CLScapades http://cls.posterous.com City of London Sinfonia blog posterous.com Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:21:00 -0700 Retrospect - September in Pictures http://cls.posterous.com/retrospect-september-in-pictures http://cls.posterous.com/retrospect-september-in-pictures

September saw the start of our 2012/13 concert season with a return trip to the Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford on Avon, and the start of the second series of  CLoSer on 19 September, with Guest Artists the Katona Twins at Village Underground.

Our Wellbeing through Music concert series returned to Great Ormond Street Hospital after a short summer break, with one of the children commenting that conducting our players was "the funniest thing ever!"

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Principal Conductor Michael Collins & the orchestra rehearse at Wiltshire Music Centre

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Our String Quartet at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital

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Our new cushions make their Village Underground debut!

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The hugely talented Katona Twins perform at CLoSer

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The new series of CLoSer started on 19 September

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We love this audience snap of our strings performing at CLoSer!

Images by Becca Newman, James Berry & Andrea Zapata

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Thu, 27 Sep 2012 02:53:00 -0700 CLoSer Returns http://cls.posterous.com/closer-return http://cls.posterous.com/closer-return

We asked our outgoing Marketing Intern Anna, to give us her review of the first CLoSer of series two

Last week City of London Sinfonia returned to Village Underground, the unique home of the informal CLoSer concert series, for a second year.

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At a glance the basement venue is an odd choice for a classical music concert, but when colourful cushions, vibrant musicians and an excited audience are added, the venue comes alive! Its prime location in the up and coming Shoreditch area is great for attracting creative locals, but is also an appealing spot to visit for those who live further afield. Our CLoSer audiences consist of a wide range of people, young and old, with mixed levels of musical knowledge and varied experiences of classical music, but who all wish to share their love of music in the informal and relaxed environment that CLoSer provides.

 The programme for this first concert had a distinctly American feel to it and Michael Collins, City of London Sinfonia’s Principal Conductor, delved straight into the Stravinsky Concerto in D with a high level of excited energy. The City of London Sinfonia strings played with a commitment to this energetic and rhythmic concerto, evidenced by the sight of a loose bow hair flying around in the violins. The second movement was beautifully melodic and reminiscent of a romantic ballet, rather than the sacrificial dance that Stravinsky is known for. This came to an abrupt end in the third movement which presented a pulsating rhythm and a mischievous melody in the violins, creating a tense mood and putting me on the edge of my cushion!

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We then welcomed Guest Artists the Katona Twins to the stage to perform Piazzolla’s Hommage à Liège. The Hungarian guitar duo were joined by a dissonant string accompaniment which filled the brick underground with a wonderful resonant sound. The music was intricate and detailed and the pair played with style and apparent ease. At one point the cellos, double bass and guitar duo used their instruments as drums to create a powerful rhythm which built up to an explosive finale which caused excitement to ripple through the room.

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The Twins took centre stage for two further pieces from De Falla’s El Amor Brujo suite - The Magic Circle and Ritual Fire Dance . These were full of emotion and with the help of the relaxed atmosphere and the close proximity to the guitar duo, the audience were able to connect to the musicians from their own cushioned corner. In quieter moments the music was played with grace and intimacy, and the louder moments were confident and passionate.

As an encore, the twins played Piazzolla’s Autumn in Buenos Aires, joined by a tango dancing couple who highlighted the sensual and smooth character of De Falla’s music with their movement.

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Michael Collins returned for the final piece of the night, to much delight of the audience. The opening of Copland’s Clarinet Concerto was magical, calming and soothing. Michael did a sterling job as both clarinettist and conductor, seamlessly transforming from one role to the other throughout. As always, his playing was flawless and animated and the string players were exceptionally engaging.

The post-concert atmosphere was fantastic with many audience members staying to chat with the musicians, bursting with their thoughts on the evening. The only disappointment is that we’ll have to wait until February for the next one!

Tickets are now on sale for the next two CLoSer concerts on Wednesday 13 February and Wednesday 10 April 2013.

Tickets: £15 (includes one free drink)

CLS FIVER (16-25 year olds): £5 (pre-register with marketing@cls.co.uk)

Box Office: 020 7377 1362/spitalfieldsmusic.org

 

Images: James Berry

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Mon, 10 Sep 2012 01:55:00 -0700 Spotlight on...Katona Twins http://cls.posterous.com/spotlight-onkatona-twins http://cls.posterous.com/spotlight-onkatona-twins

Our opening concert for the second CLoSer series features Guest Artists the Katona Twins. But who are the men involved in this unique duo? Here’s a quick snapshot:

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Name
Peter and Zoltán Katona

Age
44

Nationality
Identical twins Peter and Zoltán were born in Hungary. They are German citizens, but now live in Liverpool in the UK.

Background
Labelled as “the classical world’s best known guitar duo” by the Daily Telegraph, the Katona Twins studied in Budapest, Frankfurt and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. They have given recitals in major concert venues all over the world including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo and the Philharmonie in Cologne. The duo perform a wide range of repertoire from classical Bach and Mozart, Spanish and Tango, to more popular music genres including their own arrangements of pop classics!

Breakthrough moment
In 2009, they performed live to half a million people in arenas across Europe as the soloists for Night of the Proms. Inspired by the British Last Night of the Proms, these concerts have become one of the most visited and most attractive musical events in Belgium and in Europe, combining both classical and pop music.

CLoSer performance

Piazzolla - Hommage à Liège

The master of Tango, Astor Piazzolla wrote this lyrical double concerto for guitar, bandoneón and strings. Piazzolla’s compositional style incorporated elements from both jazz and classical music to create nuevo tango, distinct from the traditional tango style.

Falla - El amor brujo

Manuel de Falla was one of Spain’s most important musicians in the early 20th century. Falla rarely composed for the guitar, however he took much inspiration from early Spanish guitar music. El amor brujo was originally composed as a chamber piece and eventually transformed into a ballet. The Katona Twins will be performing their own arrangement of this piece for guitar duo and percussion.

Visit the Katona Twins youtube channel to find out more


CLoSer

Wed 19 September, 7.30pm

Village Underground, Shoreditch

Tickets: £15 (includes a free drink)
Box Office: 020 7377 1362/spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk

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