ON Stage is the cultural magazine of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, and features authoritative stories on the performing arts.
Meet the Maestro
Alexander Lazarev is spoken of in the same breath as some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra. This month, the Russian conductor will lead the Symphony Orchestra of India in a two-evening programme at the NCPA. By Beverly Pereira Alexander Lazarev, one of Russia’
Music Education
Next month, the Symphony Orchestra of India will begin its Autumn 2018 Season with compositions from some of the greatest masters. Sandipan Das breaks down the programme. Prokofiev (1891-1953) Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major (1944) Prokofiev wrote this during the war years and it is his first symphony written
News
Since 2010, Con Brio has been pushing the limits of Western classical music performed in India with a focus on local talent. By Florestan Furtado Back in November 2009, when cellist Friedrich Kleinknecht and Parvesh Java met for an early morning coffee at Café Leopold and decided to celebrate the
Music Education
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert: did the four Viennese school composers know each other? By Manohar Parnerkar The Classical period in Western art music represents the age of Haydn, Mozart, partly of Beethoven, and peripherally of Schubert. Falling between the post-Baroque and the pre-Romantic periods, it roughly dates from 1750
Know Your Composer
A partly sad, partly bizarre story of how Mozart (1756-91) suffered benign neglect for the better part of the 19th century, and how he was rehabilitated in the 20th century by Hollywood. By Manohar Parnerkar Today it is hard to believe that the 19th-century radical Romantics once denigrated Mozart as
News
This month, the NCPA inaugurates the Dr. Jamshed J. Bhabha Memorial Exhibition, a collection of artefacts, rare photographs and stories from the illustrious family’s oeuvre. Once upon a time, Mehrangir, the beautiful art deco bungalow in Malabar Hill, was home to two overachievers: Dr Homi Bhabha, nuclear physicist and
Interviews
Barry Douglas returns to India with Camerata Ireland – the only orchestra to unite musicians from both Northern Ireland and Ireland – to perform Beethoven’s five piano concertos. Interviewed by Cynthia Lewis Barry Douglas is more than just a renowned pianist and conductor. He is a man on a mission to
Interviews
As the students of the NCPA Special Music Training Programme return from their first concert on foreign shores, Marat Bisengaliev talks to us about the future of the programme. Interviewed by Cynthia Lewis The year 2018 is an important one for the NCPA Special Music Training Programme. The programme was
Know Your Composer
The Artie’s Festival is set to bring to the stage two chamber concerts featuring works from Brahms and Bloch, among others. Sandipan Das compiles his notes on some of the composers and their music. In the tenth year of their association with the NCPA, the Artie’s Festival, led
Music Education
Zane Dalal looks at the music, the drama and the pervasive social message of Richard Wagner’s epic music drama, Der Ring des Nibelungen Much has been written on the life and work of composer Richard Wagner, and even more on his famous tetralogy of operas, Der Ring des Nibelungen
Meet the Maestro
Prominent Polish conductor Antoni Wit has striven to keep the Polish repertory alive throughout his illustrious career. We take a look at the achievements of the acclaimed conductor, ahead of his performances with the Symphony Orchestra of India. By Beverly Pereira When the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra made its debut at
Music Education
In 2017, the Symphony Orchestra of India performed at a few unorthodox venues, such as hospitals and crèches, in order to bring their art closer to those who couldn’t reach them. By Rinky Kumar In the year 2006, when the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) came into being, the