tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-369059732012-01-30T10:34:14.605+02:00On classical musicAfter several years of studies on classical music, I feel the need to share some thoughts with the people out there... Possibly mainly about classical music, this blog might have some other topics from time to time. Enjoy!Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.comBlogger601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-37993787606101707192008-08-06T23:32:00.001+03:002008-08-06T23:35:20.375+03:00...and Day 3
Thursday, day 3 of our rehearsal -like day 2- did not go as planned. Half of the morning got waisted in driving
around the city of Helsinki -for diverse reasons. Had to get some things from a drug store, plus to
help a friend with Silver´s car. So, we started around 12pm.
Once again, the focus of the practicing was the new trio. Just before that, we went through the two smaller,
and older, Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-66616262914686190712008-08-05T00:15:00.001+03:002008-08-05T00:18:26.015+03:00Day 2
Our second day of rehearsal was last Wednesday. It did not go the way I imagined; it was nevertheless,
helpful. With only three hours of practicing, I was afraid that we might get short of time on Thursday. Somehow, things
turned out very well.
The morning session went pretty well, and we focused on the new trio again. Solved a problem or two we
were having with it, and got to play some of the Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-82332437898352002008-07-29T20:25:00.004+03:002008-07-29T20:29:08.238+03:00Day 1
Time to rehearse some of the next concert's program. Yes, the cellist did
drop by yesterday and we had are first day of rehearsal for this week. (drop by:
he came from Tallinn to Helsinki in the morning with the boat, and left in the
evening). With three hours in the "morning" and another 2,5 in the afternoon,
I think we did a good job.
Since we have to learn a new trio -new for us, and Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-81056059640243553042008-07-12T20:25:00.001+03:002008-07-29T20:28:56.454+03:00One month
One month left for my first public performance since May 2007. It will be a chamber music concert,
so I won´t be very much stressed -with things like memory slips... On the program, works by Greek composers
that live abroad. Ms Jaana Ranta (flute) and Mr Silver Ainomäe (cello) will give me the pleasure and honor to play
with me. The concert place is Trieste, Italy.
So, this summer was -till nowStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-82273109261294742612008-06-05T18:49:00.001+03:002008-06-05T18:51:04.797+03:00Back on the block
Another long break from this blog, or blogging for that matter.
I have been pretty busy organizing things in my new "old" life. I came back to Helsinki couple of months ago, after I got the go from the doctors. There's no permanent job right now for me here, so I have to do things on my own. And by "things" I mean concerts.
Finland however, is a very well organized place, that means, usually Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-18190495868031899862008-04-06T22:33:00.002+03:002008-04-06T22:34:09.134+03:00A nation without manners or, Sokolov in Athens
Yes, Sokolov was here, for the second following year. Yes, he was splendid.
Once again. Though last year it wasn't his best. And before anyone reacts, this
was the eighth time I was listening him on a recital. He goes every year to Helsinki,
and I was present in almost every of his concerts. The year I missed it, well,
it didn't hurt. He played the same program at the Koeln Philharmonie -withStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-56607079739557836432008-03-15T18:36:00.003+02:002008-03-15T18:39:43.973+02:00Greek Festival
The program of the Athens festival was announced last week. I wasn't
sure on whether I should write anything about it or just let it be. An impressive
number of productions -mostly in June and July, following the format of the
previous two years- will be presented again. Lots of famous musicians and
ensembles will again appear, and most of the Greek newspaper journalists are very
happy about Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-13990091288477127042008-02-23T21:45:00.001+02:002008-02-23T21:48:42.090+02:00Shame
One more post on the Maria Callas competition, and this is as far as
I'll go giving them publicity. You see, as I said in the last post, I was
expecting better things from this jury. I wasn't however, counting on the
organizers, and the fact -because it is a fact- that they did want to push
some participants. Nevermind how I know it, I just mix in things and situations
-far more than I would Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-80576199904483834492008-02-18T23:55:00.004+02:002008-02-19T00:03:25.538+02:00Maria Callas Grand Prix
The Maria Callas Grand Prix is an international competition that
takes place every year in Athens; it is for piano and voice alternating.
The piano competition started last week. It is not the usual kind of competition
in the business, at least not anymore. It used to be one until the early '90s.
