Gábor-Takács-Nagy unveiled as Manchester Camerata's new Music Director from September 2011

Manchester Camerata is excited to announce that the great Hungarian musician Gábor Takács-Nagy will take over from Douglas Boyd as Music Director from September next year. 

Internationally known as a chamber music player and a founding member of the Takács Quartet, Gábor is now establishing a formidable reputation for himself as a conductor. The fact that he will be pursuing the next phase of his career in Manchester is a real coup for the orchestra and for the city.

Building on the success of the Boyd/Camerata era, Gábor will work closely with this leading chamber orchestra which is full of Mancunian energy, humour and creativity. This new partnership promises to be quite exceptional. It is a partnership which will not only benefit the orchestra and its audiences but will reinforce the international dimension of Manchester's cultural life too.

Born in Budapest he began to learn the violin at the age of 8, and went on to study at the prestigious Liszt Ferenc Academy in the Hungarian capital. In 1975 he was a founder member and leader of the renowned and respected Takács Quartet, with whom he performed with many of the world's most celebrated musicians and made many recordings for Decca and Hungaroton. He was awarded the Liszt Prize in 1982. After leaving the quartet in 1992 he founded the Takács Piano Trio in 1996. In 2008 he formed the Mikrokosmos String Quartet with Zoltán Tuska, Sándor Papp and Miklós Perényi, with whom he recorded the complete Bartók string quartets.

Gabor Takács-Nagy became Music Director of the UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in 2007 and was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of both the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra and the MAV Symphony Orchestra in Budapest in 2008. His own string orchestra, the Camerata Bellerive, which he set up in 2005, is orchestra-in-residence at Geneva's annual Festival de Bellerive, of which he is also artistic director.

Gábor Takács-Nagy is also a dedicated and highly sought-after teacher. He is Professor of String Quartet at the Geneva Conservatoire and regularly gives masterclasses at leading academies and conservatoires throughout the world. He is also a tutor with the European Chamber Music Academy and was recently appointed to an International Chair in Chamber Music at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

Speaking about his Manchester Camerata appointment, Gábor-Takács-Nagy said:

"To find such a wonderful group of artists such as Camerata, such warm audiences as those in Manchester, is a joy. I look forward to many years of making and sharing music in your great city."

Announcing the appointment, Manchester Camerata Board and CEO Bob Riley added:

"We've been fortunate to work with Dougie Boyd for 10 years, and are more fortunate still that this vision and passion can be continued by a musician such as Takács-Nagy. Members of the orchestra were involved in the process leading to his appointment and so we look forward with certainty to the flourishing of this musical relationship. It is with great excitement that we look ahead to Manchester Camerata's future, both nationally and internationally."

Welcoming the appointment of his successor, Douglas Boyd said:

"Manchester Camerata has been a huge part of my life for the last 9 years. I have been so fortunate to make music with such a dedicated group of musicians. My dream has always been, at some stage, to hand the baton on to a wonderful musician who can inspire the orchestra and continue to develop this dynamic organisation. I am delighted that the orchestra and Gabor Takács-Nagy have found each other. I am absolutely sure that together they will forge an exciting future for Manchester Camerata."

Gabor is no stranger to the North West; his wife Lesley is from Burnley, in East Lancashire, so this is something of a homecoming for the couple.

Gábor-Takács-Nagy will take the post of Manchester Camerata's Music Director in September 2011.

He is already scheduled to work with Manchester Camerata in the 2010/11 season with several concerts in October and November.

Read how the world's media is reporting the appointment at Gramophone Magazine, Classical Source, Musbook.com InstantEncore,   All The Conducting Masterclasses   Musical America

Budapest Festival Orchestra highlights Gábor Takács-Nagy Manchester Links

The renowned violinist, former first violin of the Takács String Quartet and concert master of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Gábor Takács-Nagy will conduct the BFO in the coming concerts of the "Haydn-Mozart Plus' series in the Italian Institute.

For some years Takács-Nagy has devoted more and more time to conducting: Manchester Camerata has just announced that from the 2010/11 season he will be the new artistic leader of the orchestra.

His three concerts with the BFO on April 10th az 7.45 p.m., on April 11th at 3.30 p.m. and 7.45 p.m. will feature works by Britten, Haydn and Bizet. The concerts start with Britten's Simple Symphony followed by Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in E Flat Major. The soloist of the concerto will be Balázs Tóth who won the 2008 Sándor Végh Competition of the BFO with a performance of the same piece. In the second half of the concerts the audience will hear Bizet's Symphony in C Major, composed at the age of 17.

