Girl power at the Waterfront!

Oct 13, 2011

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 If I were JoAnn Falletta I’d be totally sick of being reminded that I’m a female in a male–dominated profession. The fact remains, however, that it’s highly unusual for a woman to make it as a top conductor. Even more unusual is the pairing–together in one evening of a leading female conductor – or leading conductor (female) – with a top female soloist. But that’s exactly what will happen tomorrow evening when Joanna MacGregor joins JoAnn Falletta and the Ulster Orchestra for the opening concert of this year’s Belfast Festival. It’s a super programme, in which MacGregor will solo in Gershwin (Rhapsody in Blue and the “I got rhythm” Variations), and Falletta will conduct Copland and Bernstein, inter alia. MacGregor is an iconoclast among pianists, a free spirit who follows her own instincts and inclinations, far from the clone–zone of the international piano circuit. Sparks could easily fly when she and JoAnn hit those bluesy syncopations together. Don’t miss it.