Summary Press Acclaim
Festival Del Sole • July 2006
THE MUSIC
Festival del Sole opener electrifying
“One of the more significant cultural events in the history of the Napa Valley debuted Sunday evening to a standing ovation at the Lincoln Theatre in Yountville. The Festival del Sole lineup of talent dazzled the opening night audience —the marvelous Russian National Orchestra, celebrated conductor Alan Gilbert... the distinguished mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell. It was Bell who brought the program to a halt 40 minutes into the concert. He was playing the first movement of Tchaikovsky's difficult violin concerto, when he spun out a cadenza of such mesmerizing tenderness, and such emotional intensity, the audience could hardly contain itself, and broke into an immediate standing ovation… It was that intense, it was that beautiful, and it was that personal an experience… Bell was equaled in every way by the rich, responsive playing of the orchestra… The sound and musicianship that Gilbert was able to elicit from his 83 players was deeply satisfying...”
“Even if the sun seemed a little too insistent about its status as the festival's namesake, the musical results —as judged by the first two nights of performances —augured well for the new undertaking. The programming was a canny blend of star power and an appeal to a niche market. Sunday's program...took care of the former, and for the latter there was Monday night's powerhouse recital by pianist Christopher Taylor, a gripping account of Messiaen's two-hour cycle "Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jésus."… The Russian National Orchestra is on hand all week, and Sunday's program, featuring music of Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Bizet, found them playing with particular fervor and clarity under Gilbert's baton.”
“Violinist Joshua Bell brought down the house. Pianist Christopher Taylor worked through a two-hour Messiaen epic. And Thomas Keller's French Laundry restaurant offered a six-course, $500-a-head tasting menu [with] wines from the Grove Street and Peter Paul vineyards. The new Festival del Sole in California's Napa Valley, a weeklong celebration of music, art, food and wine, entered Day Four.”
Orchestra, opera stars deliver thrilling midweek program at Festival del Sole
“The superior quality of the inaugural Festival del Sole continued undiminished Wednesday evening… with splendid performances by bass Samuel Ramey, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and the Russian National Orchestra under the baton of Carlo Ponti Jr... Ramey's famous timbre was in full display. [von Stade] remains an evergreen wonder, her charm and vocal strength still abundant after nearly three decades of fine singing… It was so beautifully delivered, you simply didn't want the intrusion of applause. But it did come, and abundantly... One of the strengths of this magnificent Russian ensemble is the richness and depth of its string sections... This was not a casual strumming of the instruments, but an incredible series of staccato in great dynamic range from the very soft and delicate to the bright and forceful… the results have been repeatedly thrilling. Ponti conducted the Tchaikovsky without a score, a musical tour-de-force for such a complex piece.”
“The stellar quality of the Festival del Sole was obvious this past Wednesday…with the appearances of Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade, and the Russian National Orchestra under the baton of Carlo Ponti. It was difficult to imagine that any concert could equal the Festival's opening... but this came close.”
Festival del Sole breaks ground
“...the festival certainly heated up the cultural side of the valley. The concert Friday night…featured the Russian National Orchestra under the baton of Stéphane Denève and two rising stars of classical music, pianist Piotr Anderszewski and violinist Nikolaj Znaider. [A large] crowd enjoyed the concert, including many lights of the valley such as Robert and Margrit Mondavi. The concert was also the setting for an Internet milestone, as National Public Radio transmitted its first live webcast of a classical music concert... The Festival del Sole is also the venue for another first...: URGE (MTV and Microsoft's online music store) is featuring the inaugural Napa Valley arts festival on its classical homepage.”
NPR Offers Its First Live Classical Webcast Tonight, From California's Festival del Sole
“Northern California is the scene for yet another small Internet milestone tonight, as National Public Radio transmits its first live webcast of a classical music concert. The performance comes from the Lincoln Theater and the Napa Valley's Festival de Sole. The individual pieces on the program will be broadcast on future editions of Performance Today... NPR's flagship classical music show and the most listened-to classical radio program in the U.S. In addition, …streaming audio of the complete concert will be archived on the network's website…available for listening on demand for one year. The NPR/Festival del Sole webcast project has been made possible by support from Grove Street Winery and Peter Paul Wines.”
Scroll over Beethoven: Classical Meets Web
“Classical music has found a new home on the internet... Take Friday's live webcast from the Festival del Sole in Napa. Offered for the first time by National Public Radio, the webcast gave millions of listeners around the world the opportunity to hear…the Russian National Orchestra, just at a click of a mouse. The concert was played during NPR's Performance Today, hosted by Fred Childs. The show normally reaches 235 stations nationally, with about 1.2 million listeners. But Friday's webcast took it one step further by going international.”
“Stéphane Denève's greatest talent as a conductor lies in his remarkable attention to one of the least appreciated elements of music: dynamics. It was this control of the level of sound that stood out in an all-around outstanding concert at the Festival del Sole last Friday. Among many high points were a fine orchestra, superb soloists, a terrific and lengthy program, and the rare opportunity to hear [Szymanowski's] Symphonie Concertante… [Ravel's] Daphnis No. 2 was lush icing on the cake, brilliantly conceived by Denève and performed to perfection by the Russian band.”
“Piotr Anderszewski played Karol Szymanowski's unjustly neglected Symphonie Concertante with such dash that he just might be the one to get this score into the standard repertoire, where it belongs. The Polish-Israeli violinist Nikolaj Znaider followed with a breathtaking performance of Sibelius' Violin Concerto... Sarah Chang led a…vibrant performance of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," giving voice to Vivaldi's blazing sun —and Napa's.
