SFS 2019-20 Conductor Change

Another change of conductor in San Francisco Symphony's upcoming season: Antonio Pappano out, Simone Young in. No change of program; here's an explanatory excerpt from the press release, sparing you most of the verbiage about Young's past accomplishments, honorary degrees, etc.:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Conductor Simone Young will lead the San Francisco Symphony in concerts next season November 14–16, replacing the previously announced Antonio Pappano who has been forced to withdraw due to changes relating to his commitments at the Royal Opera House. A noted expert in the music of Strauss and Wagner, Young will conduct the originally announced concert repertoire comprising R. Strauss’s Metamorphosen and Act I from Wagner’s Die Walküre featuring an all-star vocal cast including soprano Emily Magee as Sieglinde, tenor Stuart Skelton as Siegmund, and bass Ain Aiger as Hunding. Young made her San Francisco Symphony debut last month, leading critically acclaimed performances of music by Rimsky-Korsakov and Ravel.

Once wonders what's up at the ROH, of course.

Friday Photo

Saint-Chapelle

Paris, 2019

Odyssey Opera 2019-20

Odyssey Opera is a small company in Boston that agrees with me about the value of a themed opera season. Here's their 2019-20 season, which makes me want to cry (and relocate temporarily):

• Henry VIII, by Camille Saint-Saëns, concert performance, September 21, 2019, Jordan Hall
• Maria, Regina d'Inghilterra, by Giovanni Paccini, fully staged, November 1 and 3, 2019, Huntington Avenue Theater
• The Chronicle of Nine, Arnold Rosner, semi-staged, February 1, 2020, Jordan Hall
• Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra, by Gioachino Rossini, fully staged, March 13 and 15, 2020, Huntington Avenue Theater
• Gloriana, by Benjamin Britten, concert performance, April 11, Jordan Hall
• Merrie England, by Edward German, June 12 and 14, fully staged, Jordan Hall

I'm not going to post casting information for this staggering season except to mention that Gloriana - a great rarity - stars ANNA CATERINA ANTONACCI, giving you multiple reasons to grab a ticket immediately. The soprano is rarely seen in the US and is a tremendous performer.

Oh, yeah, the theme is The Tudors, to state the obvious.

Museum Mondays

Bavarian National Museum

August, 2015

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS — COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTISTS OF COLOR

Received from Opera America: 

OPERA America has just launched the IDEA Opera Grants (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) program.

IDEA Opera Grants are available to composer-librettist teams that identify as African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and/or Native American and have U.S. citizenship, permanent residence or DACA status. Applicants must be able to demonstrate their ability to create theatrical works for the trained voice and instrumental ensemble.

Two teams will be awarded the following:

• $12,500 per team to support costs associated with the production of a workshop, reading or other developmental activities.
• A high-quality video portrait of the composer and librettist for promotional use.
• Complimentary registration, travel and housing to attend a New Works Forum and Opera Conference.
• An introduction to the field in OPERA America’s digital and social media and Opera America magazine.

Application materials are now available at operaamerica.org/Grants. A letter of intent must be submitted by July 29, 2019, and a full application by September 9, 2019.

IDEA Opera Grants are made possible through the generosity of the Charles and Cerise Jacobs Charitable Foundation.

Enroll Now! Special Classes in June and July at Open Door Jujitsu

During June and July, 2019, I'll be teaching two special classes at my dojo in Emeryville, CA.

Safe Rolling & Falling


Ever slipped or tripped and taken an unexpected fall? We have too! In this class, you learn the basics of safe rolling and falling, which can reduce your risk of being hurt in a fall.

Dates:  Tuesday evenings, June 4 to July 30
Times:  8 to 9:30 pm.
Cost:    $150
Who:    Anyone who is interested and at least 16 years of age

This class can only accommodate seven students, so enroll early if you're interested. Make-ups available if you're unable to attend all sessions. This is a rare opportunity: we haven't offered this very practical class since 2015.


Street Self-Defense for Women and Nonbinary Persons

In this class, you learn skills to protect yourself against a wide range of attacks:

• Use of voice
• Alertness, awareness, and avoidance
• Basic kicks and strikes
• Escapes from common attacks
• And more!

Dates:  Thursday evenings, June 6 to July 25
Times:  8 to 9:30 pm.
Cost:    $150
Who:    All self-identified women, cis or trans; nonbinary people. Must be at least 16 years old.

This class can accommodate up to ten students. Make-ups available if you're unable to attend all sessions.

To Enroll in These Classes...

• Email sensei@opendoorjujitsu.com
• Call us at 510-842-6243
• Fill out the form on our contact page

Our classes are open to all, regardless of your ability to pay. Please let me know if you need to pay less than the fees above.

Our Current Location

Since mid-January of this year, we've been working out at:

Emeryville Martial Arts
4770 San Pablo Avenue, Unit B
Emeryville, CA 94608

(We're still looking for a permanent location, so if you know of a possible location - shared storefront, religious establishment basement, etc. - that could accommodate us, please let us know!)

