Schwalbe and Partners Inc.

01/04/2025

More great Messiah reviews from December: this time for Stephen Stubbs's "fresh" interpretation of the material with the San Francisco Symphony.

🎭 "More important was Stubbs’ consistently conscientious approach to dynamics. This included a judicious selection of how many string players would be deployed for each of the oratorio episodes. The result was more conducive to establishing an overall flow to a seriously long narrative that facilitated the ability of the attentive listener to “go with the flow.” As a result, even the most seasoned listener in the audience (who had probably lost count of the number of Messiah performances experienced) could easily appreciate the freshness of Stubbs’ interpretation."

Conductor Stephen Stubbs (photograph by Miranda Loud, courtesy of SFS) Last night saw the annual return of a San Francisco Symphony (SFS)...

01/03/2025

Great reviews from Seattle Symphony's performances of Messiah last week, which featured soprano Yulia Van Doren.

🎭 "Van Doren’s soprano is a big, expressive voice that’s also very fleet; she can lighten it, making it nimble and almost unbelievably speedy in the aria 'Rejoice greatly.'"

Seattle Symphony's "Messiah" this year is a winning combination of vocal excellence and imaginative interpretation, led by dynamic conductor Aram Demirjian.

01/02/2025

What better way to welcome 2025 than with with beautiful music from medici.tv! Watch our own Jakob Lehmann conducting Les Siècles in Schubert's "Unifinished" Symphony Symphony No. 8 in B Minor.

Les Coups de Coeur à Chantilly 2024

01/01/2025

Say goodbye to 2024 by catching up with Nicholas McGegan, conductor's travels in Copenhagen this fall. From cardamon buns and the king's "trouser watering chair," to Tivoli Gardens and the Viking Museum, plenty of adventures were found in the Danish capital!

This autumn, I spent over two months in the magical city of Copenhagen. It was not the first time that I had visited, we spent a honeymoon weekend there nine years ago, but it was certainly the longest spell that I had been in the city. My reason for being there was that I had been invited to conduc

12/31/2024

Congratulations to Sherezade Panthaki, soprano, countertenor Nicholas Burns, and bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca for wonderful performances (and a sensational review!) of Handel's Messiah with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

🎭 "Panthaki has a delectable, feathery soprano voice which is blessed with an ease of florid coloratura [...] her impressive ornamentation seemed absolutely effortless. There is no shrillness in her voice, only a purity of sound."

🎭 "Burns is certainly a major talent on the rise. He has a beautiful voice with a subtle expressive quality. There is an even tone throughout, and his delivery of text is thoughtful."

🎭 "From the very first-time bass-baritone Lagasca opened his mouth, it was a force of nature. Hearty is too light a word to describe his ringing commanding tone [...] Lagasca is a very charismatic performer who certainly demands attention."

This performance of Messiah, conducted by Jean-Sébastien Vallée with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, felt fresh and adventurous.

12/30/2024

A little late in posting this, but a wonderful review for the December 7 & 8 concert, "Bach, Corelli and Vivaldi" by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra featuring FIVE of our talented artists! Sherezade Panthaki, soprano, mezzo-soprano Diana Moore, Thomas Cooley, Tenor, bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca, and Nicholas McGegan, conductor: Bravo to you all, and a wonderful way to celebrate the spirit of the season!

This concert, the first in a series of holiday-themed programs, features soloists Sherezade Panthaki (soprano), Diana Moore (mezzo-soprano), Thomas Cooley (tenor), Enrico Lagasca (bass), and the Ha…

12/10/2024

Very cool story about the refurbishment of the Notre Dame Cathedral's organ. 🎼

Olivier Latry is Notre Dame Cathedral's longest-serving organist. Just days before the church's gala reopening, after the destructive fire in 2019, he talks about the refurbished instrument — it holds 8,000 pipes — and its role in the church.

12/02/2024

"Nola Richardson sang with one of the most beautiful soprano voices heard here in recent years. Well placed and completely under her control, her voice is pure, ringing and fresh.."

A wonderful review for Nola Richardson, Soprano on her recent collaboration with Twelfth Night Ensemble!

