Honeck: Leaving Stuttgart to give more time to Pittsburgh

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"I have signed a contract in Pittsburgh [through 2015-16] some months ago and I want to use my energy there," he told me this week. "Opera is so time consuming. I don't want to finish in Stuttgart and fly right to Pittsburgh. Where is time for my family?"

The situation was exacerbated by the fact that incoming director Jossi Wieler wanted Honeck to increase his time at Stuttgart Opera.

"Jossi Willa has a concept that he wants to have the conductor not only in the music but for the stage production, working with the actors and that needs more time," he said. "I was really long time thinking if I can give more and I came to the conclusion that it is not possible. I want to concentrate on Pittsburgh."
 
Honeck, 51, also looks forward to do more guest conducting when the Stuttgart commitment ends (he has three more operas to lead there). Other than the Stuttgart Opera, the PSO and the Czech Philharmonic (for which he is principal guest conductor), Honeck will do no guest conducting this season.

"It is quite new for my life, he said. "I usually conduct three to four other orchestras [a year]."

San Francisco in Pittsburgh

We try to be helpful to groups that come to town, but it wasn't until yesterday that I finally got confirmation of Quartet San Francisco performing at CAPA tonight. It was far too late to get it in the listings, but here is the info on this quality ensemble: 

November 18, 7 pm
CAPA, Downtown
$20 adults, $10 students (free for CAPA students)

Here is some of the program

Tango Toscana.         Jeremy Cohen
The Mooche.               Duke Ellington
Cool                              Leonard Bernstein
Gee Officer Krupke

INTERMISSION

Take Five                  Dave Brubeck
Kathy's Waltz
Bluette
Forty Days

DAWGS BULL.                 David Grisman
Harlem Nocturne.              Earl Hagen
El Dia Que Me Quieras.     Carlos Gardel
Spain.                                    Chick Corea

Mikado in Sydney

Yes, you read that headline right, and no, we are not going to start reviewing shows in Australia on a regular basis, but our intrepid senior editor (and former PG classical music critic) Robert Croan happened to be down under and caught the following show. He just can't stop being a critic and he wrote a review. Here it is. By the way, I include a photo of the inside of the hall below since we see the outside all the time, but rarely the interior.

SYDNEY, Australia – Every major Australian city boasts a state-of-the-art cultural complex, often set in asprawling, beautiful park. Most spectacular of all is the iconic opera house, which contains several performing spaces and overlooks the harbor as one of the wonders of the modern world. Its outer shape suggests an abstraction of a boat, with giant sails delineating the building’s
various divisions.                                                         
  As you approach,
however, the gorgeous structure becomes decidedly user-unfriendly, with massive steps of uneven strides and height, going up to the entrance. Those who can not manage the steps are consigned to a single freight elevator, which on exiting after a performance does not go down to the street level. On the night I visited, a woman in front of me (not visibly handicapped) tripped and rolled down several steps.  Inside the building there
are more steps to negotiate, many without handrails.  Access to the restrooms is particularly byzantine.                                                     
Once in the Opera Theatre, seating is comfortable, sightlines and acoustics excellent.  Moreover, Australian Opera is a world class company.  Stopping in Sydney as part of a  Holland America cruise of Australia and New Zealand, I  caught the last performance of the season, Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado,” a signature production of this organization that is deservedly popular and said to be one of its top money makers.  It sho uld be noted
that  the two previous nights  had   offered
Mozart’s  “Cosi   fan   tutte”  and Britten’s “Peter
Grimes.”  Both, according to reliable
local opinions, were   superbly done.
The “Mikado” I attended (second of two performances on the final day) was thoroughly delightful: musically crisp under conductor Stephen Mould, staged with styleand imagination by Stuart Maunder (after a production by Christopher Renshaw).
None of the mostly Australian cast was previously known to me,but everyone was very good. Dominating them all as Ko-Ko was Anthony Warlow, whose credits are more in musical theater than opera, though he seems to be classically trained. Younger and less grotesque than most proponents of this role, he delivered his patter with a campy modern flavor that underlined
updated references to local events and personalities.                                                                      
Also outstanding was Stephen Smith, a strapping, well-schooled tenor from the young artist program. He acted with conviction and rendered Nanki-Poo’s mellifluous lines with lovely tone and true legato. The women were led by Adele Johnston, a hilarious Katisha with a terrifying contralto sound; and Lorina Gore, a lyrical Yum-Yum with a high extension that she used effectively in thrilling high notes that soared above the ensemble at
the end of each act.

