- Egmonont Overture
- Coriolanus Overture
- Prometheus Overture (I presume this is the overture to The Creatures of Prometheus.)
- Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Eroica
Lisa Hirsch's Classical Music Blog.
The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve. Lovers, to bed; 'tis almost fairy time.
Berce mollement sur ton sein sublime
Ô puissante mer, l’enfant de Dindyme!
Pages
Monday, February 26, 2024
Beethoven in Vallejo
Saturday, February 24, 2024
There's a Bay Area Conductor Who Eats Very, Very Well.
- Bon Appetite follows a conductor around for a while, posts some personal financial info in the process.
- Joshua Kosman reports, skeptically, owing to the conductor's purported annual income of $950,000/year. Hey, the conductor says he has 94 performances; if he gets $10,000/per, well?
Friday, February 23, 2024
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Jules Harlow
Rabbi Jules Harlow died at 92, on February 12, 2024. From his NY Times obituary:
Many of Rabbi Harlow’s liturgical innovations were in “Siddur Sim Shalom,” a daily and Sabbath prayer book published in 1985.
...
The volume also included several original poems by Rabbi Harlow, among them “Changing Light,” which was offered as an alternative to parts of the evening service known as ma’ariv:
Resplendent skies, sunset, sunrise
The grandeur of creation lifts our lives
Evening darkness, morning dawn
Renew our lives as You renew all time.
The full poem was even set to music, by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The piece had its world premiere in Helsinki in 2002, on the first anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, and its American premiere at Carnegie Hall in 2003.
Monday, February 19, 2024
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Music Director Updates, Part XXX
Some new reports:
- Marin Alsop becomes principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, I believe succeeding Nathalie Stutzmann.
- Simon Rattle becomes principal guest conductor of the Czech Philharonic.
- John Storgards will becomes chief conductor of the Turku Philharmonic.
Open positions:
- Phoenix Symphony
- Cleveland Orchestra, as of June, 2027.
- Paris Opera is currently without a music director.
- Nashville Symphony, when Giancarlo Guerrero leaves.
- Deutsche Oper Berlin, when Donald Runnicles leaves.
- Hallé Orchestra, when Mark Elder leaves.
- Rottedam Philharmonic, when Lahav Shani leaves.
- Los Angeles Philharmonic, as of 2026-27, when Gustavo Dudamel leaves for NY.
- Sarasota Orchestra, following the death of Bramwell Tovey.
- Seattle Symphony, following Thomas Dausgaard's abrupt departure in January, 2022.
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where Riccardo Muti left at the end of 2022-23.
- Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra: open in 2024 when Louis Langree steps down.
- Hong Kong Philharmonic, when Jaap van Zweden leaves in 2024.
- Oakland Symphony, owing to the death of Michael Morgan in August, 2021.
- Teatro Regio Turin: Open now with departure of Gianandrea Noseda. The Teatro Regio has not named a new music director.
- Minnesota Opera: Michael Christie has left. MO has not named a new music director.
- Marin Symphony, at the end of 2022-23.
- Vienna Staatsoper, when Philippe Jordan leaves at the end of 2025.
- Tito Muñoz
- Andrey Boreyko
- Osmo Vänskä
- Susanna Mälkki, who left the Helsinki Philharmonic at the end of 2022-23.
- MGT (apparently does not want a full-time job, as of early 2022)
- Miguel Harth-Bedoya (seems settled in at Baylor)
- Lionel Bringuier
- Sian Edwards
- Ingo Metzmacher
- Jac van Steen
- Mark Wigglesworth
- Peter Oundjian
- Ilan Volkov
- Aleksandr Markovic
- Lothar Koenigs
- Henrik Nanasi
- Philippe Jordan, eventually
- Franz Welser-Möst, eventually
- Update and correction: San Francisco Chamber Orchestra was unable to hire Cosette Justo Valdés. Instead, Jory Fankuchen, a violinist in the orchestra, has been named Principal Conductor and will lead this season's programs.
