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| | Arts Calendar / April 22 / Concerts |
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20:00 | Charles Aznavour (France) |
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Charles Aznavour is perhaps the best-known French music hall entertainer in the world - renowned the world over for the bittersweet love songs he has written and sung, which seem to embody the essence of French popular song, and also for his appearances on screen in such wildly divergent fare as Shoot the Piano Player, Candy, and The Tin Drum. His status as the quintessential French popular culture icon is something of an irony for a man who identifies himself most closely with his Armenian heritage. Born Chahnour Varenagh Aznaourian, his French roots derive from the fact that his family fled the threat of massacre by the Turks - his father was a singer and sometime-restauranteur, while his mother was an actress and part-time seamstress. His father's singing, done in a notably impassioned style, heavily influenced Aznavour's approach to singing as a boy. Although he had a voracious appetite for music, he also had a serious impediment growing up, in the form of a paralyzed vocal cord that gave his voice a raspy quality. He channeled some of his energy into theater, making both his stage and screen debuts at age nine, in 1933, in the theater piece Un Bon Petite Diable and in the film La Guerre des Gosses. As an adolescent, he danced in nightclubs and sold newspapers, as well as touring with theatrical companies, and he wrote a nightclub act in partnership with Pierre Roche - Aznavour wrote the lyrics to their songs and it was through that material that he began his singing career. Early on, he learned to overcome his fears about his vocal limitations, in part with help from singing legend Edith Piaf, for whom he worked as a chauffeur, among other capacities; with her help, he developed a style that suited his capabilities and played to his strengths and also continued writing songs in earnest, some of which were performed by Piaf. Read more
Crocus City Hall  |
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"Mysterium Catholicum" series. Moscow sacred music ensemble Blagovest and Honored Artist of Russia, Professor of the Gnesin Musical Academy, soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Alexander Fiseyskiy (organ) will perform "Messiah" by Handel. Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible, and from the version of the Psalms included with the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its London premiere nearly a year later. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music. Blagovest was established in 1987, with the initial core of the group formed from an existing church choir. Its founder and artistic director is Galina Koltsova, an Honored Artist of Russia and Academician of the International Academy of Creative Endeavors. In 1992, the Blagovest became a state ensemble under the Committee for Culture of the Moscow Government. The main artistic goal of the ensemble is revival of the Russian church traditions in the sacred music, as well as the discovery of new and forgotten old names of the Russian sacred music composers including the expatriate composers whose heritage is a major contribution to the national musical and spiritual culture. Blagovest has given concerts in Poland, Austria, Germany, Finland, Spain, Greece, South Korea, and the Czech Republic.
Roman Catholic Cathedral of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
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20:00 | The Baseballs (Germany) |
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Rock'n'roll, handmade and authentic - that's what The Baseballs are made of. Sam, Digger and Basti and their band have been rockin'n'rollin' around Europe since 2007. The first two albums, Strike (2009) and Strings'n'Stripes (2011) sold a total of over one million albums and the guys held positions in the European charts for weeks: ten Top 10 positions, of these four #1 spots in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, earning various awards (4x platinum in Finland, double platinum in Switzerland, platinum in Sweden, Norway and Holland, gold in Germany, Austria and the UK). The Baseballs celebrated their European successes with extensive European tours and at international festivals. In 2011 this climaxed in their winning the European Border Breakers Award and the German Echo Award for The Most Successful Act Abroad. Following the release of the DVD Strings'n'Stripes Live (2012) and Good Ol' Christmas (2012), Sam, Digger and Basti spent 2013 concentrating on their fourth studio album. Parallel to songwriting and studio productions they couldn't live without doing concerts, of course. The season opened in May in Russia and ended in October with two shows in Australia. And now, on March 28, 2014, the time has come for a new album. The Baseballs proudly present Game Day! With hearts still beating to the rhythm of rock'n'roll. The Baseballs expertly combine the best of contemporary sounds with the ingredients of the fifties and sixties. But in contrast to the previous albums, this time the focus is on their own compositions in addition to selected cover songs. "The decision to mainly record compositions of our own on Game Day was for us the logical next step. Even before and during our time together as The Baseballs we all wrote songs. We started including our own songs in our live shows more frequently and noticed that the fans were just as interested in these songs as in our cover versions. Furthermore, we have experienced so much in the past seven years that it would have been a shame not to express some of these experiences in our songs. With our last albums we could prove that rock'n'roll hasn't lost any of its timelessness. With Game Day we take the next step and want to show people that we can also convey the good mood feeling of rock'n'roll with our own songs." Read more
YotaSpace |
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The virtual community for English-speaking expats and Russians
