Calendar
February 2012
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
+46 (0)19-766 62 02
abonnent@orebrokonserthus.com
Phone hours: M 10-12, W 14-16
(Closed for Christmas &
New Years Dec 23-Jan 3.)
+46 (0)19-766 62 02
abonnent@orebrokonserthus.com
Phone hours: M 10-12, W 14-16
(Closed for Christmas &
New Years Dec 23-Jan 3.)
Works
KALEVI AHO Flute Concerto
HAUKUR TÓMASSON Flute Concerto No. 2
CHRISTIAN LINDBERG The World of Montuagretta
HAUKUR TÓMASSON Flute Concerto No. 2
CHRISTIAN LINDBERG The World of Montuagretta
Artists
Sharon Bezaly (flute)
Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä
Bernhardur Wilkinson
Christian Lindberg
Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä
Bernhardur Wilkinson
Christian Lindberg
Reviews
Flute concertos constitute one of the few media in which it's generally more interesting to listen to contemporary music than to the works of past centuries. In the first place, there really are no masterpieces for the instrument from the classical and romantic periods onward (and that includes Mozart's two works, which are the best of a pretty sad lot). Second, modern composers have an unparalleled range of contrasting styles and instrumental timbres to work with, and these can be used to showcase the flute in ways that offer listeners more than enough contrast and musical interest to sustain a large-scale work. For these reasons, even if she were not an amazingly talented performer, Sharon Bezaly deserves great credit for inspiring a run of really good, modern music. The three concertos here offer a case in point.
Sharon Bezaly´s ‘ A to Z´ series for BIS strikes me as one of the most important and revelatory contemporary music series ever undertaken on disc.
All of this would have counted for nothing if it hadn´t been for Bezaly´s mesmerizing artistry, which has virtually redifined what most of us consider the flute capable of.
What a phenomenal technique flautist Sharon Bezaly has! In these three very different works she demonstrates a colossal range and diversity of styles."?
“Breathtaking“ first accounts of works written specially for Sharon Bezaly. The accompanying booklet to this splendid new disc contains testimonials to Sharon Bezaly's playing from the three Nordic composers featured. The phrases they use suggest something more than the average commendation from authors thankful for the attention. Kalevi Aho - hardly a neglected figure - writes of her "incredible technique..musicality and great mental flexibility," Haukur Tómasson of her "scintillating agility" and Lindberg who as a phenomenal trombonist clearly recognises a kindred spirit, of her '"vitality, liveliness and charisma" as well as her "stunning virtuosity". I quote these because they are as succinct a set of descriptions of Bezaly's musicianship and performances as I could provide. Quite simply her technique is extraordinary. All three concertos, while each following very diverse expressive paths, are imbued with a fantastical and luminous quality that surely derives from the player.
The fabulous musicianship of flautist Sharon Bezaly is the inspiration for a growing number of composers, and the three here demonstrate the freshness of Nordic music in recent years.
Bezaly, an Israeli flute virtuoso, has a way of inspiring her chosen composers to write good music. All three concertos on this disc are new. Kalevi Aho has responded with an atmospheric Nordic meditation that exploits the flute´s charisma as much as Bezaly´s agility. Haukur Tómasson´s piece is more intricate and also more elusive, like a musical butterfly. Christian Lindberg has a more programmatic scheme, his concerto is an old-fashioned fairy tale, its innocence cleverly preserved. All three make a valuable addition to the flute repertoire.
?Wonderful stuff. BIS has been on a winner with Sharon Bezaly for some time now but this is surely the most splendid so far... ?
The Aho in particular would make a splendid calling card for any enterprising flutist, and we can only hope that Bezaly receives many invitations to perform it abroad. It's that good, and so is she.
Sharon Bezaly´s virtuosity and commitment are fabulous and the sound is beautifully balanced and vivid.
The flute may never overtake the violin in the concerto stakes, but these three new works on Nordic Spell, commissioned by brilliant virtuoso Sharon Bezaly, increase the repertoire.
Nordic Spell ist eine CD, auf der Sharon Bezaly mit ihrer beeindruckenden musikalischen Leistung für sie geschriebene Musik dreier Komponisten wirklich verkörpet, Musik, die zwar technische Raffinesse verlangt, die aber vor allem von Bezalys unvergleichlicher Inspiration zum musikalische Ausdruck und zu stark emotionaten Gefühlen zeugt. Nordic Spell ist kein Produkt das man konsumiert und vergisst. Nordic Spell braucht keinen Haltbarkeitsfrist, es ist Musik für die Ewigkeit.