Friday Photo

The Chicago Water Tower

March, 2019

• Wikipedia
• Chicago Architecture Center

My photo isn't so great, but it's a charming structure.

Let me help with this translation.

Last week, some students from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston visited the Museum of Fine Arts, where they subjected to "racist and disparaging comments and treatment from MFA staff and museum patrons," according to the principal of their school. 

The students in question were 7th graders (12 to 14 year olds), all students of color from the same middle school.  From the Globe article about this incident:

Forrest [the principal] said his staff has conveyed that one museum staff member reportedly told the academy students “no food, no drink, and no watermelon” at one point during the trip. There is a long history in this country of watermelon being used as a racist trope.

Forrest said he had heard other reports of museum security singling out students, following them as they progressed through exhibits while leaving white students alone.

Additionally, one museum patron reportedly made a comment to a female student about paying attention in the MFA so she could avoid a career as a stripper, while another patron referred to a group of students as “(expletive) black kids,” said Forrest.

A teacher on the trip:

Lamy also noticed museum staff closely followed the group of students she was with throughout the visit. Whenever the students would start moving, the staffers would start moving, and whenever they stopped, so did the workers, she said. 

And here are some excerpts from the "apology" that the museum posted on its web site:

 Last week, a number of students on an organized visit encountered a range of challenging and unacceptable experiences that made them feel unwelcome. That is not who we are or want to be. Our intention is to set the highest of standards, and we are committed to doing the work that it will take to get there.

Let me translate: for "encountered a range of challenging and unacceptable experiences that made them feel unwelcome" substitute "were treated in blatantly racist fashion by both staff and patrons at the MFA, an experience that is all too common for people of color in the United States."

For "That is not who we are or want to be," substitute "This happened because we have not properly trained our staff in how they are to behave and we have not trained them in how to recognize and deal with racist behavior in patrons."

You'l notice that the open letter never mentions racism. Amazing. It's a really crappy apology that doesn't name what has happened or mention the specific steps the MFA will take to ensure that this doesn't happen again. The letter doesn't mention the consequences for the staff members who behaved in a racist fashion and who failed to protect these children from the racist comments of other patrons.

Museum Mondays (Belatedly)

Henry Raeburn

Portrait of Eleanor Margaret Gibson-Carmichael

1802/03

Art Institute of Chicago

What I love is that the very friendly dog is about the size of the little girl, who looks around 3 years old.

Philharmonia Orchestra of London Names New Principal Conductor

It's another Finn: Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 33, becomes the orchestra's Principal Conductor after Esa-Pekka Salonen's term is over. Rouvali takes the post in 2021-22 and his initial contract is for five years.

Updated list of openings, etc.:

• Opera North: open now, with Aleksandr Markovic's departure
• Opera Theatre of Saint Louis: 2017 2019? is Stephen Lord's final season as MD. (He's still listed on their web page, don't know what's going on here).
• Teatro Regio Turin: Open now with departure of Gianandrea Noseda 
• Minnesota Opera: Michael Christie leaves this year 
• Sao Paulo Symphony: Marin Alsop leaves at some point
• San Francisco Opera, departure of Nicola Luisotti at conclusion of 2017-18
• Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which Leonard Slatkin leaves at the close of the 2017-18 season.
• MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony: 2018 departure for Kristian Jarvi
• Scottish Chamber Orchestra: 2018 departure for Robin Ticciati
• Orchestre de Paris, when Daniel Harding leaves at the end of 2018-19
• Sarasota Orchestra after Anu Tali  leaves at the end of 2018-2019
• Melbourne Symphony: Sir Andrew Davis leaves at the end of 2019 
• Richmond Symphony: Steven Smith leaves in 2019 
• Singapore Symphony: 2019 departure for Lan Shui
• Sydney Symphony Orchestra: David Robertson will be leaving the SSO at the end of 2019. So he really will be without an orchestral home as of 1/1/2020.
• Montreal Symphony Orchestra: Kent Nagano is leaving the OSM after 2019-2020. 
• Fort Worth Symphony: Miguel Harth-Bedoya leaves in 2020 
• Opera de Paris, when Philippe Jordan leaves in 2020
• Atlanta Symphony, when Robert Spano leaves in 2020
• Virginia Symphony: JoAnn Falletta leaves in 2020
• BBC National Orchestra of Wales when Thomas Søndergård leaves for his new job
• Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
• Oregon Symphony, when Carlos Kalmar leaves at the end of the 2020-21 season.
• Minnesota Orchestra, when Osmo Vänskä leaves in 2022.

