James Levine led the Boston Symphony Orchestra last week for the first time since his back surgery in the Fall. While Levine has been in New York for assorted performances at Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera, his leadership at the BSO was absent for most of the season’s Fall performances. He presented his returning program, featuring works by Berlioz, Ravel, and Carter, in both Boston and New York. Perhaps fortuitously, the night before the BSO’s Carnegie Hall performance, Levine and the BSO won a Grammy for their recording of Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloé.” For a complete review of the performance and a clip of the Grammy winning recording, see the NYT article here.
Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Levine Returns to BSO After Spinal Surgery
Conducting Still Pain in the Neck
Praise Continues For “Music I-LXXIV”
David Yearsley, of Cornell University, has written a delightful piece on The Sound Post’s favorite poet, August Kleinzahler.
In an article on counterpunch.org, Yearsley praises the fresh, “catholic and quirky” humor of Kleinzahler’s latest publication, Music I-LXXIV. He describes some of the more eclectic tales from the collection of musical essays, and admires the ways in which subjects such as criticism, nostalgia, and dedication are presented by the award-winning poet.
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Montclair State University Music School Enters New Era
Montclair State University’s new $35 million dollar music school is presenting a chamber music concert this weekend as part of its inaugural year. The Cali School of Music, named after $5 million donor John J. Cali, opened this Fall and brings a host of world renowned faculty to the college.
As the music program continues to increase in size, $4 million of Cali’s $5 million dollar donation will go to paying full-scholarships for deserving students. To commemorate the new school, MSU is presenting two chamber music events this weekend at the newly constructed Jed Leshowitz Recital Hall. The concerts will be at 8:00pm on Saturday, and 3:00pm on Sunday.
For more information check the article link here or visit montclair.edu/music.
Mark O’Connor Crosses Over
Again
Violinist Mark O’Connor will team up with bassist John Patitucci and guitarist Julian Lage at New York City’s Blue Note next weekend, bringing his classical, folk, and flamenco backgrounds to a new, jazzier venture. The trio will debut at the Blue Note on January 7, 8, and 9, with each member contributing his individual background, style, and compositional elements.
Widely known for his folk performances and compositions, O’Connor is a classically trained musician whose influences have led him through many genres, including jazz. More recently, he has generated buzz for his new violin method, The Mark O’Connor Violin Method. The method bears ideological similarities to the time-tested Suzuki Method, but guides its students through a repertoire of American folk music.
As O’Connor begins his foray with the trio, listeners can probably count on him crossing into the jazz realm regularly, even as he continues to release more installments of his folk-based method book.
Tovey And VSO Do Not Fake It
On stage
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has been making some headlines the last few days.
On Saturday, the CBC News reported that the ensemble had backed out of the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics. According to conductor Bramwell Tovey, the organizing committee for the event—known as VANOC—demanded the music be prerecorded so that another conductor could mime the performance during the opening celebration.
Say what?! Yes, you read correctly. They wanted Tovey to record it, and then have an actor step in and pretend he was conducting at the actual ceremony.
I understand that the opening night tends to be, well, over-the-top. And perhaps having an actor at the podium would aid that. But did they really expect Tovey to forfeit his position during an internationally-televised broadcast? In a time when appreciation for the arts seems to be declining, this would be the ultimate swift kick below the belt for one of the country’s top orchestras.
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Ithaca College Pianogate: Update
Don’t Stop Believin’ !
Today, the President of Ithaca College, Tom Rochon, released a statement regarding the recent vandalism at the Whalen Center for Music. While the culprits still remain unknown, Rochon expresses his sincere appreciation for the attitude Read the full transcription here: Pianogate and Its Aftermath
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Yo-Yo Ma Named Consultant To CSO
Has Some Experience
Acclaimed cellist, Yo-Yo Ma, has been named the Creative Consultant to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
The position will put Ma in collaboration with another new member of the ensemble, Artistic Director Riccardo Muti, with the stated goal to “provide collaborative musical leadership and guidance on innovative program development for The Institute for Learning, Access and Training at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as for CSO artistic initiatives” (CSO Press Release). Ma will also be in charge of creating new musical programs for children of the Chicago area.
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Baldwin Dedicated to Classical Music
Big Mahler Fan
Alec Baldwin loves classical music. According to the NY Times, Baldwin is not only invested in his role as announcer for the New York Philharmonic’s weekly radio broadcasts, but he is also a die-hard classical music fan. Daniel Wakin writes that Baldwin was offered the position after the Phil took notice of his patronage. The NY Phil regularly keeps tabs on its celebrity concert-goers, offering them tickets in exchange for publicity.
The Phil first booked Baldwin as narrator for an “Inside the Music” series in 2008—a program where a work is first explained and then performed. Then, after Baldwin joked that he’d like to quit acting and become a classical music radio presenter, the Phil pounced on his apparent interest and made an offer.
Now, as Baldwin records radio announcements between acting commitments like this winter’s “It’s Complicated” and NBC’s “30 Rock,” he sets his schedule around musical events he refuses to miss. Last May, he contracted time off to see Daniel Barenboim conduct Mahler’s ninth symphony. Baldwin’s interest in classical music began on a soap opera set when he was 24, when a staging director chided him for not recognizing Berlioz’s “March to the Scaffold” from Symphony Fantastique. Now, Baldwin listens to classical everywhere from his home to his car, and has a constantly expanding library of works.
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