Carlos Vieu Brings Out the Best in Symphony Silicon Valley.
Carlos Vieu has been one of Symphony Silicon Valley’s most popular regular guest conductors for several years now. The Argentinian conductor’s appearance opening this year’s season at San José’s California Theatre last Friday demonstrated why. There were no guest soloists at this concert, just two large-scale and colorful tonal compositions, the conductor, and the orchestra that he leads so well… Vieu had the orchestra play all the early variations in a bright and crisp manner with great intensity, giving them an energetic punch. Like Tchaikovsky, Kodály is a composer who likes to orchestrate in section blocks, putting different groups of instruments in dialogue or in simultaneous contrast. Vieu brings these contrasts and exchanges out vividly. This gives an energetic punch to the music, and by giving each successive variation a distinct character, separates each from the next…This was a thoughtful and sophisticated pair of performances which showed Symphony Silicon Valley responding with attentiveness and immediacy to its conductor’s conceptions.
Debut Aida Garifullina in Argentina
"Unlike what happened months ago with Elīna Garanča, who struggled with another baton on her debut in the same stage, the relationship established between Garifullona and the Filarmónica was absolutely fluent thanks to the expert hand of Carlos Vieu -possibly the best local option for this end-, who controlled tempi and balance while doting each fragment with its corresponding spirit. In the opening of the second part, orchestra and conductor put the hall in the mood with an extremely subtle rendition of the prelude to the third act of Traviata, connecting with the letter scene and the "Addio del passato", which Garifullina sang with heart wrenching expression."
"Carlos Vieu- undoubtedly one of the best opera conductors of our country- and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires deserve a paragraph of their own, as their labour was impeccable from beginning to end. Maestro Vieu moves completely freely in this repertoire, which he knows to perfection, as seen in his secure, joyful and emotional conduction. Emotion he transmits to the orchestra, that is always in service of the singer, respecting their phrasing, without encumbering them.
Beisdes shining as accompanist, the orchestra had some high moments in the pieces played as interludes between Aida's appearences, from which it is hard to mention but one, given the level of rhythmic precision, variety and dynamic subtleties."
Celebrating 110th anniversary of the Teatro Colón de Bs As. Aida de Verdi
"The great musical leader was conductor Carlos Vieu, to whom the Colón finally entrusted an important title. He did a great performance, from the chromatic slow Prelude, so much better than that Overture Verdi discarded. He also has talent as concertator, vital for such a piece in which concertators are so harsh. His tempi were generally appropiate, except maybe for a somewhat held back tempo in the great choral melody in the triumph scene and some extended silence. He always accompanied the singers expertise and in accordance with the character of each fragment."
Aida - 110 anniversary of the Teatro Colón
"Carlos Vieu marked every with extensive detail not only each of the entrances from the orchestra, singers, choir, and backstage elements but also the dynamic aspects, with great clarity even through the many measure changes, including the finales of scenes with singers, choir, orchestra and backstage elements. Remarkable and precise finales, with no shifts, in an interpretation with the proper colours and dynamics of the action and climate of the piece. In his versatility, that has led him to work in symphonic repertoire as well as soloist concertos and orchestra, in his vast experience Carlos Vieu reveals to be an excellent opera conductor."
"Under the conduction of Carlos Vieu, very accurate in every sense, and with great performance from both orchestra and choir... converging in the celebration for the theatre's anniversary, Verdi's delightful music, the grand flair of the scenery, the certainty of the conductor and orchestra and, as a crucial factor, the great performance by the national cast. The sum of all them exploded in an absolutely incomprehensible tumultuos standing ovation"
"The balance between music and voices is as perfect as if it were from a movie. Carlos Vieu controls each and every sound plain, from the pit to those coming from the back curtain. The bass strings of the orchestra provide the needed support. Vieu's steady baton guarantees every solo is played freely."
Concierto of the Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón – Soloist Stefano Bollani
“The orchestra had its protagonic os mil during the Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, with an outstanding strength of brasses and percussion. The ease with which Vieu conducted the piece translated not only os miles in the audience, but in the musicians as well. With the awaited “Rhapsody in Blue" the concert's first section came to an intense close, in which the conductor showcased his capacity to unite the musical timings of the orchestra with pockets of freedom for the soloist's expression."
Tosca in the Colón de Buenos Aires with Marcelo Álvarez
"Mtro. Carlos Vieu conducted with great craft this rich score in which both orchestra and choir had a remarkable labour.
The audience greeted with an ovation the task of the musicians, and the night ended with a perfume of satisfaction worthy of the history of our first coliseum."
Tosca - Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires.
"The conduction by Carlos Vieu was clear, detailed and gidted with a remarkable lyric aptitude. His musicality allowed him to control structure and development of the show."
Tosca in the Lyric Season of the Teatro Colón
"With an homogeneous sound in the dynamic changes, a perfect phrasing and an absolutely clear pallete of colours, the Orquesta Estable had an intense and deep sound that allows to infer- besides its renowned proffesionalism- the preparation work made by such an experimented maestro as Carlos Vieu. Conductor of the Orquesta Estable del Teatro Argentino de La Plata, he has undertaken numerous productions with different organisms. Some of his titles include Carmina Burana, Simon Boccanegra, Il Trovatore, Madama Butterfly and many others. He was main conductor -by contest- of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Mar del Plata, conducting Bruckner's Fourth Symphony, he was also one of the few to spread the work of Washington Castro, to whom he dedicated in 2003 a concert in his homage, conducted the Zurich Gala, pieces like Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.On many occasions I was capable of appreciating his extensive work in general rehearsals of many pieces, it is not surprising he has achieved such result on this occasion."
