Recording of the Week

Renee Fleming
Works by Puccini, Massenet, Bizet, Catalani

A beautiful woman with a beautiful voice, Renee Flemming is the hottest thing in opera these days. Anything her voice touches turns to gold. Her singing is pure, lush, and powerful without being overbearing or distracting. She is a real artist. Even if you don't like opera, you will fall in love with Fleming.

Christmas on the River

That was the title of this weekend's concert in Kansas City. Interesting...Anyhoo, another concert down, a few more to go until my artist's diploma. Yay! This was an interesting weekend in KC. I have now been hammered again for the millionth time on "when am I going to switch to viola?" The answer is...I don't know. I'm hoping to be hit over the head with an answer very soon, at least before I turn 30!

Last year, when I was playing viola, the KC Star did an article on the music program at Park U. Paul Horsely did a nice article that was on the front page of the arts section (with a picture of the back of my head). Here is a link to the article and the clips of us playing:

http://sb1.thefifthnetwork.com/VCMS/Player.aspx?id=67051ef1-8609-4194-a38a-732f97a5e041&PlayerTemplateId=95a123a6-2be0-4450-97bf-07abbf425f4d&videoGUID=9A45FFAB-787D-4ABF-A302-C3155569A82E&channelId=ID0EFF

Recording of the Week

Romance of the Violin--Joshua Bell, Violin

Acadamy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Ok, not to sound like a giddy high-school girl, but I LOVE this recording. I LOVE Joshua Bell on this recording. I have been criticised for that statment, but I don't care. I once had a teacher who told me, "if you want to be a great violinist, listen to the great singers and try to sound like them." In my opinion, no one (at least in this generation) makes the violin sing like Bell. If you want a cd that is chalk-full of gorgeous music that is easy to listen to, this is the one. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Looking back...

Check out this picture of me! I think I was around six years old. Classic. Hard to believe I have been doing this for nearly 25 years!

I'm a sap

This week in my class I taught about romantic symphony, concerto, and opera. My class is probably so sick of me emoting on Brahms but I can't help myself. I need a whole semester to just talk about Brahms's symphonies alone. Oh, and don't even get me started on the Violin Concerto. My mom came to lecture on romantic opera. I think I got a little weepy when she discussed Madame Butterfly. I loved it. Thanks mom!

Recording of the Week

This week I chose Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola. It's a classic. Everyone should listen to this piece at least once (or a hundred times) in your life. You won't be sorry you did! I think next year I will take on learning the viola part.

Composer: W.A. Mozart
Title: Sinfonia Concertante K. 364 (for violin, viola, and orchestra)
Performed by: Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta.

Success

I just returned from Kansas City yesterday after a long weekend of practicing, rehearsals, lessons, and concerts. A friend of mine sent me a link to the concert review in the Kansas City Star. It's a pretty good review; feel free to follow this link to read it!

http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/story/347428.html

It was a great experience to play the Brahms Double Concerto with Martin and Kanako. I felt honored to be a part of it and I'm so glad to have them as friends and teachers. It was so good to see all of my friends from ICM. I'll see y'all again in a month!

I am trying to upload a video of me playing but unfortunately, I am way too stupid to do that myself so I will have to get my brother to help me. Hopefully you will be able to hear and see me play soon.

Demons out!

It's funny that I can stand up in front of a hundred strangers and play in a concert or recital and keep my cool, but when I am asked to play in church on Sunday I get a knot in my stomach. Of course, anyone who performs knows that it is much more difficult to stand up in a room full of your friends than one full of complete strangers. Today I performed in church for the first time in our ward in SL. It went well and now the demons are out.

Lately I have been listening to a lot of piano music: Chopin, Debussy, Schumann to name a few. I never fully appreciated the piano as a solo instrument until I started my graduate work at Park U International Center for Music and met some of the most amazing pianests on the planet! It is such an incredible instrument. I wish I could play it.

I will be returning to KC, MO this week to play in a concert. On the program: Brahams Double Concerto for Violin and Cello (amazing!) and Elgar Enigma Variations (also amazing!). Did I mention it will be amazing?

Recording of the week: Brahams Violin Concerto and Double Concerto
Anne-Sophie Mutter and Antonio Meneses with
the Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan

What's up with the symphony?

I played with the Utah Symphony this past weekend after a 5-year hiatus. It was good to be back. A string quartet is coming soon. Stay tuned!

Since I am a musician, many of my friends and family often ask me for a list of recordings I would recommend so I am going to start a column on my blog of my favorites. This spring I will be playing Dvorak's Romance in F minor, op. 11 in a concert in Kansas City so I have been listening to various recordings of that piece. My favorite is a performance by Gil Shaham with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He has the most gorgeous, rich sound and the orchestra is fantastic. You won't be disappointed!