But the organizers started getting hundreds of applications, so after a proposal
from the late Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-66245435571491867982008-02-06T13:26:00.001+02:002008-02-18T23:57:18.463+02:00Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester in Athens
A late critique for the concert of Berlin's Radio orchestra. Usually,
I manage to be faster, but this time most critics of Greek newspapers -as well
as the ones that blog- got ahead of me. Anyway, a lovely concert, definitely
an experience worth to pay for -the least to say. Having said that, I do not
mean that I enjoyed every bit of the concert -but that's my problem.
In the program, two works Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-68748855090958469302008-01-28T15:50:00.000+02:002008-01-28T15:54:05.830+02:00Ensemble Modern in Athens
Yes, yes, some curious concerts take place as well in Athens. Last Thursday,
Jan. 24th, the Ensemble Modern had a concert at the Dimitri Mitropoulos
concert hall of the Megaron. In the program, Nikos Skalkottas' Octet (op. 30, 1931) for string quartet and woodwind quartet, György Ligeti's Cello concerto (1966), and Helmut Lachenmann's Mouvement (-vor der Erstarrung) (1982/84).
Indeed some Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-37670836695387440882008-01-19T13:55:00.000+02:002008-01-19T13:52:02.844+02:00GA II
This was a very long break because of some serious reasons. Now I'm back
in the blogosphere, and the posts on the business of classical music will
continue; from the next post though.
For the time being few comments on my military service up to now. It was
like that: 5,5 weeks in Corinth for
the basic training, 1 week for special training in Sparta, 1 week in Athens as
part of my Christmas Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-37148198063064610722007-11-18T00:16:00.000+02:002007-11-18T00:21:12.476+02:00GA
GA stands for Greek Army. So, few comments for the first two weeks over there.
Now I am a soldier under oath, things get serious on Monday evening when
we return to the camp.
One of the biggest training camps in Greece in Korinthos, with one of
largest crews for training in the last years (~1500 men)... Plenty of people,
not enough officers (according to them), and all the races of the world Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-72204938069703619892007-11-03T21:50:00.000+02:002007-11-03T21:55:47.363+02:00Flexibility and other virtues...
Attention: the following text might be full of generalizations and
stereotypes to some readers. It might be true in a way, I want however
to make clear some thoughts and after-thoughts that came up to my mind
the last few weeks here in Athens. It doesn't matter whether some
facts concern 30 or 70% of the Greek population. In any case, I think
that both percentages are high for the matters Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-78343192480014150392007-10-21T00:40:00.000+03:002007-10-21T00:41:00.496+03:00IMSLP
The International Music Score Library Project has shut down, because
of Universal Edition. No more free scores; at least not there...
Check more here
and the forum here, and here the
U-E letter to the administrator. Cheers to them!Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-27728956457246584732007-10-17T13:55:00.000+03:002007-10-17T14:03:03.250+03:00A trip to LA III
Starting from the previous post, now I know what this trip costs:
a mere 250,000€. That's the price the dean of the academy announced
to the players (-students) of the orchestra leaving to LA. In his very
personal speech on Monday he tried to make sure that the players are
aware of the importance of this trip. A rather intimidating speech,
not at all encouraging... It must have felt bad to be aStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-91840155028388375872007-10-09T19:55:00.000+03:002007-10-17T14:02:33.091+03:00A trip to LA II
Now, here are the details of this trip. The Sibelius Academy Symphony
Orchestra travels to Los Angeles, California, on the 20th of October.
They have a concert there on the 23rd under Esa-Pekka Salonen. They fly back
on the 27th. Details about the concert
here. The
concert belongs to a series organised by the LA Philharmonic called International Youth Orchestra Festival. The idea was originallyStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-41902881474055529212007-09-29T20:57:00.001+03:002007-09-29T20:57:39.911+03:00Drugs found in Finland!!!
Last Thurdsday the Finnish police confiscated 3000 kgs (that's about
3 tones) of hashish. And 20 kilos of cocaine. If there ever was a
hope for this nation to cool down and see things in a different way, it's now last. The poor people can't relax anymore, the rich can't get any energy in order
to actually do anything apart from discussing everything... So, what is the future out there for the Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-31580866652283122812007-09-20T11:45:00.000+03:002007-09-20T11:46:04.609+03:00Meet Rachel and Rex
Watch and wonder... Right here. Just a small
reminder of the wonders of nature...Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-18665420716017699372007-09-12T13:24:00.000+03:002007-10-17T13:27:22.186+03:00A trip to LA
First of all, a new look to the texts, since I won't be able to spend an hour
for each post while at the army.
The Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra travels to LA next month.
