Classical Music

Classical Music, Contemporary Classical, New York, Opera

The Good, the Bad, and the Anal

Gérard Mortier, who is famous for painting lipstick on corpses and taking them to the ball, will become general manager and artistic director of the New York City Opera after he retires from the Paris Opera at the end of the 2008-2009 season.   Mortier ran the  Salzburg Festival in the 1990s  where he mounted such customer-unfriendly provocations as Hans Neuenfels staging of  Die Fledermaus, in which Orlofsky was a drug dealer who sold cocaine, Nazi thugs appeared on stage and Eisenstein had incestuous children who commit suicide.   Can’t wait to see what he does with Lulu.

Reminds of one of my favorite lines, from Charles T. Downey in ionarts, a couple of years ago:  “I suppose that opera all comes down to that eternal question that must be answered: anal rape or elaborate wigs?”  Indeed.

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Metropolitan Opera, New York, Opera

What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?

The Metropolitan Opera announced that its co-production of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha with the English National Opera will debut next season on April 11, 2008.   The ENO is doing nine performances of Satyagraha this April.  Written in 1980, Satyagraha is based on Gandhi’s formative years in South Africa, as he developed his philosophy of nonviolent protest as a powerful force for change. It is the second work in the ”portrait” trilogy by Glass, which also includes Einstein on the Beach (1975) and Akhnaten (1983-84).  Satyagraha involves the director Phelim McDermott and the designer Julian Crouch, two of the three artistic directors of the visionary British theater company Improbable.

On the bad news front, the Met has dumped a scheduled revival of Tobias Picker’s honorable An American Tragedy in favor of Tan Dun’s terminally lame The First Emperor, apparently because it has a chance to take the production on the road to China. 

It’s great to see that Peter Gelb is going with artistic merit and not being tempted by the possibility of big crowds and big bucks.

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical

Tom Myron on Performance Today

Here’s a programming note to remember.  Performance Today will broadcast Tom Myron’s Violin Concerto #2 on Tuesday’s program. 

The performance–by the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra–was recorded on 5/14/06 in Alexandria Virginia; Elisabeth Adkins, soloist.

Performance Today is carried on 250 member stations around the
country.  For info on where and when you can hear the show in your area, visit www.performancetoday.org.  The show will also be available for on-demand listening through the website for seven days.

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Miller Theater, Opera

Lost in Translation?

Since it’s opera week here at Sequenza 21 and there’s a lot of chatter in the comments about transplanting operas between cultures and Galen has raised the topic of fugues in the invisible YouTube video below, it seems somehow fitting to mention that  Miller Theater and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music are presenting tonight and tomorrow night the U.S. premiere of Lost Highway by Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth, a multimedia opera based on the weird and wacky David Lynch film of the same name.  Film buffs will recall that Lynch’s film involves sex, murder and a character named Fred Madison who mysteriously becomes Pete Dayton through a mental disturbance known as “psychogenic fugue.”  Can you dig it? 

Timothy Weiss conducts the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble and an all-student cast.  Anybody going?  Write us a review.

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Opera

Man (or Woman) Overboard! Tobias Picker’s Back in Town

Speaking of great American operas, Tobias Picker has written two of them; Emmeline, which is an unqualified masterpiece, and An American Tragedy, which I think history will regard more dearly than its contemporary reviews might suggest.  Between those two landmarks, Picker wrote a kind of “forgotten” opera called Thérèse Raquin, an epic based on the Zola novel which, like Tragedy, involves an unwanted lover being chucked overboard in favor of a more attractive alternative.  Picker’s psychiatrist, if he has one, could probably make something of that.

Thérèse Raquin premiered at The Dallas Opera in 2001 and is now having its New York premiere run, in a revised chamber version prepared by Picker, from Dicapo Opera Theatre.

The opera has three more performances this coming weekend: Friday and Saturday, February 23 and 24, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, February 25, at 4 p.m. Dicapo Opera Theatre is located at 184 East 76th Street in Manhattan, just off Lexington Avenue and directly underneath St. Jean-Baptiste Church. 

I haven’t seen Thérèse Raquin yet and don’t have any critical guidance to offer but Picker is one of the very best American opera composers and his music is never less than compelling.  Get on down to Dicapo this weekend.