To read more about the Gábor Takács-Nagy's concerts with the Budapest Festival Orchestra click here

Extracts from this week's lecture given at the Royal Philharmonic Society in London by critic Alex Ross who advocated a much more relaxed approach to Classical Music concert going.

"Last autumn, Barack Obama hosted an evening of classical music at the White House. Beforehand, he said, "Now, if any of you in the audience are newcomers to classical music, and aren't sure when to applaud, don't be nervous. Apparently, President Kennedy had the same problem. He and Jackie held several classical music events here, and more than once he started applauding when he wasn't supposed to. So the social secretary worked out a system where she'd signal him through a crack in the door. Now, fortunately, I have Michelle to tell me when to applaud. The rest of you are on your own."

Obama was having fun at the expense of the No Applause Rule, which holds that one must refrain from clapping until all movements of a work have sounded. No aspect of our modern concert ritual causes more bewilderment. The problem is not that the Rule is so arcane that even a law professor turned commander-in-chief cannot master it. Rather, it's that the etiquette and the music sometimes work at cross-purposes. The noisy codas of the first movement of Beethoven's "Emperor" and the third movement of Tchaikovsky's Pathétique demand applause, even beg for it. The word "applause" comes from the instruction plaudite, which appears at the end of Roman comedies. Those climactic chords are the musical equivalent of plaudite: they almost mimic the action of putting one's hands together.

Whether the format should change is by no means an easy question. I don't plan to offer prescriptions. Indeed, in my view, the chief limitation of the classical ritual is its prescriptive quality; it supposes that all great works of music are essentially the same, that they can be placed upon a pedestal of a certain shape. What I would like to see is a more flexible approach, so that the nature of the work dictates the nature of the presentation - and, by extension, the nature of the response.

Mozart played to the crowd

The classical concert of the 18th century was radically different from the rather staid and timid affair of today. Famous evidence comes from a letter that Mozart wrote to his father after the premiere of his "Paris" Symphony: "Right in the middle of the First Allegro came a Passage that I knew would please, and the entire audience was sent into raptures . . . and as I knew, when I wrote the passage, what good effect it would make, I brought it once more at the end of the movement - and sure enough there they were: the shouts of 'da capo'." This kind of behaviour seems in line with what you find in jazz clubs, where people applaud after each solo, as well as at the end of each number.

In the first decades of the 20th century, mid-symphonic applause was still routine. When Elgar's First Symphony had its first London performance, the composer was called out after the first movement. Around 1900, though, a group of German musicians and critics began promoting a code of silence, à la Bayreuth. Hermann Abendroth was among the pioneers: in Lübeck, where he led concerts from 1905 to 1911, he told his audience not to clap between movements. By the 1920s, several leading conductors were discouraging excess applause. At first, many listeners resisted, regarding this as a display of arrogance on the part of superstar maestros. Olin Downes, chief critic of the New York Times, campaigned against the Rule in the 30s and 40s. After describing how Koussevitzky had gestured disapprovingly toward his audience when they clapped after the third movement of the Pathétique, Downes exclaimed: "How anti-musical it is! Snobbism in excelsis!"

This may go too far. In many instances, the Rule seems in keeping with the music. I wouldn't want applause between movements of, say, Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time. Elsewhere, though, it has a perverse effect. Emanuel Ax, not a showboating pianist, complains on his website: "I am always a little taken aback when I hear the first movement of a concerto which is supposed to be full of excitement, passion, and virtuoso display (like the Brahms or Beethoven Concertos), and then hear a rustling of clothing, punctuated by a few coughs; the sheer force of the music calls for a wild audience reaction." It is the sound of people suppressing their instincts.

Worse is the hushing of attempted applause. People who applaud in the "wrong" place are presumably not in the habit of attending concerts regularly. They may well be attending for the first time. Having been hissed at, they may never attend again. And shushing is itself noise. I often hear a "shhhh!" from another part of the hall without having heard whatever minor disturbance elicited it. In an ironic twist, these self-appointed prefects have made themselves more of a nuisance than those whom they are righteously reprimanding.

