by Daniel Hathaway
HAPPENING TODAY:
Tonight at 7:30 at the Auricle, the Canton Symphony Divergent Sounds Series presents Kid Tigrrr, the ethereal solo project of Cleveland-based singer-songwriter Jenna Fournier that “blends dream pop, indie folk, and art rock to explore themes of identity and healing through lush, self-produced soundscapes.”
And at 7:30 in Oberlin’s Finney Chapel, Raphael Jiménez will conduct the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra in Antonín Dvořák’s Concerto in B minor with cellist Nathaniel Abreu (pictured), as well as in Ruth Crawford Seeger’s Rissolty Rossolty, and William Grant Still’s Wood Notes.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
On September 25, 1927, English conductor Colin Davis was born in Weybridge, Surrey. Sir Colin returned to conduct The Cleveland Orchestra in April, 2009, after a hiatus of 25 years. As reported in a Plain Dealer preview, his reappearance came at the urging of pianist Mitsuko Uchida. “She told me, ‘You’ve got to get back,’” recalled Davis, 82, by phone from his home in London, where Uchida also resides. “And I thought, ‘If she told me to do it, I’d better do it.’”
That concert in 2009 included the Second Symphony of Jean Sibelius, a composer whose music was a Davis specialty. In this video, he conducts the finale with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester at the 2008 BBC Proms.
And on this date in 1932, Canadian pianist Glenn Gould (pictured with Leonard Bernstein) was born in Toronto. One of the great keyboard personalities of the 20th century, Gould was also among the most eccentric, demanding special conditions for his recitals and recordings and eventually giving up live performances entirely in favor of studio recordings over which he could exercise precise control.
For glimpses of Gould’s life and career, watch the documentary Genius Within — The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, and view François Gerard’s 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould.
Although Gould was most revered for his interpretations of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, many listeners also cherish his recording of Bach’s Partita No. 6. Follow the score in a video here.
Gould soloed with George Szell and The Cleveland Orchestra, leading to a famous outburst on the part of the conductor. As related in the New York Times, the pianist “wasted more than an hour of orchestral rehearsal time turning the screws on the special chair he uses, explaining that he could not get it at just the right height. Szell finally exploded and told Gould in very explicit terms what he could do with the screws.”
Another conductorial tiff had Leonard Bernstein officially distancing himself from Gould’s tempo decisions in the First Brahms Concerto. Listen to Bernstein’s extraordinary pre-concert announcement to the audience here.
