The SunBreak » rite of spring

Jon Kimura Parker Takes on Mussorgsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev & Stravinsky

Philippa Kiraly — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:21:35 +0000

The evening was an awesome physical feat for any performer, but at the very end, Parker’s fingers were as nimble, as accurate, his touch as relaxed, his playing as clean and rhymic as it all had been at the start. And after it, he played an encore, a quiet, rippling Rachmaninoff prelude.

Auburn Symphony’s Springtime “Rite,” With Strauss on the Side

Philippa Kiraly — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:00:04 +0000

The Rite is receiving many performances this season, one of them this past weekend by the Auburn Symphony Orchestra at that city’s Performing Arts Center. For this concert, conductor Stewart Kershaw coupled it with Richard Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration, a tone poem on essentially the same theme, composed some 22 years earlier.

For Compagnie Marie Chouinard, the Music Comes First

Philippa Kiraly — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:00:55 +0000

Superbly trained athletes the dancers are, undeniably. There is huge energy here, as Chouinard uses the whole body in movements fluid or jerky, seemingly easy but requiring great flexibility. At the same time the dancers need to be closely attuned to the music as so much of what they do is dictated by the phrasing, the mood, the rhythms of each prelude.

What We’re Hearing This Month: Classical Music Picks for March

Dana Wen — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:04:09 +0000

March is upon us, but it's still blustery, rainy, and cold outside. Luckily, Seattle's got plenty of live classical music to keep you warm while we all hunker down and wait for spring to arrive.