I am both a lifelong classical-music lover and a member of a generation - the so-called Generation X - that, according to scary graphs recently published by the League of American Orchestras, has yet to show the midlife surge of interest in classical music that previous generations displayed. I went to college with extraordinarily smart people, who knew their art, literature and cinema. But few of them knew classical music. I bring such friends to concerts, and although they are pleased to be there, I often sense a slight disappointment. They admire the music, but the evening in some way falls short. And I ask myself whether the experience could be modified so that their admiration might turn to love.

People often ask whether classical music has become too serious. I sometimes wonder whether it is serious enough. Certainly, it has acquired a veneer of solemnity, but too often that veneer is a cover for business as usual. I dream of the concert hall becoming a more vital, unpredictable environment, in thrall to the wildly diverse personalities of composers and performers alike. The great paradox of modern musical life, whether in the classical or pop arena, is that we both worship our idols and, in a way, straitjacket them. We consign them to cruelly specific roles: a certain rock band is expected to loosen us up, a certain composer is expected to ennoble us. Ah, Mozart; yeah, rock and roll. But what if a rock band wants to make us think and a composer wants to make us dance? Music should be a place where our expectations are shattered."

Click here to read the full text on the Royal Philharmonic Society website

Some months ago when we first began considering the content for our first TEDxWarsaw, I had the somewhat crazy idea that, since we couldn't afford to bring leading jazz musicians to Warsaw for the gig, we would take the gig to them. The idea grew out of a series of projection gigs my good friend Nigel Gavin and I had done in Auckland a few years back. Nigel's music,improvised on the spot to the images, worked really well and seemed to take the audience into meditative spaces they enjoyed visiting. It was time to ratchet up the level of difficulty and a TED-like event seemed the logical venue for it. After all, it's all about going out on the edge and trying out stuff which is very far from being mainstream.

Having got the idea, I needed to implement it so I began to look for the right musicians and the right technological solutions.

To my considerable delight, I very quickly happened on information about the Manchester Camerata collaborating on a trans-continental orchestral performance with the Venetian ensemble Ex Novo. I got in touch with the technology gurus at Manchester Digital (Paul Spensley, Paul Limbrick and Alan Holding) and they suggested that to circumvent the problem of latency we should consider "layering" the music, one instrument - and one location at a time. Brett Sutton, the technology director at Roosevelt University (where Paul holds his "day job" as professor of jazz (how cool is that??) joined us in trying to make this work."

To read the whole blog, click here

The Association of British Orchestras (ABO) has launched its 5-year vision for orchestras - A Platform for Success - laying out the sector's commitment to taking high quality music to more people than ever before - and calling

on government to support its ambitions.

Under the headlines 'Inspirational performances', 'Stimulating learning' and 'Driving participation', A Platform for Success sets out the aspirations of the sector over the next five years, and calls on government to help meet its ambitions by making a number of commitments - including guaranteeing music education continues to be delivered across schools, improving the tax system to enhance private giving and giving orchestras nationally and locally the opportunity to be an integral part of the UK Cultural Olympiad celebrations.

A Platform for Success states the sector's ambitions to:

- Place orchestras within the national celebrations towards the London 2012 Olympic Games and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

- Nurture home grown talent and attract the world's best composers, performers and conductors to the UK

- Experiment with and push the boundaries of technological and digital innovation to introduce new audiences to orchestral music

It also states their belief that:

- There should be a network of 'Centres for Orchestras' across the UK by 2020, building on the success of the pioneering Centre for Orchestra, developed by the LSO, Guildhall School and Barbican

- Every child should have the opportunity to participate in creative music making and attend a live concert - regardless of where they live or which school they attend

- But, argues the ABO, without sustained investment and support, much of the good work that orchestras are doing on the concert platform, and with schools and communities across the country, will be threatened.

- Tim Walker, Chair of the ABO and Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, said:

"We want government to value orchestras, fund us wisely, legislate supportively and make a real commitment to maintaining music education in schools. It is crucial if we're to give our future generations the opportunity to experience music and reap its social benefits that it must begin from a young age - and be a key part of classroom education."

Alongside the sector's commitments, A Platform for Success calls on government to:

- Recognise the economic impact orchestras have on their towns, cities and regions and acknowledge the extent of the return on public investment

- Continue to support commercial and public service broadcasters to enable them to provide a platform for and access to orchestral music

- Improve the tax system to enhance private giving from corporations and individuals

- Sustain public investment in local authorities to enable them to continue supporting orchestras, concert halls and local promoters

- Support the ABO's ambition to provide a live concert experience for every child during their time at school

Tim Walker said:

"As a sector, we've made a number of open commitments, set out what we have achieved and what we can offer - now we're urging our parliamentary and local authority representatives to keep backing us.