Tosca de Puccini, Teatro Colón
"Carlos Vieu's orchestral conducting was clear, thorough and endowed with a remarkable lyrical flight."
"La Bohème" in the Teatro Argentino: Revindicating tenderness
"The conduction of Carlos Vieu had two ingredients that the delightful socre by Puccini requires: deep lyrism without sugarcoating it, a wide range of colours and a great care for the clarity of words. Vieu, as many previous times, has shown what a conductor that knows how to make himslef understood in the pit as well as the stage can achieve, this time at the head of the Orquesta Estable del Teatro Argentino in its best iteration and with a vocal team with no flaws."
"Otello" at the Teatro Argentino de La Plata: Otello versus Othello"
"A high artistic level presented this production of Verdi's masterpiece, in which converged the strength of the vocal team, the nerve of musical conduction and the refinement of scenic direction. The other undoubted protagonist was the musical conductor, Carlos Vieu, responsible for a vibrant, passionate and dramatical reading of the score of a composer he understands to his smallest details. From the very beginning, with an impacting storm scene, we knew that the dramatic pulse would only rise, with barely two moments of musical "respite" conformed by the duet of the first act, passionate and sensual, and the "Willow song" from the fourth act, in which the frailty and anguish of who knows is going to die is shown. With unquestioned domain over the most complex of concert scenes and a valuable sense of flow, Vieu tread forward in order to provide an astounding musical tragedy. At times, the vehemence and strength of the orchestra was such that the singers were forced to strain themselves in order to be heard, clearly that is not a concession he as a conductor is willing to make."
Verdi's Requiem Mass in La Plata: the atheist requiem or the time Verdi was accused of being wagnerian
"Under the solid hand of Carlos Vieu and a homogeneous soloist quartet, the Teatro Argentino offered an outstanding version of the mass that Verdi dedicated to the writer Alessando Manzoni. In this occasion, Carlos Vieu demonstrated his always profound and honest commitment to any score he addresses. Much like his approximation in 2008 at the head of the Orquesta y Coro Estables del Teatro Colón, Vieu once again approached the pieve with more intensity and great conduction, this time leading the stable aggrupations of La Plata, which responded with an extremely high level. The Orquesta Estable del Teatro Argentino de La Plata reacted to Vieu's energic baton with a wide range of dynamics, a robust and vibrant sound."
Debut in Lausanne´s Opera in Suiza. Barbero de Sevilla.
“Carrying out the action at a time of hellish, which will keep the precise direction of Carlos Vieu, at the head of the Choir of the Lausanne Opera and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. And the audience applauds a quality spectacle, of which the dynamism never runs out. "
Argentine conductor Carlos Vieu was able to fully grasp the author's spirit by showing the contrasts between the two parts of the program(...) At the end of the concert, Brahms' First Symphony was heard. Vieu's version was of exceptional artistic quality, we haven't heard this well-executed symphony in a long time. Vieu exhibited with genuine knowledge all the springs of thematic development as well as the different planes but, above all, put an intense interpretative emotion which made the Philharmonic Orchestra look like on very few occasions
Turandot -Puccini in Lima
"Argentine conductor Carlos Vieu is imposing and accurate on the podium, greatly achieving the group's cohesion and good balance in the cast(…)The sound achieved is more than satisfactory for a work as complex as "Turandot".
Cavallería rusticana e I Pagliacci. 2011. Montevideo. Uruguay.
Conductor Carlos Vieu printed a captivating theatrical intensity from the early chords, completing two orchestral versions of excellent level. Vieu's management always reaches depth, revealing a detailed and conscious concertation work. On this occasion he extracted from the Orquestra Filarmónica de Montevideo a well-Italian sound, with moments of morbidezza and voluptuousness ideal in this style (...) that was enhanced by notable musical versions, product of the chemistry achieved by the orchestra conductor Carlos Vieu and two leading couples very close to the ideal."
Adriana Lecouvreur. Teatro Avenida. Buenos Aires Lirica
Carlos Vieu's musical version matched the merits of an undoubted master, not only for the virtues emanating from his driving technique, but also for his excellence as a performer that is right in the style of each creator, a detail that influenced the performance of an entire painting of singers and the performance of the orchestra. But also, with the probity of achieving the much-desired balance with the essential scenic box in the world of sung theatre"
I DUE FOSCARI Teatro Colón en el Coliseo de Bs As.
“The version achieved from a global point of view by music director Carlos Vieu had impeccable general concertation, as it could not be otherwise with a teacher who possesses wisdom and the gift of clarity in the technique of baton. Hence the achievement of the high voltage and grandeur of the concerted scenes, the contrasts between moments of pain and mystery proposed by the depth of the drama."
Debut as an Main conductor of OETC.
The brilliant Estable Orchestra with Vieu(.....) it was his presentation as the holder of the organism, an opportunity to strongly ratify his virtues as a distinguished and sensitive musician who exercises, with his happiness to make music and expressive temperament, a strong magnetism to extract from the orchestras the best of each member"
Turandot by Puccini. Luna Park. Debut as an opera conductor for the Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires.
“Puccini has been orchestrally translated with property and care, recreating at all times through its elaborate and penetrating harmonies the fantastic character......... In this sense, it is worth noting the merit of Carlos Vieu for his intelligent stylistic version in drawing up a score with a complex symphony language in terms of texture, color and subtleties, as well as numerous motifs of Chinese music, achieving a commendable translation by the Stable Orchestra."
