Helianthus—a terrific ensemble!

What a pleasure to hear the Helianthus Ensemble at the Music Room of the Queluz Palace on Friday evening! Aside from the perfectly balanced combination of period instruments—late 18th Century— and the fact of the concert being in a "period" concert hall, as well, it was simply wonderful to hear great players enjoying playing together! 

The give-and-take of chamber music was present at every moment, whether it be in the cellist's delight in the bass line, or the violin's discreet agitation of sixteenths in an accompaniment passage giving way to "stealing" the tune from the flutist! The harpsichordist (it was really a cembalo, I believe, with metal strings but hammer-action rather than plucked—I need an expert to sort that out for me, please!) was duly discreet UNTIL it was his moment to shine. Which was actually a lot, especially in the Mozart Concerto Op. 107, with real Mozart cadenzas as a bonus!

My favorites were perhaps the Danzi, of wind quintet and Flute Concerto fame, and the Haydn Trio for Flute, Cello and piano/cembalo. For the flutist (Laura Pontecorvo, see previous blog!) both were full of fancy filigree and rhythmic gestures contrasting with the most expressive, soaring melodic lines. Ditto for the others; it was a sort of musical game of chess—pure Haydn-esque fun, and delightfully executed!

Bravo to the Helianthus members, and come back soon!

Laura Pontecorvo, flute, Guido Morini, cembalo, Iskrena Yordanova, violin, and Marco Ceccato, cello—Helianthus Ensemble

Laura Pontecorvo, flute, Guido Morini, cembalo, Iskrena Yordanova, violin, and Marco Ceccato, cello—Helianthus Ensemble

Friday! At Queluz Palace - A Rare Chance to Hear a Classical-Period Flute!

How many times has you heard Mozart performed on the kind of flute that he actually wrote for? Not many, if you are like me! So this Friday, at 9.30pm you'll have a rare chance to hear his music, along with other galant and classical composers, performed by the Italian flutist Laura Pontecorvo, and her Helianthus Ensemble in the perfect setting at Queluz Palace, outside Lisbon.

Laura, a fantastic teacher and versatile performer of "early" flutes, will be performing on a copy of a Grenser flute that she found in the oddest way—read the story here! Kind of like finding a Stradivarius in your fire-wood pile…Such luck!! This flute has 5 keys, as opposed to the one-keyed baroque flute, and was a dominant instrument in the second half of the 18th Century.

In this concert, Laura will perform with her Helianthus colleagues Iskrena Yordanova, violin, Marco Ceccato, cello, and Guido Morini, harpsichord, in various formations from duo to quartet, and including music by Haydn and Danzi among others. So it is really a fantastic and rare opportunity to hear "Mozart's Flute" in its natural element, with other instruments of the same period, and performed by top-notch players! For more information on the program, click here!

After all, for all that we've heard about his not liking the flute, Mozart did not write a famous opera called "The Magic…Clarinet"!! 

Laura Pontecorvo, founder of the Helianthus Ensemble

Laura Pontecorvo, founder of the Helianthus Ensemble

Stephanie Wagner, Powell Flutist

Well, this was to have gone out on her birthday earlier this week, but I got distracted/tied up… I just thought I would kick off a series of blog entries on some of the wonderful flutists here in Portugal who are Powell players, and who better to start with than my wonderful colleague Stephanie Wagner?

Stephanie has been the flutist of the Remix Ensemble of the Casa da Música in Porto for over ten years (congratulations!!). So obviously she has a special interest in contemporary music, and as a Remix member, she has performed solo works, as soloist, and in ensemble pieces of all kinds all over Europe! You can check out some of her recordings on her website, of course!

Furthermore, Stephanie was the "driving force" behind the creation of the Summer Flute Academy (Academia de Flauta de Verão), which will celebrate it's 5th edition next July. Together with myself and the fabulous Raquel Lima (Prof. at ESMAE, Porto), Stephanie brought to fruition a dream of making a new kind of summer flute course, where students are constantly challenged, and where they spend most of the day on their feet playing, and also learning about many "lateral" aspects of being a musician. Thank you Stephanie for having so many great ideas, and for inviting us on board for the ride!