"The millions of people in Britain who already experience the value of their orchestras want to see the public subsidy we receive maintained. As a sector we prove year upon year that a little really can go a long way - and make a huge difference to individuals and communities across the country and abroad."

Click here to visit the ABO Website

Muso Life's Lauren Strain praises Manchester Camerata's Songbook of the Earth project

"It's a little after the fact, but we wanted to flag up a rather special event that occurred at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on 27 January.

More than 2000 school children from Manchester and its attendant regions were present that morning for a special concert from the Manchester Camerata. The orchestra mesmerised the packed-out hall with a performance of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, complete with explanations and jokes for the little ones.

This writer was pleased to hear of such an event; such large-scale concerts expressly for an audience comprised of Key Stage 2 students are, sadly, quite rare, probably for reasons of logistics (getting all those kids out of school and into the city centre can't be simple!) and timetabling (day trips involve lots of co-ordination between teachers and extra parental help, not to mention money).

But, when the effort is made, the overwhelmingly positive results can be clearly seen on the kids' faces; for many of these children, the concert will have been their first ever experience of an orchestra in action.

The concert was the largest ever education project staged by the Camerata and the Bridgewater Hall, and existed as part of the orchestra and venue's Songbook of the Earth Learning and Prticipation Project - which in itself is a component of the citywide Mahler Festival, which began on 16 January and will continue until 5 June.

Due to the resounding success of the Beethoven event, it is hoped that similar occasions will be programmed for the future.

In the meantime, many of the children who attended the concert have their own big moment onstage to look forward to. On 19 April, the end result of the ambitious Songbook of the Earth education project - which also involves a series of live workshops attended by 14 schools from the Greater Manchester region - will take the form of a gala concert at the Bridgewater Hall, in which lots of the children will perform their Songbook of the Earth song cycle.

The song cycle has been written by the youngsters themselves with help from the Bridgewater Hall's poet-in-residence Terry Caffrey, composer Kate Pearson and a number of Camerata musicians. "

The songbook itself will be published in the early summer.

To read the whole blog click here

This project has been funded by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

To read more about the the Songbook of the Earth project click here 

Musolife.com highlights Manchester Camerata's ticket bargains for students

Manchester Camerata offers "bargainous tickets" to students

"Ukrainian violinist Valeriy Sokolov is one of classical music's brightest young things - and, alongside critics, who declared his performance at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in January a triumph, it seems he's got concert promoters eating out of the palm of his hand, too.

The 24-year-old up-and-comer is set to play not one but two concerts in Manchester over the next couple of months - one with the Manchester Camerata at the Bridgewater Hall on 13 March and the other with the Hallé orchestra, also at the Bridgewater Hall, on 15 April.

There's no excuse not to see the young star, either, as for the March event students can take advantage of Manchester's Sonic Card scheme, which allows discounted entry into a number of the Camerata's concerts.

For students in possession of a Sonic Card, the ticket price for the 13 March concert is a mere £3.

Obtaining a Sonic Card membership is free, and can be done online at their website or in person at one of their affiliated events.

Sonic Card membership also allows discounted entry to a number of RNCM and BBC Philharmonic events."

To read more about the Classic Exchanges concert on 13 March 2010 click here

To see the rest of this Musolife article click here

Manchester Confidiential previews Valeriy Sokolov's appearance with Manchester Camerata on 13 March 2010:

Talented young violinist Valeriy Sokolov plays Beethoven at the Bridgewater Hall

When three venues book the same musician in as many months, it's a sign that someone special has stepped on to the scene. 24-year-old violinist Valeriy Sokolov is being hailed by classical music critics as a prodigious new talent. He recently impressed audiences at the Royal Northern College of Music, and he's now preparing to do the same at the Bridgewater Hall with Manchester Camerata, before going on to play with the Halle at the same venue in April. Valeriy was born in 1986 in Kharkov, Ukraine and began playing the violin when he was five. He was just 11-years-old when he appeared as a soloist with an orchestra for the first time, performing Vieuxtemps' 5th Concerto. Nowadays he studies at the Royal College of Music in London.

