Katherine Unrau - violinist: News Archive

27 February 07 - And now for something completely different...

After the precision and intimacy of living inside a string quartet last week, it is a wild contrast for me to suddenly find myself in room with 100 musicians, exploring the complicated beauty that is Mahler's Fifth Symphony. Variety, however, is one of the things I love most about being a musician, so although a shock to the system, it is most enjoyable. This piece is so rich in texture, full of dense harmonies and incredible counterpoint -- all of which adds up to an incredible depth of expression. It is a delight to have a chance to study such a monument, and should be an exciting performance. I'll be performing Mahler 5, as well as Wagner's Tannhäuser overture with a combined Kingston and Oshawa Symphony this weekend, in both Toronto and Kingston.

16 February 07 - Four for the Road

Musically speaking, nothing makes this girl's heart beat faster than good chamber music. It's a treat to rehearse it, and a genuine pleasure to perform. This week is "Quartet Week", with daily rehearsals with my Kingston Symphony colleagues, principal strings Gisele Dalbec-Szczesniak, Eileen Beaudette, and Wolf Tormann.
First up is a special concert for the Musical Soirée series in Kingston: Shostakovich's Eighth String Quartet, and Beethoven's Opus 95. This intimate concert setting is hosted by a private chamber music club in someone's home and is not open to the general public, but if you would like information on booking your very own House Concert, please feel free to get in touch.
The next day we perform again, the same Beethoven Opus 95, and Haydn's Salve Regina with the Kingston Chamber Choir. Detailed information is available on the Performances page.
If you're in the area, I'd love to share this kind of music-making with you. If you've never seen a string quartet perform live, the intimacy, intensity, and interaction will thrill you!

22 January 07 - New Year

Where does the time go??? The holidays flew by around here! So much performing, and better still, lots of time spent with loved ones. Now with January upon us, new plans are in the making. Watch out for upcoming quartet performances in February, with "Kingston's Premiere String Quartet" (as I've seen us described!) -- Gisele Dalbec, Eileen Beaudette, Wolf Tormann, and myself. Also, I recently had the great fortune to perform Rhapsody in Blue with my old friend, the gigantically musical, enormously talented jazz pianist David Braid, and we discussed the possibility of a collaboration! Should be very exciting, so stay tuned!

5 December 06 - Mathis der Maler

Busy, busy. As the holiday season approaches things just seem to get crazier! Crazy in a good way. She Loves Me runs for one more week at Theatre Sheridan, so drop by to get into the holiday spirit. Once we close there, I'm off to London (Ontario) for 2 performances, and I'm really excited. The program... Four Last Songs (again!), this time with Canadian marvel Monica Whicher. And Hindemith's Mathis der Maler. This is a really special piece, derived from Hindemith's opera of the same name. The title (Matthias the Painter), refers to Matthias Grünewald, a German Renaissance painter, creator of the famed Issenheim altarpiece. It's truly glorious music, and if you're in the area, you must come! Details on the Performances page.

9 November 06 - A little bit of Holiday Cheer in the theatre

How exciting! I've just been booked to perform with a charming show at Theatre Sheridan. She Loves Me opens November 28th and runs through December 9th on the Theatre Sheridan Mainstage. In this Broadway show from 1963, two colleagues secretly find solace in anonymous romantic penpals, only to discover... I won't give it away; come and see. I'll be busy underscoring this romantic comedy with Hungarian gypsy violin solos. Box Office information can be found on the Links page.

30 October 06 - Life is what happens...

...when you're making other plans. Looks like the Canadian recital will be delayed for scheduling reasons, and unfortunately the budget bottomed out on the early music show (don't get me started on the state of the Arts!). But fall still rolls busily along into winter. The Kingston symphony is recording this week, then I'll be in Peterborough next weekend for a juicy program of Wagner and Strauss. The Performances page has been updated, including dates in Peterborough and Cornwall, so come on out and catch some live music if you're in the area.

There are a lot of irons in the fire right now, so keep checking in to see what evolves over the coming months.

30 September 06 - When did it become Fall?

Fall is suddenly upon us, and as such, the orchestra calendar resumes. Tomorrow is the Kingston Symphony season opener, a meaty all-Russian program. Come by and catch Shostakovich 5 if you're in the neighbourhood.

The onset of Autumn has always been - for me, anyway - a time for re-evaluation and planning. My alternate "new year". In any case, there are many plans in the works for the next few months: an all-Canadian recital, some early music (I hear this show may even be in period costume). Keep checking back for dates and locations. In the meantime, enjoy the colours, eat some turkey, and take stock. At least that's what I'll be doing.

7 September 06 - How I spent my Summer Vacation

This summer took me far and wide across Ontario. I met and enjoyed some wonderful people, made some new friends, and got to do some fun and interesting music-making. Thanks to portable technology, I also got to work on my new website (you haven't lived til you've fiddled with HTML codes on a dock in Muskoka as the sun goes down). So it's finally up! Look, Mom, I'm a dot-com! Welcome to www.katunrau.com. It's been quite a long time in the works. Many thanks to my friend (and sax player) James Wannamaker for technical support and advice along the way.

Things are still under construction, so please let me know what you think (and if you find something that doesn't work!), and watch for updates.

