To be a world-class musician requires talent & a huge amount of practise. 

Had a chance to see the rehearsals.

John Adams is an American composer with strong roots in minimalism.

Freedom Opera Gala

Part of the Andrássy út was closed yesterday. Obviously something was going to happened there. Loads of chairs and a stage was built in the front of the Opera House.

Not sure if it was rehearsal or just for fun for the passers-by. Very entertaining anyway!

Seems like everything is ready for the evening.

It was exactly 25 years ago since Hungary opened its borders and allowed tens of thousands of East Germans to escape. This event was remembered by the Freedom Opera Gala featuring Anja Kampe, Piotr Beczala, Ferrccio Furlanetto and internationally acclaimed Hungarian soprano, Andrea Rost. Beside the four special guest stars, young singers and conductors of several European nations appeared on stage to sing of freedom and famous ensembles. 

The programme:

1. Kodály: Dances of Galánta 

2. Beethoven: Fidelio - Leonore's aria (Anja KAMPE)
3. Beethoven: Fidelio - Choir of prisoners (Hungarian State Opera Choir)
4. Verdi: Un ballo in maschera - Riccardo's Aria, act III (Piotr BECZAŁA)
5. Tchaikovsky: Onegin - Gremin's Aria (Ferruccio FURLANETTO)
6. Verdi: Rigoletto - Quartet (Péter BALCZÓ, Alena KROPACKOVA, Tomasz KUMIĘGA, Zita SZEMERE; conducted by Patrick HAHN)
7. Erkel: Bánk bán - Melinda's Aria from act II (Andrea ROST)
8. Verdi: Don Carlo - Duet (Piotr BECZAŁA, Mihály KÁLMÁNDI)
9. Verdi: Don Carlo - Duet (Ferruccio FURLANETTO, Mihály KÁLMÁNDI)
10. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Liebestod / Eagling: Duet (Anja KAMPE, Lili FELMÉRY, Evgeny LAGUNOV)
11. Verdi: Nabucco - Choir of slaves (Hungarian State Opera Choir)
12. Verdi: Nabucco - Pray of Zacharias (Ferruccio FURLANETTO)
13. Lehár: Giuditta - "Freund, das Leben ist?" (Piotr BECZAŁA)
14. Lehár: Die lustige Witwe - Vilja song (Andrea ROST)
15. Verdi: Falstaff - Fugue (Péter BALCZÓ, Mojca BITENC, Géza GÁBOR, Tamás KÓBOR, Leon KOŠAVIĆ, Nikos KOTENIDIS, Zoltán MEGYESI, Gemma NÍ BHRIAIN, Violette POLCHI, Sara ROSSINI; conducted by Pierre DUMOUSSAUD)

The happening was supposed to start at 8pm. Light rain showers started at around 7pm and a couple of minutes after 8pm, it was announced that the whole gala will be moved inside the opera house... you can imagine the massive amount of people rushing inside! Couldn't handle it, so skipped the occasion. Anyway the atmosphere would have been totally different inside, I guess. Probably took at least another hour to organize everything ready again and don't think the light installation show took place at all.

There was supposed to be fireworks afterwards, as i was already fasten sleep didn't see nor hear anything. 

Osa Andrássy út:a oli eilen suljettu ja oopperan edustalle oli rakennettu esiintymislava ja aseteltu mieletön määrä tuoleja. Illalla klo 20 oli määrä alkaa Freedom Opera Gala. Oli kulunut 25 vuotta siitä, kun Unkari aukaisi rajat kymmenille tuhansille itäsaksalaisille. Gala järjestettiin tapahtuman muistoksi ja esiintyjälistalta löytyi mm. Unkarin ylpeys sopraano Andra Rost. 

Taivaalta alkoi ripotella pieniä kuuroja siinä seitsemän aikaan illalla ja muutaman minuutin yli klo 20, jolloin konsertin piti alkaa, ilmoitettiin, että se siirretäänkin oopperan sisätiloihin... Arvaahan sen, että siitä syntyi massiivinen kaaoksenomainen ryntäys. Päätin jättää väliin. Tunnelma sisällä tuskin oli sama kuin mitä se olisi ollut ulkona upeine valoinstallaatioineen. Toivotaan, että kaikki meni hyvin ja ilta oli onnistunut.

Galan lopuksi taivaalle lähetettyjä ilotulitusraketteja en nähnyt enkä kuullut, sillä olin siihenaikaan jo kotona syvässä unessa.

  

A7X

After having dinner with friends at Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria & Cucina at Crystals, headed to Mandalay Bay to see Avenged Sevenfold. That's THE band at the moment. The European tour starting in November is basically sold out.

The gig started with Shepherd and continued 1,5 hours with pure rock. Me likey a lot!

It's Only Rock'n Roll...

...but I like it!

Danish Volbeat is such a great live band. Full of energy and fun too!

ps. the place was like a sauna on Tuesday night - outside 34C, inside only heaven knows...

Kings Place

 On Thursday evening went to 2 mini concerts at Kings Place

- it's the >Kings Place Festival

and London Sinfonietta played 3x45mins concerts there

 Mark van de Wiel starting to play a piece of Julian Anderson

"Julian Anderson's music provided the focus of the second concert,

again consisting of solo works, duos or trios.