Valeriy's record company Virgin Classics released a DVD about him in 2006 called A Natural Born Fiddler. Its director Bruno Monsaingeon describes the first time he heard the young musician play:

"It was in Britain, in the spring of 2003, at the Yehudi Menuhin School, that I first had the opportunity to hear Valery Sokolov play. I had only just learned of his existence when he offered to play me the Ysaÿe Sonata. As he did so, not the slightest tension marred the impression he gave of total ease with his instrument, absolute control of technique, a musical maturity which made the fact that he was only 16 completely irrelevant, and above all, an utter abandonment to the flow of the music."

To read more of the Manchester Confidential preview click here

For details of Valeriy Sokolov's concert with Manchester Camerata and to book tickets click here

STAFFORD FAMILY CREATIVITY DAY

Sunday 28 February 2010

10:15am till 3.00pm

Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

To book telephone the Stafford Gatehouse Theatre Box Office on 01785 254653

or in person to the Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, Eastgate Street, Stafford ST16 2LT.

Manchester Camerata invites you to take part in our latest Family Creativity Day in Stafford.  

A recent similar event in Chester was listed as one of the top 25 family things to do for the Half Term holidays by The Times newspaper.

The days are made up of three workshops, leading to a special performance in the afternoon. Everyone gets experience of each of the sessions during the day.

The first workshop is a percussion workshop when everyone can have a go on our principal percussionist’s huge range of percussion, including sleigh bells, gongs, timpani, drums, wind chimes, exotic African and Asian instruments etc

The second workshop is craft based and children and parents make props, scenery, costumes and instruments for the final performance.

The third workshop is with a storyteller and is drama based - everyone gets involved with bringing the script to life and acting out the story.

The three groups come together at the end for a final performance on the stage. Non participating members of the family are welcome to come and watch.

Children must be accompanied by an adult, who will also have the opportunity to take an active role in the day’s activities!  There is a short break for lunch and you can invite non participating family members along to the final performance. The day is most suitable for children between the ages of 7 and 11 although this is very flexible. 

Tickets are £5 for adults and £3 for children. Entry for the final performance at 2:30pm is free, but you’ll need to book a tickets through the box office and places are limited!.

There's some exciting new content on the Manchester Camerata website: a Podcast library.

Throughout the season we have been collecting interviews with key players in our work and other audio clips that capture the magic of Camerata in action.

We have just uploaded eight new audio articles, including interviews with Bob Riley and Music Director Douglas Boyd, 'resident graffiti artist' Sophie Backhouse, RNCM conducting fellow Eduardo Portal, and Bethan Rhys William talking about our recent artistic collaboration with the RNCM - Belshazzar: The Writing on the Wall.

Go to www.manchestercamerata.co.uk/interact/podcasts-library and click on the image to hear the audio or right click to save to your mobile device.

Enjoy!

Review from Chris Ramsden's Notes from Middle England blog

ADI DOES A GORDAN; THE CAMERATA STRINGS IN STAFFORD

"Back in 2007, Gordan Nikolitch turned up at the Stafford Gatehouse with the Manchester Camerata and proceeded to conduct them while playing the violin. It was a pretty awesome sight and sound. His day job is leading the London Symphony Orchestra, and he'd obviously seen quite a few conductors from his front-row seat and decided he could do better.

He's still principal guest director of the Camerata, but I see he's now made a disc conducting the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra from the violin in Schubert's fourth and fifth symphonies. It's won the accolade of being an Editor's Choice in Gramophone magazine; "there are myriad intricacies and a delicious lightness of touch" says James Inverne.

Well, the latest violinist to dig a tunnel out of the orchestral prison is Adi Brett, who came to the Stafford Gatehouse with the Manchester Camerata last night (though she's had a haircut and doesn't look much like the picture any more.)

She was in the Hallé for eight years before leaving to go freelance, and last night, like Gordan, she conducted the Camerata's strings from the violin. Now I'm not qualified to say whether they sounded better with her than without her. But I can say the concert was an unqualified success.

She began by talking to us, which was absolutely the right thing to do with any audience in Staffordshire or Cheshire. She introduced the music, though she doesn't yet stand up and speak as well as she stands up and plays.

The concert opened with Holst's St Paul's Suite. It's named after the girls' school in Hammersmith where he taught music. They must have been pretty good, but I heard the lady next to me telling her companion it's a very good school, academically. No doubt something similar was said when Antonio Vivaldi led out his girls, too.

Then Adi Brett stood up to take us through Schubert's Rondo in A for violin and strings, which can sound a little bland unless it's carefully pointed. Here it was excellent, even if Adi Brett didn't seem to me to have got the balance quite right yet between playing up to the audience and conducting her orchestra.

