Center yesterday afternoon before an enthusiastic audience to present the second event in the Carmel Music Society’s strong 2011-2012 season. The Music Society’s President, Anne Thorp, greeted the audience to inform us that this appearance marked the fourth time Ms. von Stade has performed under the auspices of the Carmel Music Society, the first time being in the 1974-75 season. Thorp also mentioned that von Stade in addition to her musical activities is an active supporter of two charities for young people and would be donating her fee for this afternoon’s concert to St. Joseph’s School in Alameda. This concert today also marks part of her farewell this season to the concert stage, for she is looking forward to spending more time with her family and grandchildren.

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Archived in these categories: Carmel Music Society, Vocal

Pianist Antonio Iturrioz at Cabrillo College

by Lyn Bronson
November 6, 2011

Antonio Iturrioz was born in Cuba and came to the United States when he was 7 years old. He played his first concert at age 9 and made his orchestral debut at age 15 playing the Liszt First Piano Concerto. His teachers include his father, Pablo Iturrioz, Francisco De Hoyos (a pupil of Gyorgi Sandor), Bernardo Segall who studied with Alexander Siloti who was a pupil of Liszt, Aube Tzerko and Julian White. In 1971 he took several master classes from Byron Janis. In 1972 he participated in the Aspen Music Festival, and in 1973 he was one of ten young pianists selected nationwide by Andre Watts to participate in the Andre Watts Piano Seminars at Tanglewood. He is a recipient of the Los Angeles Young Musicians Foundation Scholarship.

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Archived in these categories: Piano

Soprano Cyndia Sieden Shines in Concert

by Hugh Jardin
November 4, 2011

On Saturday, October 29th, local concertgoers were treated to an evening of fireworks as coloratura soprano Cyndia Sieden sang a varied program from traditional composers (including Schubert) to modern composers (including Ades with Strauss and Schoenberg thrown in for good measure). The concert was sponsored by the S.T.A.R. Foundation of Monterey County as the second in a series of three vocal recitals by world-class opera singers to help raise awareness of its goals to help fund the arts throughout Monterey County.

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Archived in these categories: Piano

A Little Night Music with Lang Lang

by Kevin Chen
November 3, 2011

Organizations presenting classical music events know that their future existence depends upon attracting younger audiences. The writer of this review, eighteen-year-old Kevin Chen, is a sophomore at UC Berkeley, planning to major in Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in Neuroscience. He has played piano for 11 years and has won several local and regional competitions in California.

When one thinks about Lang Lang, one thinks flair and extroversion. People not only “ooh” and “ah” at the wonderful music that unravels before his fingers, but also for the show he puts on as he performs. That he wields formidable piano prowess is, of course, the prerequisite to making his audience “ooh” and “ah,” but what truly wows people is how he literally plays with the music while he plays it. His control over the pieces he performs is unequalled, and the ease with which he plays allows him the freedom to do what people know him best for: dramatize. Usually, if he isn’t doing pizzazz—such as ending an exciting cadenza with a bang—he is doing drama. The shoulders, the head bang, and the gasp: these living gestures help create the perception that people make about him.

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Archived in these categories: Piano, Romantic Era

Pianist Péter Tóth – Music at All Saints’ Church

by Holland Garcia
October 29, 2011

Peter Toth 1-15-10

The Hungarian pianist, Péter Tóth, thrilled the audience at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Carmel Friday night with a recital whose second half was as exciting as any performance I have ever heard. He showed that it takes a Horowitzian technique to play Franz Liszt’s music truly convincingly. After intermission, Tóth played one virtuosic powerhouse composition after another, each building to a fantastic rendition of Liszt’s Funerailles. It was a most unusual program, to say the least.

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Archived in these categories: All Saints' Church, Piano