More on that on a later post. They'll perform with Esa-Pekka Salonen,
the current conductor -and Music Director- of LA Philharmonic. Because of a twist of luck,
Gustavo Dudamel -the successor
of Salonen from 2009 comes Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-51256827351252322082007-09-08T20:36:00.000+03:002007-09-08T20:36:29.617+03:00Various post-summer thoughts
It's been a long summer for me this one. Three weeks in Athens,
between the 2nd and 3rd of the heat waves that hit the country this year.
In the beginning of August, while I was there, there were no concerts in the
capital. Everything -if anything- happens in the country side; mostly
on islands. Festivals -mainly chamber music- here and there. I did have
however a break on listening classical Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-69610128703866549522007-07-24T21:38:00.000+03:002007-07-24T21:38:00.147+03:00Finnish summer
...actually, Finnish summer in Helsinki...
So, how's the Finnish summer? According to Finns, their country is
a blessed place on earth. You see, like every nation (or call it as you want),
Finns have their own urban legends as well. One of them says that there are
four seasons in Finland: summer, fall, winter, and spring. Most of the time,
let's say 8 months/year, this is true. There is winterStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-30595653811512565632007-07-09T12:32:00.000+03:002007-07-09T12:38:09.423+03:00Placido
Because not everything about classical music is serious... Enjoy the sexiest
pig in the world with a great tenor!
Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-62588202056267807732007-06-22T15:03:00.000+03:002008-11-13T05:04:28.778+02:00Athens Festival
The Athens Festival started already few weeks ago. It seems a bit different this
year. Lots of concerts, several in the typical "[famous] soloist, orchestra, conductor" format, and again world music -something fresh continuing from last year. There are however some more specialized and less popular events.
For example, few contemporary concerts in the series a tribute to 20th and 21st century Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-20612150315267576702007-06-08T15:38:00.000+03:002007-09-12T13:30:31.811+03:00Censorship???
...of ignorant lawyers?
Opera Chic blog received an e-mail from the lawyers of the world famous opera
of Milano La Scala. They demanded -if I understood correctly- that the owner
should change the logo of her blog, because it reminds a lot the logo of
La Scala's own logo; they also asked some other things. You can find the complete story here.
The reaction of the classical music blog world was Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-28342854727915564202007-06-06T12:15:00.000+03:002007-06-06T12:18:15.964+03:00A queen, and another queen
A bit of blogging on a third place the last 10 days -a temporary blog,
so no much time to post anything here. Plus of course a competition to follow
and see how it's going to end up.
Continuing from a post of the other blog (the post is here), there are few things on politics I'd like to point out -not elaborate. Last weekend a prestigious -one of the most important around-
music competition Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-43638867631924894622007-05-27T22:08:00.000+03:002007-09-12T13:32:02.257+03:00Swedish blogOnly until June 7th you can find here a blog on the
Maj Lind competition. It's in Swedish, and ran by the capital's Swedish newspaper
journalist Wilhelm Kvist.
Cheers!Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-40332796824033666702007-05-25T19:45:00.000+03:002007-05-25T19:45:54.857+03:00Piano tryout
Me, at the piano try out yesterday evening. A funny photo -the moment I
did the face, I knew he's going to shoot it, and a millisecond or so later I heard
the click. And my favorite piano brand, unfortunately not this time.
Cheers, I play tomorrow!
Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-70630175607273241892007-05-24T21:20:00.000+03:002007-05-24T21:23:09.047+03:00Day 0
The competition started today, and I think it's time to free the blog
from this subject. I will continue from now on here. (actually, I already wrote
something). There you'll find thoughts and after-thoughts
about the Maj Lind competition.
Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-47447279178769043002007-05-23T23:59:00.000+03:002007-05-24T20:53:32.380+03:00-2
As you can guess, we start in two days. Tomorrow -that is I guess already today-
there's the draw for the order of the competitors. Nothing special anymore
to do. Some essential super-market shopping today, and practicing. Yesterday
it was more relaxing with cooking as well.
The link for the competiion site of the Finnish Broadcasting Company
finally works. You can find it right here. There eachStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-34532773248632766612007-05-22T23:59:00.000+03:002007-05-24T20:53:15.414+03:00-3
Three days to go for the competition. Back to normal practicing today,
it's time to concentrate on the first round. Some usual Bach and Beethoven
(together with other classical and barock composers obviously) will be performed there, some modern -composed after 1960, and three studies. Instead of
three studies, one can play 1 (or two) and then 2 (or 1) toccatas. I have
had the pleasure to findStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-29013351719173093962007-05-21T23:59:00.000+03:002007-05-24T20:52:54.330+03:00-4
4 days to go for the competition, I'll try to write something small
every day, for the next x days... I had the half day off today, my hands
need some physical rest. After a very long time, we went to the movies.