Here’s a message from Rama Gottfried:

//

at last!  here it is. tomorrow night::

::envelopes for orchestra::
5 minutes of mercury wobbling in space for a 57 piece orchestra
+ and a stacked concert of works by my extremely talented friends at
the manhattan school of music

friday, 2.23.07 –  7:30p
borden auditorium, manhattan school of music
122nd/Broadway (take 1 train to 116(downhill walk) or 125(uphill))

it will be good, you should come.

*** don’t forget to sit in the balcony, it sounds best from there.
the stairs are just as you enter the hall on both sides.

\\

high 5s to all,

 


rama

 

 

 

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Opera

Is Grapes of Wrath the Great American Opera?

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I don’t know Ricky Ian Gordon personally but he e-mails me frequently with updates on his projects, never neglecting to sign off with “xxxooo” which I find endearing although I’m sure he does the same for all the guys.  I know and like his music mainly from Audra McDonald and a wonderful recording of his songs called Bright-Eyed Joy but nothing I’ve heard or read prepared me for the universal praise for the Minnesota Opera’s production of Gordon’s (with libretto by Michael Korie) The Grapes of Wrath.  What we have here, apparently, is a real contender for the title of the Great American Opera. 

Listen to the often cranky Mark Swed: “As far as I was concerned — and this is a minority opinion — the nearly four-hour opera was too short. Had Gordon and Korie been allowed to follow their original bliss and create a two-night or more American “Ring” cycle, I would have gladly returned for more.”

Or Variety:  “Gordon and Korie have produced a bit of a conundrum: a very long show about suffering and endurance that leaves the viewer enlivened. The intelligence and compassion of their work, combined with the evident vitality and belief of the cast in this opera’s merit, supply high emotion with depth and compassion. This is not a happy story, but its telling is nothing short of incandescent.”

St. Paul Pioneer Press:   “Ten years and $2 million in the making, the Minnesota Opera’s world premiere of “The Grapes of Wrath” turns out to be well worth the time and expense: It’s a grand, sprawling, politically astute and musically compelling affair that amply and accessibly answers the rhetorical question:  ‘An opera about Okies?'”

Bernard Holland?  Well, Bernie’s been sour grapes (not to mention irrelevant) for some time now.

by Jerry Bowles
Chamber Music, Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Festivals

Man of the Week–Lawrence Dillon

It’s a monster week for our gaucho amigo Lawrence Dillon whose music will be showcased at the Music Now Fest 2007, February 21, 22 and 23 at Eastern Michigan University.  This is EMU’s 15th biennial new music festival and it gets underway on Wednesday at 8 pm with a concert of pieces by EMU composers Whitney Prince and Anthony Iannaccone as well as works by Steve Reich, Alberto Ginastera and others. Faculty artists include David Pierce, Willard Zirk, Garik Pedersen, John Dorsey, Kimberly Cole-Luevano, Kristy Meretta, Julie Stone, Kathryn Goodson and guest Cary Kocher.

On Thursday, there will a composer convocation and welcome at 11 AM at Pease Auditorium where Mister Dillon will speak about “Furies and Muses: Composing in the 21st Century.”  (My money’s on the Furies.) The lecture will be followed by open student ensemble rehearsals with Dillon and the EMU Symphony Orchestra and University Choir.  Open rehearsals with the Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band are scheduled for Friday.

On Thursday night at 8 pm, there will be a faculty recital of the chamber music of Lawrence Dillon, including the aforementioned Furies and Muses, Dunigan Variations, Big Brothers and Facade. Winning composition(s) in the New Chamber Works for Horn competition will be premiered by sponsor Willard Zirk.

On Friday, there is a Meet the composer gig in the afternoon followed by the Festival finale a 8 pm–a concert by EMU’s major performing ensembles who will play Dillon’s Blown Away and Amadeus ex machina. Other works include Ogoun Badagris by Christopher Rouse; Spiel by Ernst Toch, Symphonic Band; and a piece by Anthony Iannaccone.