Elgar's Serenade for Strings was strong and shapely. The Sibelius work -- Rakastava, the Lover -- was one I didn't know, and I'm a keen Sibelius fan. I shall be looking it out (though I see from the internet that it should have a triangle and tympani in it as well. The Camerata seemed to manage fine without either).

And finally, the work we'd all been waiting for, Tchaikovsky's String Serenade. With only nineteen players, and only one double bass, this was a fine, strong and nimble sound. Just lovely. Adi Brett made three curtain calls and her orchestra refused to stand up to take the audience's applause until they'd finished fully applauding her. Watch out for her doing a Gordan sometime soon.

Manchester Camerata to perform RNCM student's work RNCM Composition student Steven Jackson will have one of his compositions performed by Manchester Camerata on 24 April 2010. Steven received this opportunity as part of Manchester Camerata’s Manchester Composers’ Project. Three young musicians - one each from Manchester University, the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and Chetham’s School of Music - will have pieces premiered before the general public as part of the orchestra’s regular concert series. Steven commented, ‘My success in the project brings me my first public performance by a professional ensemble and as such I am very happy to have entered the competition and have my work chosen, especially as the other pieces were so strong. The workshop was a very helpful and rewarding experience.'

The Manchester Camerata Manchester Composers' Project is now in its second year. Manus Carey, Head of Artistic Planning with Manchester Camerata, explained that the challenge set for the students by this year's Project is designed to ensure that the freshly composed pieces reflect themes that the orchestra has been examining recently. 

"Throughout the 2009/10 season Manchester Camerata is exploring cultural exchanges, diverse musical influences, and the boundaries that frequently exist between different cultures. We therefore asked the students to come up with short pieces that are based on this idea of cultural exchange and which reflect the multi-cultural nature of the country in which we live.'

The Telegraph's David Fanning reviews the BBC Philharmonic's concert of Mahler and Cerha, part of the Mahler in Manchester series.

"IN 1960, the centenary of Mahler's birth was a turning point, and not just for his reputation. Suddenly everyone woke up to music that felt more modern than anything the pundits had been calling modernist or avant-garde. And so musical postmodernism was born. Well, more or less. 

Fifty years on, perhaps Mahler has become so much part of the furniture that we need reminding how innovative and rebellious he was. Which may be why the BBC Philharmonic and the Hallé came up with the idea of commissioning companion pieces for each of his symphonies from composers inspired by his work.

The danger is, of course, that the new pieces will be simply dwarfed, as Friedrich Cerha's 20-minute tone-poem, Like a Tragicomedy, undoubtedly was. Cerha is known for his fine work in orchestrating the final act of Berg's Lulu. Now in his eighties, his music is still nostalgic for the Second Viennese School, to judge from its frantic, convulsive tuttis and etiolated, mandolin-tinged episodes.

To read the whole review - click here

David Lister writes in the Independent.

"Last Tuesday I think I saw the future. At least, I hope I did. In a sensational evening at the Royal Festival Hall, I watched Daniel Barenboim play Beethoven's third piano concerto and conduct Schoenberg's notoriously difficult Variations for Orchestra Op 31. That in itself was stunningly good, but it was the third element of the evening that turned it into a sensation.

Before conducting the Schoenberg piece, Barenboim gave what was described as an "illustrated talk" from the podium, introduced the various themes from sections of the orchestra, explained how they fitted together and how the motifs were subtly altered and repeated. This prelude to a 21-minute piece lasted nearly half an hour. The audience was rapt, partly because this was a master showman at work, with a sense of comedy and timing to be envied by many a stand-up comedian. By the end of the talk he had the audience, not quite whistling Schoenberg as he had promised, but at least learning to love him, which is quite an achievement.

But Barenboim's charisma was only part of the reason that the audience was rapt. I also think it was because it was a treat to be addressed at all by a conductor at a classical music concert. It made the occasion memorable. Why does it not happen more often? Conductors are some of the greatest personalities in the world of music, and by virtue of what they have to do with an orchestra, some of the greatest communicators, yet we never hear them speak or even see their faces. Would not a brief talk about the music enliven a concert and help to bring in that much needed "new audience"?

To read the whole article in the Independent click here

6 month contract, 3 days p.w.

