In the press she’s been called (Gillian) ‘Welch’s lost young daughter’ 
Bluegrass-country-folk songwriter Sarah Jarosz - a Texan teen, born in 1991 - is still very young and a huge talent. Her breakthrough album ‘Song Up In Her Head’, released in the summer of 2009, was now given a five star ‘top of the world’-review in Songlines (September 2010) by reviewer Rose Skelton who uses superlatives like ’supertalent’, ‘fabulous moments’ and ‘exceptional piece of work’. On YouTube I found this track from Sarah Jarosz’s celebrated album, titled Shankill Butchers, a song she covered from The Decemberists. All the other tracks she wrote herself. Great to hear this new young talent.
Posts Tagged ‘USA’
Texan teen Sarah Jarosz is a huge talent
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010Valentina Lisitsa / livestream webcast recording sessions 24 Etudes Chopin
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010On August 17th, 18th and 19th 2010 I attended in the Beethovensaal in Hannover Valentina Lisitsa’s rehearsal (17th) and recording sessions (18th and 19th) of the 24 Etudes of Chopin. While a live-webstream was running during Valentina’s playing and Alexei (Valentina’s husband) was putting it on his cameras, I did some webhosting and on the 17th I also filmed some of the rehearsing.
In the upstairs studio there was producer Michael Fine, assisted by Tammy Fine and sound engineer Wolf-Dieter Karwatky.
Valentina and producer Michael Fine
Alexei (Valentina’s husband), Valentina and producer Michael Fine
Valentina played on a veery beautiful Steinway D Hamburg, prepared and taken care off by piano technician Gerd Finkenstein.
Valentina in the Beethovensaal in Hannover
The 24 Etudes were played by Valentina with great artistic depth and a deep understanding of Chopin. There were tiny details and truly magnificent colours that I had not heard before in her playing of the Etudes. Truly amazing!
Me and Valentina during a coffee break
Valentina and the whole crew really loved the wonderful response from the livestream webcast’s visitors.
Right after finishing the recordings Valentina takes a look into the chatroom and starts chatting
As soon as Valentina had finished Op.25-12 she switched to another keyboard and entered the chatroom for a final talk with the viewers and ‘followers’. Big Fun for evryone !
Unique Halloweenconcert with Valentina Lisitsa in Leiden - 31 Oct. 2010
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010OMG… you don’t wanna miss this Halloweenconcert with pianist Valentina Lisitsa on 31 October in Leiden… SPOOOOKY !
OMG… Valentina in a coffin! Click on the picture above to enlarge
So, if you dare… on 31 October 2010 things get ’scary’ in the Waag in Leiden when ’spookish’ classical compositions will be played by daredevil-pianist Valentina Lisitsa in a HALLOWEENCONCERT! Tickets can already be ordered online or - otherwise - for the season 2010-2011 ticket boxes of the Stadsgehoorzaal Leiden open on 6 September 2010.
Halloweenconcert’s programme (click on picture above to enlarge)
Halloweenconcert’s location: The Waag in Leiden
Valentina Lisitsa : solo takes Rachmaninoff #4
Sunday, August 8th, 2010On August 7th, 2010, I’ve published two new videos on my YouTubechannel with another 18 minutes of some exquisite playing by Valentina Lisitsa, filmed by me in London, Abbey Road Studios, December 6th, 2009.
It’s some of my footage of Valentina doing solo take recordings of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.4, as part of her Rachmaninoff Project with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), conducted by Michael Francis and produced by Michael Fine.
For this project with the LSO - that’s bound for release by the end of 2010 - Valentina recorded at the Abbey Road Studios in London Rachmaninoff’s four piano concertos and Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Variations in September 2009 (piano concerti 1 and 2), in December 2009 (piano concerti 3 and 4) and in March 2010 (Paganini Variations).
If you like Rachmaninoff you can’t afford missing Valentina’s exquisite, brilliant, electrifying and delicate ‘Rachy touch’. Listen and enjoy!
Valentina Lisitsa practices live on the web until Independance Day
Monday, June 28th, 2010I don’t think any of the world’s best classical pianists has ever done this… but she does. Out of loyalty and gratitude to her worldwide following Valentina Lisitsa is running a live webcam inside her practice studio at home until the 4th of July (midnight to be exact).
Buffy, one of Valentina’s cats, joined in at some point and started a piano duet… what a treat!