Conductors looking for jobs (that is, as of the near future, or now, they do not have a posting):

• Lionel Bringuier
• Robert Spano
• Juanjo Mena
• Ludovic Morlot
• Sian Edwards
• Jun Markl
• Ingo Metzmacher
• Jac van Steen
• Mark Wigglesworth
• Simone Young 
• David Robertson
• Peter Oundjian as of the end of 2017-18
• Philippe Auguin
• Kwame Ryan
• Ilan Volkov
• Aleksandr Markovic
• Lothar Koenigs
• Henrik Nanasi
• Carlos Kalmar

And closed:

• Philharmonia Orchestra names Santtu-Matias Rouvali as its next Principal Conductor, starting in 2021-22.
• Daniele Rustioni is the next music director of the Ulster Orchestra, succeeding Rafael Payare in September, 2019.
• Daniel Raiskin succeeds Alexander Mickelthwate in Winnipeg.
• Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra: Richard Egarr named to succeed Nicholas McGegan, who steps down as music director in 2020 
• In November, 2018, Antonio Pappano's contract was extended to 2023.
• Joseph Young takes the helm at Berkeley Symphony, which Joana Carneiro left at the end of 2017-18.
• Omer Meir Wellber succeeds Juanju Mena at the BBC Philharmonic.
• Nicolaj Szeps-Znaider will be the next music director of the Orchestre National de Lyon, succeeding Leonard Slatkin.
• To the astonishment of virtually everyone, San Francisco Symphony signs Esa-Pekka Salonen, starting in 2020-21, with a five-year contract.
• Toronto SO: Gustavo Gimeno becomes MD in 2020-21.
• Washington National Opera brings in Evan Rogister in a newly-created job, Principal Conductor, from this season, 2018-19, through 2021-22. 
• Oslo Philharmonic: Klaus Makela becomes their chief conductor in 2020
• Dresden Philharmonic: Marek Janowski becomes their chief conductor in 2019 
• Royal Philharmonic has named Vassily Petrenko as their chief conductor, as of 2021
• Ken-David Masur becomes MD of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 2019-20, announced November, 2018.
• Zurich Opera: Gianandrea Noseda becomes music director in 2021, following the departure of Fabio Luisi.
• Dallas Symphony: Fabio Luisi assumes the position of Music Director in 2019-20. He has an initial five-year contract.
• Orchestra of St. Luke's: Bernard Labadie starts with the 2018-2019 season 
• Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra: Thomas Zehetmair starts with the 2018-2019 season
• BBC Concert Orchestra: Bramwell Tovey started in 2018 
• Toledo Symphony: Alain Trudel starts with the 2018-2019 season
• Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich: Paavo Jarvi starts with the 2019-2020 season
• Netherlands Radio Philharmonic: Karina Canellakis starts with the 2019-2020 season 
• Sylvain Cambreling has replaced the late Sir Jeffrey Tate at the Hamburg Symphony
• San Diego Symphony: Rafael Payare starts in 2019 
• Yomiuri Nippon Symphony: Sebastian Weigle starts in April 2019
• Vienna RSO: Marin Alsop starts with the 2019-2020 season
• Elim Chan becomes chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony in 2019-20
• Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra: Jaime Martin starts with the 2019-2020 season 
• Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège: Gergely Madaras starts with the 2019-2020 season 
• Kent Nagano is now the Generalmusikdirektor of the Staatsoper in Hamburg
• WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne: Cristian Măcelaru starts with the 2019-2020 season
• Israel Philharmonic: Lahav Shani starts with the 2020-2021 season 
• Bayerische Staatsoper when Vladimir Jurowski joins in 2021.
• Vienna Symphony: Andrés Orozco-Estrada starts with the 2021-2022 season
• Clarinetist Martin Frøst becomes chief conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra in 2019 when Thomas Dausgaard leaves for Seattle.Thomas Zehetmair is going to the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra in 2019
• Matthias Bamert is going to the Sapporo Symphony in 2018 
• Lorenzo Viotti was named music director of the Gulbenkian Orchestra, as of 2018
• Joana Mallwitz appointed GMD in Nuremberg, effective 2018
• Philippe Jordan to the Vienna Staatsoper / VPO (Dominique Meyer not planning to appoint a WSO MD; his contract expires in 2020.)
• Semyon! Bychkov! fills the vacancy at the Czech Philharmonic, following the death of Jiří Bělohlávek
• Dennis Russell Davies becomes music director of the Brno Philharmonic, which had been open since 2015, as of the 2018-19 season.
• Nicola Luisotti is now Associate Director of the Teatro Real, Madrid, not "assistant music director". My bad.
• Seattle Symphony, where Thomas Dausgaard will succeed Ludovic Morlot in 2018-19; announced early October, 2016
• Vancouver Symphony; Otto Tausk comes on in 2018
• Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Vasily Petrenko becomes their music director in 2021
• Dresden Philharmonic: Marek Janowski becomes their chief conductor in 2019 (round 2 for him there)
• Oslo Philharmonic: Klaus Makela becomes their chief conductor in 2020

Friday Photo

Sainte-Chapelle, Paris

February, 2019

Scorrevole

[I just stumbled across this draft from more than a decade ago, and what the hell, I am going to publish it.]

Over the weekend, I attended an extraordinary event, a two-day extravaganza celebrating the 100th birthday of Elliott Carter, who at that amazing age is still composing great music. Ruth Felt's San Francisco Performances staged this marvel, and thank goodness for that, because the local orchestras and most performing organizations are doing nothing. 

