Museum Mondays

"Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose", detail

Click to enlarge.

John Singer Sargent and Fashion

Tate Britain, London

July, 2024

You can see Sargent's amazing brushwork in this detail.

The painting is gloriously beautiful, translucent and full of atmosphere.

 

Friday Photo

 

Water Lilies

Kew Gardens, Richmond (near London)

July, 2024

Shostakovich and Brahms at San Francisco Symphony

Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

Last week, music director Esa-Pekka Salonen led the San Francisco Symphony in Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1, with soloist Sayaka Shoji, and Brahms's Symphony No. 4. I attended the Saturday night program because on Friday, I was reviewing Nicholas Phan and Jake Heggie's lovely SF Performances recital.

I had never heard the Shostakovich before. Salonen was fine; I liked the music well enough. (Unlike friends who never liked or who have gotten over Shostakovich, I came late to him and haven't sworn him off yet. Perhaps that day will come.) The concerto has the Shostakovich cheekiness (my partner asked whether this should be "cheesiness" and I said that lots of people think so) and also a big passacaglia as its third movement. That was the thread connecting the two works on the program, because the Brahms ends with a stupendous passacaglia of its own.

While Salonen and the orchestra were at their usual best, the soloist was Not Good. I'm sure that the notes were all there, but there was little music. This is stuff that needs to be played with verve and commitment to be convincing, and she just didn't do that. Her encore - Bach? - was deadly, played with dull and disjointed phrasing.

The Brahms was an entirely different story. I think that the only Brahms Salonen has played here was the so-called Variations on a Theme of Haydn (the theme isn't by Haydn), and I thought that was unmemorable. Last week's symphony, though, was a wow, for sure. He conducted it expansively and with almost Wagnerian grandeur: I heard a touch of Brünnhilde's awakening in the first movement, and detected Rheinmaidens in the last. He used every string available and the orchestra's sound was round and rich, very European, versus the lean and focused sound he often aims for. It was really something.

The third movement was brisker than I'm used to hearing and it worked extremely well; the fourth overwhelming in its power. Special kudos to principal flute Yubeen Kim for his gorgeous solo in the last movement.  

Elsewhere:

• Steven Winn, SFCV and SF Chronicle. He is way more positive about the soloist than Michael and me. Maybe she was better on Friday.
• Michael Strickland, SF Civic Center. How I wish I'd seen Christian Tetzlaff in this! Do check out Michael's recommended recordings by David Oistrakh. As a violinist friend once said to me, you can't go wrong with Oistrakh.
• DB at Kalimac's Corner. I believe the reports from DB and Steven, so I conclude that I saw the wrong night. 
• Joshua Kosman, On a Pacific Aisle. He was there Saturday, so he got the lesser performance, and is kinda scathing about the Brahms.

Museum Mondays

Miss Elsie Palmer, detail, by John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent and Fashion

Tate Britain, London

July, 2024

Read about this portrait and see the full painting.

 

The Daughter of the Regiment, LVOpera

Eugene Brancoveanu (Sulpice), Lisa Chavez (Marquise of Berkenfield), and Véronique Filloux (Marie)

Photo: Barb Mallon, courtesy of LVOpera

I saw the last performance of LVOpera's The Daughter of the Regiment, which, as I and many have commented in the past, has one of the silliest plots in opera: Marie has been raised by a regiment of French soldiers. She has fallen in love with the young Tyrolian Tonio, who joins the regiment to be near her just as the Marquise of Berkenfeld shows up and drags her off to be married to a man she didn't choose and doesn't love. The regiment comes to her rescue, the Marquise's secret sort of comes out (Marie is her daughter), and love conquers all.

Yes, it's silly, but after the amount of time I spent with The Handmaid's Tale recently, literarily and operatically, I'll take an opera where her family rescues a young woman from a marriage she doesn't want. 

The plot may be silly, but the music is lovely; there are many great tunes and opportunities for vocal display for Tonio ("Ah mes amis...Pour mon ame", with its nine high Cs) and Marie (don't ask me the names of her arias, I don't know and I'm not looking them up right now :). There's also a great comic role in Sulpice and a good role for a mezzo, the Marquise.  Maybe, just maybe, it's time for me to consider getting over my Donizetti allergy, which I share with so many.

