September 2008
A mass of Bernstein
If you follow classical music you already know that orchestras and performing arts organizations around the world are celebrating the 90th birthday of Leonard Bernstein. The WCFSO will present a tribute in Iowa next week, and ahead of that event I will publish several posts dedicated to the conductor-composer's work.
This morning on NPR Marin Alsop offers her insights into Mass, one of Bernstein's most important and revealing works. My own moment of discovery with Mass came in a roundabout way – attending a concert at the Konzerthaus in Vienna in 1995 [and a member of the Yale Symphony Orchestra at the time], I was stunned to come across a huge archival poster from the YSO's European premiere of the piece. This image of that program comes from the YSO Facebook page.
Cultural debate?
How much can voters learn from a highly staged and politically charged presidential debate? Not much about the state of culture in America, according to Christopher Knight of the LA Times.
Good idea
If you are in Louisville don't miss Idea Festival, a three-day symposium devoted to discussions and interdisciplinary exploration in science, the arts, design, business, film, technology, and education.
Hungary for orchestra
Having worked with a range of orchestras – from volunteer, high school and college ensembles to union and non-union professional groups – I've encountered just about every possible degree of commitment to music-making. Regrettably, it seems that in the higher reaches of the symphony business the pure excitement of performance is often tempered by boredom, apathy and contractual wrangling.
All hope is not lost in Budapest, though, where Tom Service finds a superb conductor and his unique ensemble devoted to the love of the game.
Deconstructing Mozart
One last look at Mozart for the month, courtesy of an amusing video experiment. Four musicians were recorded playing 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik' in isolation and then their respective interpretations were edited together into one performance.
NACHTMUSIK from IK on Vimeo.
I'm normally not inclined to make this suggestion about classical music in the 21st century, but maybe we should stick with the old-fashioned way?
Rediscovering Mozart
Following up on my previous post, another fleeting glimpse into the world of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Here are three selections from 'Harmoniemusik' arrangements of his operas, typical of wind music heard at artistocratic gatherings in late 18th-century Vienna.
Mozart – Don Giovanni [arr. Triebensee], Act II Finale, excerpt
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, September 14, 2008
Mozart – Die Zauberflöte [arr. Heidenreich], Hm! Hm! Hm!, excerpt
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, September 14, 2008
Mozart – Don Giovanni [arr. Triebensee], Giovinette che fate all'amore
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, September 14, 2008
Discovering Mozart
A fragment of a previously unknown piece by Mozart has been discovered in France.
The partial page contains a sketch for a religious work; its unaccompanied melody was penned in the late 1780s, in the midst of the composer's aesthetically and intellectually curious later years. [Photo by David Vincent, AP]
LO observed
Downed power lines and the Ryder Cup are getting plenty of attention around town this week, but The Louisville Eclectic Observer has its sights set on the LO. Jeremy Podgursky's cover story reveals some of the promising things happening outside of rehearsal.
DL the classics
A follow up to my earlier post on digital music websites – newly arrived on the scene is Passionato, an extensive classical music download service.
Same old concert? Not around here
From Alex Ross' recent piece in the New Yorker reviewing several books [including a new one by William Weber, author of the superb Music and the Middle Class] on concert history:
'A new generation of American conductors, notably David Robertson, Alan Gilbert, and Robert Spano, is opting out of the one-masterpiece-from-each-column approach to programming, devising combinations of works that cut arrestingly from the ancient to the brand-new.'
Scherzo swoosh
Several superb video pieces for Nike by 13thWitness. The one posted below is for you Beethoven lovers; my only quibble is that it really should be called The Nine.
Nike - The Five from 13thWitness™ on Vimeo.
Musical storm Gustavo
It has been difficult to get an accurate sense of Gustavo Dudamel's interpretive skills amidst the unabashed love affair the music media have had with him over the past few years. Tom Service's excellent series of posts from Lucerne continues with a corrective view of the youthful maestro's work.
The Record Store
Before the advent of mp3s and media downloads I spent hours discovering music at record stores like Academy in NYC, Normal's in Baltimore, and Fat Beats in LA. Now it's possible to do the foraging from any place with a decent internet connection.
Stones Throw Records is the most ambitious and savvy independent label in the country, so no surprise that Peanut Butter Wolf and crew have successfully taken the next step to distributing their music through a great new web store – Their fellow Angelenos over at Turntable Lab have a well-curated selection of digital downloads and a ton of cool gear – The catalogue of Soul Jazz Records offers a one-stop schooling in the history of funk, soul, world, reggae and avant jazz – A blog with a serious purpose, Loronix is singlehandedly digitizing a huge chunk of the nearly-lost recorded musical history of Brazil – I'm not totally sure that Dusty Groove belongs in this post [no downloads] but how could I leave it out?
Finally, from the conductor in me – One of the complaints about online outlets like iTunes is that they make a mess of categorizing, tagging and selling classical music, but not so for the classy folks at Deutsche Grammophon.