Oct 26 2009
UPDATE: Mark Delavan was plenty funny in the opera itself. Here is my review of opening night at the Pittsburgh Opera's "Falstaff."
Please check out my article and video (attached to the page) for the Pittsburgh Opera's upcoming production of "Falstaff," please do. Mark Delavan is positively hilarious in our video of him getting on the makeup to become Verdi's (Shakespeare's) old knight.
Oct 26 2009
The Carnegie Mellon University School of Music passed the news to me last week that its associate professor of piano, Sergey Schepkin, is now a Steinway Artist, that esteemed roster of the piano maker Steinway and Sons. Congrats to the Russian-born pianist who joined CMU in 2003.
Oct 21 2009
This release of an intriguing concert at Duquesne University's PNC Recital Hall came to me too late to get into our print highlight areas for this week, so I include it here:
On Sunday, October 25th at 2:50 PM, NY-based guest artist pianist Irena Portenko and the attending audience will give the World Premiere of a work by the acclaimed composer Israel Kremen – “Kaleidoscope.” The work, which was written in 2005 and is fully titled “Kaleidoscope” of 25 Preludes and Fugues for Piano and Humankind” is scored, interestingly enough, for Piano and the Audience; and pays homage to the highly inspirational masterpieces - the cycles of Preludes and Fugues - of J.S. Bach, Hindemith, Shostakovich and Rodion Shchedrin.
Based on the idea of quick and constant change from one mood/subject/reality to another, much like a Kaleidoscope, which ends its cycle only to find itself at the beginning, the work boasts an eclectic mix of Russian tunes of ancient Russian wedding, Bulgarian folk dances, Ukrainian traditional melodies, Czech ballads, Romanian folk songs, Jewish folk melodies and Hebrew prayer tunes, Lithuanian motifs and Oriental modes. As its title suggests, “Kaleidoscope” calls for a mandatory participation from the audience which includes whistling the tune of the fugue, repeating names of musicians from the Bach family after the performer, and reciting different texts of a 12th century motet translated into English, among other.
The concept “New Baroque Music of the 21st Century” provides an intriguing combination of genres from the Baroque style of the 17th and 18th centuries– preludes and fugues, with modern melodic, harmonic and polyphonic environments.
Tickets are $10 (suggested donation) and are available at (412)-396-6083 or www.duq.edu/music. PNC Recital Hall is located on the 1st Floor of the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh (Uptown), PA 15282. For more information please call (412)-396-6083 or visit www.duq.edu/music.
Oct 21 2009
Pittsburgh Opera resident artist Katherine Drago recently won the Donald and Luke Graham Memorial Award in the 2009 Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Awards. She has been a Resident Artist with Pittsburgh Opera since 2007 season, spending the past two summers with Santa Fe, at which she appeared in "The Marriage of Figaro," "Falstaff" and "Adriana Mater."
Speaking of "Falstaff," Drago will play Meg Page in the Pittsburgh Opera's production of it starting this weekend. She also performed Kate Pinkerton in "Madama Butterfly," the Stewardess in "Flight," and Zulma in "The Italian Girl in Algiers," among others.
Congrats to her!
Oct 16 2009
Remember Michael Hersch? Pittsburgh Symphony patrons and musicians had a love affair with him after Mariss Jansons started championing his music in 2000, and I poured in some big articles, too. 
Of course, not everyone liked his music here as much as I and others did, which is to be expected with new music. He came back as a PSO composer of the year, but has not been programmed in Heinz Hall since. Here is the latest on this talented and still young American composer who now teaches at the Peabody Institute of Music in Baltimore:
Composer Michael Hersch Presents Two World Premieres
Vanguard Classics Begins Survey of Hersch’s Complete Solo and Chamber Music for Strings With New Recording of Sonatas for Unaccompanied Cello
Composer and pianist Michael Hersch has rapidly won the attention and praise of music critics and new music aficionados around the world. He recently performed the world premiere of his own work The Vanishing Pavilions (a composition more than two hours long), entirely from memory, in Philadelphia. David Patrick Stearns, music critic of the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote of the premiere that Hersch “conjured volcanic gestures from the piano with astonishing virtuosity.” Stearns continued:
“The evening felt downright historic. Overtly or covertly, The Vanishing Pavilions is about the destruction of shelter (both in fact and in concept) and life amid the absence of any certainty. And though the music is as deeply troubled as can be, its restless directness also commands listeners not to be paralyzed by existential futility.”
Hersch’s boxed-set recording of The Vanishing Pavilions on the Vanguard Classics label has garnered a great deal of attention. Andrew Clark of the Financial Times wrote that “Hersch is one of the most fertile musical minds to emerge in the U.S. over the past generation, and this two-hour work for piano solo is his magnum opus. ... Its powerful imagination and poetic mood compel attention.” The label will issue another CD of Hersch’s works in October. This release of his Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 for Unaccompanied Cello is the first in a survey of Hersch’s complete solo and chamber music for strings, to be released over the next three years.