The first day was dedicated primarily to his five string quartets, a body of work the equal of those of  Haydn, Beethoven, and Bartok. In the morning, there was a showing of the documentary film, Elliott Carter: The Labyrinth of Time, followed by a panel/Q&A with the weekend's performers and lecturer Robert Greenberg; in the afternoon, a three-hour lecture; in the evening, a performance of all five of the quartets. 

I can't say enough good things about the film, a most touching and informative document. Filmed in and around Carter's apartment, Greenwich Village, other New York City locations, and Paris, it shows the composer in his element. You see him at his desk, writing music, erasing, writing music, erasing, writing music. You see him working with musicians, including Ursula Oppens, Fred Sherry, and Pierre Boulez. You hear from a few of those musicans as well. He wanders the halls of the building where he studied with Boulanger, and walks across the Brooklyn Bridge. "Aha!" I thought. "That's how he lived to 100: he's a New Yorker who walks five miles a day." He chats with his wife, Helen Jones-Carter, who died in 2003.

Looming over the film, sometimes visible through the windows of the Carter apartment, is the World Trade Center. Carter feels his music is deeply connected with the world and humanity, and talks about his hope that humanity will learn how to solve problems so all humans can live together peacefully. Sometimes you can see the WTC in the distance; sometimes you can't. Sometimes there are shots of the Trade Center in ruins after that day.

You learn a bit about his working methods, and the world he grew up in: "When I was a boy, I could ride my bicycle from 114th street, where we lived, all the way down Manhattan, and see only a few automobiles."

The half-hour panel discussion/Q&A with the performers was, unfortunately, almost the only interactive portion of the weekend. The members of the Pacifica Quartet and pianist Ursula Oppens talked about their experience of learning Carter's music and working with him, and about what it means to them. 

The second day, less taxing, at least for the audience, consisted of a lecture on the piano music, a recital of the complete piano music - well, almost all - and a reception.

Related:

• http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9774
• http://operachic.typepad.com/opera_chic/2008/12/elliott-carter-is-really-old.html
• http://nonesuch.com/journal/happy-100th-birthday-to-elliott-carter

Whither San Francisco Opera?

War Memorial Opera House

Home of San Francisco Opera

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

Sigh.

Two years ago, it looked as though San Francisco Opera was in good shape, following the tenure of David Gockley, who got the Wilsey Center built, brought various functions into the Veterans Building, dealt well with the unions, increased the endowment greatly, hauled in some huge donations, and staged a new Ring production, not to mention spectacular (and expensive) productions of Les Troyens, Don Carlo, Die Meistersinger, and Jenufa.

Today, well, there's a lot to be unhappy about. The issues must have some roots; maybe Gockley didn't work quite enough magic to sustain the accomplishments, maybe the company is way behind in figuring out how to get more subscribers and donations, maybe there's stuff going on that we don't know about (yet). But there's an awful lot of belt-tightening going on at the War Memorial Opera House.

Janos Gereben has published two articles in SFCV that you should read:

• Changes and Cutbacks at SF Opera Eliminate Some Top Positions
• Report on SFO's Annual Meeting

Do click through, but, briefly, the company laid off their Director of Communications, Jon Finck; their Director of Development (person who plans strategic fundraising, especially around large gifts), Andrew Morgan; didn't fill the publications editor vacancy created in December by the departure of Matthew Erickson; and eliminated several other positions. I believe that more layoffs are coming, as well; watch this space.

Some of these layoffs don't make a lot of sense to me. Moving Communications under Marketing is rather like having technical publications under sales: the goals of the groups are in conflict and it's best to keep them away from each other.

At the Annual Meeting, the company announced the development of a strategic plan, but the details that've come out so far are basically corporate-speak: there are now vision and mission statements. The planning process took some time, and the statements are something that could have been written in, oh, an hour? so I hope there is more substance to come.

Putting together everything in these two reports, plus things that aren't happening, here's what I see:

• No music director. I don't believe it's really "we are still at the dating stage", although I think more caution than went into hiring Luisotti is merited. I believe this is an easy way to save $450,000 to $600,000 or so a year. Yes, Luisotti made around $600,000 one year; it's right there in the 990s.
• No productions in the Wilsey Center. Again, $$$.
• Eight productions / year for the foreseeable future, again, money.
• The layoffs we've seen
• The layoffs that are probably coming
• Anticipated reduction in chorus size

And just this week, a friend received this letter from the company, over Matthew Shilvock's signature:

Thank you for your support as a subscriber to the 2019–20 Season. Knowing that you are a subscriber who attends OperaVision-supported performances in the Balcony of the Opera House, it is with great sadness that I share, while we will have OperaVision this June, we will cease this service going forward.

OperaVision is a unique service that we have offered at select performances for the last decade and that has been made possible by the in-house media suite and robotic camera system installed in 2007. The equipment is now long past its expected life cycle and is becoming inoperable. Sadly, each year, we experience increasing challenges with its stability.

