In May on medici.tv: Steve Reich Performs in Paris, John Adams’s Dr. Atomic Debuts in Strasbourg, New Organ Unveiled in Montreal

It’s a must-see May on medici.tv, as spring is heralded by three fresh – and free – live presentations ranging from minimalist classics and cutting-edge opera to the unveiling of a new representative of the King of Instruments. In a rare event, webcast at 2 p.m. EST on May 5, composer Steve Reich participates as a performer and conductor in a full program of his work with Kristjan Järvi and the MDR Symphony Orchestra & Chorus at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. Reich will perform in his 1972 piece Clapping Music, the work that came about when he wanted to “create a piece of music that needed no instruments beyond the human body.” Also on the program are Reich’s works Duet, Four Sections and The Desert Music. On May 6 at 2 p.m. EST, medici.tv will webcast a new production of the John Adams-Peter Sellars opera Dr. Atomic at Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg, France. Directed by Lucinda Childs, designed by Bruno de Lavenèreand conducted by Patrick Davin, this staging of Dr. Atomic stars the excellent baritone Dietrich Henschel in the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer and mezzo-soprano Anna Grevelius as his wife, Kitty. Critic Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times has called Dr. Atomic “the most complex and inventive of Mr. Adams’ works, an engrossing operatic drama.” On May 29, at 8 p.m. EST, organist Olivier Latry inaugurates the new organ of the Maison symphonique de Montreal with the Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony, in league with Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Declared “the best organist in the world” by no less a judge than Liszt, Saint-Saëns possessed an almost superhuman mastery of the qualities so particular to the instrument. Along with the Saint-Saëns symphony, Latry will break in the new organ with J.S. Bach’s iconic Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Liszt’s Prelude and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H, and world premieres by Kaija Saariaho and Samy Moussa. 

In another must-see event, on May 21, violinist Christian Tetzlaff, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff and pianist Lars Vogt will perform an all-Brahms program at the Louvre Auditorium in Paris – webcast for free at 2 p.m. EST. The Tetzlaff siblings made their Paris debut at the Louvre Auditorium in 1996, and in 2011 the violinist and cellist joined Vogt to thrill Louvre audiences – and viewers of medici.tv – with a recital of Brahms and Dvorák. For the May 21 concert, they will perform the complete piano trios by Brahms. Along with the free live webcast, each of these May events is available for free streaming for 90 days after the initial date.

New medici.tv app

The latest innovation from medici.tv is a thoroughly updated new app for Android and Apple devices that offers music lovers a free virtual seat at the greatest classical performances and one-of-a-kind events from around the world. The previous edition of the app had already been named one of the top five classical apps by New York’s WQXR, which pointed out that the app “allows you to peek inside great European concert halls.” Part of the medici.tv all-devices strategy, this new, improved app for tablets and smart phones gives users the ability to intuitively navigate through more than 1,300 HD videos, including both performances and documentaries. Available for free at the Apple App Store and Google Play store, the app gives users access to more than 100 live concert webcasts each year from top classical artists and the finest music institutions across the globe – without ads and in the ideal video quality according to your internet connection. Users can watch a live event and then watch it again whenever and wherever they want. More than 60,000 music lovers have downloaded the medici.tv app since it was first created, enjoying an enriched experience of classical music unrivaled on the web. Read more about medici.tv apps here:

http://www.medici.tv/#/mobile-apps. 

About medici.tv

Since its official launch in May 2008, medici.tv has gained international recognition, bringing together a community of 180,000 music and arts lovers from 182 countries. In addition to offering live concert hall events that music lovers can experience on their computers and entertainment systems, medici.tv now offers a free application (available at the Apple App Store and at Google Play for Android) that makes it possible to experience world-class artistry on iPads, iPhones and Android devices. Consumers of Samsung Smart TVs can now access the medici.tv application worldwide in 170 countries on the 2011, 2012 and 2013 models, as well as all future ones. More than 70 client universities around the world take advantage of medici.tv, including Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music.

In addition to webcasts of more than 100 live events each year, medici.tv has partnered with the world’s top artists and music institutions to offer subscriptions that give music lovers the opportunity to watch more than 1,300 video-on-demand programs. They include concerts, operas, recitals, documentaries, masterclasses, artist portraits and archival material by such legendary musicians as Maria Callas, Glenn Gould, Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Arthur Rubinstein, Georg Solti and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

Coming events on medici.tv

May 5, 2014, 2:00 p.m. EST

Steve Reich and Kristjan Järvi conduct Steve Reich

MDR Symphony Orchestra & Chorus

Salle Pleyel, Paris

May 6, 2014, 2:00 p.m. EST

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

Opéra national du Rhin, Strasbourg, France

May 7, 2014, 2:00 p.m. EST

Bertrand Chamayou plays Schubert

Salle de la Balance, Paris

May 21, 2014, 2:00 p.m. EST

Violinist Christian Tetzlaff, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff and pianist Lars Vogt play Brahms

Louvre Auditorium, Paris, France

May 28, 2014, 2:00 p.m. EST

Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew 

Monteverdi: Madrigals, Book VII

Cité de la musique, Paris

May 29, 2014, 8:00 p.m. EST

Kent Nagano conducts Bach, Liszt, Saint-Saëns, Saariaho and Moussa

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal with Olivier Latry, organ

Maison symphonique de Montréal, Canada

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