by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•A day of vocal music: art song master classes by pianist Craig Terry, an Oberlin “Pop-Up Opera,” and The Cleveland Orchestra’s Otello
•News from Severance: a change of soprano for tomorrow, and a new assistant conductor in the fall
•Interesting reads: Tiktok flipping the script on the music industry, and a review of Les Délices’ The White Cat from Early Music America
•Almanac: two musicians known for straddling popular and classical styles
HAPPENING TODAY:
The early part of the day is all about art song. Pianist Craig Terry will give master classes at CIM’s Mixon Hall at 10:30 am and 3:00 pm (free registration recommended) as part of the Art Song Festival.
And the latter part of the day is dominated by opera. At 6:00 pm, beginning on the rooftop of the Kohl Building, an Oberlin “Pop-Up Opera” will have Christopher Mirto leading Conservatory singers in a series of short, free, outdoor performances at different spots on campus.
And at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, The Cleveland Orchestra will give the second of three concert performances of Verdi’s Otello. Read Peter Feher’s review of the first outing here, and get tickets here.
Details in our Concert Listings.
NEWS FROM SEVERANCE:
Speaking of The Cleveland Orchestra, press releases yesterday pointed out two names for us to get acquainted with (both pictured above). First, soprano Latonia Moore has withdrawn from Friday’s performance of George Walker’s Lilacs due to illness. Taking her place will be Nicole Cabell. Read about Cabell here, and about the program here.
Second, Daniel Reith will be the Orchestra’s next Assistant Conductor and the next Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, starting in September. That will mean bidding a fond farewell to Vinay Parameswaran, who will have served five years with the ensemble by the end of this season. Read about Reith here.
INTERESTING READS:
“TikTok has flipped the script on the music industry, and everyone from artists to analysts and even marketing bosses at the top labels are hustling to catch up,” Mia Venkat writes for NPR. According to one music industry analyst, “It’s changed music listening from being a one-way relationship where a song comes out and you listen to it on your own, to something that you participate in.”
And writing for Early Music America, Aaron Keebaugh reviews Les Délices production of The White Cat as seen on Marquee TV, where it remains available through June 30. “Fairy tales may seem like an unlikely source for a tragédie lyrique. But Les Délices’ new production of The White Cat combines the two genres with arresting results.”
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
by Daniel Hathaway
On this date in 1924, Irish-American cellist and composer Victor Herbert died in New York, leaving a legacy of popular Broadway operettas and classical works. Click here to watch Mark Kosower and the Ulster Orchestra, led by JoAnn Falletta, in a rehearsal clip for their Naxos recording of Herbert’s two cello concertos.
And American composer and pianist William Bolcom was born in Seattle on this date in 1938. During his long career on the faculty of the University of Michigan (1973-2008) he effortlessly navigated his way between the worlds of concert music and cabaret, writing nine symphonies, a dozen string quartets, four volumes each of Gospel Preludes for organ and cabaret songs, and four major operas for Lyric Opera Chicago.
Here’s a selection of cabaret songs performed by mezzo-soprano Joan Morris (Bolcom’s wife), pianist Logan Skelton, drummer Andrew Grossman, and the University of Michigan Symphony Band. And here’s an example of his piano rags — Spencer Myer plays his Graceful Ghost.
Bolcom appears in this profile, along with Morris, to talk about being an American composer, and an episode of “Laughter at the Happy Hour” featuring both musicians celebrates Morris’s birthday with a gift to their audience. Morris explained, “One thing I loved about the Hobbit books is that on their birthdays, hobbits give presents to other people instead. So that’s what this program will be.”
A long-term project, Bolcom’s desire to set the complete texts of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, was 25 years in the making. In 2004, Naxos Records produced a recording made in Hill Auditorium featuring almost the entire music department of the University of Michigan, led by Leonard Slatkin. It won four Grammy Awards in 2006. Listen here.