As if our friends on the keys didn’t have enough on their plates…
Composer Geoff Smith, has just completed what is being described as the “world’s first multicultural acoustic piano”, and it is called the Fluid Piano. At first sight, it looks similar to a western fortepiano, but a closer inspection reveals a complex system of tuning slides which allow performers to access a wide variety of scales. Did I mention that they can do this adjusting on the fly?
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Introducing The Fluid Piano
Pianists strike planned
Handel’s Messiah: A Glorious History
Hallelujah
The Smithsonian recently ran an excellent piece in which author Jonathan Kandell provides historical insight into Handel’s life and the conception of his greatest work: The Messiah.
Originally intended for Easter, Handel’s Messiah is now as synonymous with the Christmas season as egg nog and pfeffernüsse. Handel composed the work in only four grueling weeks between August and September 1741, with the text having been prepared by librettist Charles Jennens in July. Still conscious of his works’ lukewarm reception the previous season, however, Handel sought to test the Messiah on a booming European city whose wealthy elite would likely mirror the response of audiences in London. So he premiered the Messiah in Dublin the following year.
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Mark O’Connor Releases New String Method Books
Suzuki teachers can come out from hiding, it’s safe
Famed American fiddler Mark O’Connor has just released the first two installments of his new string method entitled The Mark O’Connor Violin Method. Savvy teachers will quickly find many similarities with the popular Suzuki Method.
Progressive repertoire, heavy emphasis on listening, and the sequential introduction of new techniques are all pedagogical practices which were first brought into mainstream string education by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. His method’s followers will be happy to see that O’Connor’s system has been largely based upon these principles. During an interview with Laurie Niles, editor of Violinist.com, O’Connor acknowledges the similarities between Suzuki’s method and his own:
“I patterned my method after some of the great methods out there, especially Suzuki, because they introduced very young people to a sequence of tunes. That’s something that is also inherent in folk music learning, too.”
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What Are You Thankful For?
Besides Turkey
As the calendar closes in on the ’09 holiday season, WQXR is asking listeners to share particular works they are thankful for by calling in or emailing the station. New York’s classical station promises to play the selections throughout Thanksgiving weekend, along with some messages and stories sent in by the people who chose them.
If you’d like to hear a favorite or special piece next weekend, head over to the WQXR post with all the details. In the meantime, The Sound Post would like to welcome your stories as well! While we may not have a radio station (yet), TSP would love to know what pieces move you, and why.
British Woman Donates Fortune to the Met, Bird Group
Mona Webster, a British woman living in Edinburgh who passed away at 96 last August, decreed that the majority of her fortune be split between two organizations which represented her greatest interests: the Metropolitan Opera and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.
Webster was born on the Isle of Man in 1913, where her father was a lighthouse keeper. She first discovered her love for birds when she moved to Scotland as a girl, and was later introduced to opera via the Met’s Saturday afternoon broadcasts. The Met’s director of planned and special gifts, Gail Chesler, said that Ms. Webster remembered Saturday broadcasts as far back as 1939.
Webster had been in contact with Met representatives since 2000 when she was invited to New York for an opening night performance following a generous donation. She had attended performances prior to 2000 with opera tour groups however, which established her connection to the organization and prompted her to write the $7.5 million donation into her will. Needless to say, her generosity will not only boost the opera company but also serve to illustrate the boundless audience that art, music, and nature all inspire.
Source: NY Times.
Villazón Returns for 2010 Season
Will Bring Voice With Him
Tenor Rolando Villazón announced on his website that he will return to the stage in 2010, after having to cancel the remainder of his 2009 season in April to treat a cyst on his vocal chords.
Villazón was scheduled to sing at the Met last year, but was forced to cancel due to his surgery. The video on his site is full of excitement and gratitude for supporters, and Villazón tells fans to keep an eye out for his soon-to-be released 2010 schedule.
Warm wishes and good luck to Mr. Villazón for his recovery and return to his art. Source: WQXR.
New York City Opera Returns To Renovated Stage
Sets New Extreme Home-Makeover Record at $107 million
The New York City Opera is back! The company returned home last Thursday night to a newly renovated Lincoln Center stage. The opening night concert, entitled “American Voices,” marked a huge step forward for the company, who was rumored to be facing closure during the latter portion of their 2008-09 season.
The New York State Theater has long been considered second-rate. The space was built for the 1964-1965 World’s Fair as a sign of cultural participation from the State of New York. However, a reputation for having sub-par acoustics has been its long-defining feature. So lackluster in fact, that an electronic audio-enhancement system was installed. While this helped, it did not stop declining ticket sales, and a growing deficit which threatened the the New York City Opera’s livelihood in 2009.
Now, it has been renamed the David H. Koch Theater, and a $107 million renovation intended to improve the acoustics has begun. The theater now seats 2,575; two aisles have been added to give the orchestra section greater accessibility at the cost of about 200 seats. The pit has been put on mechanical lifts to allow it to reach stage level for orchestra concerts. The carpeting and seats have all been replaced, and New York Times writer Anthony Tommasini has already declared that the new features make the house “the most comfortable in New York.”
So have the renovations brought the acoustics up to the standard which New Yorkers demand? Only time will tell. I for one am very excited to visit the new home for one of my favorite companies.
City Opera Returns in Its Newly Inviting Home – NY Times
HSO Filing for Chapter 11
The Honolulu Symphony has filed for bankruptcy. Things began looking grim for the orchestra, which is heralded as, “the oldest symphony west of the Rockies”, when musicians were forced to take a 15% pay-cut in September. When checks did not arrive for concerts during the months of September and October, musicians became suspect to what administrators publicly declared last week, that the debt of the orchestra (over $1 million) was far beyond expected, and filing for Chapter 11 was the only choice.
Despite not being paid for their services, musicians continued to give performances for the last 2 months, hoping that something would come through. Unfortunately, it did not. Half of the musicians will be laid off, and the 2009-10 season may not be able to continue. Original article on honoluluadvertise.com below.
Honolulu Symphony broke, ends season