Tag: Quarter Notes

Quarter notes: end of summer edition

Summer is winding down, classical performance — with the exception of Seattle Opera’s head scratching new production of Tristan und Isolde – are more or less on hiatus until September. All of this leaves a blogger with little to blog about. Yet a few noteworthy bits have popped up here and there.

This Sunday George Shangrow will be remembered at a service held at the University Christian Church in the U District. The service starts at 2 pm and runs until 5 pm. Get there early. Seating is limited and because George’s presence was huge there will no doubt be an overflowing crowd.

Tristan und Isolde wraps up this weekend at McCaw hall. I saw the new production last weekend. The general consensus among critics has been reservedly favorable; consensus among the audience hasn’t been as generous.  Nearly everyone I spoke with thought the orchestra sounded spectacular. Fisch whipped the band into grand Wagnerian shape but it never missed a chance to embrace the score’s warmer moments. Most also liked Tristan’s cast as well. the golden age of Wagner singers is long gone but that didn’t stop Clifton Forbis and Annalena Persson from giving a memorable performance of Tristan and Isolde.  Once again, Persson started her Tristan performance with uncertainty in her voice and a wavering tone.  By the second act she had found Isolde’s voice; her arresting Liebestob provided a satisfying conclusion.

If the audience appreciated the musical qualities of the performance, production elements weren’t regarded as favorably. “The directing and set design were so bad I periodically closed my eyes to listen so I would not be distracted” read one comment posted on the Seattle Times web review.  The painted sets looked like cheap, grey particle board. A new projection system — written up extensively in the Tristan program — added little to the opera’s texture. Israel’s changing costumes were interesting, highlighting the opera’s mythology, but with very little else on stage, they seemed out of place. Kazaras looked to explore “Tristan time” and the idea that an event which takes a few seconds in real time might seem much longer in the mind. This is all well and good as an idea, but on stage it failed to translate, turning the opera into a series of incomprehensible moments.

The music is always paramount with an opera.  But for professional company’s like Seattle Opera the music can’t be everything.  Audiences already expect big things in the pit and on stage — for Wagner especially.  For a production to be successful then, the sets, costumes, stage direction, and everything else that isn’t musical must be good too.  Fisch’s orchestra and Jenkins’s cast were memorable, while Israel and Kazaras’s production forgettable.

Continue reading Quarter notes: end of summer edition

Quarter notes: Shangrow remembered

George Shangrow. Photo John Cornicello.

It’s been more than a week since we learned of George Shangrow’s untimely death. In that time the tributes for this Seattle original have been growing with each day. Orchestra Seattle’s website has been turned into a rolling memorial.

My favorite is from Kerry Fowler who wrote:

“I was a bit nervous the night before my audition for Orchestra Seattle, when I tuned in to KING-FM to hear the end of Beethoven’s Fifth. When it was over, I heard George announce, “Even after all these years, I still get tingles listening to that movement.” I thought, “Now that’s someone I want to play music with.” I wasn’t disappointed.”

On Saturday, the matriarch of Seattle’s critical class Melinda Bargreen, penned a tribute to Shangrow. It is well worth a read if you want a window into George’s essence as a person.

If you prefere to remember George in person, there is a memorial service scheduled for 2 PM August 22, 2010 at the University Christian Church which is open to the public.  I would suggest getting there early as more than 200 people have rsvp’d on the Facebook page for the event.

Quarter notes: happy birthday Mahler

Mikhail Pletnev

I’m a few days late (Mahler was born on July 7th), but 2010 is the 150th birthday for Gustav Mahler. Complete Mahler cycles have been popping up in abundance over the last few months. Both Universal Classics and EMI have released “complete” box sets. But, from Universal Classics, comes one of the most creative ways to celebrate Mahler’s birthday — The People’s Edition. From now until September people can visit a special web site and cast their vote for their favorite recording of each symphony from the Decca and DG catalog. The recordings with the most votes will be included in a special, limited edition box set in November.

Mikhail Pletnev was arrested in Thailand for allegedly raping a 14 year old boy. Pletnev claims the ordeal is a misunderstanding. Thai officials share a much different opinion.

Also in the NY Times, Seattle gets a mention in an article looking at the conductor youth movement that seems to be sweeping American orchestras lately.

Finally, Ludovic Morlot made remarks at his public roll out as music director designate of the SSO.  I recorded them on my Flip Camera and posted them here for you to see.  About two hundred people showed up for the event.  Based on the conversations I had with people in the crowd it seemed like a good number of the people in the audience were not subscribers but occasional SSO ticket buyers.  Nearly everyone I spoke to had no idea what to expect with Morlot.  A few were anxious to hear more French repertory.  Others hope he’ll bring Ligeti and Messiaen into the mix.  All were unanimous in their belief that his age alone will go a long way to freshening up the SSO.  The lack of preconceptions should bode well for Morlot as he starts to shape the 2011/2012 season — his first as music director.

Quarter notes: YNS edition

YNS

By now most people have heard the Philadelphia Orchestra has found a new music director. – YNS for short. He is a predictable choice given the youth movement afoot these days. Chicago bucked the trend by appointing Ricardo Muti. They are the only orchestra which ignored the orchestra group think these days (does that make the Muti choice revolutionary?) Maybe, before Dudamel, before Gilbert, and before the small army of sub-forty year olds took over a number orchestras in the UK the choice would have shocked or inspired. At best, Philadelphia has recruited the next big thing. At worst, the orchestra has found a music director for the next seven years.