We watched the last movie by Olivier Dahan, La Môme,
which is a biography of Edith Piaf. A lovely film, and a shock for an ignorant
and uncivilized person like me. My throat was a bitStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-68631012456794266732007-05-11T15:30:00.000+03:002008-11-13T05:04:29.054+02:00Findings -blogging on the other side
As you can see, there's finally a blogroll on the left side
of the page. Most of them are for some reasons American bloggers.
Keep in mind that the classification is just indicative -maybe wrong for
few of them, some have however multiple roles in the music world (composer/
musicologist/performer for example...). You'll find lots of interesting subjects over there, for example
managers are Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-31727267022213115362007-05-04T16:26:00.001+03:002007-05-07T23:10:54.751+03:00(Greek) Journalists
I just discovered my oldest brother's blog. (in Greek here).
He's a ship engineer and he's been writing on a lethal fatal ship
accident that happened recently near Santorini. Actually,
he's been mostly criticizing the way Greek journalists handle
the whole situation -usually with articles of nonsense and TV
coverage/discussions of the lowest possible level... and he's
been very upset with them.
Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-30279239722412283392007-04-29T20:50:00.001+03:002007-04-30T12:03:53.329+03:00A hell of a month v1.2
I just finished doing my second tiramisù, and for sure
it's going to be the best I ever did...
It's been quite a weird month this April and a hard one too.
I applied last March for the Arts Management dept. of the
Sibelius Academy (UPDATE:Master's degree programme).
There are two phases in the selection
of the future students: in the first the candidates are
restricted to 25, on the basis of Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-31745407810452135962007-04-15T19:14:00.000+03:002007-04-30T12:05:53.232+03:00A different state of mind
Hello again! I've been for quite a while away; I'm not sure
though, whether it was for better or for worse... 'cause the last few
days, since Thursday that is, I am a bit like Daffy.
So, in order to avoid getting really nasty with people,
and causing some even nastier situations, I think it's OK,
I haven't been in the "blogging" mood lately...
There have been many concerts I attended, among Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-67278919662272505872007-03-28T23:53:00.001+03:002007-04-08T22:26:54.517+03:00the seventh strike
Another negative answer came for a position this week.
It was however, expected, since the work was a bit far
from my qualities (the typical ones were in order though).
The seventh one in a year. The sixth just a few weeks ago,
also more or less expected...
...and the thoughts to change branch are still there;
though not anymore about radical changes. You see,
talking to the wise man -see Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-21292004408727841882007-03-28T23:41:00.001+03:002007-03-30T12:36:02.499+03:00A wise man
An important Finnish musician talked to me yesterday.
At some point, the discussion went on to colleagues -pianists-
who changed their careers at some point.
There were 5 accompanists in the '80s in the Sibelius Academy,
he started. Students were playing with just 2 of them. The other 3
were just sitting in the cafeteria without much work.
The first one became the Savonlinna opera director.
Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-50782241415565379392007-03-24T23:08:00.000+02:002008-11-13T05:04:29.660+02:00The Third Millenium Symphony Orchestra
There's a concert next Saturday, on the last day of the month,
in Helsinki's Rock Church (Temppeliaukio kirkko) @19.00, entrance
is free. J Lo, after
a seven years residence in Helsinki, is leaving us next year.
Jimmy López wanted to organize a symphonic concert with his music before
his departure (for some reasons, composers in the Sibelius Academy
do not have to show their skills in a final Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-91981485625417040162007-03-15T22:50:00.000+02:002008-11-13T05:04:29.842+02:00Last Tuesday's Concerts
The yearly festival of modern music musica nova is taking place this week on Helsinki. Unlike many similar
events around the world, this one has overcome the underground
filter usually given to contemporary music festivals, and has become
a trend in Finland. This year's theme is Finland.
Last Tuesday I attended two concerts of it at the Sibelius
Academy concert hall. The first one was with worksStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-20602629753453862072007-03-06T20:34:00.000+02:002008-11-13T05:04:29.952+02:00Competitions
Jaana and I should have gone to some competitions
at this time of the year. For different reasons, we ended up
staying here in Helsinki without going to any competition -
me because of my stupidity... This had however, its good sides:
Jaana worked with a string trio for her chamber music exam
(which was postponed thanks to a broken cello...) and
I played some lovely Ligeti (not to mention thatStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-77536530761055044792007-02-25T15:14:00.000+02:002007-09-12T13:29:33.233+03:00Success and Disappointment
Or, Ensemble 27 part 2.
