by Daniel Hathaway with Jarrett Hoffman.
IN THIS EDITION:
. Farewell to clarinetist Theodore Johnson
. An interesting handful of classical music events this weekend
. Anniversaries and ideas for a holiday playlist
R.I.P. THEODORE JOHNSON
Theodore Johnson, who began his career with his hometown orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, continued with the Kansas City Philharmonic, and then played clarinet with The Cleveland Orchestra for 36 years, passed away in Cleveland on August 30 at the age of 92.
His longtime orchestral partner Franklin Cohen has written on Facebook, “An amazing musician and extraordinary person has just sadly left us. Theodore Johnson was one of the main reasons for my seamless transition into the Cleveland Orchestra in 1976.
“Ted played his important role as 2nd and e flat clarinet during the incomparable George Szell Era. I was the lucky beneficiary of his wisdom and artistry for so many years. I will forever be grateful to Ted for his unique kindness and support as well as his amazing playing.
“We made a wonderful team and so many of our recordings from the 70’s and 80’s are a testament to his extraordinary artistry.
“Beethoven 9 was a Dream with Ted!! As were all works that we played together. His e-flat playing was out of this world.”
Johnson’s obituary notes that “Interment will be at the Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago. Memorial celebration to be held in the Cleveland area in the coming months.”
WEEKEND EVENTS:
Classical music concerts are on the thin side due to the Labor Day weekend but there are a couple of exciting events on the calendar.
On Saturday, September 3 at 7:00 pm, you can catch The Sound of Music, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic tale about the von Trapp family in Austria during WWII. Andy Einhorn conducts and Victoria Bussert directs. The production is a collaboration with the Akron Symphony and Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. Blossom Music Center, 1145 W Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls. You can also enjoy it on Sunday, September 4, same time, same place. Purchase tickets here.
On Sunday at 3:00 pm, Michael Butler leads the 14 faculty members of the Dana Ensemble in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, in a 2007 chamber orchestra arrangement by Klaus Simon that will feature soprano Misook Yun. Butler Institute of American Art, Butler North, Youngstown State University, 524 Wick Ave. The concert is free.
From 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm, you can Celebrate Labor Day the Radio Broadcast: Not Your Grandmother’s Classical Music hosted by Eric Charnofsky. Program includes Handel’s cantata La Lucrezia, Festino for guitar, viola, cello, and double bass by Mario Davidovsky, Ten Duets for Two Cellos by Reinhold Gliere, William Kraft’s orchestral piece Of Ceremonies, Pageants, and Celebrations, and music by Stanley Leonard and Marin Marais. WRUW, Case Western Reserve University. Click here to listen to the internet feed.
A two-week calendar of events can be found on the Clevelandclassical.com Concert Listings page.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
Apologies to 14th-century Italian composer Francesco Landini, but today’s edition of this musical almanac seems like a good day to focus on someone who was not a musician, but whose name invariably makes you think of music. That would be J.R.R. Tolkien, who died on September 2, 1973 in Bournemouth, England.
Depending on how you’ve experienced the tale of The Lord of the Rings, the music that comes to mind will be different. For many, it has to be that of Howard Shore, who scored the film version of the trilogy (released from 2001 to 2003), winning three Oscars and four Grammys in the process.
Even if you haven’t seen the movies, you probably know the music, considered among history’s greatest film scores. Most memorable is the Fellowship Theme, representing the cast of characters who come together to destroy that darn, evil ring. Depending on the strength of that fellowship, the music waxes and wanes in emotional and instrumental power — when it’s epic, it’s epic.
September 3 presents a combination of early and contemporary events to celebrate or mourn, beginning with the installation of Pope Gregory I, aka Gregory the Great, as Bishop of Rome on this day in 590 (he joined the heavenly multitudes in 604). Gregory is celebrated as the creator of the body of early Christian chant that bears his name, although the story of its origin and evolution is far more complex than the romantic legend that “Gregorian Chant” was dictated to him by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove perched on his shoulder.
Some of the more memorable chant melodies in what might be called “The Pre-Vatican II Great Roman Songbook” — like the Dies irae or the Veni, Creator Spiritus, have been used almost as leitmotivs by later composers. And Ottorino Respighi included a tribute to Gregory as the fourth movement of his 1925 orchestral work, Church Windows (Vetrate di Chiesa). Click here for a full performance in 2011 by Vasily Petrenko and the Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia.
CLASSICAL MUSIC FOR LABOR DAY:
By the time that Labor Day was established as an official national holiday in 1894, 30 states were already setting a day aside to honor workers — an observance that became increasingly vital as the effects of the Machine Age unfolded. Among others, photographer Lewis Wickes Hine captured laborers with dignity in his fine art “photo stories.”
“Work” has expanded to encompass a wide variety of human activities, as evidenced by a 2014 WQXR poll that asked listeners to nominate classical works that best capture the spirit of Labor Day. Submissions ranged from Handel’s Harmonious Blacksmith to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 2, from Copland’s Fanfare For the Common Man (countered by Joan Tower’s Fanfare(s) for the Uncommon Woman) to Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated,
One interesting suggestion was Haydn’s “Farewell” Symphony (No. 45), the musical documentation of a labor dispute between Prince Nikolaus Esterházy and his court orchestra that seemed ironic during the height of COVID, when musicians of all kinds endured furloughs, layoffs, and the disappearance of work.