I really wish I had been able to get to an earlier performance to tell you all that you should see this production, which was a complete delight! It had wonderful singing from all of the leads. Chris Mosz, singing Tonio, had the high notes, including a D (!) in a tiny cadenza and was a charming country boy. Baritone Eugene Brancoveanu has been a mainstay of Bay Area opera for many years, and his bright baritone and exquisite comic timing were perfect for Sulpice. Lisa Chavez's dark mezzo and diva mannerisms made her Marquise quite the character.

And Véronique Filloux, singing Marie, was a real find: she has a lovely, sweet voice, she's a great comic actor, and her arias were stupendously sung. She has range, she has volume, she has a gorgeous legato, she has a terrific trill. How I would love to see her again!

The sets and costumes were good; the direction, by Marc Jacobs, was extremely funny. The sight gags worked; everyone had great timing; he managed the stage very well. Alexander Katsman conducted deftly and sympathetically. The small chorus, directed by Bruce Olstad, was excellent. Special kudos to Aura Veruni, best known to readers of this blog for her soprano roles at Ars Minerva and West Edge Opera, for her French language coaching: everyone's French was excellent: clear and understandable in the spoken dialog and when sung, the sounds of the language properly forward. This is a difficult feat to pull off and most opera companies miss by a mile.

P. S. If you're in a position to donate a few bucks to this company, a generous donor will match your gifts up to 50% of $50,000. That is, if LVOpera can raise $50,000 by the end of October, the donor will donate $25,000. That is a lot of money for a small company. You can donate at this link.

 

Friday Photo

Mammillaria geminispina

Kew Gardens, Richmond (near London)

July, 2024

 

21V: Reclaiming Radical 2.0

The 21V chorus, under director Martin Benvenuto, is performing an updated version of Reclaiming Radical, the program it presented this past April. Here are all of the details:

Sunday, November 3, 2024 at 1:30 p.m.

First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco

1187 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Tickets: FREE; donation requested. 

For more information, see the 21V web site.

This is a lovely church, though I can't recall whether I've ever heard a concert there. Congregation Sha'ar Zahav has used it for High Holy Days services in the past and might still be doing so. Please donate whatever you're able; all arts organizations have significant costs to pay.

21V has an unusual mix of singers: they're all singing in the soprano and alto ranges. And this concert brings in the Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley for part of the concert. More about the chorus:

21V is a professional ensemble of soprano & alto voices of all gender identities based in the SF Bay Area, founded in 2021 by Dr. Martín Benvenuto. 21V explores a broad identity of contemporary American music by focusing on 21st century music of the 3 Americas, and challenges existing boundaries & assumptions – both artistically & socially.

Seeking to effect change in the traditionally non-inclusive classical music industry, 21V embraces  inclusivity as its core value. Freeing the concept of treble choir from gender and gender identity, our multi-racial and multi-identity ensemble includes cis and transgender women, and cis, nonbinary, and intersex countertenors.

 

News, Tips, and the Like

Just a note that I am always open to hearing news, tips, and the like about what's going on in the Bay Area opera and classical music scene. I keep confidences, as you would expect.

My email is findable on this page, in pretty small type. I'm also reachable on Blue Sky Social (@lisairontongue.bsky.social) and Facebook. Happy to talk on the phone or set up a Zoom, also.

Harawi, AMOC at Cal Performances

 

Julia Bullock, Bobbi Jene Smith, Or Schraiber, and Connor Hanick

Messiaen's Harawi 

Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small, courtesy of Cal Performances

I reviewed the American Modern Opera Company's remarkable staging of Messiaen's Harawi, performed last week at Cal Performances, by the remarkable quartet of soprano Julia Bullock, dancer/choreographers Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber, and pianist Conor Hanick, directed by Zack Winokur.