Large Assemblage Applauds an Almost Exclusively George Friederic Handel Program By GEORGE B. PAROUS We have said before that Chatham Baroque consistently offers attractive programs, whether they ar…

11/25/2024

This is "a can't miss opportunity!" Telemann's brilliant Don Quichotte presented by the Boston Early Music Festival is this weekend, featuring Music Director Stephen Stubbs and tenor Richard Pittsinger. Wonderful insight into this fabulous new production!

11/18/2024

Great review for conductor Jakob Lehmann for Verdi's Ernani.

🎭 "Conductor Jakob Lehmann ensured the large group of musicians sang and played as one, moving the two-and-a-half-hour production along at an engaging pace."

Read more ⬇
https://cvnc.org/ncos-concert-performance-of-verdis-ernani-is-all-about-the-music/

11/07/2024

An amazing review for Nicholas McGegan, conductor for his recent work with the Royal Danish Opera on Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. The reviewer specifically highlights McGegan's work as conductor, calling the production "worth experiencing for Nicholas McGegan's masterful direction."

🎭 "McGegan is not just one of the grand old men of historical construction practice. He is also – in the best sense of the word – a classical opera conductor who serves the singers, the orchestra and Mozart without putting himself at the center."

🎭 "It is far from all conductors who have such a sharp ear for the nuances of color in Mozart, and it is worth the whole evening to hear the score from 1786 unfolded so fresh and imaginatively. It was therefore fully deserved that the conductor received the biggest applause of the evening."

Read more ⬇️

Revner i rokokoen Af Magnus Tessing Schneider Det er et scoop for Det Kongelige Teater at have fået den britiske dirigent Nicholas McGegan til at dirigere denne nye produktion af Mozarts Figaros bryllup. McGegan er ikke blot en af den historiske opførelsespraksis’ grand old men. Han er også –...

11/04/2024

What an incredible piece of history and art that will finally be able to be heard! Our very own Patrick Dupre Quigley will be conducting this new piece next year, and was part of team to transcribe the original 550 page work into performable scores.

Of the score Quigley says, “The music Dédé composed for the work is both exciting and innovative, combining a European style and overtones of Southern Americana and brass band music with virtuosic, tour-de-force vocal writing.”

Read more ⬇️

OperaCréole and Opera Lafayette present Edmond Dédé's the never-performed work "Morgiane."

10/31/2024

Congratulations Marc, and we welcome Athlone Artists to the team!

Email from Athlone Artists LLC Athlone will represent the "hugely charasmatic" (LA Times) Molomot in his operatic endeavors     Athlone Artists Presents Swimming in Different Pools: A Conversation wit

10/03/2024

Thank you, The White House, for declaring October as Nation Arts and Humanities Month! From the proclamation:

"The arts and humanities bring people together and show us that we have more in common than we have differences — helping us see each other, understand one another, and unite in common cause. Our artists and scholars embody the very spirit of America: the drive to create and connect, the pursuit of excellence, and the boldness to be truthtellers and change seekers. During National Arts and Humanities Month, we celebrate the artists and scholars who lift us up, speak to our souls, and shape who we are as a Nation."

👏🤝

The White House issued its yearly proclamation declaring October National Arts an Humanities Month! You can read the full statement at https://bit.ly/2024NAHMProc

​​​​​Check out the Americans for the Arts new National Arts and Humanities Month webpage and download the digital toolkit to post on social media, on your websites, and more. https://bit.ly/NAHM2024

10/01/2024

Happy October from Schwalbe and Partners! 🎃🧛‍♂️🍁🕸👻

In November 2014, baritone Alexander Dobson made no bones about singing with a skeleton 💀 (Yorick, perhaps?) in Tapestry Briefs: Booster Shots, an original opera production which featured 10 new opera shorts. With no no diaphragm but plenty of backbone, we'd guess the skeleton had to rely on Alex to carry the performance.

09/27/2024

Exciting news for fans of Dame Emma Kirkby and vinyl recordings: Hyperion Records recently announced it was releasing five albums in limited edition vinyl format, including A Feather on the Breath of God, a 1982 release of sacred vocal music written by Hildegard von Bingen and recorded by Kirkby and Gothic Voices. These limited-edition albums have an initial pressing of just 1,000 copies per title and are out now.

British label Hyperion Records releases first vinyl in 35 years