Manchester Camerata is seeking an enthusiastic graduate for a voluntary Concerts Internship. The successful applicant must be creative and proactive with the drive and ambition to develop a career in the arts. The ideal candidate will be able to work on their own initiative, will have a positive approach and will have the confidence to put forward their own ideas when appropriate.

The successful candidate will work closely with the Head of Artistic Planning and Orchestra Manager, assisting with the administration and implementation of concert planning and other work undertaken by the department.

The Concerts Internship provides an excellent opportunity to gain experience in all aspects of orchestral administration and would be ideal for anyone hoping to pursue a career within arts administration. Previous interns have gone on to secure permanent jobs in a variety of arts settings, including the Royal Exchange Theatre and the Royal Opera House.

Please click here to download the Concerts Intern Job Pack in PDF format.

HOW TO APPLY

Please address your application to Manus Carey, Head of Artistic Planning, mcarey@manchestercamerata.com. Applications should consist of a CV and covering letter not exceeding 2 pages, making reference to and demonstrating how you would fulfil the job description and person specification.

Deadline for applications: Monday 22 February 2010, 5pm

Interview dates: w/c 1 March 2010

The programme of music for string orchestra began with Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite. Originally written for his pupils at St. Paul’s School, Hammersmith, the Camerata’s performance reflected this; they played with youthful energy that really brought the piece to life. This was followed by Schubert’s Rondo in A major for Violin and Strings. Whilst the piece itself was met less-favourably by the audience than the Holst, soloist Adi Brett was adored; her beautiful playing mesmerised and delighted. The first half was brought to a close with Elgar’s Serenade for Strings. Although it is one of the most frequently played works in the string orchestra repertoire, the Camerata still managed to give a unique performance.

Sibelius’s Rakastava String Suite opened the second half. Originally a choral setting of folk poetry with a love theme, the composer later rewrote the suite for string orchestra. The beauty of the work is its lyrical quality, which the Camerata drew heavily upon, playing poignantly cantabile. Finally, the concert concluded with Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C major. He claimed “it poured from the heart”, and so did the Camerata’s performance. From the most gloriously sonorous passages to the scintillating magic of the third movement, the ensemble produced one of the best renderings of a piece the concert season has seen so far. It was an excellent end to the evening."

Simon Fenton, The Yorker

Sunday Times reviewer Paul Driver writes in timesonline.co.uk

"Douglas Boyd conducted the Manchester Camerata in Das Lied von der Erde, Mahler's symphonic song cycle, in a chamber version begun by Schoenberg, but finished (in 1983) by the conductor Rainer Riehn.

The new work on this occasion was the brief, concise Mosaic, by the young Lebanese, British-born Bushra El-Turk: her structure of freely shuffled fragments, coalescing into quasi-Byzantine chant before dissonantly climaxing, allowed her to incorporate harmony from Das Lied von der Erde and to salute the cross-culturalism of Mahler's use of Chinese poetry. All 11 commissions are, I believe, responses to Mahler. The others include David Matthews's Symphony No 7, to go with Mahler's 7th, and Edward Gregson's Dream Song, using snippets from Mahler's 6th. By way of a different gambit, the organist Olivier Latry will improvise on the chant Veni, Creator Spiritus before the choral-orchestral Symphony No 8 based on it.

These vigorous novelties, along with talks, films and supplementary concerts, set the series apart from other Mahler cycles, of which there is no shortage these days, and for which anniversary promptings are hardly needed. Works once rare, then becoming "festival symphonies" outside the run of concertising, are now as common as the symphonies of Beethoven and Brahms. Whole cycles of them proliferate. How this came about has not been entirely answered, but the performances I attended in Manchester strengthened my feeling that what Mahler offers, and audiences crave (something rock music can never give), is a total sensory explanation of existence.

Das Lied von der Erde presents such an overview under the aegis of poignancy, transience and farewell. The poignancy of this account was highlighted by the reduced forces: just 16 performers, including a harmonium player who turns to the celesta at the end, and a pianist who sits back much of the time, occasionally and none too plausibly filling in a trumpet or a double-bassoon line. The tenor soloist Peter Wedd and, above all, the mezzo-soprano Jane Irwin assured us of a deeply affecting experience."

To read the whole timesonline.co.uk review click here

Ten works were heard in all, with the composers taking part from the Royal Northern College of Music, Chethams and Manchester University. One composer was chosen from each of those institutions.

The successful composers are:

Jonathan Woolgar (Chethams) will have his work Asesinato en la Danza showcased on the 13 March 2010 at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Steven Jackson (RNCM) whose work One Hundred Years Above a Kitchen will be performed at the RNCM on April 23 and 24, 2010.

