Thursday, April 12, 2018 @ 7:30 PM
The Silk Road Ensemble, a Grammy-nominated collective of performers from Asia, Europe and the Americas, combines superb musicianship with an eagerness to connect across cultures and musical traditions. Western string instrumentalists perform with folk percussionists and virtuosos of instruments like the pipa (Chinese lute), gaita (Galician bagpipes), tabla (Indian hand drums), shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute), and kamancheh (Persian bowed lute). The ensemble’s lively concert features some classical music and sumptuous traditional music alongside new work by composers the world over.
Pre-show talk in the Concert Hall Lobby at 6:30 pm.
Ticket Prices: $45, $35, $20; Students $15, $12, $10
Loved it!
These are amazing performers, great music and it was fun to see how they enjoyed playing together, encouraged each other in the solos; and they used instruments I had not been familiar with. Spectacular indeed!
What an energizing and powerful performance! The musicianship was impeccable, and the personality of these performers, individually and collectively, was crystal-clear. For anyone who wants more — and actually, for anyone on Planet Earth — I’d highly recommend their documentary, “The Music of Strangers” to drive home how important this music is to connect us all.
The musicianship was impeccable and the musical arrangements filled with unexpected surprises. Mixing storytelling with the music was very effective. One of the pieces was a bit too long and I would have liked to hear a more nuanced performance from the bagpipe. Sometimes just too loud . All in all, an amazing, accomplished group of musicians.
Breathtaking!!
I really enjoyed it – the musicians were great, and I loved the sound of the clarinet, shakuhachi, pipa and percussion, and how they sometimes merged, sometimes separated from the other instruments. I enjoyed the unusual tones and harmonies, moving between different parts of the world. One aspect of the performance that somewhat surprised me was that most of the music was written – though I suppose that is natural for an ensemble of such diverse instruments.
I agree with Leonard Cohen above, and would like to add that I thought that Kinan Azmeh on clarinet was extraordinary. Thank you!
I loved the concert! I am a Silk Road Ensemble groupie and go to see them whenever I can. Christina Pato, Kinan Asmeh, Wu Man, and Haruka Fujii gave their usual extraordinary performances!
Tsuru no Ongaeshi was completely lovely and hearing of its genesis in their work on the Lame Dear Indian reservation deepened my regard for these wonderful border crossing musicians.
I did very much miss Sandeep Das on the Tabla and longed to hear a bit more of their Middle Eastern sound, but at the same time was glad to have my own musical experienced expanded with their new compositions.