What was striking was how well his sense of instrumental colour and character,

so vividly displayed in his large-scale orchestral canvases,

 transfers to an intimate scale.

Works such as Prayer for Viola and the four Etudes for Piano

succeed through an intensity of expression

that combines inner coherence with a brilliantly articulated surface."

Review by Guardian

 Mark playing Elliot Carter

"Throughout the evening, a host of Sinfonietta stalwarts appeared

– too many to name here,

but heard at their most vigorously virtuosic in the final instalment

of music by the 102-year-old Elliott Carter,

the culmination of three valuable mini-retrospectives.

Whether in the solo display of two of the Eight Pieces for Four Timpani

and the cello piece Figment,

or the tightly interlocked ensemble

playing of the two Esprit Rude/Esprit Doux

tribute pieces to Boulez,

 the Sinfonietta's musicianship remained compelling."

Review by Guardian

 Excellent drums!

A piece of Elliott Carter

Walked from Islington along the canal to Kings Place

Kings Place

90 York Way

London N1

Mahler' s Symphony No.6

 Sunny & warm in London on Tuesday!

- around 25 degrees C

 Got an invitation to a concert at Royal Festival Hall:

Philharmonia Orchestra playing Mahler's symphony no.6

conducting by Lorin Maazel

 Mr van de Wiel on his way to work

to Royal Festival Hall

in his flip-flops & bright yellow t-shirt,

carrying his clarinet

 Mahler's Symphony no.6 about to start

 Mr van de Wiel still has time to tell a joke

to his collegue...

 Maestro himself, Lorin Maazel,

with Philharmonia Orchestra

after 79mins

- fabulous concert! 

 After the concert went to Ping Pong for dinner

No pics of food,

ate too fast...

- nice place, good food

.

Ping Pong

Festival Terrace

Southbank Centre

Belvedere Road,

London SE1

http://www.pingpongdimsum.com/

A Book & a Cd

Went for an afternoon walk on Saturday

and popped in to Alexandra Bookstore

- bought a book of short stories by Gyula Krudy

& a cd of System of Down

- the whole summer went by by listening to

Volbeat & Ramones while running on Margit Island,

so it was time to change the tune

.

Gyula Krúdy (21 October 1878 – 12 May 1933)

was a Hungarian writer and journalist.

In his teens, Gyula published newspaper pieces

and began writing short stories.
Krúdy's novels about Budapest were popular

during the First World War and the Hungarian Revolution,

but he was often broke due to excessive drinking,

gambling and philandering.

He was called "a Hungarian Proust"

by critic Charles Champlin in The New York Times.

.

Kings Place

A cappella group "In The Smoke"

singing beautifully

up there

at Kings Place
.

Beautiful spacious building

designed by Peter Millican

- the house is not only for culture but also

hosting some offices

it's the home for

London Sinfonietta
& Guardian newspaper

.

( Sorry, the quality of pics is not so good... )
Endymion playing

Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A

&
Brahms Clarinet Quintet in B minor- pleasant start for Saturday !

.

Glass Façade

One of the most distinctive design features of the building

is the three-layered undulating glass façade

covering the west-facing York Way frontage.

This is a free-standing transparent surface

made up of hundreds of very slightly curved sheets of glass,

produced in a factory near Venice.

As well as being a beautiful design statement,

it has practical benefits;

from allowing Kings Place to be seen

and recognised by visitors from as far as

Kings Cross station to reducing heat gain

from the afternoon sun.
.

Lunch at Kings Place
Salmon quishe with salad,
cup of tea
and a scone-like cookie
- good!
.
Kings Place by Regent Canal
.

Kingsplace Festival'10

Before going to Kings Place listening to

London Sinfonietta playing 2 concerts

had some take away sushi from Tesco's
- nice!

.

Bought also new Time Out to see

what's going on in town

- so many things to do in London...

not in New York,

well, there too, of course
.

100 performances in 4 days

at Kings Place

- just 300m from Kings Cross

by the canal

- nice modern building
.

Broadcaster from BBC radio 1 Sarah Mohr-Pietsch

presenting
the works of tonight:

Chamber Music by Thomas Ades

at 8.30pm

Catch

Court Studies from The Tempest

- both very interesting pieces of music!

In the Catch Mark was walking around the hall

and playing clarinet!!!

Court Studies sounded almost like jazz

Mark van de Wiel playing clarinet
.

Second concert started at 9.45pm

Postcards from Europe:

French Regis Campo Pop-Art

Finnish Osmo Tapio Räihälä Damballa
.

Interview of Finnish composer Osmo Tapio Räihälä

by Sarah

.

Pop-Art by Regis Campo was really interesting,

almost like a black&white film,

where someone is trying to run away & hide

from someone

in a big city

like thief & detective

- if that makes any sense???

- happy feeling afterwards!

.

Some pieces of art at Kings Place:

.
.
Kings Place
90 York Way
London N1 9AG
http://www.lingsplace.co.uk/