by Daniel Hathaway
IN THIS EDITION:
. Oltmans passes at 83
. Two NYT clippings of interest
. A Rebel invokes chaos
R.I.P. DWIGHT OLTMAN
We resume the Diary today with the sad news that conductor Dwight Oltman (pictured) passed away on December 31 at the age of 83 at his home in Waynesville, North Carolina, where he retired in 2014 and later co-founded the Smoky Mountain International Conducting Institute and Competition in 2017. His more than 40-year-long career on the podium at Baldwin Wallace, especially for the BW Bach Festival, combined with his musical leadership of Cleveland Ballet and the Ohio Chamber Orchestra have earned him an honored place in the Musical Pantheon of Northeast Ohio.
We will publish an obituary on Wednesday in this Diary, and invite his many former students and colleagues to offer tributes in his honor to be archived on a special page in this website. Please email them here.
INTERESTING READS tattled from ArtsJournal:
Meet TikTok’s Favorite Classical Organist (Yes, TikTok Has A Favorite Organist)
“It’s the best thing I’ve done in my career, in terms of bringing people to the instrument,” says Anna Lapwood, who has 420,000 followers on the video app, including a few major classical music figures and even a rock star or two. — The New York Times
Facing Falling Attendance, The Metropolitan Opera Will Trim Its Season And Focus On New Works
“Hit hard by a cash shortfall and lackluster ticket sales …, the (company) said Monday that it would withdraw up to $30 million from its endowment, give fewer performances next season, and accelerate its embrace of contemporary works, which, in a shift, have been outselling the classics.” — The New York Times
TODAY’S ALMANAC
On this date in 1747, French composer, violinist and conductor Jean-Fery Rebel wrote finis to a distinguished career in Paris, where he was born on 18 April 1666. After a sojourn in Spain, Rebel joined the 24 Violons du Roy in 1705 and directed the Concert spirituel. His symphonies were frequently choreographed. Among his more striking works is Les élémens (1737), in which Rebel, like Haydn in The Creation, attempted to represent chaos through music in the opening movement.
Anything but chaotic is this performance by Cleveland’s Les Délices, recorded at Plymouth Church in April 2019, where Rebel’s iconic ballet takes center stage along with a world premiere companion piece commissioned from Oberlin graduate Theo Chandler. Performers include Kathie Stewart, flute, Debra Nagy, baroque oboe, Anna Marsh, baroque bassoon, Julie Andrijeski & Jessica Park, violins, Steuart Pincombe & Jaap ter Linden, violas da gamba, and Mark Edwards, harpsichord. Watch here. The other movements are nearby.
