Today's Birthdays

Anna Milder-Hauptman (1785-1838)
Alexis de Castillon (1838-1873)
Josef Lhévinne (1874-1944)
Eleanor Robson Belmont (1879-1979)
Samuel Dushkin (1891-1976)
Victor Babin (1908-1972)
Alvin Curran (1938)

and

Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882)
Kenneth Patchen (1911-1972)
James Wright (1927-1980)
Lester Bangs (1948-1982)

And from the Composers Datebook:

On this day in 1836, at a musical soiree at Chopin's apartments in Paris, the female writer "George" Sand, determined to make a good impression with her host, arrives wearing white pantaloons and a scarlet sash (the colors of the Polish flag). Paris Opéra tenor Adolphe Nourit sings some Schubert songs, accompanied by Franz Liszt. Liszt and Chopin play Moschele's Sonata in Eb for piano four-hands.

Today's Birthdays

Andrey Schulz‑Evler (1852-1905)
Kurt Atterberg (1887-1974)
Frank Sinatra (1915-1998)
Philip Ledger (1937-2012)
Margaret Tan (1945)
Donald Maxwell (1948)
Jaap van Zweden (1960)
Julie Ann Giroux (1961)
David Horne (1970)
Evren Genis (1978)

and

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880)
Edvard Munch (1863-1944)
John Osborne (1929-1994)

Today's Birthdays

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Joseph Jongen (1873-1953)
Mieczyslaw Karlowicz (1876-1909)
Leo Ornstein (1893-2002)
Elliott Carter (1908-2012)
David Ashley White (1944)
Neil Mackie (1946)

and

Grace Paley (1922-2007)
Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006)
Grace Paley (1922-2007)
Jim Harrison (1937-2016)
Thomas McGuane (1939)

and from the Composers Datebook:

On this day in 1918, Russian-born conductor Nikolai Sokoloff leads the first concert of the Cleveland Orchestra at Gray's Armory, presented as a benefit for St. Ann's Church. His program included Victor Herbert's "American Fantasy," Bizet's "Carmen" Suite, two movements of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, Liadov's "Enchanted Lake," and Liszt's "Les Préludes".

Liz Callaway returns for holiday fun with the VSO in its annual Holiday Concert

This weekend (December 13 and 14) at Skyview Concert Hall, Liz Callaway will add glitz to the VSO’s Holiday Concert, singing seasonal selections and tunes from her Broadway and film career. It’s a return appearance for the Grammy-nominated vocalist, who helped the orchestra back in December of 2021 to usher out the COVID blues and reinvigorate Skyview Concert Hall, which had been closed for a year because of the pandemic.

Callaway has been featured in Broadway shows like “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Cats,” “Miss Saigon,” “The Three Musketeers,” “The Look of Love,” and “Baby” for which she received a Tony Award nomination. Her animated film credits include “Anastasia,” “Aladdin,” “King of Thieves,” “The Return of Jafar,” “The Swan Princess,” “Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” She can be heard as Speaker of God on season two of Amazon’s “Hazbin Hotel” series.

Since her performance with the VSO, Callaway has maintained a busy schedule.

“I’ve been touring all over the place, doing lots of concerts,” she said during a phone call. “My last album, a tribute to Stephen Sondheim album was nominated in 2023 for a Grammy award – for Best Traditional Pop Vocal category. I was in the same category as Bruce Springsteen. Neither of us won. But it was a huge, big deal, and now I have the Grammy nomination framed on the wall at home.”

Not one to rest on her laurels, Callaway is working on a new album.

“I am working on an album of Stephen Schwartz songs,” she said. “He co-wrote the music for ‘Wicked.’ But that recording won’t be released until February or March. But in the meantime, I will sing ‘Defying Gravity’ from ‘Wicked’ with the VSO. That’s on the first half of concert, which will feature a medley of Broadway tunes. The second half will be more holiday oriented.”

In addition to the “Wicked” number concertgoers will hear Callaway sing Oscar Hammerstein’s “Cockeyed Optimist” from “South Pacific,” Sondheim’s “Broadway Baby” from “Follies,” a medley of tunes from “Merrily We Roll Along,” and “Send in the Clowns” from “A Little Night Music.” She will close her first part of the program with Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s “Memory” from “Cats.”

