WSJ article: “When Classical Musicians Call In Sick”

December 28, 2011 2 Comments

An interesting, if not deeply revelatory, article in the Wall Street Journal was posted about how orchestras cope when conductors or soloists cancel due to illness.  Chad Smith, Los Angeles Philharmonic Vice President for Artistic Planning, is quoted liberally throughout.  The article makes a point of mentioning that replacements are often harder to find for the LA Phil because of its penchant for contemporary music.

As of right now, the whole article is available online without a subscription (click HERE).  No telling how long that will be the case, so read it quickly.

I wish they would have talked about what orchestras do when orchestra members get sick.   Big orchestras like the LA Phil are pretty deep in talent, and if a piece has a big solo, an associate principal can often fill in for an indisposed principal.  In addition, Southern California has a huge pool of professional musicians on which to draw, further deepening the potential fill-in pool.  Not all such orchestras and/or cities are so lucky, and even the bigger ones can find themselves in a pickle if a key musicians goes down with little or no opportunity for others to practice an important solo.  So what happens then?? Enquiring minds would like to know . . .

 

 

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The musical haul from this Christmas

December 27, 2011 Leave a comment

 

Let’s see:

  • The complete recordings of Martha Argerich on Deutsche Grammophon and Phillips (published by Decca)
  • A Blue-ray featuring Ms. Argerich and Mischa Maisky in the world premiere of “Romantic Offfering,” a double concerto for Piano, Cello, and Orchestra by Rodion Shchedrin and the Sonata in A Major for Cello and Piano by César Franck, plus the Dvořák Scherzo capriccioso in D-flat Major, and the Shostakovich Symphony No. 9
  • The CD box set “Giulini in America:  Los Angeles Philharmonic” (I know, kinda shocking I didn’t already have it)
  • The Blue-ray of “Foo Fighters Live at Wembley Stadium” — a great concert video overall, and especially notable for capturing the band playing “Rock and Roll”  with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, with Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins switching their usual places  (click HERE to watch)
  • Not pictured:  The albums “My Room in the Trees” and “We Walked in Song” by The Innocence Mission

Yeah, I’d say I scored.  Thank you, Mrs. CKDH!

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“O Magnum Mysterium” by Tomás Luis de Victoria

December 23, 2011 4 Comments

The classic Latin chant about Christmas, O Magnum Mysterium, has been set to music by many distinguished composers over the centuries, ranging from Palestrina to John Harbison.  Morten Lauridsen’s 1994 version has since gone on to be a modern-day classic and the best selling chorale octavo ever sold by the Theodore Presser Company.

As absolutely amazing as the Lauridsen motet is — especially as sung by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, who also happened to sing the world premiere of the work — my favorite continues to be the one by Tomás Luis de Victoria composed about 400 years earlier.  Enjoy this performance by The Cambridge Singers, and have a very Merry Christmas!

—————

Latin text

O magnum mysterium, et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Christum.
Alleluia.

English translation

O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord, lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord.
Alleluia!

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“There were shepherds abiding in the field:” Sylvia McNair vs. Linus

December 18, 2011 Leave a comment

I’ve enjoyed many performances of “Messiah” in person, on CD, and on video, and have also sung bass in my fair share of student, community, and semi-professional performances of Handel’s most famous oratorio.  One of my personal favorites has always been a concert by Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony, with Sylvia McNair as the radiant soprano soloist.

The late 1980′s performance was broadcast on PBS and subsequently released on VHS; unfortunately, it was never re-released on DVD, and the concert is now out of print.    The closest you can get these days is a CD set of “Messiah” that Mr. Shaw conducted with a slightly different cast of soloists; it is quite good, but the soprano solos are split between Ms. MsNair and Kaaren Erickson, and therefore less satisfying.  Ms. McNair collaborated with Sir Neville Marriner on another recording of “Messiah” (still available  on DVD) which features some excellent choral work, but is also kinda quirky:  mezzo-soprano solos split with a counter-tenor; the famous soprano air, “Rejoice, greatly” sung in 12/8 instead of the much more typical  4/4 (as I prefer it).

Speaking of “Rejoice, greatly” . . . a clip of Ms. McNair singing it from that Shaw/ASO video used to be available on YouTube, but alas, has been taken down.  That’s a shame because it is by far my favorite version.  Ms. McNair absolutely attacks the coloratura runs with grace and precision, and her tone is impressively pure in the slower middle part, especially in the first line, “He is the righteous savior.”  It is simultaneously period appropriate yet thoroughly modern.  A very similar performance is on CD, but I like the video version better.

So instead, enjoy this video of the Pifa (abridged version), soprano recitatives and airs beginning with “There were shepherds abiding in the field,” through the choral “Glory to God in the highest.”  Not surprisingly, the Atlanta Symphony Chorus sounds great.  Moreover, it is another steller turn by Ms. McNair, perhaps second only to the incomparable recitation by Linus (circa 1965).

One last thing:  In the video from the Atlanta Symphony performance, the Pifa opens with a shot of the first stand of violins.  In case you don’t recognize them, the concertmaster is Bill Preucil, currently Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra.  Sitting next to him is Martin Chalifour, currently Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

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Visiting the speakeasies of New York: Death and Company

December 17, 2011 Leave a comment

The name might scare you, but don’t let it.  There is nothing frightening here, especially if you want a grown-up place to get a good drink and hang out.