Stephanie plays on a Powell flute that she bought while she was studying at the New England Conservatory with (Powell player) Fenwick Smith (2nd Flute of the Boston Symphony), as well as a Powell Piccolo. She is also a big proponent of "low flutes" and plays and is the representative in Portugal for the alto, bass and contrabass flutes of Eva Kingma, of Holland. Talk about versatile! For more information on someone having a very interesting and creative career, see Stephanie's website as well as our revamped site of the Academy!

Stephanie Wagner, Powell player, Remix Ensemble; Photo ©Susana Neves

Stephanie Wagner, Powell player, Remix Ensemble; Photo ©Susana Neves

POWELL DAY in LISBON - A gigantic success!

A week has passed, and I'm finally "back in the saddle" here with some news! Sorry—busy time of year!

Our first-ever POWELL DAY was a gigantic success! For the flutists who came by, nonstop all day long, there was a "feast" of flutes, piccolos and head joints to try out, two rooms and three "specialist" ears to listen attentively. Everyone had, I do believe, a blast trying out all the gear, and exploring the differences that the various head joint cuts, metals, weights, and so forth DO, IN FACT, make to the resulting sound. This permits each person to find their perfect match—so that they can become their own dream flutist!

Meanwhile, the folks from Boston, Daniel Sharp and Rebecca Eckles, were quite taken aback by the fantastic level of the flutists coming by. Yup! We're a small country on the map, but flute-wise, we are getting pretty darn BIG! It's been an exciting time and things are only getting better and better. It's always cool when "outsiders" confirm what we here feel—the BUZZ!

So I thank everyone who came by, it was a blast! And anyone who would like a follow-up session, or couldn't make it on that day, just contact me to set up a trial—there are still plenty of flutes (piccs and head joints) to try out!  

The early risers on POWELL DAY, with Tiago Canto, Dina Hernandez, Vera Morais, Tomás Miranda, Daniel Sharp, Rebecca Eckles and a LOT of flutes!

The early risers on POWELL DAY, with Tiago Canto, Dina Hernandez, Vera Morais, Tomás Miranda, Daniel Sharp, Rebecca Eckles and a LOT of flutes!

DIA POWELL - it's already TOMORROW!

Hang on to your hats, and hope for no (more) rain! Powell Flutes is coming to Lisbon with lots of great gear for all us flutists to try out! Don't miss this first-ever opportunity to meet with Powell folks Daniel Sharp and Rebecca Eckles here in Lisbon, and have a grand time trying everything out!

The "show" runs from 11am to 6pm, come whenever you like! For more information on the location, please contact me here, or via FaceBook Messenger. You don't need to register or anything formal! 

It is reported that there might be some food (my most famous American specialty!) on hand as well! Here's how Lisbon was looking just a few minutes ago: I think it's saying "WELCOME, BOSTON!"

Lisbon at dusk…

Lisbon at dusk…

DIA POWELL em Lisboa! Já este Domingo!

Porqué é que deves deslocar num Domingo, quando podia ficar todo o dia no sofá? :)) Porque este é uma oportunidade EXCEPCIONAL de experimentar imensas variedades de flautas fabricados pela famosa empresa Powell Flutes de Boston, Massachussetts! Não só experimentar mas com gente da Powell a ajudar e explicar e guiar e ouvir com ouvidos experientes!

Naturalmente, lá estarei também, para vos acolher e ajudar como sempre faz com quem esteja interessado em experimentar flautas. E haverá flautas de todas as gamas e materiais da Powell—diversão total!

Para receber informação sobre o local é só me contactar. O horário do dia é das 11h até às 18h. Pode até ser que, sendo em Portugal, haverá um bocado de bebes e comes para mostrar a hospitalidade portuguesa aos americanos da Powell ;)

Daniel Sharp and myself at the Powell Factory in Boston, Massachussetts. Venham conhecer o Daniel pessoalmente em Lisbon, este Domingo!

Daniel Sharp and myself at the Powell Factory in Boston, Massachussetts. Venham conhecer o Daniel pessoalmente em Lisbon, este Domingo!