(Sorry, but the section on James Garlick has been redacted.)

More contributor news. Did you read Michael Upchurch’s Seattle Times piece on the Toy Box Trio? No? Then ! Keep it up Dana and Harlan.

Did anyone notice Terry Teachout’s piece in the this past weekend? He wonders whether we even need regional orchestras in the digital age. With definitive recordings of just about every piece of standard repertory just a click away, why would anyone go hear a middle of the road performance of the same repertory with a local orchestra? It is an interesting thought experiment. I get hung up on what defines a regional orchestra. The Seattle Symphony is certainly a regional orchestra. So is the Oregon Symphony. Neither have the stature of America’s Big Five, or Big Seven if you include LA and San Francisco and both cater to audiences which stretch beyond the urban centers of Seattle and Portland. Maybe the answer isn’t to allow orchestras to die, or to load a season with pops concerts, but to reexamine the role and mission of the orchestra in the community?  Playing the same old music doesn’t seem to be cutting it anymore.

Quarter notes: mission vs. vision

Atlanta School composer Osvaldo Golijov.

Two interesting articles courtesy of Arts Journal.

Robert Spano (who was here in April) . The four composers Spano has championed – Jennifer Higdon, Osvaldo Golijov, Michael Gandolfi, and Christopher Theofanidis — have been dubbed the “Atlanta School,” and all have seen their profiles rise as a result of Spano’s efforts. The most encouraging aspect of Spano’s work is what it has done for audience development and ticket sales. I’ve excerpted the most interesting section of article, one that should be read by every arts administrator struggling to augment audiences.

“The most significant aspect of the Atlanta School project may be the trust it is building for new music in general. A semi-staged version of the opera “Dr. Atomic” by American composer John Adams sold at 88% of paid capacity during the depths of the economic recession. In a reversal of usual box-office patterns, concerts with music by Atlanta School composers typically sell at about 84% of capacity, says marketing vice president Charles Wade, versus an average of 78% for other classical events.”

Continue reading Quarter notes: mission vs. vision

Quarter notes: Decoration Day edition

Stephen Rogers Radcliffe is adding the Thalia Symphony to his orchestra responsibilities. Radcliffe is currently music director for the Seattle Youth Symphony. Perhaps you remember his fine Mahler 2 from last weekend? Radcliffe takes over for Eric Hanson who will conduct a final concert with the Thalia June 3, 2010 at the First Free Methodist Church.

Out in New York City, Gyorgy Ligeti’s opera about the end of the world (sort of) . Alan Gilbert and the NY Phil seem headed in the right direction.

The LA Ring — a production plagued with controversies — finally . I consider myself a Wagnerite (of the non-obsessive sort) and LA’s Ring looks baffling to me. On the other hand, the looks promising — traditional, modern, with a bunch of Met flash. Love it.

The You Tube version of the trailer is now disabled. I imagine because the Met folks thought it makes more sense to drive people to the website. This is too bad because a video can’t go viral if it can’t be embedded, shared, liked, and all of the other ways media is promoted these days.

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The local Odeonquartet departs for Russia today for two concerts, one of which will include the Russian premiere of Phillip Glass’ Fifth String Quartet. Heather Bentley, the group’s violist, will be blogging from the tour. Check back for Heather’s road report.

Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic have found critics outside of LA less generous in their assessments. and whether it even matters.

In case you missed it over the weekend, the about the search for Gerard Schwarz’s replacement. There weren’t any revelations in the piece, most of the qualities sought in the new music director are obvious.  Nancy Evans says some of the requirements of the search committee are,”The musical ability of the person, the ability to conduct and the ability to understand music, to know music, know instruments. All those features of the orchestra.”

The SSO isn’t just looking for a new music director, they are also looking for a new executive director too. Earlier this year, Thomas Phillion announced he would step down at the end of his contract in June. Without much fanfare,Phillion stepped down a lot earlier than June and is now the head of

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My write up of last week’s Music of Remembrance concert and the premiere of Vedem is up at the .  I’ve generally liked the Music of Remembrance concerts I’ve attended.  This one didn’t do it for me.

A couple of events this weekend to check out: and the .  The SYSO dives into Mahler’s Second Symphony while the American String Project gives three concerts of string quartets and other chamber works, arranged for string orchestra.

From last week, an article which asks an important question: ?  Should it matter if he is?  Later today I will be posting a video interview with Christian Knapp (the former associate conductor and guest conductor this week of the SSO) where this subject came up.

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How could those masks not be dangerous? Photo LA Times.

The LA Ring sounds like a .

Meanwhile, The Met’s new Ring gets the . Robert LePage’s ideas look promising. Will Levine be healthy enough to conduct? Can this production cement Gelb’s reputation as an innovator with the right vision for the Met?

The NY Phil has unveiled a new (and even funny) video campaign for this month’s Le Grande Macabre. Gilbert and Death share a moment over . They even face off over a game of .  Death gets brain freeze; loses a fin.