The performance was preceded by a panel discussion with Winokur and several American academics, all currently active in California. A major focus of the discussion was Messiaen's use of Andean harawi, a poetic/musical practice, when he did not have much understanding of it and at a time when it was poorly documented by non-Andean anthropologists and other academics. That is, the discussion was largely about appropriation. For some context, this type of appropriate extends to many modernists; Boulez was mentioned, though I can't recall the tradition(s) he relied on. One of the academics, Tamara Levitz, quoted an indigenous writer on the subject of appropriation, but there were no indigenous musicians or poets on the panel. I feel that the panel––which was otherwise excellent––would have been enhanced by the participation of indigenous practitioners.

I'll note that I have more notes on the panel than I have on the performance itself, in part because the lights were very, very low in Zellerbach and I couldn't see what I was writing. I should have brought my white-ink pens and the notebook with black pages; at least my terrible handwriting would have sprawled less.

I'd also like to take note of the difficulty of addressing dance in a musical context when your expertise is in music. I reviewed two programs this year that featured dance, and I wish my dance technical vocabulary were bigger. I hope that in both I managed to at least suggest what I saw on stage and how it related to the music.

• Joshua Kosman, On a Pacific Aisle, is marvelously eloquent about this performance (and note that there are two puns in the titles).
• Lisa Hirsch, SFCV

Backstage at San Francisco Opera

 

The stage crew taking a bow at the end of Kaija Saariaho's Innocence.

Photo: Matthew Shilvock, courtesy of San Francisco Opera

June, 2024

Here's an article I've been working on for a while––perhaps since Matthew Shilvock inadvertently handed me the lede back in June. It's about everything that happens during an opera––or any theatrical performance––that you don't see, but which is vital to whatever you do see.

The photo above didn't make it into the article, but I have such admiration for what the stage crew did during Innocence.

Enormous thanks to everyone at SF Opera who helped me: Jeff McMillan and Teresa Concepcion, SFO communications; John Keene, chorus director; Andrew King, prompter/music staff; Darin Burnett, stage manager; Jeanna Parham, wig, hair, & makeup; Lori Harrison, properties head; Matthew Shilvock, general director. I also spoke with John Fulljames, who directed The Handmaid's Tale, and Poul Ruders, who composed it. I wish I had been able to speak with the late Kaija Saariaho about Innocence.

Huge respect to Chloe Lamford, who designed the sets for both Innocence and The Handmaid's Tale. The Innocence set is particularly amazing. Watching the opera from backstage––only half-hearing it, seeing the reverse of what the audience saw––was a great experience.

I want to also thank Matthew Shilvock and SFO for bringing both of these operas to the War Memorial Opera House. They are complex works on difficult subjects, but so necessary in these times.

Happy Birthday, Jimmy Carter!

Jimmy Carter, 2014

Photo courtesy of The Carter Center

Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, turns 100 today. He is surely among the most decent people to ever occupy the big chair. His post-presidency life has been, with his late wife Rosalynn, one of great humanitarian achievement. Happy birthday, best wishes, and may you live to cast a vote for Kamala Harris for president.

 

SFS/Salonen: Hindemith, Muhly, Bach/Elgar

 

Davies Symphony Hall in Blue

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

Taken the week of MTT's last SFS subscription concerts

I saw the second of two performances of what turned out to be the first subscription concert of Esa-Pekka Salonen's last year as music director of the San Francisco Symphony. He got a giant round of applause at the beginning and another at the end. However disposable the Board of Governors and management think he is, the audience does not agree. We'd really prefer to keep him, though why he would even consider sticking around when he's been treated so shabbily by the board and management, I don't know.

Anyway, it was a kind of wild program, built around sorta-Baroque and Baroque-adjacent music. The theoretical big work on the program was Nico Muhly's new piano concerto, a Symphony commission, played by pianist Alexandre Tharaud. Apparently Muhly had something of an obsession with the pianist and his recordings, and this concerto seems to be the result. It's Baroque-adjacent because Muhly used Baroque forms and melodies as his inspiration, with references to Rameau scattered around.

I found it lightweight, though with some charms, sort of Philip Glass crossed with Music From the Hearts of Space. Muhly's concerto has some nice touches in the orchestration; the piano is discreet, actually too discreet for my taste. I like the piano in a new concerto to be more present than this piano part is. And I have to admit: my initial reaction to the opening two minutes was to wonder why we were hearing outtakes from a Harry Potter movie.