The purpose of the media suite was to provide both audience enhancement in the Opera House, and to facilitate commercial projects such as DVDs, cinemacasts and PBS broadcasts. We released several successful projects over the last decade, but the marketplace for commercial opera releases is exponentially harder now than in 2007. Rebuilding the media suite would cost millions of dollars and, without the commercial possibilities that existed in 2007, it does not make sense for us to further invest our financial resources into this area at this time.

It is imperative to me and the Company that our work on stage remains at a world-class level of excellence, which is our priority as we look at how best to allocate our resources. This has been a very hard decision for me and for all of us in the Company, but it is a necessary change if we are to ensure a strong, vibrant future for opera in San Francisco.

As a subscriber with seats in the Balcony for OperaVision performances, you have pre-paid a surcharge ranging from $5–$9 which was embedded into your ticket price. Due to the cancellation of this service, you have overpaid service funds that total [a figure in the mid-two-figures]. For your convenience, we have placed this amount on account in our ticketing system. You have three available options to manage your funds:

[section about logistics deleted]

Thank you for your understanding and your continued support of San Francisco Opera. With great sightlines and unsurpassed acoustics, the Balcony will remain a thrilling place from which to experience great opera in the War Memorial Opera House.

Unpacking this a bit: Shilvock is right about the difficulty of producing and selling opera releases. Unless you've got an in-demand rarity or a truly legendary singer or something special that allows to sell a DVD, it's just hopeless. SFO had some dreams about doing Met-HD-style theater broadcasts, but this came to nothing; basically, the Met got there first, and with their enormous schedule, star singers we don't get in SF, and the variety of operas they present, they nailed the market down very well.  David Gockley admitted this had been a mistake.

Also behind this: it's not just the cost of replacing equipment, however much that might cost. It's the cost of paying the people who run the media suite, the cameras, and direct operas for OperaVision. They make a huge difference; the only opera I've seen from the balcony in the last few years was one of the four Elektra performances I took in, and I tell you, the direction was great and added a lot to the performance.

This apparent poverty is really not a good thing at any time, but it's especially bad with the company's 100th season approaching. I figured there would be something special about that season; maybe more of the top-rank stars we're seeing fewer and fewer of or not seeing at all*, maybe a commission, maybe the return of a few important operas that had their US premiere here or that haven't been performed in decades (yes, I'm thinking of Die Frau ohne Schatten, Dialogues of the Carmelites, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and more). Maybe every last penny being saved in going into the anniversary fund, but it's a mighty odd way to proceed.


* Anna Netrebko, Sonya Yoncheva, Peter Mattei, for example. The SFO regulars are Brian Mulligan, Ellie Dehn, Heidi Stober, all of whom, I like, but I'm not exactly sure of their international stature. Yeah, we're far away from Europe, but look back at the days when Leontyne Price, Leonie Rysanek, etc. were regulars. Also exemplary of this: it was widely rumored that Sonya Yoncheva would be Donna Elvira in the upcoming Ernani, but when the season was announced, it was Michelle Bradley. Was Yoncheva ever on board? Did she withdraw? Prove too expensive? We will never know.

Museum Mondays

Bernardo Daddi, Annunciation, c. 1335

Museé du Louvre, Paris

February, 2019

Friday Photo

Elevator Doors

Carbon and Carbide Building, Chicago

March, 2019

Conductor News Update

I'm still working my way through the list of openings, but here are some appointments I know of:

• Osmo Vänskä will be the next music director of the Seoul Philharmonic,  starting in January, 2020, with an initial three-year contract. He retires from the Minnesota Orchestra in 2022. He will still be based in Minnesota (he is married to Erin Keefe, Minnesota's concertmaster); apparently there are now direct flights from Minneapolis to Seoul.
• Nicolaj Szeps-Znaider will be the next music director of the Orchestre National de Lyon.
• Omer Meir Wellber is Chief Conductor Designate of the BBC Philharmonic.
• Joseph Young succeeds Joana Carneiro at Berkeley Symphony, effective immediately.
• Richard Egarr succeeds Nicolas McGegan at Philharmonia Baroque, effective with the 2020-21 season. I don't know Egarr, but I'll miss Nic, whose most recent PBO performance, Handel's Saul, was fabulous.
• Daniele Rustioni is the next music director of the Ulster Orchestra, succeeding Rafael Payare in September, 2019.
• Daniel Raiskin succeeds Alexander Mickelthwate in Winnipeg.