Honeck to leave Stuttgart Opera

PSO fans, don't panic -- it is the Stuttgart Opera, not the PSO Honeck is leaving!:

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra maestro Manfred Honeck will not extend his contract as general music director of the Stuttgart Opera, the company announced today. He will depart after the 2010-11 season before the new head director, Jossi Wieler, arrives. Current head Albrecht Puhlmann, who has been at Stuttgart the entire time Honeck has, will leave at the same time. Honeck is scheduled to conduct three more operas in Stuttgart, including Wagner’s “Parsifal” this spring and several orchestra concerts.

Alan Fletcher out in Aspen

UPDATE: Amazingly, it appears that Alan Fletcher is back in the picture in Aspen. Sounds like a lot of drama, but good for him.

Just saw this on the wire: According to a report in the Aspen Daily News, Alan Fletcher is out as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Aspen Music Festival and School. As you might remember, Fletcher was head of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music for years. I will look into this, but the report cites a lot of tension over the summer. On the other hand, I always figured Fletcher for landing something else in the east that would surpass Aspen in prestige (and that would be saying something since Aspen is a great school and festival nestled in a community of very wealthy donors). Stay posted.

50 percent off Danielpour at the PSO

Here is my review of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert Friday at Heinz Hall, highlighted by the odd decision to offer only half of a work by composer Richard Danielpour.

Also, unless we hear otherwise, we should be inferring that any violinist who sits in the concertmaster chair is a candidate to succeed Andres Cardenes in the position when he departs at the end of the season. The young concertmaster of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Steven Copes, sat in this weekend and sounded great in several solos. I covered him for some time when I was the beat writer covering the SPCO for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and I can attest that he is an excellent player and a good leader. It will be interesting to see if he turns up again.

Free Day on PG+

If you want to take a gander at what we are offering on our new premium/extra website, PG+, today (only) you can visit it for free by clicking here. Not that it much to subscribe to, I think we ask under $4 a month.

What am I doing there? Video, Video, Video....About once every two weeks we take an insider look at a Pittsburgh Symphony musician or other musician in town, letting them about their instrument in detail. It is the kind of access you just can't get in town and maybe not too many media outlets in the U.S. I am proud to be giving more attention to the great talent we have here in Pittsburgh.

Also, each week, I do a fun video podcast give-and-take with pop music critic and good friend Scott Mervis in which we talk about music of all types. This is a lot of fun, so I hope you take a look at it, too. Once you hit the PG+ home page, go to the bar "Life" and scroll down to the Beat.

Slatkin still resting

Numerous reports from conductor Leonard Slatkin's home base now, Detroit, say that he will indeed withdraw from concerts with the Detroit SO this month due to his heart attack in Europe. 

Piano Stairs

Before you get hooked on this cute little video, do realize it is more or less a commercial for Volkswagen. But other than that, it is a remarkable example of social engineering and music can play a role.

How Sweet the Sound: Mount Ararat Gospel Choir Takes Second Place and $

UPDATE: the Atlanta West Pentecostal Church Choir won the Verizon How Sweet the Sound competition, but Mt. Ararat's Remnant Choir didn't do so bad. Saturday night Nov. 7 in Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, the choir from East Liberty took second place, winning a $15,000 check! Nice job! Congrats to conductor Trini Massie and the passionate members of the choir.

Please give a read to my piece on the amazing Remnant Choir from Mount Ararat Baptist Church, which will soon be traveling to Detroit to compete in the finals of the Verizon How Sweet the Sound gospel choir, a national compitition. No telling how conductor Trini Massie (left) and the choir will do, but we do know how well Pittsburghers tend to do in Detroit (Superbowl XL, Stanley Cup Final 2009...!). A link to a video of them singing is attached to the story...