by Stephanie Manning

IN THE NEWS:

Jaap van Zweden, the New York Philharmonic’s music director, has announced that he will leave his post at the end of the 2023-24 season. The Dutch conductor and violinist started with the Philharmonic just three years ago, but the pandemic derailed his second season. His agreement to stay on an extra year than his contract required gives the ensemble ample time to search for a successor.

Van Zweden said the experiences of the past year and a half led him to rethink his priorities. “So much has changed because of COVID, including thoughts about my own future, my life, and my family,” he wrote in a letter to the musicians. “In life, I think timing is critical: it’s important to know when to say yes and when to move on.”

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

As any music fan who still listens to music in a physical format might tell you: vinyl is making a comeback, and in a big way. In 2020, vinyl records trumped the annual revenue of CDs for the first time in 34 years.

On this day in 1931, record company RCA Victor introduced a new product to the consumer market: the long-playing 33 1/3 rpm vinyl. These discs were called Project Transcription, and they represent one of the earliest efforts to bring the long-playing (or LP) record to market.

With the capacity to hold fifteen minutes of music per side, these discs were a prime opportunity for classical music content like symphonies. The first record in this format to be released was Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Leopold Stokowski.

Despite the economic pressures for hiring large orchestras caused by the Great Depression, RCA Victor continued to record the Philadelphia Orchestra during the 1930s. To save money, many of these sessions were moved to the Victor Camden Church Studio and involved less musicians than normal  — the Beethoven, however, was recorded in the Academy of Music in Philadelphia (pictured below) with the full orchestra. Though the audio quality was limited by the current technology, this performance is impressive for how it was recorded in extended first takes. Listen to that recording here.

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by Stephanie Manning

LOCAL NEWS:

Public radio in Northeast Ohio is about to undergo a dramatic change. Ideastream Public Radio and WKSU have announced they will enter an operating agreement, which will go into effect on October 1. This collaboration will create one of Northeast Ohio’s largest news organizations, and in 2022, WKSU will become the area’s sole NPR and local news station.

As a result, 104.9 FM (WCLV), Ideastream’s classical service, will move to 90.3 FM. In addition to WCLV’s usual coverage of The Cleveland Orchestra and other local ensembles, “90.3 FM programming will spotlight more performances by musicians in Akron and Kent as well.” For now, however, the two stations will continue to operate separately. Learn more here.

CONCERT UPDATE:

The Canton Symphony String Quartet concert, originally scheduled for tonight at 7:30 at The Auricle, has been postponed. No news yet on when and where a potential rescheduled concert will be, but we will keep you updated.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

Composing, conducting, and pedagogy — Nadia Boulanger did all three, and she did them incredibly well.

Born on this date in 1887 in her home country of France, Boulanger (pictured left with her sister Lili) is well-known for influencing an entire generation of composers, with her list of students including Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, and Astor Piazzolla. Her conducting career was equally impressive, as she was the first woman to conduct the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and other major ensembles.

Though she was also a composer, Boulanger stepped back from writing music after the untimely death of her younger sister Lili. However, Nadia Boulanger would go on to program and share both her and her sister’s music in concert throughout her life. Enjoy this performance of her Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre on YouTube, and check out the Boulanger Initiative for more resources about women in music.

On this day in 1966, the Metropolitan Opera opened its doors at the company’s new opera house at Lincoln Center. Fitting for the occasion, the Met kicked off the season with a world premiere — Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra, starring soprano Leontyne Price. Librettist, designer, and director Franco Zefferelli staged an extravagant production, but technical issues, “gaudy” costuming, and an overall clash between Zeffirelli and Barber’s artistic visions resulted in a rocky start for the Met’s new era.

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by Stephanie Manning

LOCAL NEWS:

Youngstown State University has announced the fourth season of the Pipino Performing Arts Series, hosted by the University’s Cliffe College of Creative Arts. The six performances, one per month starting this month, will kick off on September 22 with a virtual presentation by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang. Learn more here.

THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION:

As a companion to yesterday’s diary, which included a New York Times piece exploring the careers of women conductors in the country’s top orchestras, this article in the Los Angeles Times explores a particular program where many of these up-and-coming conductors have received training. That is Gustavo Dudamel’s Fellowship Program, established in 2009.

“A striking aspect of the former fellows, however, is how little they are like Dudamel — or each other,” writes Mark Swed. He goes on to note that out of the five conductors from the program that made their Hollywood Bowl debuts this summer, four were women — including Marta Gardolinska (pictured). “The glass ceiling doesn’t stand a chance.”

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

Artists, it looks like September 14 could be a good day to finish that project you’ve been working on — just ask George Frideric Handel or Francis Scott Key.

On this day in 1741, Handel (pictured) put the finishing touches on his Messiah, a composition he had been working on non-stop for the last 23 days. This great oratorio, now a fixture of the Christmas season, was first proposed to him by librettist Charles Jennens in July of that year.

Jennens, who had previously worked with Handel on the oratorio Saul, wrote to a friend that “I hope [Handel] will lay out his whole Genius & Skill upon it, that the Composition may excel all his former Compositions, as the Subject excels every other Subject.” Surely the librettist would have been pleased to know that the composer worked on it morning and night until its completion, and that it would eventually become Handel’s best-known work.

The well-known recordings of Messiah are almost too many to list, so let’s focus on a specific type of performance that’s uniquely connected to this piece — the “sing-along Messiah.” Open to singers of all skill levels, these performances prioritize the joy of singing over musical perfection.

In Northeast Ohio, Credo Music has made a Messiah sing-along an annual tradition. Hosted at Oberlin Conservatory, this year’s event is on December 12. Learn more, and take a listen to the “Hallelujah” chorus from the 2017 performance, here.

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