Die Flötistin Sharon Bezaly, in Schweden beheimater, hat sich in den letzen Jahren ganz an die Spitze ihrer Zunft gespeilt. Bezalys Herz gehört der zeitgenössischen Musik... einige hochinteressante konzertante Werke für Flöte entstanden auf ihre Initiative ... Interpretatorisch jedoch bleiben in keinem der Konzerte irgendwelche Wünsche offen. Dies ist die interessanteste Flöten CD seit langen.
Impressionnante discographie que celle de la jeune flutiste Sharon Bezaly! Impressionannante aussi, sa générosité, son intéret pour les compositeurs comtemporains qui, nombreux, lui dédient une oeurvre ... La virtuosité que Bezaly y déploie ne semble plus le “problème" ici, surtour sur un instrument pour lequel la haute technicité semble naturelle à tant d´instrumentistes. Cest donc le son qui départage. Ce gros son viril “á la francaise" (Rampal, Debost, Pahud), Bezaly l´a acquis, mais au-delà, elle déploie une infinie tendresse dans tant de passages ...
C'est un tour de force: trois premières mondiales au disque; trois compositions dédiées à la soliste qui les joue; trois oeuvres de trois pays nordiques différents interprétées par des orchestres éminents de ces pays; trois réussites ... Partout Sharon Bezaly fait merveille avec, en premier lieu, un sens de la finesse et du son juste, mais aussi une virtuosité éblouissante (Lindberg!). Voici la musique de notre temps dans son acceptation la plus noble: celle qui créer non pour s'auto-justifier d'encaisser des subsides publics, mais en pensant aux musiciens et aux auditeurs sans se moquer de leur intelligence.
Here is testament to the high standard of creativity and music-making in the Nordic countries. These three concertos are major works, skillfully written for a virtuosic soloist and orchestra, filled with musical ideas of great beauty and interest, sensitively played and conducted, all captured in spacious stunning sound. The common factor is flautist Sharon Bezaly, to whom these concertos are dedicated. It is plain to hear why the composers were so inspired by her artistry, and also why BIS is making a significant commitment to recording her: this is the most technically assured, breath-takingly brilliant flute-playing around.
David Hurwitz, Classics Today
Amongst younger flautists Sharon Bezaly is in a league of her own. She combines a light virtuosity with a deep musicality and her pleasant tone is on the whole beautifully clear. On this recording three Nordic flute concertos have been brought together, all of them dedicated to Bezaly.
Svenska Dagbladet / Sweden, Wednesday 1 June 2005, Lars Hedblad
Sharon Bezaly´s ‘ A to Z´ series for BIS strikes me as one of the most important and revelatory contemporary music series ever undertaken on disc.
All of this would have counted for nothing if it hadn´t been for Bezaly´s mesmerizing artistry, which has virtually redifined what most of us consider the flute capable of.
Her astonishing technical command facilitated by seamless circular breathing, is a source of wonder in itself, but most compelling of all is the way she manages to make everything she plays sound so special and utterly convincing ... An exemplary release thet deserves the widest possible circulation.
International Record Review / UK, July/August 2005, Julian Haylock
Let me start with my final paragraph. Wonderful stuff. BIS has been on a winner with Sharon Bezaly for some time now but this is surely the most splendid so far in the series, playing three works inspired by and dedicated to her. Nordic is certainly geographically accurate and the Spell will soon weave its magic as you listen to these three very different works, all recorded with three different orchestras under three diffrent conductors (of whom one is Lindberg). Aho´s Concerto is the longest — three-movement work of frequently ravishing beauty. Tómasson´s 2001 Concerto for flute, his second, is written in five movements, each of them characterised with exceptional skill and attractiveness. Lindberg conjures up butterfly acrobatics for his soloist and colours his writing with iridecence allied to intoxicating rhythm. Bezaly plays the works she has inspired, wether on flute or alt flute, with immense authority and sensivity and BIS´s recording set-up captures balances perfectly, in much the same way as their notes set the scenes so well. I´ll end as I began — wonderful stuff.
What a phenomenal technique flautist Sharon Bezaly has! In these three very different works she demonstrates a colossal range and diversity of styles."?
Gramophone Editor´s Choice, Awards Issue, October 2005
“Breathtaking“ first accounts of works written specially for Sharon Bezaly. The accompanying booklet to this splendid new disc contains testimonials to Sharon Bezaly's playing from the three Nordic composers featured. The phrases they use suggest something more than the average commendation from authors thankful for the attention. Kalevi Aho - hardly a neglected figure - writes of her "incredible technique..musicality and great mental flexibility," Haukur Tómasson of her "scintillating agility" and Lindberg who as a phenomenal trombonist clearly recognises a kindred spirit, of her '"vitality, liveliness and charisma" as well as her "stunning virtuosity". I quote these because they are as succinct a set of descriptions of Bezaly's musicianship and performances as I could provide. Quite simply her technique is extraordinary. All three concertos, while each following very diverse expressive paths, are imbued with a fantastical and luminous quality that surely derives from the player.