Presumably, on Saturday, Lawrence will go home and take a nap.

by Jerry Bowles
Awards, Classical Music, Contemporary Classical, Grammy

And the Winners (We Care About) Are

  • Classical Vocal Performance: “Rilke Songs,” Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (Peter Serkin), track from Lieberson: Rilke Songs, The Six Realms, Horn Concerto.
  • Classical Contemporary Composition: “Golijov: Ainadamar: Fountain of Tears,” Osvaldo Golijov (Robert Spano).
  • Opera Recording: “Golijov: Ainadamar: Fountain of Tears,” Robert Spano, conductor, Kelley O’Connor and Dawn Upshaw; Valerie Gross and Sid McLauchlan, producers (Women of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra).
  • Producer of the Year, Classical: Elaine Martone.
  • Classical Album: “Mahler: Symphony No. 7,” Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor, Andreas Neubronner, producer (San Francisco Symphony).
    Classical Crossover Album: “Simple Gifts,” Bryn Terfel (London Voices; London Symphony Orchestra).
  • Engineered Album, Classical: “Elgar: Enigma Variations; Britten: the Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Four Sea Interludes,” Michael Bishop, engineer (Paavo Jarvi and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra).
    Orchestral Performance: “Mahler: Symphony No. 7,” Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony).
  • Choral Performance: “Part: Da Pacem,” Paul Hillier, conductor (Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir).
  • Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance(with Orchestra): “Messiaen: Oiseaux Exotiques (Exotic Birds),” John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; Angelin Chang (Cleveland Chamber Symphony).
  • Instrumental Soloist Performance(without Orchestra): “Chopin: Nocturnes,” Maurizio Pollini.
  • Chamber Music Performance: “Intimate Voices,” Emerson String Quartet
  • Small Ensemble Performance: “Padilla: Sun of Justice,” Peter Rutenberg, conductor (Los Angeles Chamber Singers’ Cappella).
by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical

He’s Baaack!

Major props to young Master Salvage for his outstanding work attending to the front page over the past couple of weeks while I attended to some pressing matters of commerce.  Big up yourself, David.  Well done.

So, let’s go to the mailbag and see what’s happening.  Ah, here’s something.  Our regular Rob Deemer has just launched a new radio program called The Composer Next Door on Oklahoma City’s classical radio station KCSC-FM.  Rob, who lives and teaches in OC, approached the general manager of the station last summer with the idea of a  locally-created show that focuses on living composers and new music.  Six months later, Rob tells us, it’s running smoothly.

“I’ve contacted composers from all over the country (and am continuing to do so) and over 50 established and emerging composers have been gracious in donating recordings to include in the broadcast,” he says. “The project is entirely home-grown; I write and record the scripts and edit the show completely in my own house. It’s a labor of love, but I think it may have some legs to it (and will be easily transportable if I find myself in another location in the future).”

The show is aired at 4 pm CST every Sunday on KCSC and is available on the web.  Sounds like fun.

This looks neat.  Miller Theater is doing the U.S. premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Lost Highway, an opera based on the David Lynch film, on February 23 and 24.  The production is a joint between Miller and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music’s Contemporary Music Division.   Says here that “This haunting opera was adapted from the cult film by David Lynch, and is at once a mystery and a thriller.  Neuwirth’s moody and mysterious opera combines live musicians, singers, actors, electronics, and video-a full arsenal of stage techniques to bring Lynch’s film to life with gripping immediacy.” We’re reserving judgement.

I need somebody to handle the front page for me from February 5 through 10.  Who wants to be lead blogger for a week?  Means you have to put something up every day before noon.  Hands?

Here’s a little something for your dining and dancing pleasure recommended by Marco Antonio Mazzini, which reminds me of a couple of things.  One is that the HBO series Rome is fabulous with all these great English actors and actresses that you never heard of.  Equal opportunity full-frontal nudity, too. The other is that an Italian guy I know is looking for somebody to practice his English on for about an hour a day for a couple of weeks.  He’s making a presentation in English in Las Vegas in February and wants to polish a bit.  Late afternoon, early evening, and he’s willing to pay.  You must, however, Skype.  Don’t volunteer unless you’re Skypeable.

And now on with the show:

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by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Uncategorized

John Ogdon, born January 27th 1937

John Ogdon was born, seventy years ago, on January 27th 1937. The following words were written by him in 1981. “Here then…are some of the harsh facts behind the words ‘severe mental illness’ and ‘serious nervous breakdown’ which the press has been using about me so often lately. Not that I am complaining about the press! – I was thrilled by the sympathetic and wide spread media interest that came my way both before and after my return to the … concert stage”. 

Ogdon (photo above) was an extraordinary pianist, composer, and new music visionary whose close friends and musical influences included Peter Maxwell Davies, (who wrote his Opus 1 Sonata for Trumpet and Opus 2 Five Pieces for Piano for him), Harrison Birtwistle and Alexander Goehr.

For the full story visit John Ogdon – a blazing meteor.

by Pliable