Author Archives | albert imperato
albert imperato - who has written 32 posts on Ecstatic Living Room.
Born in New York City in 1962. Graduated from Stanford University in 1984. Worked for record company 1987-2000. Co-founded music promotion company, 21C Media Group, in 2000.
20 (Plus) Questions with… Pianist Jonathan Biss
In the midst of a cross-country U.S. recital tour (which includes an April 14 stop at Zankel Hall), Biss filled out our questionnaire- providing detailed answers and insights, some of which may surprise you. He wraps up his current traveling program April 20.
Continue reading...Where classical music is the soundtrack to life.
Monday, April 13, 2009
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You don’t need to take a class or read a book about classical music to enjoy it. All it usually takes to fall in love with it is to hear the right piece at the right time. And that’s exactly what The Ecstatic Living Room is all about. It’s a place where music lovers can [...]
Continue reading...Better Late Than Never – Mozart’s Magic in The Shawshank Redemption
Monday, April 6, 2009
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I’m probably the last person in the United States to see The Shawshank Redemption (I finally got around to Netflixing it, and watched it last night over my favorite meal – a plate of cheese ravioli with home made tomato sauce), but for me it was worth the wait. Obviously, it’s one of the most [...]
Continue reading...Spring Awakening
Sunday, April 5, 2009
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Some music-loving friends find it corny (but that’s why it’s so much fun, of course) that I coordinate so much of my listening to the changing seasons. Part of the reason I do this is that my imagination makes certain connections early on and the rest of me just can’t let go. On balance, I [...]
Continue reading...20 (Plus) Questions with… Tenor Ian Bostridge
Saturday, April 4, 2009
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One of today's most eminent Schubert lieder interpreters, the English tenor's newest album features the composer’s Schwanengesang song cycle. Bostridge generously took time to share some thoughts, favorites and opinions in this Q&A feature.
Continue reading...Welcome to the Ecstatic Living Room!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
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My name is Albert Imperato. I’m the founder and co-managing director of 21C Media Group, an independent public relations, marketing, and consulting firm specializing in classical music and the performing arts. I’ve been working in music promotion since 1987, and many of my friends and family are still very curious about what exactly I do [...]
Continue reading...20 Questions with… Danielle de Niese
Monday, February 16, 2009
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At only 29 years of age, soprano Danielle de Niese regularly graces many of the world’s most prestigious opera and concert stages, and has released her first solo album as part of her exclusive contract with Decca Records, titled Handel Arias. This February she embarks on a seven-city recital tour of North America, which culminates in an appearance Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall on February 27th. Australian-born to parents of Sri Lankan and Dutch heritage, Danielle de Niese grew up in Los Angeles. Her career got off to a prestigious start when, at age 18, she became the youngest singer ever to enter the Metropolitan Opera Young Artist Program.
Continue reading...20 Questions with…composer and violinist Mark O’Connor
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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Mark O’Connor is a composer and violinist whose fluency with both classical and American traditions has made him one of the most acclaimed figures in contemporary music. In October 2008, O’Connor began a year as the first Artist in Residence at the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA, and in November, gave a two-day residency at Philadelphia’s Curtis School of Music. O’Connor takes educating the next generation of musicians seriously – his annual String Camps provide hundreds of students with intensive training from O’Connor and some of the world's finest performers and teachers. His Americana Symphony, “Variations on Appalachia Waltz,” was recently recorded by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop conducting, and will be released March 10, 2009 by OMAC Records.
Continue reading...20 Questions with…eighth blackbird
Monday, September 22, 2008
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Described by the New Yorker as “friendly, unpretentious, idealistic, and highly skilled,” the new-music sextet eighth blackbird promises – and delivers – provocative and engaging performances to its ever-growing audiences. Combining bracing virtuosity with a fresh and alluring sense of irreverence and panache, the sextet debunks the myth that contemporary music is only for [...]
Continue reading...20 (Plus) Questions with…composer and pianist Jake Heggie
Friday, September 12, 2008
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Jake Heggie’s opera Dead Man Walking, a collaboration with librettist Terrance McNally, is a milestone in contemporary opera. Since its premiere in 2000, the work has become one of the opera world’s most performed new works. In addition to his other operas, the San Francisco-based Heggie is a prolific songwriter whose works have been performed and recorded by some of the most beloved singers of our time, most notably Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham, Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone and Joyce DiDonato. As a pianist he has accompanied several of these same singers in recital. Though best known for his richly nuanced and emotionally resonant vocal works, he has also composed many chamber and orchestral works. He is currently at work with librettist Gene Scheer on a truly epic project: an opera based on Melville’s Moby Dick, commissioned by Dallas Opera for its inaugural season in the Winspear Opera House in April 2010. The great Canadian tenor Ben Heppner will star as the obsessed whale hunter Captain Ahab.
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
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