The sorta-Baroque works were Edward Elgar's orchestration of J.S. Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in C minor and Hindemith's Ragtime (Well-Tempered). The Elgar orchestration is something, setting a full late-romantic orchestra loose on the Bach, with Elgar claiming in a letter that surely this is the kind of thing Bach would have wanted had an early 20th c. orchestra been available to him and you know, I think that's nonsense (we cannot read the minds of people who've been dead since 1750, or even 1950), but I love transcriptions for their imagination and sometimes sheer cheekiness. I mean, if Bach had written for trombones and the tambourine, it probably wouldn't have sounded anything like the way that Elgar incorporates them into his transcription. BUT it was a ton of fun to hear how Elgar imagines updated Bach, and the different instrumental timbres made it easy to hear the counterpoint in the fugue. Salonen and the orchestra played it with dignity and noble sound, and it was good to hear.

The four-minute Ragtime (should it be played on a program with Stravinsky's Ragtime some time? Of course it should.) was a firecracker of an opener that left me wanting more, and at the end of the program, I got it in the form of Hindemith's Mathis der Maler (Mathis the Painter) Symphony. It's three episodes drawn from Hindemith's opera Mathis der Mahler, which is about the German painter Matthias Grünewald and his struggles in the early 16th century.

I will never understand why, exactly, more Hindemith isn't performed in the United States. I have at least half-concluded that early 20th c. German music isn't of interest here unless it was written by Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, or Anton Webern. You don't hear much Schmidt, Schmitt, Hindemith (unless you have played one of his multitudinous works for solo orchestra instrument), Shrecker, Zemlinsky, etc. Hindemith was an enormously skilled composer who seemingly wrote for every instrument and every combination of instrument. Probably what he needs is a champion.

Esa-Pekka Salonen led a great performance of the Mathis der Mahler Symphony. I wasn't taking notes and don't have a lot to say other than that it's a big, serious work and it got a suitably grand and serious performance. I have to wonder whether the Muhly felt lightweight in part because of what followed it. 

Elsewhere (check back to see whether Joshua Kosman weighs in on this program)(he did):

• Joshua Kosman, On a Pacific Aisle, liked the Muhly a lot more than I did, so now I'd like to hear it again.
• Rebecca Wishnia, SFCV (and the SF Chronicle). I'll note that while a passacaglia can often be a lament (see "When I am laid in earth"), they're often instrumental (see the last movement of the Brahms 4th symphony). The usual definition is something like "a work with variations over a repeating bass line."
• Michael Strickland, SF Civic Center
• 
  

Daughter of the Regiment, LVO

 

Eugene Brancoveanu and Véronique Filloux

The Daughter of the Regiment

Photo by Barbara Mallon, courtesy of Livermore Valley Opera

I won't be seeing LVO's The Daughter of the Regiment until next weekend, but it opened yesterday and the photos look like it's a charming production. Their Otello a couple of years ago was terrific and I'm looking forward to seeing this one. Yes, it's one of the silliest plots in a genre that's full of them, but the music is late Donizetti and more sophisticated than you might anticipate.

Starring: Véronique Filloux, Marie; Chris Mosz, Tonio; Lisa Chavez, Marquise of Berkenfield; Eugene Brancoveanu, Sulpice; Deborah Lambert, Duchess of Krakenthorp; Gilead Wurman, Hortensius.

Remaining performances:

• October 5th, 2024 @ 2:00pm
• October 6th, 2024 @ 2:00pm

Museum Mondays

Imperial War Museum with a pair of 15" naval guns

London, July, 2024

Taken the day after I arrived. I was too tired to do much more than wander around a bit. The exhibits are fascinating, so....next London visit.

 

Friday Photo

Westminster Abbey, London

July, 2024

 

Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer, music critic of the Boston Globe from 1976 to 2006, died on September 20 at 82, following a series of strokes. He had an enormous influence on Boston's musical life and I think commanded a lot of respect.

