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12. März 2018
Nach seinen jüngsten Erfolgen u.a. mit der New York City Opera am Lincoln Center in New York sowie in Sao Paulo und Sofia kehrte Ira Levin nach 2017 nun erneut an die Grand Théâtre Genève zurück, um diesmal sehr kurzfristig für den erkrankten Peter Schneider Schumanns SZENEN AUS GOETHES FAUST in der Victoria Hall zu Genf zu dirigieren. Folgt man den zahlreichen Vertretern der Presse, so boten diese Konzerte dem Publikum ein ganz außergewöhnliches Erlebnis:
I. “From the very first measures, conductor Ira Levin offered an interpretation full of energy and passion, marked with a great sense of theater. The orchestra of the Suisse Romande responded perfectly to his intentions, with the silky and luminous sounds of it’s greatest nights.” (Claudio Poloni in Concerto Net, March 1, 2018 click)
II. “Thank God a replacement was found in the shortest possible time to replace Peter Schneider, who became ill during his trip to Geneva. The Chicago-born conductor and pianist Ira Levin, who has lived for many years In Germany and has a very large opera and concert repertory, is already known to our readers as an excellent conductor from previous reviews and interviews. Much was promised and that promise was fulfilled. He began the overture with a sweep that tore one from their seat. With his circular movements, he repeatedly achieved moments of the greatest emotion. Schumann obviously intended for the orchestra to make the greatness and significance of his earthshaking subject palpable and the Suisse Romande orchestra has not only the name but the ability to realize that. Great music drama was in store. But it was never too loud or glaring in sound, the singers were always easily audible. With great sovereignty and sensitivity, this substitute conductor was able to achieve a sense of the whole out of the many disparate elements.” (Sieglinde Pfabigan in Der Neue Merker, February 28, 2018 click)
III. “To give life to such a composite work, the right conductor is needed, and in this respect the directors of the Grand Theater had a happy hand by choosing the American Ira Levin who, from the first bars of the somewhat thick orchestration of the Overture showed his goal of extracting extreme passionate lyricism. He also aroused the dark and terrifying moments of the Dies Irae as well as the iridescent and ethereal tones of the final scene. In this, he was assisted by the Orchester de la Suisse Romande which responded more and more to the constant exhortations of this energetic conductor. The entire presentation of this work was remarkable.” (Paul-Andre Demierre in Crescendo, March 1, 2018, click)
IV. “For a work with such an overabundance of meaning and sound, the conductor Ira Levin deployed a constant energy and sweep that animated the impressive ranks of the Orchestra of the Suisse Romande and the Choir of the Grand Théâtre de Genève. The musicians and singers were all excellent, each sound clearly audible, every tone perceptible.” (Fabrice Malkani in ForumOpera.com March 3, 2018, click)
V. “The Suisse Romande was conducted by Ira Levin, who replaced the ill Peter Schneider on short notice. From his precise and authoritarian gestures, the American conductor was constantly attentive to balances and colors, often urging his musicians to extremes of dynamics, especially in piano. The orchestra, thanks to it’s excellent musicians, responded by showing many contrasts and colors.” (Emannuel Derouux in Olyrix, February 26, 2018, click)
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07. Februar 2018
Die Cellistin Anastasia Kobekina gewinnt den Prix Thierry Scherz und den Prix André Hoffmann beim Schweizer Winter-Musikfestival, Sommets musicaux de Gstaad. Als Preis werden der Cellistin u.a. Aufnahmen mit Orchester für das Schweizer CD-Label Claves ermöglicht.
In Gstaad gab Anastasia Kobekina erstmals auch ein Interview für die Zeitschrift “the Strad”, zu welchem wir hier verlinken: click.
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22. November 2017
Der belgische Pianist Florian Noack erhält nach seinem Echo Klassik 2015, Diapason d’Or des Monats in 2015, International Classical Music Award (ICMA) 2017 nun auch den Diapason d’Or des Jahres.
Ausgezeichnet wird er damit einmal mehr für seine bei Ars Produktion erschienene CD “Sergei Lyapunov, Works for Piano Vol.2” (click)
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Mit Lara Boschkor beginnt nunmehr die Zusammenarbeit mit einer sehr vielverspre-chenden jungen Geige-rin. Mit bereits zahlrei-chen Siegen bei inter-nationalen Wettbewer-ben und beeindrucken-den Konzertauftritten, u.a. mit den Hamburger Symphonikern unter Jeffrey Tate, der Phil-harmonie Baden Baden unter Pavel Baleff, den Osaka Symphonikern unter Yuki Miyaki sowie den Dresdner Philharmonikern unter Michael Sanderling, spielt sie sich immer mehr in den Fokus der internationalen Musikwelt. Lara Boschkor gewann erst vor wenigen Tagen auch den Tonali17 Musikwettbewerb 2017 in Hamburg. Dazu nachträglich noch herzliche Gratulation! Weitere Informationen zu der Geigerin, einschließlich Hörbeispiele finden Sie hier: 