“Starting up a major festival from scratch takes some doing, making it all the more creditable and a cause for celebration that the Festival del Sole in Napa County has gotten off in good style… Concerts like Saturday's could just create the demand that would draw Bay Areans north. The key has been the choices of players and program. The sixth concert…again hit a high mark. With the Russian National Orchestra serving in supportive chamber configurations, two strong soloists did the transporting to fulfill the audience's hopes and ensure their return and the festival's future. ”
“First-rate soloists combine with polished orchestra for another Festival del Sole triumph
The evening presented world class artists with a stellar chamber orchestra and an accessible program in the Napa Valley's gem, the Lincoln Theater.”
“The delicacy and sensitivity of his touch, the luster of his tone at a daring level of pianissimo, told all that one needed to know. There is no Mozart concerto more personal and more subtly turned than this. Anderszewski's fine feeling for phrase and nuance told how he loved it and why everyone in hearing should, too. It was sharing in a confidential way, a private communication, as if the listener were alone in a room with the pianist… What turned the trick [in Dvorák's Serenade for string orchestra] was the distinctive line taken by the orchestra's designated conductor... Andrey Rubtsov. [He] confidently took the opening Moderato at an unexpectedly slower tempo. That broadening opened the way for graceful phrasing in all the cantabile parts of the Serenade. It was poised. ”
Festival Finale
“...the concert is going ahead as planned —thanks to quick thinking, generosity and the miracle of modern flight: Christine Brewer will travel directly to the festival following an East Coast performance tomorrow night and step in for the ailing Fleming... The last-minute flight, courtesy of XOJET, Inc., was arranged by a Festival del Sole board member.”
“[Christine] Brewer, one of the most impressive voices of our day, flew in from New York on a private jet, just in time to sing Strauss's Four Last Songs, the composer's unbearably beautiful farewell to life... The performance was moving, original, thrillingly seat-of-the-pants and without the false sentiment that too many sopranos and conductors like to copiously apply...”
“The inaugural season of the Festival del Sole in the Napa Valley concluded with a grand flourish this past Sunday... with thrilling interpretations of Dvorák and Richard Strauss... Kotova brought forth a remarkable shimmering tone from her instrument, from the first phrase until the last. The opening Allegro was rich with challenging bowing and tonal intricacies, the full orchestra and brass in vigorous support. The contrasting Adagio section is certainly among Dvorák's most lyrical, and Kotova brought forth a cascade of lovely, lustrous sound for its many tender passages… The second marvel of the evening was the blazing interpretation of Strauss's Don Juan, by the Russian National Orchestra under the direction of Stéphane Denève. Maestro Denève brought forth every glittering detail of Strauss's big, bright tone poem, from its powerful brass melody to the intricate interplay of the woodwinds and the strings... The grand finale was the appearance of dramatic soprano Christine Brewer. Miss Brewer…gave Strauss's Four Last Songs a strong, forceful interpretation... Brewer's final song, “Im Abendrot” (“In the Glow of Evening”) [brought] the Festival to a regal close.”
THE FESTIVAL
“The first Festival del Sole promises to light up the North Bay cultural scene this summer with some of the classical and opera worlds' brightest talent at a weeklong series that also showcases the region's food and wine industry while benefiting education programs... In regard to the concerts alone, it would likely take about two years in a major metropolitan area to see all of these artists come through town on tour.”
“The list of food and wine events includes an opening night dinner at the Rutherford estate of Craig and Kathryn Hall; a luncheon at Thomas Keller's French Laundry... hosted by Peter Paul and Grove Street Winery; a Russian Imperial dinner at Bouchaine Vineyards hosted by winery owners Tatiana and Gerret Copeland; a spectacular dinner at Beringer Vineyards prepared by chef Cat Cora, the first and only female Iron Chef [and] a luncheon at Maria Manetti Farrow's Oakville estate… Other highlights include an array of special performances, luncheons, receptions and dinners at Far Niente, Quintessa, Gargiulo Vineyards, Darioush Winery, the White Barn, Peju Province Winery, [and] Robert Mondavi Winery. ”
“...an astonishing gathering of internationally celebrated talent.”
“The impressive Festival Del Sole, the most ambitious concentrated cultural series yet undertaken in Napa Valley... [is] a world-class celebration of culture.”
“If the French city of Cannes can have a world-class film festival; Glyndbourne, England, its world-renowned opera festival; and Cortona, Italy, its multi-faceted, international Tuscan Sun Festival, then why not something comparable in our own world-class San Francisco Bay Area?... The results [are] the Festival del Sole in the Napa Valley.”
“Can't make it to Italy this summer? Consider a trip to the Napa Valley, where the Festival del Sole is bringing the charms of Tuscany — along with some of classical music's biggest names —to the West Coast.”
“There are many classical performers of equal stature, but few places in the world where you can share relatively intimate space with so many first-rank artists in the course of a single week.”
“...Napa becomes one of the world's leading cultural destinations, especially for international summer music festivals.”
“The Festival del Sole…celebrates the region's rich tradition of fine wine-making and opulent culinary delights, accompanied by concerts featuring bright stars of classical music.”
“The Del Sole Foundation for the Arts and Humanities toasted its inaugural extravaganza in the Napa Valley, celebrating a mix of fine wine, fine food and darn good music.”
“Certainly this enterprise has been a success in every way... The news of the Napa Valley's latest triumph will spread fast.”