Jose Guillermo Puello (Manchester University) will see his composition Cojuelo Spirit played on 21 and 22 May, 2010 at the Bridgewater Hall.

The workshops gave the composers a vital opportunity to have a dialogue with the musicians who'll ultimately have to play their works. For some this was the first opportunity to hear their compositions played by professional musicians.

Junior Fellow in Conducting at the RNCM Eduardo Portal acted as a bridge between the aspiring composers and the Manchester Camerata musicians.  Click here to find out why he thinks this kind of process is vital.

City Life's Robert Beale observes the Mahler frenzy in Manchester

"IT’S a long time since I have seen such a queue of people waiting hopefully for the odd returned ticket to get into a concert at the Bridgewater Hall – and that sight on Thursday (January 28) showed how Manchester’s Mahler symphony cycle idea has caught on.

It was the Hallé, conducted by Markus Stenz in the second (‘Resurrection’) symphony, attracting the crowd – and no doubt pleasing for Colin Matthews, the composer of Crossing The Alps, commissioned for the occasion and preceding Mahler.

His new piece is for eight-part chorus, a setting of Wordsworth (from The Prelude). He set the Hallé Choir a test with this, and the organ accompaniment, though described as partly optional, was needed to keep them securely on pitch. 

The piece is deeply felt and expresses its passion through long, interweaving melodic lines in contrast with more static textures – and a splendid, dissonant final chord. 

Its choice of lyric was not, in spirit, so far from Mahler’s universalism, and in the symphony Markus Stenz produced a reading of high drama, energy and contrasts. The orchestra gave everything he asked for, with elegantly articulated counterpoint and clear textures.

Dramatic

The second movement’s insinuating charm and the deliberately false optimism of the third were among the best things, and the calm of Urlicht, with Katerina Karnéus the soloist, was wonderfully unearthly. With Susan Gritton, the Hallé Choir and Youth Choir, the finale was the thrill we all knew it would be: Stenz, whose faster speeds were all energetic, whipping up a particularly quick march to the climax. But maybe it needs a little more gravitas than that.

Saturday’s concert by Manchester Camerata was the culmination of a Mahler day at the Bridgewater Hall, and its most fascinating experience the arrangement of Das Lied Von Der Erde for chamber ensemble by Schoenberg and Rainer Riehn. 

Douglas Boyd and his players (led by Adi Brett) made luscious timbres to surround the singing of Peter Wedd and Jane Irwin, and between them caught Mahler’s vivid sound pictures with imagination and richness. There was a dramatic quality, too – perhaps the greatest gain from this version of a piece usually heard in sumptuous full-orchestra guise.

That was not all that was special about the concert, though. With Richard Howarth leading, the Camerata played Bushra El-Turk’s world premiere, Mosaic, which had original (and rewarding) writing for the wind instruments and a haunting and atmospheric lament for its muted strings.

And Beethoven’s sixth symphony, too! Another masterly recording to come in the Camerata set, I’m sure, and full of clarity, delightful phrasing and pulsating life."

City Life, Published February 1 2010

Gramophone "A Vivid performance from Manchester Camerata"

On a freezing Manchester evening, walking past Waterhouse’s Gothic-revival town hall, the neo-classical library, the huge iron arch of the former railway station (now a conference centre) – all manifestations of civic self-confidence – nature feels a long way away.

It isn’t of course. On a clear day, from parts of the city, you can make out the Peak District on the horizon, a brooding lure as readily accessible as the Austrian countryside around Vienna would have been for Beethoven and Mahler. Those composers’ relationships with nature provided the programmatic link for the third instalment in Manchester’s Mahler cycle on Saturday, which stepped out of the symphonic chronology to present Schoenberg’s transcription of Das Lied von der Erde.

Schoenberg founded the Vienna-based Association for Private Musical Performances in 1918. Dedicated to exploring new music but short of funds, they made a number of chamber versions of larger works, of which Das Lied was one (begun by Schoenberg, it was completed in 1983 by conductor Rainer Riehn). Listening to Manchester Camerata's  vivid performance, conducted by Douglas Boyd, the first thing to note about the transcription is what an astonishing noise it still makes, tenor Peter Wedd’s anguished opening cry still sounding like he’s bursting through a great sonic swell.

To read the whole review by Martin Cullingford from Gramophone magazine click here.