Overture
In this issue: CampAsia • Maria Callas Debut Artist • African American Art: works on paper • Private Universes • City Arts
Dallas / Fort Worth • wrr101.com
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A Monthly publication For Friends of WRR
June 2009
Cliburn competition broadcast live
The final round of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition will air live at WRR 101.1 fm and wrr101.com starting June 3. We’ll broadcast every heart-pounding note, culminating in the awarding of medals the evening of Sunday, June 7. Find the most complete coverage of the the Cliburn Competition at wrr101.com/cliburn. WRR’s official Cliburn Competition reporter Matt Erikson hosts the concerts with special guests visiting our Bass Hall broadcast booth such as 7th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist José Feghali, 4th Cliburn Gold Medalist Vladimir Viardo, and
nationally-syndicated radio host Fred Child of American Public Media’s Performance Today. Wednesday through Friday, the broadcasts begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 6, WRR will go live at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The final session is on Sunday, June 7 at 1:30 p.m. Every note of these high-intensity concerto and solo performances will be broadcast live on the station and we will breakprogramming immediately after the medals are awarded with the results. For the final round of the competition, each pianist performs a fifty-minute solo recital. The six finalists also play two piano concertos each, accompanied by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and internationally-renowned maestro James Conlon. A remarkable group of jurors has been assembled, with such piano luminaries as Menahem Pressler, Michel Beroff and Dmitri Alexeev. The jury has had a particular challenge this year with a stunning ros-
It’s the Orchestra... Outdoors
Fort Worth’s best seasonal outing, the 19th annual Concerts In The Garden summer music festival offers 16 nights of outdoor concerts, June 5 - July 5, at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden located on University Drive and Interstate 30. This series offers a variety of music for every taste, from Elvis to the Eagles to Tchaikovsky’s explosive 1812 Overture, plus fabulous fireworks every night, two nights of Laser Light shows, and three nights of Old-Fashioned Family Fireworks Picnic on July 2, 3 and 4! The festival features outdoor performances in a casual setting. Bring a picnic and relax on a blanket under the stars or reserve your own table for added comfort. Patrons may bring their own refreshments or purchase light refreshments on site. Then it’s time to relax and enjoy Texas’ best music surrounded by the lush beauty of the Botanic Garden! The summer music series is a great bargain for families! Children 10 and under are admitted free on the lawn if accompanied by an adult, and children’s table tickets are available at more than half off the adult price in select areas. Lawn seating is $15-$18 (children 10 and under admitted free on the lawn if accompanied by an adult). Table tickets are $22$45 for adults and $10-$45 for children 10 and younger. For tickets, visit www.fwsymphony.org or call 817-665-6000. Concerts In The Garden receives major support from BNSF Railway, Frank Kent Cadillac, Hawk Electronics, Star-Telegram, Wells Fargo and XTO Energy. Admission for children 10 and under is made possible by a generous grant from the Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust.
Overture • June 2009
ter of athletic pianists with big personalities. Luckily, you don’t have to agree with them. WRR is assembling a jury of our listeners to tell us who was their favorite at wrr101.com/ cliburn. Maybe it was Alessandro Deljavan’s passion and personality (pictured below) or Natacha Kudritskaya’s bronze Adidas. Whatever your reasoning, place your vote in the Pick Your Favorite link and be entered to win a Cliburn Competition prize pack with a pair of Bose QC3 headphones. Join Matt Erikson at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 13 for a two-hour documentary overview of the competition, including interviews from competitors and jurors and some of the best moments from the dozens of hours of thrilling performances Cliburn Competition audiences enjoyed at Bass Hall. WRR’s coverage of the Cliburn Competition is brought to you by Steinway Hall DFW and by XTO Energy of Fort Worth.
Speaking of the Cliburn Competition By Matt Erikson
Once the competition ends and the red carpets are rolled up for another four years, look no further than the recordings that these prize-winning pianists have left for us to enjoy. There are the recordings taken from the competitions themselves, but often what’s more rewarding is listening to CDs of these performers years after their Cliburn success. When Romanian pianist Radu Lupu won the Cliburn Competition in 1966, the prestige of the event grew exponentially. Considered one of the most important pianists of our time, Lupu is also one of classical music’s more elusive figures and great Schubert interpreters. For the best example of Lupu in action, treat yourself to the 4 CD set Radu Lupu Plays Schubert released under the Decca label. It includes nine Schubert sonatas and the lovely miniatures, the Moments Musicaux. Jumping ahead more than 30 years in Cliburn history, you’ll come to American pianist Jon Nakamatsu. Four years before his 1997 gold medal, Nakamatsu didn’t even qualify for the competition. He had no conservatory training and was making a living in California as a high school German teacher at the time. What a difference a few years can make. Nakamatsu’s 2006 Gershwin recording on the Harmonia Mundi label features Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F. Accompanied by the Rochester Philharmonic, the recording spent a remarkable 30 weeks on the Billboard Classical charts. This is piano-playing at its most elegant and entertaining. 2001 Cliburn Competition gold medalist Olga Kern also reached super stardom. Impressing Fort Worth audiences with her fiery Rachmaninoff and red dress, Kern has recently branched out into other repertoire. I think her newest Brahms Variations CD for Harmonia Mundi shows her greatest progress as an artist. This is highly virtuosic music, e.g., the Paganini Variations, but Kern pulls it off with a remarkable degree of individual style and flair. For something completely different, try the Radiohead transcriptions by 1981 Cliburn finalist Christopher O’Riley. O’Riley is the host of the radio program From the Top, which airs on WRR Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. His 2003 CD True Love Waits, produced by Sony Classical, includes some of the most colorful arrangements of pop music you’ll ever hear. It also goes to show that you don’t have to be a Cliburn gold medalist to enjoy a very successful career.
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