Strictly speaking, Death and Company is not a speakeasy since it isn’t hidden from view, it’s location is public, and it even has a guy out front manning the door even on a weeknight.  It also has some magnificent drinks, a vibe that feels contemporary without being hipster, and a staff that is refreshingly cordial and friendly.  I like to think of it as Milk & Honey without the mystery or, alternately, Milk & Honey gone to grad school.

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Happy Birthday, Ludwig van Beethoven

December 16, 2011 Leave a comment

The great German composer was born on this date in 1770.  In his honor, please enjoy the iconic first movement from his Fifth Symphony, performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by the incomparable Carlo Maria Giulini.

If you typically associate Maestro Giulini with interpretations that lean towards the broad and spacious, you may be in for a (pleasant) surprise.

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Happy Birthday, Jean Sibelius

December 8, 2011 Leave a comment

On this date in 1865, Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer and nationalist, was born.

  • In his honor, below is a brief excerpt of his Second Symphony played by the Gothenburg Symphony, conducted by their Music Director, Gustavo Dudamel.
  • If you want to hear the whole thing, here’s also a live recording of the whole Second Symphony conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Vienna Philharmonic (you have to put up with the static picture of some random Japanese animation character, but the music is great).

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Visiting the speakeasies of New York: Please Don’t Tell (PDT)

December 7, 2011 1 Comment

The legendary entrance to PDT. . . . Seriously, it is.

At first blush, Please Don’t Tell (or “PDT” as it is often called) takes the nouveau speakeasy concept of Milk & Honey — nondescript entrance leading to bar with limited seating manned by a mixologist — up a notch or two.  Despite those similarities, a visit to the two venues feels completely different:  where Milk & Honey is a hideaway where the focus is on the beverages, PDT seems like more of a gimmick destination that luckily happens to have some very good drinks.

The most famous thing (dare I say, the best thing) PDT has going for it is its kitschy entrance:

  1. You first have to go into Crif Dogs hot dogs, easily identifiable by the large hot dog shaped sign hanging over the sidewalk with “Eat Me” scrawled across it in faux mustard.
  2. Once inside, you will find an unmarked phone booth (BTW:  have any twentysomethings ever used a real working phone booth before in their lives?).
  3. Once inside said phone booth, you pick up the phone, follow the instructions in front of you, and voila! — the “wall” of the phone booth opens to reveal a person who asks if you have a reservation.

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Fashionably late: Salonen and the LA Phil take on lost-and-found Shostakovich

December 5, 2011 1 Comment

Dmitri Shostakovich

Esa-Pekka Salonen was back for his second week with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. With a world premiere of the abandoned opera Orango paired with the withdrawn-for-25-years Symphony No. 4, his all-Shostakovich concerts were a study of two contrasting works that had both been hidden and eventually brought to new light. To add to the lost-and-found theme, E-P himself was late to the proverbial Shostakovich party. Early in his conducting career, Mr. Salonen actively avoided conducting any of the Russian/Soviet composer’s works, comparing it in 1987 to his well-known love for Stravinsky this way:

“Shostakovich is in many ways a polar counter-force for Stravinsky. [...] When I have said that the 7th symphony of Shostakovich is a dull and unpleasant composition, people have responded: ‘Yes, yes, but think of the background of that symphony.’ Such an attitude does no good to anyone.”^

Of course, he eventually changed his mind. On Saturday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, he led compelling performances of two works that were written only a few years apart, but created very different aural landscapes:  one circus-like and oddly cheery; the other, manic, dark, and brooding.

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Gustavo Dudamel and new music: some comparisons to Salonen (Part Two of an ongoing series)

December 3, 2011 3 Comments

With Esa-Pekka Salonen returning for a second weekend to the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s podium, and with me trying to kill an hour before tonight’s all-Shostakovich program begins at Walt Disney Concert Hall, I thought it was time to fulfill a promise I made in a prior discussion; namely, to compare Mr. Salonen’s penchant for conducting new music when he was Music Director against that of his successor, Gustavo Dudamel.

It should go without saying to anyone who has followed the classical music scene since, say, the mid 1980′s, that Mr. Salonen has a strong reputation for being a proponent and advocate of new music.  His leadership in this area helped propel the LA Phil into the forefront of major orchestras in not only its willingness to play such music, but also to draw a regular and, eventually, enthusiastic audience to these concerts.  This was not just limited to the concerts that Mr. Salonen conducted himself, but also in the programming of entire seasons and his strong support of the orchestra’s Green Umbrella series.  On top of that, there is the matter of Mr. Salonen himself  being a composer of importance; not only was he awarded this year’s prestigious Grawemeyer Award, he became the first person to have conducted the world premiere of two Grawemeyer Award winning compositions (his own Violin Concerto which won this year, and “Neruda Songs” by Peter Lieberson in 2008).

He remains a towering figure in the local music scene, and the LA Phil and Mr. Dudamel have much to be thankful for when it comes to Mr. Salonen’s impact on the orchestra’s current success.

Now then . . . reputations aside, how do Messers. Salonen and Dudamel compare head-to-head as music director when it comes to conducting the LA Phil in music written in the past 40 years or so?  After all, unlike his predecessor, Mr. Dudamel’s reputation was not made on advocating new music — there’s no way he’d stand up, right? The results may surprise you.  They surprised me.

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