Gramophone, Awards Issue, October 2005
The fabulous musicianship of flautist Sharon Bezaly is the inspiration for a growing number of composers, and the three here demonstrate the freshness of Nordic music in recent years.
classicalsource.com, August 2005
Bezaly, an Israeli flute virtuoso, has a way of inspiring her chosen composers to write good music. All three concertos on this disc are new. Kalevi Aho has responded with an atmospheric Nordic meditation that exploits the flute´s charisma as much as Bezaly´s agility. Haukur Tómasson´s piece is more intricate and also more elusive, like a musical butterfly. Christian Lindberg has a more programmatic scheme, his concerto is an old-fashioned fairy tale, its innocence cleverly preserved. All three make a valuable addition to the flute repertoire.
Financial Times, 6 August 2005
?Wonderful stuff. BIS has been on a winner with Sharon Bezaly for some time now but this is surely the most splendid so far... ?
Musicweb International, September 2005
The Aho in particular would make a splendid calling card for any enterprising flutist, and we can only hope that Bezaly receives many invitations to perform it abroad. It's that good, and so is she.
Classics Today, September 2005
Sharon Bezaly´s virtuosity and commitment are fabulous and the sound is beautifully balanced and vivid.
Muso , August 2005
The flute may never overtake the violin in the concerto stakes, but these three new works on Nordic Spell, commissioned by brilliant virtuoso Sharon Bezaly, increase the repertoire.
Metro, August 2005, Warwick Thompson
Nordic Spell ist eine CD, auf der Sharon Bezaly mit ihrer beeindruckenden musikalischen Leistung für sie geschriebene Musik dreier Komponisten wirklich verkörpet, Musik, die zwar technische Raffinesse verlangt, die aber vor allem von Bezalys unvergleichlicher Inspiration zum musikalische Ausdruck und zu stark emotionaten Gefühlen zeugt. Nordic Spell ist kein Produkt das man konsumiert und vergisst. Nordic Spell braucht keinen Haltbarkeitsfrist, es ist Musik für die Ewigkeit.
Pizzicato, October 2005
Die Flötistin Sharon Bezaly, in Schweden beheimater, hat sich in den letzen Jahren ganz an die Spitze ihrer Zunft gespeilt. Bezalys Herz gehört der zeitgenössischen Musik... einige hochinteressante konzertante Werke für Flöte entstanden auf ihre Initiative ... Interpretatorisch jedoch bleiben in keinem der Konzerte irgendwelche Wünsche offen. Dies ist die interessanteste Flöten CD seit langen.
Applaus, October 2005
Impressionnante discographie que celle de la jeune flutiste Sharon Bezaly! Impressionannante aussi, sa générosité, son intéret pour les compositeurs comtemporains qui, nombreux, lui dédient une oeurvre ... La virtuosité que Bezaly y déploie ne semble plus le “problème" ici, surtour sur un instrument pour lequel la haute technicité semble naturelle à tant d´instrumentistes. Cest donc le son qui départage. Ce gros son viril “á la francaise" (Rampal, Debost, Pahud), Bezaly l´a acquis, mais au-delà, elle déploie une infinie tendresse dans tant de passages ...
Le Monde dela Musique , December 2005 Choc dela Musique
C'est un tour de force: trois premières mondiales au disque; trois compositions dédiées à la soliste qui les joue; trois oeuvres de trois pays nordiques différents interprétées par des orchestres éminents de ces pays; trois réussites ... Partout Sharon Bezaly fait merveille avec, en premier lieu, un sens de la finesse et du son juste, mais aussi une virtuosité éblouissante (Lindberg!). Voici la musique de notre temps dans son acceptation la plus noble: celle qui créer non pour s'auto-justifier d'encaisser des subsides publics, mais en pensant aux musiciens et aux auditeurs sans se moquer de leur intelligence.
Classics Today France, December 2005
Here is testament to the high standard of creativity and music-making in the Nordic countries. These three concertos are major works, skillfully written for a virtuosic soloist and orchestra, filled with musical ideas of great beauty and interest, sensitively played and conducted, all captured in spacious stunning sound. The common factor is flautist Sharon Bezaly, to whom these concertos are dedicated. It is plain to hear why the composers were so inspired by her artistry, and also why BIS is making a significant commitment to recording her: this is the most technically assured, breath-takingly brilliant flute-playing around.
Fanfare, January / February 2006
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