Performances of several major works by Michael Hersch are scheduled this fall in New York and Philadelphia, including world premieres of his newest work, Last Autumn, in two different versions.
On September 8, as part of the Transit Circle contemporary music series at New York’s Mannes School of Music, Miranda Cuckson performs Hersch’s 14 Pieces for Unaccompanied Violin (2007) alongside works by Ralph Shapey and Elliott Carter.
At Philadelphia’s historic St. Mark’s Church on October 17, Jamie Hersch (horn) and Daniel Gaisford (cello) will give the world premiere of Hersch’s massive new work, Last Autumn, for horn and cello. A different version of Last Autumn, this time for alto saxophone and cello, will receive its world premiere at New York City’s intimate Merkin Concert Hall on February 27, 2010. The work was commissioned by the Washington Performing Arts Society and by saxophonist Gary Louie, who will be joined by Daniel Gaisford for the performance.
The composer comments:
“Last Autumn for horn and cello is the sister work to The Vanishing Pavilions. Like The Vanishing Pavilions, it is intended to comprise an entire concert program. Together, the two pieces required almost seven years to complete. Completed in 2008, the work is built around poetic fragments of the late W.G. Sebald. The work was written for two extraordinary musicians, my brother and horn player Jamie Hersch, and cellist Daniel Gaisford.”
After learning about Hersch’s Last Autumn, virtuoso saxophonist Gary Louie immediately approached the composer about the possibility of commissioning a version for saxophone and cello. Hersch substantially reworked the original score, essentially rewriting the work for this remarkable but vastly underutilized instrument and one of its finest contemporary players. Daniel Gaisford will join Louie in the world premiere of the complete work at Merkin Concert Hall under the auspices of the Transit Circle contemporary concert series.
Next April 9, an ambitious new work – a septet entitled A Forest of Attics – will be given its world premiere by Philadelphia’s Network for New Music, which commissioned the composition for its 25th anniversary season. The work is scored for clarinet, horn, percussion, and a string quartet comprising violin, viola, cello, and double bass. It, too, is built around text fragments, this time by Bruno Schulz, a Polish artist and writer who was shot and killed during World War II.
Written over a 15-year period, Hersch’s works for solo strings represent a significant yet relatively unknown portion of the composer’s output. The first in Vanguard’s series of CDs dedicated to these works, scheduled for release this October, will feature the two sonatas for solo cello, both written while the composer was still in his 20s. The second volume in the series, to be released in 2010, will feature his works for violin, including 14 Pieces, Five Fragments, and the wreckage of flowers. The third installment, scheduled for 2011 release, will present Hersch’s unaccompanied works for double bass and viola.
Oct 16 2009
Update 10/16/09: I have retitled and reposted this post from "New York Philharmonic: the monied orchestra" to what is above to better reflect what the core issue is here, which is namely for what should money be given to orchstras in this time of crisis. Please read the thoughful response in the comments and then mine and tell me what you think. It's all conversation, no one is really attacking here.
From the "come on!" department comes this news today:
The New York Philharmonic has received a $2.4 million grant from the Leon Levy Foundation to digitize 1.3 million pages of material from its Archives, making them available to scholars, musicians, students, and the general public over the Internet. This will be the first phase of a comprehensive long-range project to digitize almost the entire New York Philharmonic Archives. The first phase, which is scheduled for completion in three years, will digitize documents, as well as a small sample of audio and video files, from the New York Philharmonic’s International Era, 1943 to 1970. The project will launch with Leonard Bernstein’s marked conducting scores, scheduled for availability online in spring 2010.
The Archives, the oldest and most comprehensive collection of any symphonic orchestra, contains approximately 8.5 million pages dating back to its founding in 1842, with holdings that include correspondence, business records, orchestral scores and parts, photographs, concert programs, and newspaper clippings, as well as more than 7,000 hours of concert and broadcast recordings dating from the 1920s.
Look, I am a musicologist by training and I keenly understand the importance of keeping records and materials for the future -- and I even understand how hard it is to do research when materials are only available in one physical space. But considering that entire orchestras are going under and that the living artform across the country is in huge trouble, giving money for digitizing archives strikes me as a selfish and unnecessary at this time. It is almost a slap in the face to the rest of the industry.
Just because the Philharmonic has enough money now doesn't mean it too might not go through problems down the road. I would rather have live orchestral music more secure than relics of the past made more available. Even giving to the general endowment or finding a way paying the musicians more would seem a better use of the funds.
I know the orchestra can't turn down money, but in this case the onus of my criticism goes to the Leon Levy Foundation for directing its funds in such a way during such a crisis.