Sibelius Academy is a huge institution. In fact,
it is the third largest Music Academy in Europe -in terms
of students and teachers. Unfortunately size does not always
necessarily matter.
Yesterday evening, we had the premiere of our small
ensemble, made entirely by Sibelius Academy students.
It actually consists from students of at least
four different departments of Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-61254221066244817562007-02-13T20:02:00.000+02:002007-02-13T20:56:05.259+02:00"Ladies and Gentlemen"
"In the Jazz Organ world it is fair to say
that we all are striving to perfect our skills as players,
listeners, and bandmates. It's a life long yearning to be
the best we can be while we spenc countless hours listening
to what other organists are playing, practicing to perfect
what we heard, and then playing a million gigs as we sharpen
and mold ourselves to gain the title "Jazz Organist".
OnStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-28446455143412604942007-02-10T18:51:00.000+02:002008-11-13T05:04:30.210+02:00Ensemble 27
In two weeks time, Saturday, February 24th, there is a concert
at the Sibelius Academy. Unlike many of the other ones,
this is an initiative of students only. Two students
from the conducting class decided to form a small chamber ensemble.
It consists of students from different departmenrs of the Academy.
Arturo Alvarado and Leo McFall -the two conductors- will
conduct this ensemble in a Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-47879235148462451622007-02-05T23:26:00.000+02:002007-02-06T21:44:20.511+02:00Giya Kancheli
There was a world premiere of a work
by Giya Kancheli last month in Athens. It is a concertante work for accordeon and orchestra;
it was ordered by the Athens concert hall and of course,
premiered there by the house orchestra, the Camerata.
I couldn't be there to listen to the concert,
and I also didn't read yet any critic of it. What was
though interesting, is the interviews Kancheli gave
to Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-71317715200906581502007-01-30T19:31:00.000+02:002007-09-12T13:28:39.776+03:00Ice AgeWell, it's not sooooo cold. Just -15 or so yesterday,
but today is warmer. There's a margin for another 10 centigrades
here in Helsinki.
Few small things today.
I took part in a conducting class last weekend,
while playing for future conductors. I learned new things,
as always, but I think I've heard the most incredible thing
yet by a conductor (the teacher). He was talking
about orchestras, Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-66341174463634563412007-01-20T23:00:00.000+02:002008-11-13T05:04:30.769+02:00Prof. Prof. Prof. Dr. Matti Raekallio
The title of this post is according to the German protocol.
Mr Raekallio is a brilliant piano teacher;
one of the rare kind of teachers that can
actually teach piano technique. He still plays the piano,
and has a very broad repertoire. Personally, he
coached me -as my doctorate supervisor- for almost
5 years (2001-2006).
Since 1998, he is professor of piano at the Sibelius Academy.
[he's Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-2084001434752194462007-01-15T20:14:00.000+02:002007-01-16T11:22:38.150+02:00Something different (v1.2)
It was a strange day today. Not in a musical sense...
I was waiting at the bus stop, when I witnessed a rather
shocking event: a Finn in his mid '40s was bullying an older African!
Both of them male, the Finn however was drunk, and from the lower
financial class, a duunari as they would call him here.
Why it was shocking?
Well, there was no physical violence, just the threat of it.
Oh yes: I Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-17352538602024886272007-01-11T13:15:00.000+02:002007-01-11T14:43:26.933+02:00 Back in Business
A long post after a long break.
Two subjects for today.
1. The world famous Finnish conductor Mr Esa-Pekka Salonen (Dr.h.c.)
has signed a contract with the Philharmonia Orchestra;
he will be the orchestra's principal conductor as of
2008 (details here). Just before that his contract with LA Philharmonic expires.
Will he leave the American orchestra? My guess is not,
but he might get a post Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-81751035576296406492006-12-27T23:04:00.000+02:002007-01-28T19:05:12.221+02:00Thank youI would like to thank all those people
that sent me a card -or just an e-mail-
and remembered me.
Thank you Greta, Xenia, Yoona and Noe,
alienlover (whoever you might be),
Andreas Ts, Noemi, Alex G,
Nancy-Dimitris (well, that's how she signs), Silke.
For today, thank you Modeste, Pano, Elli, and Tzotzo!
And Soomi (well, a future Greek mother-in-law
is always handy).
