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…]

by Daniel Hathaway

BOX OFFICES ARE OPENING:

On June 18, the Cleveland Museum of Art will begin selling a limited number of timed admission tickets to Museum members for its June 30 opening and the month of July. Tickets for the general public will go on sale June 22. Details here.

The Museum has also begun posting “Behind the Beat,” a series of video conversations with composers and performers in the time of isolation. Watch here.

Apollo’s Fire has announced its 2020-2021 season, offering a number of options for its subscribers including in-person attendance at concerts and exclusive post-performance videos. Details here.

Les Délices will begin selling subscriptions to its 2020-2021 series on July 1. The four programs will be presented entirely online. Read more here.

And Tri-C JazzFest’s 41st season will go virtual, streaming across various online platforms on Friday and Saturday, August 21 and 22. More information here. Performers will be announced on June 18.

ON THE WEB TODAY:

Catch pianist Imogen Cooper anytime today in an on-demand version of her live lunchtime concert at London’s Wigmore Hall, enjoy Lunchtime with The Cleveland Orchestra and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and revisit the MET Opera’s 2010 production of Rossini’s Armida with Renée Fleming and Lawrence Brownlee. Details here. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

NEWS BRIEFS:

BOP STOP is acquiring state-of-the-art streaming equipment, enabling the Music Settlement’s near-West Side venue to begin streaming live events and select archived performances by mid-July. Read the press release here.

News of the latest North American cancellations and furloughs comes from the Nashville Symphony, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, and Canada’s Banff Centre in Alberta, while East Asian orchestras like the National Symphony of Taipei (Taiwan) are experimenting with ways to carry on live performances with reduced capacity audiences.

Wynton Marsalis, the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, joined MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell to discuss “the power of music to affect change and how the worldwide jazz community is activating to join the conversation on civil rights.” View the conversation here.

 

THIS WEEKEND ON THE WEB AND ON THE AIR:

Lots of opera online this weekend: an encore screening of the MET Opera’s recent At-Home Gala, plus Handel’s Rodelinda, Dutch National Opera’s staging of Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder, Florida Grand Opera’s 2015 production of Menotti’s The Consul, and on the lighter side, Ohio Light Opera’s selections from Carousel with cast members who would have performed Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic musical this summer. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

NEWS BRIEFS:

On Thursday, The Cleveland Orchestra sent out a video message from President and CEO André Gremillet updating patrons on its plans for the summer and beyond (much is still up in the air), and announced “Cleveland Orchestra Classics,” a new summer series of full-length concert rebroadcasts. The Orchestra also noted the release of the latest podcast in its “On a Personal Note” Series. In “Resolution,” second clarinet Robert Woolfrey talks about finding peace in Brahms’s German Requiem and its power to connect the past with the present.

The Vienna Philharmonic is resuming public concerts with limited audiences present in the Musikverein. Read an article here.

ON THE WEB TODAY:

If you tuned in to the Stockholm Symphony’s live stream on Wednesday (with no audience present), you may be interested in hearing what the orchestra’s CEO and artistic director, Stefan Forsberg, has to say about the Swedish ensemble’s policies during the pandemic. He speaks with Susan Elliot on Musical America’s “One to One: Keeping the orchestra playing”. Listen here.

Today’s scheduled streams of local interest include Lunchtime with The Cleveland Orchestra (Bruckner, Mozart, and Brahms with Julia Fischer), a house concert with pianist Spencer Myer ($), an encore screening of the MET Opera’s recent At-Home Gala featuring 40 artists around the world, and an episode in the Ohio Light Opera’s Virtual Summer Festival where OLO veterans and current company members trade messages and songs. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

On this date in 1864, composer Richard Strauss was born in Munich. One of his last works was the Oboe Concerto, inspired by Pittsburgh Symphony principal oboe John de Lancie (later principal in Philadelphia), who met the composer at the end of World War II in Garimsch-Partenkirchen while serving in the U.S. Army.

Principal Frank Rosenwein played the work with Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra in September 2012, and again with CityMusic Cleveland in December, 2018. Watch a video here of the latter performance at St. Noel Church in Willoughby, conducted by Stefan Willich, and read a preview article by Jarrett Hoffman here.

Today would have marked the beginning of ChamberFest Cleveland’s 2020 series, now postponed until 2021. Since that coincides with Strauss’s birthday, it seems appropriate to suggest watching a video of his Metamorphosen for strings from ChamberFest’s June 27, 2016 concert at Chagrin Falls Methodist Church. The musicians are Noah Bendix-Balgley and Itamar Zorman, violins, Yura Lee and Teng Li, violas, Julie Albers and Timotheos Petrin, cellos, and Nathan Farrington, bass. (You can also hear the performance on July 26 as part of the nine archived ChamberFest concerts to be broadcast this summer by WCLV, 104.9 Ideastream. See the complete schedule here). [Read more…]