Oct 15 2009
I don't work in the ad department, but I want to let you know about what is going on, music-wise, in our new premium Web site, PG+. I am one of the core contributors to the pay site -- which again did not poach from what we offer free to you online, but is extra stuff such as interactivity with Post-Gazette critics and reporters, and access to our subjects (the people and organizations in town) you can't get anywhere in Pittsburgh. The best of the latter is a series of insider videos we have started doing of musicians in town. PG+ is a hyper local website and we really wanted to get in close with some of the amazing musicians living and performing here -- we record them talking about their instruments, playing them and talking about upcoming concerts.
But some of the videos are completely different, such as the latest that went up today, and it is actually about a side trip that Pittsburgh Symphony horn player Zachary Smith took to a castle during the recent PSO tour to Europe. It is really cool. There will be a free day coming up to sample PG+, but it is not very expensive. The buzz line they have been using over here is that it is the price of a latte each month, and the real hook is all the perks, coupons and discounts you get by joining. Anyway, that's my pitch. I hope you will join us.
Oct 12 2009
Like I have said before, I am still amazed that something I never thought I would see in the Pittsburgh classical music scene, a dedicated piano recital series pulling in top national and international talent, has indeed come to be in the form of the Pittsburgh Piano Recital series.
Over the weekend, I went to one of the first offerings, the piano duo of John and Richard Contiguglia, at CAPA, Downtown.
My only other thought is that it may now be time for the Steinway Society of Western Pa., which runs this new series, to move it from Sunday afternoon. Big name events happen in the evenings in this town, and Sundays will get you conflicts with the Steelers for half your season. I don't know if it is possible to switch in the future, but I think it is worth investigating.
Oct 09 2009
Here is the full sked on the recently announced Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra tour to Europe in May. I know that your eyes might glaze over when you hear Heinz Hall trumpeting yet another tour, and a European one at that, but this one is really significant. At least one leg near the end: If the PSO is able to shine under music director Manfred Honeck at the Musikverein, the orchestra will have finally gotten back to where it was when Jansons was leading it in the 2003 -- and then who knows what could happen. It's long overdue time to trash that Big Five grouping, isn't it?
May 15, 2010: Basel, Switzerland; Musiksaal Stadtcasino
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Brahms Violin Concerto
Dvorák Symphony No. 8
May 16: Stuttgart, Germany; Liederhalle
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Brahms Violin Concerto
Mahler Symphony No. 1, “Titan”
May 17: Paris, France; Salle Pleyel
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Brahms Violin Concerto
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
May 18: Frankfurt, Germany; Alte Oper
Emanuel Ax, piano
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
May 20: Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Philharmonie
Emanuel Ax, piano
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
Dvorák Symphony No. 8
May 21, 2010: Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Philharmonie
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Brahms Violin Concerto
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
May 22: Prague, Czech Republic; Smetana Hall
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Brahms Violin Concerto
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
May 23: Dresden, Germany; Semperoper
Jan Vogler, cello
Schumann Cello Concerto
Mahler Symphony No. 1, “Titan”
May 26: Vienna, Austria; Musikverein
Emanuel Ax, piano
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
May 27: Vienna, Austria; Musikverein
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Brahms Violin Concerto
Mahler Symphony No. 1, “Titan”
May 28: Budapest, Hungary; Bela Bartok National Concert Hall
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Brahms Violin Concerto
Mahler Symphony No. 1, “Titan”
May 29: Ljubljana, Slovenia, Cankarjev Dom
Oct 08 2009
I have word from the most solid of sources (a famous local music librarian) that the first meeting of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Book Club met last Tuesday to great success. It will meet periodically this season to read and discuss books that pertain to music in general or specifically to go with upcoming music on the PSO schedule. All the books are picked by PSO musicians.
The featured book last week was Barbara Quick's novel "Vivaldi's Virgins" and leading the discussion was Jim Cunningham of WQED and Jim Rodgers, PSO contrabassoon player, with the highlight being a long conference call with the author.
The meetings are open to the public, at 6 p.m. Tuesdays in the Music Department
at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Oakland. Reservations: 412-622-3105. There are four more sessions remaining:
Nov. 10, 2009: "1791 Mozart's Last Year" by H.C. Robbins Landon. Joining Jim Cunningham will be Charlotta Klein Ross, PSO cellist.
Jan. 19,, 2010: "Beethoven's Hair" by Russell Martin. Joining Jim Cunningham will be David Sogg, PSO bassoonist.
Mar. 2, 2010: "Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain" by Oliver Sacks. Joining J. Cunningham will be Jeffrey Turner, PSO bassist
Apr. 27, 2010: "First Nights" Five Musical Premieres" by Thomas Kelly. Joining J. Cunningham will be Jennifer Ross, PSO Violinist.
And thank you, Kathy Logan, for the report!
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