- Indianapolis Symphony hires Jun Markel, effective September 1, 2024.
- Andris Nelsons renewed his contract with the Boston Symphony. He's now on an evergreen rolling contract, which will continue as long as he and the orchestra are happy with each other. MTT had one of these at SFS.
- Shanghai Symphony, with the appointment of Long Yu.
- Virginia Symphony, with the appointment of Eric Jacobsen.
- Warsaw Philharmonic, with the appointment of Krzysztof Urbański.
- Bern Symphony, with the appointment of Krzysztof Urbański.
- Berlin State Opera, with the appointment of Christian Thielemann.
- Dresden Philharmonic, with the appointment of Donald Runnicles.
- New York Philharmonic, with the appointment of Gustavo Dudamel. Note that Jaap van Zweden leaves in 2024 and there will be a two-season gap before Dudamel arrives.
- Helsinki Philharmonic: Jukka-Pekka Saraste to succeed Susanna Mälkki.
- Staatskapelle Dresden, with the appointment of Daniele Gatti.
- Seoul Philharmonic appoints Jaap van Zweden.
- Royal Opera appoints Jakub Hrůša to succeed Antonio Pappano in September, 2025.
Friday, February 16, 2024
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Ozawa Update
After the question arose elsewhere, I asked San Francisco Symphony about Seiji Ozawa's appearances with SFS after he stepped down as music director. Here's the answer:
After the 1976-77 season, Ozawa conducted:
- January 11-14, 1978 – Tchaikovsky Swan Lake
- January 18-21, 1978 – Brahms Symphony No. 3 & Roger Sessions When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
- November 9, 1986 – Pension Fund Concert – Ravel’s La Valse, Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, and Kei Anjo’s Who-ei for Erh-hu and Orchestra
- February 23, 1993 – Pension Fund Concert – Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Bernstein’s The Age of Anxiety
- October 29, 2001 – Pension Fund Concert – Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 and Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
Ozawa also came to Davies Symphony Hall with the BSO twice (March 12, 1981 and February 13, 1996) and Saito Kinen Orchestra once (January 7, 2001).
Monday, February 12, 2024
Friday, February 09, 2024
Seiji Ozawa
He led the BSO for 29 years. I lived in the Boston area for five of those years and saw him conduct only once or twice. (It was a major schlep to get from Waltham to Symphony Hall; I spent a lot of time in evening rehearsals, and there were many, many free concerts at Brandeis. In retrospect, if I'd had any sense, I would have coordinated my flute lessons, in Brookline, with the Friday matinees.)
As I understand it, the length of his tenure in Boston eventually became a problem; conflicts with the orchestra, etc. I wasn't there and wasn't paying a lot of attention, but I do remember the relief when he finally resigned and James Levine became the music director. That....ultimately didn't work out either, between Levine's health and divided attention.
Ozawa was the music director of SFS in the 1970s, and my sense is that locally, people regard him as having used the position as a springboard to a bigger and better appointment, which the BSO certainly was, at the time. Today, well, the Big Five are the Big Seven and numerous other U.S. orchestras (Seattle, Minnesota, Buffalo, and more) play on an extremely high level.
I've now read two different obituaries, at WBUR, Boston, and the NY Times, and gosh, there are outright errors in the obits and the same two omissions.
- Typo in a Times photo caption, "Ozawar". (Could happen anywhere; now fixed.)
- "Big Five" interpreted to mean "five greatest orchestras in the world", in the WBUR obit. (Still not fixed.)
- Neither mentions survivors! It's pro-forma in an obit to say "Information on survivors was not immediately available" or "The Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland, which announced the death, did not release any information about survivors." (Times obit now includes survivors.)
- Neither - and this is amazing from James R. Oestreich at the Times, in what must have been an advance obit - mentions that Ozawa conducted the world premiere of Olivier Messiaen's sole opera, St. Francois d'Assise.