• Tim Page, Washington Post
• David Moran, Boston Musical Intelligencer
• Ellen Pfeifer, Boston Musical Intelligencer

More Ives

Kathryn King Media send out the following press release, which contains news of many events celebrating the 150th birthday of Charles Ives:

**BREVARD MUSIC CENTER SUMMER INSTITUTE & FESTIVAL Monday, 15 July - Friday, 19 July 2024 / These events, also funded by the NEH, have already taken place: Monday, 15 July: Charles Ives: A Life in Music with baritone William Sharp and pianist Steven Mayer; Wednesday, 17 July: Concord Sonata with Michael Chertock; Friday, 18 July: Orchestra (Delta David Gier, conductor): Symphony No. 2, with source tunes **JACOBS SCHOOL OF MUSIC at Indiana University Charles Ives at 150: Music, Imagination and American Culture Monday, 30 Sept - Tuesday, 08 October EDT/ Chief among four Ives festivals supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, curated by preeminent Ives scholar J. Peter Burkholder and cultural historian Joseph Horowitz, this cross-disciplinary festival will be by far the most ambitious celebration of the Ives Sesquicentennial. All events are free, registration is recommended: Registration link. N.B.: The entire Charles Ives at 150 festival will also be live-streamed. **THE ORCHESTRA NOW: 10th Anniversary Season / Bard College IVES AND THE PIANO Saturday, 09 Nov at 6pm EST at Olin Hall / Bard College campus Recital, readings, artwork, and discussion Featuring Donald Berman , Leon Botstein , Kyle Gann , and Joseph Horowitz Free and open to the public. No RSVP necessary. https://www.bard.edu/news/events/ives-and-the-piano CHARLES IVES: A LIFE IN MUSIC Saturday, 16 Nov at 5:00pm EST at Olin Hall / Bard College Scripted playlet with songs and commentary Featuring Richard Aldous, Donald Berman, J. Peter Burkholder, Kyle Gann, Joseph Horowitz and William Sharp Free and open to the public. No RSVP necessary. https://www.bard.edu/news/events/charles-ives-a-life-in-music CHARLES IVES' AMERICA Saturday, 16 Nov at 7:00pm EST at Fisher Center / Bard College Orchestral concert including performances of songs quoted in Ives’ music, followed by a discussion Featuring The Orchestra Now (TŌN), Leon Botstein, conductor; Donald Berman, J. Peter Burkholder, Joseph Horowitz and William Sharp Tickets from $15. Livestream pay-what-you-wish. https://ton.bard.edu/events/ives/ CHARLES IVES: A LIFE IN MUSIC Sunday, 17 Nov at 12:00pm EST at Olin Hall / Bard College Scripted playlet with songs and commentary Featuring Richard Aldous, Donald Berman, J. Peter Burkholder, Kyle Gann, Joseph Horowitz and William Sharp Free and open to the public. No RSVP necessary. https://www.bard.edu/news/events/charles-ives-a-life-in-music-2024-11-17 CHARLES IVES' AMERICA Sunday, 17 Nov at 2:00pm EST at Fisher Center / Bard College Orchestra concert including performances of songs quoted in Ives’ music, followed by a discussion Featuring The Orchestra Now (TŌN), Leon Botstein, conductor; Donald Berman,, J. Peter Burkholder, Joseph Horowitz and William Sharp Tickets from $15. Livestream pay-what-you-wish. https://ton.bard.edu/events/ives/ CHARLES IVES' AMERICA Thursday, 21 Nov at 7:00pm EST at Carnegie Hall Orchestral concert including performances of songs quoted in Ives’ music, preceded by a discussion at 6:00pm EST Featuring The Orchestra Now (TŌN), Leon Botstein, conductor; Donald Berman, J. Peter Burkholder, Joseph Horowitz and William Sharp Tickets from $29 ($25 + $4 fee) https://ton.bard.edu/events/america/ **CHICAGO SINFONIETTA / Illinois State University CHARLES IVES' AMERICA Wednesday, 19 Feb at 7pm CST at Normal Theater / 209 W North St, Normal, IL 61761 Film screening: Charles Ives' America with commentary by producer Joseph Horowitz and featured participants CHARLES IVES: A LIFE IN MUSIC Thursday, 20 Feb at 11:00am CST at Kemp Recital Hall, Centennial East, Illinois State University Ives' songs tell the story of his life. Featuring baritone Sidney Outlaw, pianist Steven Mayer et al. Commentary by J. Peter Burkholder, Joseph Horowitz and Alan Lessoff MASTER CLASSES Thursday, 20 Feb / times and locations tba Master classes for ISU students by Sidney Outlaw and Steven Mayer Free and open to public / for more information contact Alan Lessoff: ahlesso@ilstu.edu IVES, TRANSCENDENTALISM, AND THE CONCORD SONATA Thursday, 20 Feb at 7:30pm CST at Kemp Recital Hall, Centennial East, Illinois State University Performances by Steven Mayer, piano, with readings by Sidney Outlaw and commentary by J. Peter Burkholder, Joseph Horowitz and Alan Lessoff  CHARLES IVES AND THE GILDED AGE Friday, 21 Feb at 11:00am CST at Kemp Recital Hall, Centennial East, Illinois State University Lecture by Joseph Horowitz with commentary by Alan Lessoff CHARLES IVES' AMERICA This concert takes place in Mandel Hall / University of Chicago Saturday, 22 Feb 2025 at 6:00pm CST Pre-Concert Recital Songs by Charles Ives with Sidney Outlaw, baritone; Steven Mayer, piano Saturday, 22 Feb 2025 at 7:00pm CST Chicago Sinfonietta concert / Mei-Ann Chen, conductor Music of George Walker and Charles Ives event page / ticket link Other explorations of Charles Ives, his music and his legacy include: **Extensive coverage in the autumn 2024 issue of Phi Beta Kappa's journal The American Scholar, which includes essays by Tim Barringer, Sudip Bose, J. Peter Burkholder, Allen C. Guelzo and Joseph Horowitz.