Updated list of openings, etc.:

• Opera North: open now, with Aleksandr Markovic's departure
• Opera Theatre of Saint Louis: 2017 2019? is Stephen Lord's final season as MD. (He's still listed on their web page, don't know what's going on here).
• Teatro Regio Turin: Open now with departure of Gianandrea Noseda 
• Minnesota Opera: Michael Christie leaves this year 
• Sao Paulo Symphony: Marin Alsop leaves at some point
• San Francisco Opera, departure of Nicola Luisotti at conclusion of 2017-18
• Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which Leonard Slatkin leaves at the close of the 2017-18 season.
• MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony: 2018 departure for Kristian Jarvi
• Scottish Chamber Orchestra: 2018 departure for Robin Ticciati
• Orchestre de Paris, when Daniel Harding leaves at the end of 2018-19
• Sarasota Orchestra after Anu Tali  leaves at the end of 2018-2019
• Melbourne Symphony: Sir Andrew Davis leaves at the end of 2019 
• Richmond Symphony: Steven Smith leaves in 2019 
• Singapore Symphony: 2019 departure for Lan Shui
• Sydney Symphony Orchestra: David Robertson will be leaving the SSO at the end of 2019. So he really will be without an orchestral home as of 1/1/2020.
• Montreal Symphony Orchestra: Kent Nagano is leaving the OSM after 2019-2020. 
• Fort Worth Symphony: Miguel Harth-Bedoya leaves in 2020 
• Royal Opera, when Antonio Pappano leaves in 2020
• Opera de Paris, when Philippe Jordan leaves in 2020
• Atlanta Symphony, when Robert Spano leaves in 2020
• Virginia Symphony: JoAnn Falletta leaves in 2020
• BBC National Orchestra of Wales when Thomas Søndergård leaves for his new job
• Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
• Philharmonia Orchestra, when Esa-Pekka Salonen leaves at the end of the 2020-2021 season.
• Oregon Symphony, when Carlos Kalmar leaves at the end of the 2020-21 season.
• Minnesota Orchestra, when Osmo Vänskä leaves in 2022.

Conductors looking for jobs (that is, as of the near future, or now, they do not have a posting):

• Lionel Bringuier
• Robert Spano
• Juanjo Mena
• Antonio Pappano
• Ludovic Morlot
• Sian Edwards
• Jun Markl
• Ingo Metzmacher
• Jac van Steen
• Mark Wigglesworth
• Simone Young 
• David Robertson
• Peter Oundjian as of the end of 2017-18
• Philippe Auguin
• Kwame Ryan
• Ilan Volkov
• Aleksandr Markovic
• Lothar Koenigs
• Henrik Nanasi
• Carlos Kalmar

And closed:

• Daniele Rustioni is the next music director of the Ulster Orchestra, succeeding Rafael Payare in September, 2019.
• Daniel Raiskin succeeds Alexander Mickelthwate in Winnipeg.
• Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra: Richard Egarr named to succeed Nicholas McGegan, who steps down as music director in 2020 
• Joseph Young takes the helm at Berkeley Symphony, which Joana Carneiro left at the end of 2017-18.
• Omer Meir Wellber succeeds Juanju Mena at the BBC Philharmonic.
• Nicolaj Szeps-Znaider will be the next music director of the Orchestre National de Lyon, succeeding Leonard Slatkin.
• To the astonishment of virtually everyone, San Francisco Symphony signs Esa-Pekka Salonen, starting in 2020-21, with a five-year contract.
• Toronto SO: Gustavo Gimeno becomes MD in 2020-21.
• Washington National Opera brings in Evan Rogister in a newly-created job, Principal Conductor, from this season, 2018-19, through 2021-22. 
• Oslo Philharmonic: Klaus Makela becomes their chief conductor in 2020
• Dresden Philharmonic: Marek Janowski becomes their chief conductor in 2019 
• Royal Philharmonic has named Vassily Petrenko as their chief conductor, as of 2021
• Ken-David Masur becomes MD of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 2019-20, announced November, 2018.
• Zurich Opera: Gianandrea Noseda becomes music director in 2021, following the departure of Fabio Luisi.
• Dallas Symphony: Fabio Luisi assumes the position of Music Director in 2019-20. He has an initial five-year contract.
• Orchestra of St. Luke's: Bernard Labadie starts with the 2018-2019 season 
• Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra: Thomas Zehetmair starts with the 2018-2019 season
• BBC Concert Orchestra: Bramwell Tovey started in 2018 
• Toledo Symphony: Alain Trudel starts with the 2018-2019 season
• Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich: Paavo Jarvi starts with the 2019-2020 season
• Netherlands Radio Philharmonic: Karina Canellakis starts with the 2019-2020 season 
• Sylvain Cambreling has replaced the late Sir Jeffrey Tate at the Hamburg Symphony
• San Diego Symphony: Rafael Payare starts in 2019 
• Yomiuri Nippon Symphony: Sebastian Weigle starts in April 2019
• Vienna RSO: Marin Alsop starts with the 2019-2020 season
• Elim Chan becomes chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony in 2019-20
• Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra: Jaime Martin starts with the 2019-2020 season 
• Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège: Gergely Madaras starts with the 2019-2020 season 
• Kent Nagano is now the Generalmusikdirektor of the Staatsoper in Hamburg
• WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne: Cristian Măcelaru starts with the 2019-2020 season
• Israel Philharmonic: Lahav Shani starts with the 2020-2021 season 
• Bayerische Staatsoper when Vladimir Jurowski joins in 2021.
• Vienna Symphony: Andrés Orozco-Estrada starts with the 2021-2022 season
• Clarinetist Martin Frøst becomes chief conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra in 2019 when Thomas Dausgaard leaves for Seattle.Thomas Zehetmair is going to the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra in 2019
• Matthias Bamert is going to the Sapporo Symphony in 2018 
• Lorenzo Viotti was named music director of the Gulbenkian Orchestra, as of 2018
• Joana Mallwitz appointed GMD in Nuremberg, effective 2018
• Philippe Jordan to the Vienna Staatsoper / VPO (Dominique Meyer not planning to appoint a WSO MD; his contract expires in 2020.)
• Semyon! Bychkov! fills the vacancy at the Czech Philharmonic, following the death of Jiří Bělohlávek
• Dennis Russell Davies becomes music director of the Brno Philharmonic, which had been open since 2015, as of the 2018-19 season.
• Nicola Luisotti is now Associate Director of the Teatro Real, Madrid, not "assistant music director". My bad.
• Seattle Symphony, where Thomas Dausgaard will succeed Ludovic Morlot in 2018-19; announced early October, 2016
• Vancouver Symphony; Otto Tausk comes on in 2018
• Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Vasily Petrenko becomes their music director in 2021
• Dresden Philharmonic: Marek Janowski becomes their chief conductor in 2019 (round 2 for him there)
• Oslo Philharmonic: Klaus Makela becomes their chief conductor in 2020

