by Mike Telin
If you’re planning to stay home again tonight, there are two concerts that may interest you.
At 7:00 pm The Cleveland Orchestra debuts In Focus, Episode 5: Musical Patterns, on its Adella streaming platform. Vinay Parameswaran leads a program that features associate concertmaster Jung-Min Amy Lee and pianist Marc-André Hamelin in works by Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass, J.S. Bach, and John Adams. Click here to read our preview.
Also at 7:00, harpist, composer, and improviser Stephan Haluska will perform a Live Streamed concert from BOP STOP, program to be announced. It’s free but donations are welcome. Click here to read our preview.
See our Concert Listings page for more information.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
January 28 marks the birth of Polish-American pianist Arthur Rubinstein in 1887 in Łódź, Poland. With a career spanning eight decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest pianists — and the greatest interpreter of Chopin — of all time. Relocating to California during WWII, he became a naturalized U.S. Citizen in 1946. He also lent his talents to Hollywood, providing piano soundtracks for films, including Song of Love with Katharine Hepburn, and playing himself in Carnegie Hall and Of Men and Music. Click here to watch a documentary of his life with historic film footage.
On this date in 1944, British avant-garde composer John Tavener was born in London. We featured his life in our Daily Diary last November 12, marking the date of his death.
And on January 28 in 1956 American composer and Oberlin alum Richard Danielpour was born in New York City. Click here to watch pianist, Oberlin alum, and Tuesday Musical Scholarship recipient Chelsea de Souza perform his Enchanted Garden, Book I.
Finally, today we note the passing of violin virtuoso Fritz Kreisler on this date in 1962. Like Rubinstein, he was regarded as one of the greatest musicians of all time. Listen to a WQXR interview on his 80th birthday in 1955 here. Kreisler was famous for his encores, and you can binge-listen to two hours of them here.
INTERESTING READ:
In a San Francisco Chronicle article by Joshua Kosman, incoming San Francisco Symphony music director Esa-Pekka Salonen makes a case for orchestras to become less wedded to long-range planning, leaving room to take advantage of sudden opportunities.
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