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	News Archive

	27 February 07 - And now for something completely different... After the precision and intimacy of living inside a string quartet last week, it is a wild contrast for me to suddenly find myself in room with 100 musicians, exploring the complicated beauty that is Mahler's Fifth Symphony. Variety, however, is one of the things I love most about being a musician, so although a shock to the system, it is most enjoyable. This piece is so rich in texture, full of dense harmonies and incredible counterpoint -- all of which adds up to an incredible depth of expression. It is a delight to have a chance to study such a monument, and should be an exciting performance. I'll be performing Mahler 5, as well as Wagner's Tannhäuser overture with a combined Kingston and Oshawa Symphony this weekend, in both Toronto and Kingston. 16 February 07 - Four for the Road Musically speaking, nothing makes this girl's heart beat faster than good chamber music. It's a treat to rehearse it, and a genuine pleasure to perform. This week is "Quartet Week", with daily rehearsals with my Kingston Symphony colleagues, principal strings Gisele Dalbec-Szczesniak, Eileen Beaudette, and Wolf Tormann. First up is a special concert for the Musical Soirée series in Kingston: Shostakovich's Eighth String Quartet, and Beethoven's Opus 95. This intimate concert setting is hosted by a private chamber music club in someone's home and is not open to the general public, but if you would like information on booking your very own House Concert, please feel free to get in touch. The next day we perform again, the same Beethoven Opus 95, and Haydn's Salve Regina with the Kingston Chamber Choir. Detailed information is available on the Performances page. If you're in the area, I'd love to share this kind of music-making with you. If you've never seen a string quartet perform live, the intimacy, intensity, and interaction will thrill you! 22 January 07 - New Year Where does the time go??? The holidays flew by around here! So much performing, and better still, lots of time spent with loved ones. Now with January upon us, new plans are in the making. Watch out for upcoming quartet performances in February, with "Kingston's Premiere String Quartet" (as I've seen us described!) -- Gisele Dalbec, Eileen Beaudette, Wolf Tormann, and myself. Also, I recently had the great fortune to perform Rhapsody in Blue with my old friend, the gigantically musical, enormously talented jazz pianist David Braid, and we discussed the possibility of a collaboration! Should be very exciting, so stay tuned! 5 December 06 - Mathis der Maler Busy, busy. As the holiday season approaches things just seem to get crazier! Crazy in a good way. She Loves Me runs for one more week at Theatre Sheridan, so drop by to get into the holiday spirit. Once we close there, I'm off to London (Ontario) for 2 performances, and I'm really excited. The program... Four Last Songs (again!), this time with Canadian marvel Monica Whicher. And Hindemith's Mathis der Maler. This is a really special piece, derived from Hindemith's opera of the same name. The title (Matthias the Painter), refers to Matthias Grünewald, a German Renaissance painter, creator of the famed Issenheim altarpiece. It's truly glorious music, and if you're in the area, you must come! Details on the Performances page. 9 November 06 - A little bit of Holiday Cheer in the theatre How exciting! I've just been booked to perform with a charming show at Theatre Sheridan. She Loves Me opens November 28th and runs through December 9th on the Theatre Sheridan Mainstage. In this Broadway show from 1963, two colleagues secretly find solace in anonymous romantic penpals, only to discover... I won't give it away; come and see. I'll be busy underscoring this romantic comedy with Hungarian gypsy violin solos. Box Office information can be found on the Links page. 30 October 06 - Life is what happens... ...when you're making other plans. Looks like the Canadian recital will be delayed for scheduling reasons, and unfortunately the budget bottomed out on the early music show (don't get me started on the state of the Arts!). But fall still rolls busily along into winter. The Kingston symphony is recording this week, then I'll be in Peterborough next weekend for a juicy program of Wagner and Strauss. The Performances page has been updated, including dates in Peterborough and Cornwall, so come on out and catch some live music if you're in the area. There are a lot of irons in the fire right now, so keep checking in to see what evolves over the coming months. 30 September 06 - When did it become Fall? Fall is suddenly upon us, and as such, the orchestra calendar resumes. Tomorrow is the Kingston Symphony season opener, a meaty all-Russian program. Come by and catch Shostakovich 5 if you're in the neighbourhood. The onset of Autumn has always been - for me, anyway - a time for re-evaluation and planning. My alternate "new year". In any case, there are many plans in the works for the next few months: an all-Canadian recital, some early music (I hear this show may even be in period costume). Keep checking back for dates and locations. In the meantime, enjoy the colours, eat some turkey, and take stock. At least that's what I'll be doing. 7 September 06 - How I spent my Summer Vacation This summer took me far and wide across Ontario. I met and enjoyed some wonderful people, made some new friends, and got to do some fun and interesting music-making. Thanks to portable technology, I also got to work on my new website (you haven't lived til you've fiddled with HTML codes on a dock in Muskoka as the sun goes down). So it's finally up! Look, Mom, I'm a dot-com! Welcome to www.katunrau.com. It's been quite a long time in the works. Many thanks to my friend (and sax player) James Wannamaker for technical support and advice along the way. Things are still under construction, so please let me know what you think (and if you find something that doesn't work!), and watch for updates.
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