**The Charles Ives Society itself has been preparing for the sesquicentennial for years. Among the initiatives undertaken by the Society and continuing to this day are: **A series of videos about Charles Ives, including panels - All the Way Around and Back - and twelve commentaries - From the Ives Studio - posted online via the Society's website, charlesives.org. The All the Way Around and Back panels examine Ives and his works from many perspectives. The first of them features distinguished author J. Peter Burkholder, pianist Jeremy Denk, conductor Leonard Slatkin, soprano Susan Narucki, and pianist and Charles Ives Society President Donald Berman for a discussion on / introduction to Charles Ives, moderated by BMI Foundation President Deirdre Chadwick. The second panel, released in Spring 2024, is a discussion on Ives and Improvisation featuring John T. Cooper, composer/arranger and professor, Scheidt School of Music/University of Memphis; Bill Frisell, guitarist/composer; Eric Hofbauer, guitarist and department chair, jazz and contemporary music/Longy School of Music of Bard College; Ethan Iverson, pianist/composer/writer; jazz faculty, New England Conservatory; Phil Lesh, bass player, The Grateful Dead; and David Sanford, composer/leader, David Sanford Big Band; professor of music, Mt. Holyoke College, with moderator Judith Tick, Professor Emerita, Northeastern University and author: Becoming Ella Fitzgerald. A third panel, currently in production, is populated entirely by composers and features Martin Bresnick, Robert Carl (moderator), Jason Eckardt, David Lang, Lei Liang, and Tania León. This third panel will be released in late 2024. The From the Ives Studios commentaries are posted in each month of the sesquicentennial year, as follows: January / Eve Beglarian (Composer)  February / Jan Swafford (Composer; Author: Charles Ives: A Life with Music) with James Sinclair (Music Director, Orchestra New England; Executive Editor, Charles Ives Society)  March / J. Peter Burkholder (Professor Emeritus, Indiana University School of Music; Author: Listening to Charles Ives)  April / Denise Von Glahn (Professor of Musicology, Florida State University) May / Cody Upton (Executive Director, American Academy of Arts and Letters) June / Eric Hofbauer (Jazz and Contemporary Music - Department Chair, Guitar: Longy School of Music of Bard College; Prehistoric Jazz volume 3: Three Places in New England / Eric Hofbauer Quintet) July / Suzanne Eggleston Lovejoy (Music Librarian for Access & Research Services, Yale University Music Library) August / Joel Sachs (Conductor; Pianist; Author; Co-Director, Continuum; Professor Emeritus, The Juilliard School)  September / James Sinclair (Music Director, Orchestra New England; Executive Editor, Charles Ives Society) October / Kyle Gann (Composer; Author: Charles Ives's Concord: Essays After a Sonata; Professor of Music, Bard College)  November / Carol Oja (William Powell Mason Professor, Department of Music and Graduate Program in American Studies; Faculty Director of the Humanities Program, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies / Harvard University) December / Jan Swafford (Composer; Author: Charles Ives: A Life with Music)  **One of the core missions of the Charles Ives Society is to create critical editions of all the composer's works, a mammoth project that has reached its culmination in 2024. Among the most challenging of these endeavors is establishing the critical edition of Ives' Sonata No. 1 for Piano, a five-movement work edited by George Barth which if anything presents even more daunting editorial challenges than the better-known Sonata No. 2 for Piano: Concord, Mass., 1840-60. The principal players in the decades-long preparation of the critical editions of all of Ives' works have been Donald Berman, General Editor of the piano works; Thomas Brodhead, who issued the critical performing edition of Ives' fourth symphony; James Sinclair, Executive Editor of the Society, who has produced authoritative editions of all of Ives' orchestral sets (which he has recorded with Orchestra New England on nine discs for Naxos), as well as, with Neely Bruce, all 192 songs of Ives; and David Thurmaier, general editor of Ives' choral music. Inquiries about the Ives Society's critical editions can be directed here. **The completion of 30 years' editing of the smaller works for piano, now published in their entirety in three volumes issued separately by Peermusic and Associated Music Publishers (AMP). **The establishment of a priceless resource of data about Ives on charlesives.org the Society's website, including a complete discography of recordings of Ives' music, a Borrowed Tunes Index, a complete list of compositions, a list of Ives' publishers (by individual work), a list of programming suggestions from Ives scholars linked to key milestones in Ives' life and career, and much more. **A collection of images and videos of important places and physical objects which figure in Ives' life. **Critical commentaries by authoritative scholars on specific works have been housed on charlesives.org, analyses that have not been published in print or anywhere else. In short, in this 150th anniversary of Ives' birth and for all the years to come, Ives enthusiasts can be assured that a wealth of information, images, performances and new insights into the extraordinary Mr. Ives will be made available.