I've been a naughty boy Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-23521233363991052022006-12-22T19:23:00.000+02:002008-11-13T05:04:31.026+02:00Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Even I have to stop complaining at some point.
I wish to you and your family and friends
all the best, whatever this might be.
I'll be back after Christmas, just before
New Year's Eve...
If you go to a concert, enjoy it. Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-1452024975986962472006-12-20T12:36:00.000+02:002006-12-22T19:42:28.513+02:00J-P Saraste
Last week Lahti Symphony Orchestra signed a new contract with the Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste.
It is effective for a period of 3 years starting in August 2008;
he will be the orchestra's Artistic Advisor. (more info
on the link below). Great news!
For whom???
Mr Saraste is very famous and very busy.
He has a heavy freelance program, but this is not all.
He is also Music Director of Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-49943386734074509492006-12-17T13:58:00.000+02:002008-11-13T05:04:31.253+02:00In the future People -that is mainly friends
and Sibelius Academy students-
keep asking me,
what I am going to do in the future,
now Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-75246152343252678172006-12-11T12:35:00.000+02:002006-12-12T11:56:22.678+02:00NicolaLet's see how does this work again. The last try wasn't as successful.
Anyway. Child prodigees on the menu this time. You know, the kind
that can play everything, on any instrument, at any time of day or night.
I watched this documentary the other day on BBC world about that young
Scottish violinist, Nicola Benedetti (Italian name, I know...). The girl plays, I guess since I never heard her liveStefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-15499531306680355112006-12-06T21:49:00.000+02:002007-09-12T13:27:31.034+03:00PianoMozartFest
This is my first attempt with html... Let's see how does it work.
This weekend there was a small piano Mozart festival
at the Sibelius Academy. I didn't have the time
to go to most of the concerts, except from yesterday,
(Dec. 5th, at the closing one).
In the program "immortal concertos."
The double, the triple, and the big A major concertos
were performed, accompanied
by the chamber Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-1164835808872847582006-11-29T22:30:00.000+02:002006-11-29T23:30:12.270+02:00You can call me Doctor (so what?)Well, it's almost over, and soon I can use my title wheneverI buy a flight ticket...
Interesting experience though. Had to play first a bit, thengive a short speech, listen to the comments of the jury, andanswer their questions as well as the questions of the audience(thank you C and J). Very tough questions indeed. Anyway, as I would say in the good old days of the kindergarden-papa smurf, a Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-1164236489259667202006-11-23T00:39:00.000+02:002006-11-30T00:42:05.106+02:00Russian winds, Anna Gourari, Meisterkonzerte... and Krystian ZimermanSome critique this time...
My good friend A. has told me about the bad Russian winds, but the concert -or better, its first half- of the Saint-Petersburg Symphony Orchestra was a verification of his words. Very poor... Especially for an orchestra that appears in the master concerts series of the Cologne Philharmonic Hall (koelner-philharmonie.de). Very poor winds in the overture, Rossini.
Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-1163623997279587372006-11-15T22:18:00.000+02:002007-03-28T23:24:56.371+03:00The Fifth StrikeI'm in Cologne, Germany right now. Yes, doing my break from the Finnish autumn.
Yesterday I was in Liège, Belgium (Lüttich in German) and had an audition for a post in an orchestra. Well, not an actual position, but they were looking for a pianist, since they plan to play much 20th century program; and mostly hard works, such as Berio's sinfonia and Ives' central park in the dark. Yes, they Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-1163024773419855602006-11-08T23:40:00.000+02:002008-11-13T05:04:31.709+02:00Autumn Madness
During this time of the year there is a usual phenomenon
in Finland --and the rest of this world's countries
that are so far from the equator, I guess.
The darkness starts to get on the nerves of people.
The sun (if the clouds wish so) comes up just around 8am
and goes down already around 4pm,
and the more we're closing down to 21st of December the darker it gets...
From the lack of sun, mostly Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36905973.post-1162418533712488852006-11-01T23:37:00.000+02:002006-11-02T00:02:13.720+02:00Who am I? Still 3,5 weeks in hell. What? I'll be another 3,5 weeks or so in hell. Well, it's not really hell, but I don't have a thesis presentation and defense every month; this is my doctoral paper I'm talking about... Anyway, so what? How can it be so hard? Actually, it is not. But, after 12,5 years of study in 3 different schools (from 2 of which I got 3 degrees), 3 more weeks can make a difference.Stefanos Nasoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948560548285122880noreply@blogger.com2