Planet Carlos
That Other Job of His
The Oregon Symphony took most of the summer off, as is its custom, but not so our globe-trotting Music Director Carlos Kalmar, who spent much of his summer on the other podium he occupies, that of principal conductor at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago. You might even say Kalmar took the Windy City by storm, leading no less than 16 performances at the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion in June, July and August.
Among the highlights of Kalmar’s summer season: concerts featuring the Beethoven Missa Solemnis, Brahms’ German Requiem and the Grieg Piano Concerto with Ukranian pianist Valentina Lisitsa. (Heads up: Kalmar and Lisitsa will team up to perform the Grieg again, at the Schnitz this time, on Oct.18-20.)
At Grant Park, Kalmar also had the opportunity to work with Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin, whose voice he likes to describe as “creamy” and “phenomenal.” PDXers will get the chance to catch the two of them together at the Schnitz next May 9-11 in a concert that Kalmar has called “one of my favorite programs” of the season; it’ll include performances of Samuel Barber’s Knoxville, Summer of 1915 and Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. (It’s not too early to snap up tickets for that one!)
Writing about the Missa Solemnis in the Chicago Tribune, music critic John von Rhein praised the “extraordinary results” Kalmar got out of his Grant Park Orchestra, adding: “The almost superhuman demands … of the mass were impressively met.”
But then, we’re used to that around here, aren’t we?
Carlos on Disc
Good news for those who find that seeing Carlos Kalmar live just isn’t enough: Cedille Records, the small indy label that specializes in Chicago-based music, has released two new CDs that feature Kalmar leading his Grant Park Orchestra.
In August Cedille released “Symphony in Waves,” focusing on recent works by contemporary American composer Aaron Jay Kernis (including “Too Hot Toccata,” which Oregon Symphony audiences will hear live for the first time, with our own orchestra, in this fall’s Nov. 15-17 classical concerts). Earlier, Kalmar paired up with the great
mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore for “Royal Mezzo,” an album of vocal works by Barber, Berlioz, Britten and Ravel. You can listen to excerpts from both at the record label’s web site: www.cedillerecords.org.
And even better news for Kalmar’s fans here: The Oregon Symphony and Portland’s own Pink Martini will perform two live concerts here at the Schnitz next May 31 and June 1 that will be recorded for Pink Martini’s first live album. Should be amazing. Concert tickets are on sale now.
That disc, on Pink Martini’s Heinz Records label, will be the Oregon Symphony’s first recording since 2005 – and its first ever with Kalmar on the podium.
