June 29, 2012  |
| | | Thought of the Day | | Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
--Albert Einstein
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| Quote of the Week | | Be who you are and be that well. --Saint Francis de Sales
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| | Vivaldi Concerto Discovered in Dresden | | 
A violin concerto attributed to Vivaldi has been unearthed at the Dresden State Library by Icelandic scholar Johannes Agustsson. According to Vivaldi expert Michael Talbot, the work was composed around 1732 or shortly thereafter and represents a major breakthrough in our knowledge of Vivaldi's late style. "Themes, phrase-structure, form, style and violinist writing: all conform to the Vivaldian norm," he said. "The solo part is exceptionally difficult, even for Vivaldi, making copious use of the ultra-high register in the solo part." Talbot believes the long and virtuosic piece in A major was written for Vivaldi's friend and pupil Johann Georg Pisendel, who studied in Venice in 1716-17 and served as concert master at Dresden's Hofkapelle starting in 1729. "Ordinary Vivaldi concertos turn up fairly often, such as the Gran Mogol Flute Concerto [did] recently," said Talbot. "But the unusual character of this particular piece -- its late period, its considerable length and the extreme virtuosity its performance requires -- sets it apart from the rest." MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| | | There is still much work to be done, but the Philadelphia Orchestra appears to be on its way back to fiscal health. Yesterday, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Eric L. Frank approved its reorganization plan, enabling the orchestra to emerge from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that began over 14 months ago and incurred some $10 million in court costs -- about three times the anticipated amount. In the end, the orchestra will pay just $5.49 million on the more than $100 million in claims, debts, and liabilities it carries. At the time of the initial filing, the musicians accused the administration of using the bankruptcy as an escape route from what it owed them and their pension plan, especially since the endowment had sufficient funds to make up the difference. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| | | Dr Dee: Not Ready for Prime Time |  LONDON -- English National Opera is bringing its season to a close with an oddity. Dr Dee, a joint collaboration between musician Damon Albarn and director Rufus Norris, tells the story of John Dee, a 16th-century mathematician, astrologer, courtier, and spy. It got its London premiere on June 25, though the press was not allowed in until the second night, June 26. Albarn is principally known through his work with the pop groups Blur and Gorillaz, but his wish to extend musically led to Monkey: Journey to the West, a commission from the first Manchester International Festival five years ago that subsequently played elsewhere. Dr Dee is given the full production treatment by ENO, and for Albarn's fans there is no lack of visual spectacle. Musically, too, some of the effects Albarn produces through his choice of instruments -- orchestra plus eight-piece onstage band with recorders, drums, viol, kora, and hurdy-gurdy -- are appealing. But the story is not well told and there are no surtitles and little chance of catching many of the words from the amplified singers. His songs, which punctuate the work, are no more than inoffensive, and it feels that much of the stage business serves to compensate for a paucity of musical invention.
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Andrew Litton to Colorado Symphony | | 
The Colorado Symphony, which last fall was teetering on the brink as two thirds of its trustees resigned in protest to musicians' resistance to pay cuts, has a new artistic advisor in Andrew Litton, starting in September for three years. Although he will conduct but two programs this coming season, Litton is to oversee all things artistic for the orchestra. Scott O'Neil remains resident conductor; Duain Wolfe is the CSO chorus director. Litton will continue as music director of Norway's Bergen Philharmonic and as artistic director of the Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest. In Colorado he succeeds Jeffrey Kahane, who stepped down as music director four years ago. Apparently the CSO in its new flexible format, by which symphonic repertoire is just one of a number of diverse programs and incarnations, feels it does not need a full-time music director. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
Opera Center Nearing the Finish Line |  NEW YORK -- When Opera America moved its offices from Washington, D.C. to Manhattan in 2005, part of the plan was to create a kind of nexus for the national opera community in NYC. "We wanted to get more involved in our members' artistic side," President Marc Scorca said Tuesday in an interview at OA's offices, "to be a catalyst for the creation, rehearsal, and distribution of new work, and to support career development." All of which he hopes to accomplish with a new Opera Center, now under construction on two floors of 330 Seventh Avenue on Manhattan's Lower West Side. Slated to open in September, the new, 25,000-square-foot space will house OA's offices, as well as a fully-equipped rehearsal facility designed specifically for the comfort and safety of singers (and hopefully those who hire them). There are a total of ten vocal studios, most of them with large windows and plenty of natural light; bathroom facilities; a kitchen for catering gatherings in the adjacent board/conference room; a canteen and performers' lounge; and two large audition halls, one of which is two stories high and can be used as a recital hall, complete with stage, rudimentary lighting, and 89 seats, all of them movable. Both of the larger rooms are equipped for audio and DVD recording, as is one of the larger studios, as well as webcasting to or from the Center. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
Eugenia Zukerman's Tanglewood Vlog |  | | Mark Volpe, Managing Director |
Since his appointment in 1997 as Managing Director of the BSO, Mark Volpe has reaffirmed the BSO's standing as one of the world's greatest orchestras. Maintaining artistic standards, keeping financial equilibrium, and bringing the BSO's presence to a worldwide audience, Volpe is as enthusiastic as he is busy. "What makes Tanglewood unique is the gestalt of music and nature, but also the students," he says. "Teaching these talented TMC fellows, the orchestra remembers what it was like to be 20-something and to be so excited about the possibilities the future holds. Everyone is in a great mood -- let's face it, being in the Berkshires in July is a little better than being in Boston in January, and you can go swimming after rehearsal. We're the only orchestra that employs life guards!" |
| Is That A Music License I Hear? |  |
| A Month at the Phil | 
From Why I Left Muncie by Sedgwick Clark
Gilbert's Austere Nielsen Alan Gilbert's first major recording project since becoming music director of the New York Philharmonic is the symphonies and concertos of Denmark's foremost composer, Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), for Dacapo. The series commenced last year with the Second Symphony (The Four Temperaments), recorded live in concert. Last week was the Third, nicknamed Sinfonia espansiva. The two are set for release on the first CD in the fall. Nielsen completed his Third in 1911, the same year as Stravinsky's Petrushka, Sibelius's Fourth Symphony, Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle, and Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. Debussy was working on Book II of his Préludes and Ravel on Daphnis et Chloé. Three weeks after Nielsen finished his Third, Mahler died, leaving his Tenth Symphony unfinished.
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| Latest Roster Changes | |  Musical America is helping presenters keep up with its advertisers! Managers whose rosters appear in the 2012 edition of the Musical America Directory should write to listings@musicalamerica.com with the names of artists and attractions that have been either added or removed, and please be sure to indicate "added" or "removed."
NEW THIS WEEK Pfeiffer, Paulina, soprano, added, Hazard Chase Weiss, Orion, piano, added, Melvin Kaplan, Inc.
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