Wiener Konzerthaus [ENA] At the Wiener Konzerthaus, Bachgemeinde Wien’s presentation of Georg Friedrich Händel’s Messiah promises an evening of uncommon stylistic refinement and musical conviction. In the Mozart-Saal, this oratorio belongs exactly where it should: in a space that encourages clarity of line, eloquence of text, and a devotional intensity that never turns heavy or overwrought. With the BAchCHorWien, the Wiener Bachsolisten, soloists Anita Vozsech, Monika Schwabegger, Mario Lerchenberger, Philipp Schöllhorn, and conductor Ernst Wedam, the performance combines historical awareness with living expressive force.   [Full story...]

Wiener Konzerthaus [ENA] At the Vienna Konzerthaus, Bach in Space offers an unusually compelling fusion of live piano performance and cosmic imagery, and the concept proves far more than a novelty. What might on paper sound like a multimedia experiment reveals itself in practice as a remarkably coherent act of musical imagination. The idea is simple but potent: the universe is projected in vast, high-resolution images while Mona Asuka performs selected works by Johann Sebastian Bach on the piano. Yet the simplicity of the premise conceals its deeper effect. Bach’s music, so often approached as abstract perfection, suddenly acquires a spatial dimension. It seems to expand outward, to breathe in relation to the stars, nebulae, and galaxies unfolding across the screen.   [Full story...]