Archives for June 2020

by Daniel Hathaway

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

British tenor Peter Pears, the lifelong companion of composer Benjamin Britten, was born in Farnham on this date in 1910. Pears created many of the major roles in Britten’s operas, and the two frequently collaborated in recitals, like this one, an informal concert of English traditional songs recorded in 1964 at London’s Riverside Studios for an audience of friends.

Britten wrote almost exclusively with specific performer friends in mind. Listen here to a classic recording of his Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings with hornist Dennis Brain and Peter Pears — who chose the poetry for this and many other Britten song cycles.

One year after Pears’ birth, the famous organ in John Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia was first played (it’s now part of the Macy’s empire). Enjoy a video that traces its history and evolution here.

On June 22, 1955, Cleveland-based composer Jeffrey Mumford was born in Washington, D.C. Winner of numerous awards and commissions, Mumford currently serves as Distinguished Professor at Lorain County Community College in Elyria. Click here to watch a performance of his 2015 work becoming… performed on March 3, 2019 by the Cleveland Institute of Music New Music Ensemble. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

ON THE LOCAL SCENE:

The Cleveland Orchestra announces “TCO Classics,” a new project curated by chief artistic officer Mark Williams that explores six decades of audio archives and includes performances that have never been broadcast before. The initial series, “The Art of Leadership,” presents excerpts from concerts conducted by music directors Franz Welser-Möst, Christoph von Dohnányi, Lorin Maazel, and George Szell, and former principal guest conductor Pierre Boulez. See the program listings and listen here. A new series will be released on the third Thursday of each month.

The Orchestra has also released episode 10 in its “On a Personal Note” podcast series. Click here to listen to “Remembering Pierre Boulez,” where principal trumpet Michael Sachs reflects on his experience with “one of the most influential figures in modern classical music — and the lasting legacy of Boulez in Cleveland.”

In order to bring a message of hope and encouragement to his adopted community, Cleveland Orchestra cellist Alan Harrell, now celebrating his 25th anniversary with the ensemble, has traveled around Cleveland playing the Prelude to Bach’s First Cello Suite, a journey that has been documented by CIM student Katarina Davies. The video attracted more than 40,000 views in less than 48 hours on Facebook. Harrell writes, “Music may not be able to solve the world’s problems, but I believe it can, as Lincoln said, ‘bind up the nation’s wounds.’” Watch the video here.

Apollo’s Fire artistic director Jeannette Sorrell announces the ensemble’s new season in a video, and comments on AF’s innovative, “no risk” subscription plan. Watch here. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

JUNETEENTH TOPICS:

Here’s a selection of resources for marking  Juneteenth — June 19, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

San Francisco Classical Voice editor Michael Zwiebach recommends a list of streaming events to mark the day.

The Harvard Gazette asked faculty members to discuss the books they recommend for those who want to expand their understanding of systemic racism, white privilege, and the long legacies of slavery and white supremacy in American history. View the reading list here.

And on the same campus, the Radcliffe Institute, the anchor institution for Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, asked members of the presidential committee guiding the initiative to reflect on the significance of Juneteenth. Read “Greeting Juneteenth with Remembrance, Resolve, and Hope” here.

In Thursday’s Diary, we noted that The Music Critics Association of North America has named Jeanine Tesori’s and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue, premiered last summer at the Glimmerglass Festival,  as Best New Opera of 2019. As a follow up, read a New York Times article by Thompson where he discusses “My journey to writing an opera about police violence.” [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

TODAY’S NEWS BRIEFS:

The Music Critics Association of North America has named Jeanine Tesori’s and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue as Best New Opera of 2019. Premiered last summer at the Glimmerglass Festival, the opera “centers on the hopes and fears of a young black couple as they raise a son in 21st-century America.” Read Vivien Schweitzer’s story about the award on Classical Voice North America here, and watch a Glimmerglass preview video here.

American Public Media has announced the cancellation of Chris Thile’s Live from Here, the successor to A Prairie Home Companion. Read the Billboard article here.

OBSERVING JUNETEENTH TOMORROW:

Friday’s diary will be full of links to black composers and musicians, and discussions about the persistence of racism in classical music. As a prelude to that subject, watch Hidden No More: Classical Music by Artists of African Descent, “an introduction to an epic story of Classical Music by Black Composers and Musicians — a story of genius, racial injustice, and the start of a cultural awakening.” The brief video, narrated by William J. Zick, was produced by africalassical.com, which features profiles of 52 composers, conductors, and instrumentalists of African descent, including several with connections to Northeast Ohio. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

Two well-known composers were born on this date: Charles Gounod (in Paris, 1818) and Igor Stravinsky (in Oranienbaum, Russia, 1882). And two lesser-known American composers have anniversaries: Don Gillis was born in Cameron, MO in 1912, and Peter Mennin died in New York in 1983.

Gounod wrote a number of operas, of which his Faust is most frequently performed, but his operatic church music, like Rossini’s, also has a following. Watch a fuzzy video here of the incomparable Jessye Norman performing the “Sanctus” from Gounod’s Messe solennelle.

Stravinsky made his debut as guest conductor with The Cleveland Orchestra in February of 1925, conducting his Fireworks, Chant du Rossignol and Firebird Suite. Conductor Nikolai Sokoloff found him “something of a showman and not entirely endearing,” adding, “He was, in short, a pain in the neck.” (Rosenberg, The Cleveland Orchestra Story, p. 87). Stravinsky was more complimentary about his experience: “I have never seen an orchestra in which there was finer discipline and a greater responsiveness than right here in your Cleveland Orchestra.” Here’s a live performance of Le chant du rossignol by Pierre Boulez and The Cleveland Orchestra from November, 1970. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

MISSING CUSP:

The Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project offers a “Summer Sounds — June Edition” playlist in lieu of the live performances the organization had scheduled before the pandemic arrived. Click here for links to Admiral Launch Duo, Joo Won Park, Desdemona Ensemble and Anthony R. Green, Anna Elder, Molly Jones, Christopher Clarino & Leah Asher.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor Eugène Ysaÿe was born on this date in Liège in 1858. After graduating from the conservatory there, he became principal of the orchestra that later morphed into the Berlin Philharmonic. Ysaÿe has two interesting links to Ohio, having taught Josef Gingold, concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell, and having served as conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony from 1918-1922 after turning down the directorship of the New York Philharmonic.

Franck wrote his Sonata in A as a wedding present for Ysaÿe, and the violinist’s Ysaÿe Quartet premiered Debussy’s String Quartet. His six solo violin sonatas are widely admired and performed. Yura Lee played two movements from the fifth sonata on her 2016 ChamberFest Cleveland “Fiddle Tales” concert at Transformer Station. And Augustin Hadelich, who was to have performed with the Canton Symphony in May, recorded Ysaÿe’s third sonata live at Deutschlandfunk in Köln in 2015. Watch that performance here. [Read more…]