Daniel Hope’s “Terezín/Theresienstadt” tour, spring 2009
“In a business that likes tidy
boxes drawn around its commodities, the British violinist Daniel Hope resists
categorization.”
– New York Times
After concerts in Hartford, CT (Apr 26) and North Bethesda,
MD (Apr 30), Daniel Hope returns to New York City this week for a performance on Saturday, May 2 at
Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. The tour program, “Terezín/Theresienstadt”, teams Hope with mezzo-soprano Anne
Sofie von Otter,
pianist Bengt Forsberg, and cellist Daniel Müller-Schott for an unforgettable exploration of vocal and
chamber works by composers interned during World War II in the notorious
Theresienstadt concentration camp.
Hope performs ErwinSchulhoff’s Sonata for violin and piano and Duo for violin
and cello as well as Robert Dauber’s Serenade for violin and piano; he also joins
Von Otter in a selection of songs.
Hope has long championed the works of composers whose lives
were destroyed by the Nazis. Last
year, his Deutsche Grammophon recording of music from Theresienstadtmet with great acclaim. The album, which featured liner notes
by Hope and performances by von Otter, Forsberg, and baritone Christian
Gerhaher, was a Gramophone“Editor’s Choice” selection. Britain’s
Guardian called the
recording “an eloquent act of homage which cannot fail to move,” and the disc
also won France’s coveted Diapason d’Or prize.
Deutsche Grammophon, for which Hope records exclusively,
recently released his latest disc, a collection of lesser-known violin
concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. The
new album, described by Gramophone in an “Editor’s Choice” review as“Out-of-season Vivaldi delivered
with a winning blend of love and intelligence,”also features an exquisite aria from the opera Andromeda
liberata, sung by
Anne Sofie von Otter.
Daniel Hope last performed in New York City in February, at
one of the grand re-opening celebration concerts for Lincoln Center’s Alice
Tully Hall. The performance
featured another of Hope’s special programs, “War and Pieces”. Steve Smith reported on it for the New
York Times:
“In a business that likes tidy boxes
drawn around its commodities, the British violinist Daniel Hope resists
categorization. Mr. Hope, a
compelling performer whose work involves standard repertory, new music, raga,
and jazz, emphasizes thoughtful engagement over flamboyant display. In his most personal undertakings, he
puts classical works within a broader context – not just among other styles and
genres but amid history, literature, and drama – to emphasize music’s role as a
mirror for struggle and aspiration.
“‘War and Pieces’, a dramatic
presentation Mr. Hope conceived with the Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer,
vividly demonstrates that urge.
The program, staged by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at
Alice Tully Hall on Friday night, paired Beethoven’s ‘Egmont’ Overture, composed
for a Goethe play about a Flemish revolutionary, with Stravinsky’s Soldier’s
Tale, a wry fable
about a soldier who trades his violin (read: his soul) to the Devil for the
promise of power and wealth.
“Mr. Hope and six superb young
colleagues played Stravinsky’s lean, jazzy score with dazzling virtuosity and
bite. Mr. Brandauer, narrating in
English translation and discreetly amplified, was eccentric and riveting. The soldier barked, sputtered, and fell
mute in connivance; the Devil seduced in a singsong falsetto.
“‘Egmont’, arranged by Jan Müller-Wieland
for Stravinsky’s wiry complement, was like a brittle parody out of Brecht and
Weill, with flamboyant work for a percussionist: here, Hans-Kristian Kjos
Sorensen. Passages from texts by
Goethe, Kafka, and Poe, recited by Mr. Brandauer before and between the works,
underscored themes of bellicosity and futility.”
A list of Daniel Hope’s upcoming engagements follows.
Daniel
Hope – spring 2009 engagements
April 30
Strathmore
Hall Arts Center
North
Bethesda, MD
“Terezín/Theresienstadt”
project
Anne
Sofie von Otter and Bengt Forsberg
May 2
Zankel
Hall (Carnegie)
New York,
NY
“Terezín/Theresienstadt”
project
Anne
Sofie von Otter and Bengt Forsberg
May 4–30
Brussels, Belgium
Queen Elisabeth Violin
Competition
Serving on jury and
teaching master class
May 5
Kronberg Academy
Frankfurt, Germany
Baroque program
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
May 8
Ravensburg, Germany
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
Concerto Köln
May 10
Mendelssohn Festival
London, England
Mendelssohn program
Sebastian Knauer
May 21
Detmold, Germany
“Wege durch das Land”
Klaus Maria Brandauer and Sebastian Knauer
June 1
Neuhardenberg, Germany
“Bonhoeffer” project
Klaus Maria Brandauer
June 11
Lausanne, Switzerland
Bernd Alois Zimmermann: Violin Concerto; Ravel: Tzigane
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Holliger
June 12
The Hague, Holland
Festival Classique
(Featuring special concert to commemorate 80th
anniversary of Anne Frank’s birth)
Artist in Residence
June 18
Barcelona, Spain
“East Meets West”
concert
June 25
Copenhagen, Denmark
Elgar: Violin Concerto
Tivoli Symphony
Orchestra
# # #