The Dracula Opera Emerges from the Crypt

From an interview with composer Mark Adamo that must have taken place before 2006:

[Kathleen Watt:] David Gockley who takes over as general director of San Francisco Opera in 2006, has commissioned your third opera for the company. Can you tell us about it?

[Mark Adamo:] A grand-scaled free variation on Dracula: certainly for San Francisco, possibly with up to three co-producers. I believe (he said cautiously) I’ve located its fulcrum, but there are still a thousand questions to answer. The renown of the character is both a blessing and a curse—there are as many opinions as to what the myth is about as there people who know it, so I have a great deal of thinking to do. (I'll also have to steer between the Scylla of grandiosity and the Charybdis of kitsch.)

As we all know, what San Francisco Opera actually got was The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, which was not well received, as you can see from my media roundup. At some point before the MM premiere, I'd asked Adamo in email about the Dracula opera, because it was mentioned in various places the internet, and he basically said he couldn't discuss it.

Now we know: he wrote the libretto, but the music will be written by Adamo's husband John Corigliano, and it will makes its debut at Santa Fe Opera in 2021. It's called The Lord of Cries, and apparently it will be some kind of mashup of Dracula and Euripedes' The Bacchae.

(Personally, I think the Stoker novel alone could be the basis of a really good libretto and opera!)

Yes, Various People Did See This Coming, SFS/MGT Edition

An informal note from the San Francisco Symphony conveys the following news to the ink-stained wretches:

.....At this time, we can confirm that Mirga Gražinyté-Tyla has had to postpone her debut with the San Francisco Symphony (scheduled for April 30-May 2, 2020) due to maternity/family leave following the birth of her child.

That MGT was canceling two years of guest conducting contracts has already been in the news, and I can confirm that there has been talk about her scheduled SFS appearance among my friends, at least.

Let me speculate about the replacement: it'll be James Gaffigan, who leads the program immediately after MGT's, and who just happens to be in town this week if anyone at SFS wants to chat with him.

Or maybe Esa-Pekka Salonen would like to take this program, as he did this past January when MGT withdrew. His schedule for 2019-20 isn't posted yet on his web site, but that week the Philharmonia is being conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, so maybe Salonen is available. For obvious reasons he might be the first conductor to get offered the concert.

Performers have a total right to decide what schedule is best for them and their families, and they are going to come to different conclusions. I hope we'll see MGT in SF at some point.

NCCO's All-Male 2019-20 Season

New Century Chamber Orchestra has announced its 2019-20 season, and it's the kind of thing you just didn't see under Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg: an all-male season. Alas, because it's a good season with a lot of interesting and rarely-heard music, just that none of it was composed by women.

Fin de siècle 
September 26-29, 2019
Daniel Hope, Music Director & Concertmaster
Simos Papanas, Guest Concertmaster
Maxim Landos, piano

Thursday, September 26, 2019, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church Berkeley, Berkeley
Saturday, September 28, 2019, 7:30 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
Sunday, September 29, 2019, 3:00 p.m., Osher Marin JCC, San Rafael

Ernest Chausson: Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings
            Simos Papanas, violin
            Maxim Landos, piano

Edward Elgar: Chanson de Matin
Elgar: Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47
Christian Sinding: Adagio from Suite im alten Stil, Op. 10
Jules Massenet: Méditation from Thaïs
Arnold Schoenberg: Notturno for Strings and Harp
Richard Strauss: Morgen for Violin and Strings

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Simone Dinnerstein Leads Bach
November 7-10, 2019
Simone Dinnerstein, piano