The use of technology to connect with an audience, like no other pianist Valentina Lisitsa knows how to do this. Her live-rehearsals involve working on recital and concert programmes that she has to perform next month. The number of pieces she’s working on in these rehearsals: 55 ! That’s FIFTY-FIVE, yes, and more than half of the material is (more…)
Valentina Lisitsa: Rachmaninoff/Warenberg Piano Concerto #5 2nd Movement
Saturday, June 19th, 2010Now Listen to this!
Valentina Lisitsa plays the theme of the Rachmaninoff/Warenberg ‘5th’ Piano Concerto’s 2nd movement, recorded in Amsterdam. A very beautiful interpretation, that imho combines and fuses a poetic delicacy with soulful temperament and powerful passion that only Valentina can bring out to the listener. I’m sure you’ll enjoy her playing here as much as I do.
This piano concerto is an arrangement by Alexander Warenberg of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Symphony. The recording presented here is used with permission and part of video-material shot by Alexei Kuznetsoff (Valentina’s husband) in Amsterdam, May 2010, that features Valentina playing piano solo parts of the Rachmaninoff/Warenberg Piano Concerto #5.
Valentina was performing in The Netherlands in May 2010. On 29 May 2010 I did a video-interview with Valentina in Rotterdam on the Rachmaninoff/Warenberg 5th Piano Concerto after she played the concerto with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra on 28 May 2010.
Me and Valentina after the interview in Rotterdam
I will present this interview in a video-report later on this year combined with the video-material, shot in Amsterdam, of Valentina playing piano solo parts of the ‘5th’ concerto.
22-5-10: not to be missed recital by world class pianist Valentina Lisitsa in Leiden
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010On Saturday 22 May 2010 electrifying world class classical pianist Valentina Lisitsa is performing in Leiden, The Netherlands. She’s gonna play an exciting and daring programme: two Beethoven Sonatas (the ‘Mondschein’ and the very complicated ‘Hammerklavier’) and all(!) 24 etudes of Chopin. For more information on the location and sale of tickets, click here. On Friday 28 May she will perform the Rachmaninoff / Warenberg 5th Piano Concerto (European premiere) with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Both concerts are really a must for evry lover of classical piano playing.
Valentina Lisitsa during a rehearsal in the Abbey Road Studios, London, December 2009 (photo: Pieter de Rooij)
I consider Valentina Lisitsa a once-in-a-generation pianist and one of the best classical pianists ever. To illustrate my words I’ll present below ten videos of Valentina that show the immense range of her musical powers. Most of these videos are from her Youtubechannel, which is actually the world’s best visited channel of a classical pianist. I also would like to refer to my Youtube video-documentary on Valentina’s Rachmaninoff recording project with the London Symphony Orchestra that can be found on my Youtubechannel, along with other videos I made last year in London of Valentina talking and playing. If you live in Holland and you like classical piano then don’t miss this great opportunity to hear the one and only Valentina Lisitsa live on stage in May 2010 in Leiden and Rotterdam.
1. Rachmaninoff / Etude Tableau Op 39 No. 6 “Little Red Riding Hood“
2. Liszt / Totentanz
3. Rachmaninoff / Piano Concerto No.2 minus orchestra, 2nd movement
4. Rachmaninoff / Piano Concerto No.1, 1st movement, Cadenza (my recording)
5. Chopin / Etude Op 25 No.12
6. Chopin / Etude Op. 25 No. 6
7. Chopin / Etude Op 25 No.7
8. Schubert/Liszt / Schwanengesang #13, Die Taubenpost
10. Robert Schumann / Traumerei
Recensies 2007: Dino Saluzzi+Anja Lechner / Orquestra Imperial / Billy Cobham+Asere
Friday, March 26th, 2010Een aantal van mijn cd-reviews voor Mixed No.2, verschenen in het najaar van 2007. Besproken worden releases uit 2007 van Dino Saluzzi+Anja Lechner (Argentinië/Duitsland), Orquestra Imperial (Brazilië) en van Billy Cobham+Asere (Cuba/USA)
Klik enkele keren op de foto om te vergroten en de recensies te kunnen lezen.
Recensies 2007: muziek uit Congo, Cuba, Brazilië, India, USA, Australië
Thursday, March 25th, 2010Hier zijn nog een aantal van mijn cd-reviews voor Mixed No.1, verschenen in de zomer van 2007. Besproken worden releases uit 2007 van Papa Noël (Congo), Ricardo Tete (Brazilië), Marcio Faraco (Brazilië/Frankrijk), Susheela Raman (India/UK), Joan Manuel Serrat (Spanje/Cuba) en Bob Brozman (USA).
Klik enkele keren op de foto om te vergroten en de recensies te kunnen lezen.