- Was it a sprained or broken finger that made him turn to conducting?
- BSO Press Release
- James R. Oestreich, NY Times (gift link)
- Tim Page, Washington Post (gift link; superb obituary)
- Richard Dyer, Boston Globe
- Andrea Shea, WBUR
- Metropolitan Opera remembers Ozawa
Wednesday, February 07, 2024
Changes in the San Francisco Symphony Bassoon Section
After a distinguished 48-year career as the Symphony’s Principal Bassoon, Stephen Paulson will be stepping into the Associate Principal role beginning with the 2024-25 Season.
So...I guess that means that Steven Dibner, currently the associate principal, is retiring, Paulson is stepping into that spot, and hence there's a need for a new principal.
With a tenure going back 48 years, I think that Paulson is the longest-serving member of the orchestra. A look around the musician page turned up a few players who joined between 1980 and 1984; as I've mentioned, the orchestra is very much in the midst of a generational change.
Tuesday, February 06, 2024
Raehann Bryce-Davis in Recital
- Lisa Hirsch, SFCV
- Patrick Vaz, The Reverberate Hills
Monday, February 05, 2024
Sunday, February 04, 2024
Upcoming Volti Concert
Volti, which is among the Bay Area's best small choruses, specializes in new and recent music and commissions new work on a regular basis. The last time I saw them, in fact, they performed commissioned works by Pamela Z and Carolyn Shaw. They have a long history of performing music composed by women and people of color, unlike various other musical institutions.
They've got an intriguing program later this month, including a world premiere by Jens Ibsen, whose Drowned in Light was premiered by the SF Symphony in November under their Emerging Black Composers program.
Details:
Friday, February 23, 8:00 PM at Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose Street, Berkeley
Saturday, February 24, 8:00 PM at Noe Valley Ministry, 1021 Sanchez Street, San Francisco
Titled From the Depths to the Ecstatic, the program explores historical concepts of spirituality, largely from the writings of female medieval mystics, as expressed by contemporary composers.
Robert Geary, Volti’s Founding Artistic Director, conducts.
In his new work De Profundis, Jens Ibsen sets Psalm 130, “Out of the depths I have cried unto thee, O Lord.” Volti will also sing an earlier Ibsen work, How god comes to the soul, with text by the medieval mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg.
Also on the program:
Ecstatic Meditations – Aaron Jay Kernis’s spectacular settings of four texts, also from Mechthildof Magdeburg, in Jane Hirshfield’s translation.
All Shall Be Well – Joanna Marsh sets text from “Revelations of Divine Love” by another medieval mystic, Julian of Norwich – believed to be the earliest surviving English-language writings by a woman.
Into Being – Ingrid Stölzel’s setting of the Sanskrit Mantra “So ham ham sa.”
Sohbet of the Rare Small Bird – Forrest Pierce sets Sufi reflections on spiritual teaching and learning, from ancient Persian texts.
Natural History – Emma O’Halloran meditates on the thousands of species discovered by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and described in his book “The Malay Peninsula.”
Tickets range in price from $15 to $50 and can be purchased online through www/VoltiSF.org or at the door.
Saturday, February 03, 2024
Jukka-Pekka Saraste at San Francisco Symphony
- Joshua Kosman, Chronicle.
- [SFCV link to follow]
- Me, writing about Salonen's LvB 7th
- Joshua Kosman on Saraste's 1997 performances at SFS. This is an excellent description of what I heard last night: "The slow introduction to the first movement moved in herky-jerky chunks; the orchestral balances, in the two outer movements especially, seemed calculated for maximum weight and minimum detail...Beethoven's fluid melodies, meanwhile -- again most regrettably in the outer movements -- were casually dispatched, as though they were merely decorative gold braid atop a Sherman tank. Only Saraste's zesty reading of the scherzo proved convincing."