Thursday, November 7, 2019, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church Berkeley, Berkeley
Friday, November 8, 2019, 7:30pm, First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto
Saturday, November 9, 2019, 7:30 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
Sunday, November 10, 2019, 3:00 p.m., Osher Marin JCC, San Rafael

Johann Sebastian Bach: Keyboard Concerto in E Major, BWV 1053
J.S. Bach/Busoni: Ich ruf zu dir
J.S. Bach: Keyboard Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056
J.S. Bach: Keyboard Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052
J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050

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Christmas with Anne Sofie von Otter
December 18-20, 2019
Daniel Hope, concertmaster
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano

Wednesday, December 18, 2019, 7:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto
Thursday, December 19, 2019, 7:30 p.m., St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco
Friday, December 20, 2019, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Johann Sebastian Bach: “Schliesse, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder” from The Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248
George Frideric Handel: “As with rosy steps the morn” from Theodora, HWV 68
Handel: “Cara sposa” from Rinaldo, HWV 7
Thad Jones: A Child is Born
Irving Berlin: White Christmas
Robert Wells: The Christmas Song
Traditional: O Tannenbaum
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano

Antonio Vivaldi: Winter from The Four Seasons
            Daniel Hope, violin

Handel: Concerto Grosso in D minor, Op. 6 No. 10, HWV 328
Arcangelo Corelli: Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op. 6 No. 8 "Christmas Concerto”

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Beethoven in the Presidio
January 23-25, 2020
Daniel Hope, violin
Lynn Harrell, cello
Simone Dinnerstein, piano

Friday, January 24, 2020, 7:30 p.m., Presidio Theater, San Francisco

Ludwig van Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 5 in D Major, Op. 102 No.2
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 “Kreutzer”
Beethoven: Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 1 No. 1

Saturday, January 25, 2020, 7:30pm., Presidio Theater, San Francisco

Additional Performance:
Thursday, January 23, 2020, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Beethoven: Triple Concerto in C Major, Op. 56
            Daniel Hope, violin
            Lynn Harrell, cello
            Simone Dinnerstein, piano

Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21

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Music of the Spheres
May 13-17, 2020
Daniel Hope, concertmaster
San Francisco Girls Chorus

Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 7:30 p.m., Bing Concert Hall, Palo Alto
Thursday, May 14, 2020, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley
Saturday, May 16, 2020, 7:30 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
Sunday, May 17, 2020, 3:00 p.m., Osher Marin JCC, San Rafael

Gabriel Prokofiev: Spheres
Johann Paul von Westhoff (Arr. Christian Badzura): Imitazione delle Campane
Philip Glass: Echorus
Michael Nyman: Trysting Fields
Karsten Gundermann: Faust
Arvo Pärt: Fratres
John Williams: Starkiller from Star Wars (Arr. for strings)
Gustav Holst: Mars and Jupiter from The Planets (Arr. for strings)

Gabriel Fauré (Arr. John Rutter): Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11
Aleksey Igudesmann: Lento
Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man – A Mass for Peace: Benedictus
            Featuring the San Francisco Girls Chorus
 

Museum Mondays

"Paris Street, Rainy Day", by Gustave Caillebotte

Art Institute of Chicago

March, 2019

This is a very famous painting, one that I have seen reproduced and discussed many times. What I did not know, because I'd never seen it in person, is that it is enormous, measuring about 7 x 9 feet. It's a fabulous painting - you can see the rain glistening on the cobblestones - and wonderful to see in person from just about any distance.

Apologies for my lousy, crooked phone cam photo. My nice little Canon point & shoot, which has a level built into the display screen, had run out of battery by the time I got to the Art Institute, following an architectural tour. (My dSLR's battery is good for at least a thousand photos, but I didn't take it on this trip.)

If you want to read more about the painting, and see a better reproduction, the Art Institute has a web page for "Paris Street, Rainy Day".

Friday Photo

At the Grave of Gabriel Fauré

Cimitiere de Passy

Paris, February, 2019

Solano Winds Concert

If you're in the Fairfield, CA area, Solano Winds has a nice program coming up:

The Solano Winds Ensemble wraps up its season spotlighting the talents within the ensemble. The Take Five presentation will feature not only a brass quintet but also a woodwind quintet Friday, May 10th at eight in the evening at the Downtown  Theatre in Fairfield.

Friday, May 10, 8 p.m.
Downtown Theatre 
1035 Texas St. 
Fairfield, CA 94533

• Schubert, Allegretto
• Novak, American Spiritual Medley and Pollack, That’s A Plenty (brass quintet)
• Handel, arrange. Doherty, Suite from the Water Music

To buy tickets:

• On the group's web site (www.solanowinds.org) - go to the CONCERTS tab
• On the Downtown Theatre website (www.downtowntheatre.com) - go to the BOX OFFICE tab
• By telephone or in person with the Downtown Theatre Box Office - see their website for hours, etc.

Tickets are $17 for adults, $13 for students and seniors.