Museum Mondays

"Nonchaloir", by John Singer Sargent

Sargent and Fashion, Tate Britain

July, 2024

 

Friday Photo

Organ, St. Lawrence Jewry

London, July, 2024

 

It's Here!

If you've been missing Joshua Kosman's voice on all things western classical music in the Bay Area, well, you are not alone––I certainly have. When he retired, he mentioned that he had plans for a weekly newsletter. After a well-deserved break, he has it up and running. You can subscribe here.

The first newsletter includes his takes on Un ballo in maschera and The Handmaid's Tale at San Francisco Opera, as well as a couple of shorter notes.

Adriana Mater

Cover art c/o Deutsche Grammophon

Black & white photo of Kaija Saariaho

Text on photo:

Kaija Saariaho

Adriana Mater

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Fleur Barron Axelle Fano Nicholas Phan  Christopher Purves

San Francisco Symphony    San Francisco Symphony Chorus

DG logo

The world premiere recording of Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater was released a few weeks ago by Deutsche Grammophon. It's drawn from performances at the San Francisco Symphony in June, 2023, just days after Saariaho's death from glioblastoma. The performers are listed above in my description of the artwork accompanying the release; I think that alt text doesn't actually work on Blogger.

The performances were a deeply emotional event for the performers and director Peter Sellars. Salonen and Saariaho had been friends since their school days and Sellars directed the premieres of her first two operas, L'amour de loin and Adriana. 

The recording is currently available only as a download, but physical media will become available next year.