For the second half, Calaway will do an arrangement of “Joy to the World,” plus Frank Loesser’s “What Are You Doing New Year's Eve.” She will also sing “Once Upon a December” and “Journey to the Past” from “Anastasia,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

“I love the songs,” she said, “And I like to talk to the audience and tell stories. So, I’ve put a lot of thought into the selections. like to talk to the audience and tell stories. I have a lot of fans who know me from the animated movie ‘Anastasia.’ So I will be singing my two big songs from that film in the show. I can’t wait to sing with the VSO and maestro Brotons. It’s a fantastic orchestra and people are ready to celebrate the holidays with live music.

Callaway’s fans can also catch her on her Substack newsletter, “Between Flights,” which she fills with songs, recipes, and her schedule. She and her sister Ann Hampton Callaway will perform at 54 Below – a night club in New York City – from January 14 - 17, and some of the shows are livestreamed.

Of course, the VSO concert will also feature several purely orchestral pieces. They are Rossini’s “William Tell Overture,” Johann Strauss Jr’s “Hunting Polka,” Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Snow Maiden Suite,” and Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” and Johan Strauss Sr’s “Radetzky March.”

Callaway’s discography contains 46 recordings, and she will be signing CDs at the concert. Already, according to the VSO website, Sunday’s show is sold out and there are only a few tickets left for Sunday’s event. Fortunately, there is a livestream option that can accommodate more listeners.

Today's Birthdays

César Franck (1822-1890)
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
Morton Gould (1913-1996)
Sesto Bruscantini (1919-2003)
Nicholas Kynaston (1941-2025)
Julianne Baird (1952)
Kathryn Stott (1958)
Sarah Chang (1980)

and

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Melvil Dewey (1851-1931)
Adolf Loos (1870-1933)

Fred Child to take over the reins at All Classical Radio

 

credit: courtesy of All Classical Radio

From the Press Release:

All Classical Radio today announced that award-winning broadcaster and arts advocate Fred Child will become its next President and CEO, beginning January 2, 2026. Child, who will relocate to Oregon from New York City for the position, is particularly admired for his 25-year run as host of the nationally syndicated classical music radio program Performance Today, heard on hundreds of public radio stations nationwide. His appointment marks the next chapter in All Classical Radio’s ongoing evolution as a global media network amplifying classical music, arts, and culture.

“Fred has been a leader in connecting music-makers with music-lovers, and advancing access to the arts with a passion and approach that is absolutely infectious. He brings an ambitious strategic vision for our arts network, guided by a deep understanding of and appreciation for public media. We are proud to welcome him to All Classical Radio,” says All Classical Radio Board Chair Elaine Durst.

All Classical Radio is a nationally recognized arts and culture network. The public radio station boasts a local reach of nearly 250,000 regular listeners through broadcast radio and 400,000 monthly visitors through its website, representing listeners across the United States and in over 100 countries worldwide. With its International Children’s Arts Network (ICANradio.org), All Classical’s second station designed for youth, families, and educators, the network offers 48 hours of enriching curated content daily.

“It is a joy to return to my hometown of Portland and an honor to join this beloved institution,” says Child. “All Classical Radio delivers essential culture as a free global resource, and does so with a team of uniquely talented personalities. Their creativity inspires me to envision what we can do together through our shared experience of great music, outstanding performances, and engaging storytelling.”

In addition to hosting Performance Today, Child served as the Emmy-winning announcer for PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center, as well as the host of NPR’s Creators @ Carnegie. Before joining American Public Media, Child was Music Director and Director of Cultural Programming at WNYC in New York, host of a live daily performance and interview program on WNYC, and, for a decade, a host at Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Child has also anchored numerous major live concert broadcasts, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s first concerts from Walt Disney Concert Hall, the New York Philharmonic’s world premiere of John Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls, the Last Night of the Proms from Royal Albert Hall in London, New Year’s concerts by the New York Philharmonic, and Seiji Ozawa’s final concert with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood.

Child grew up in Portland, Oregon, where he studied classical piano and jazz. He also dabbles in guitar, percussion, and bagpipes. He is currently an avid student of South Indian music and dance. His wife is composer Wang Jie.

Child’s appointment comes at a time of transition for the organization. Last December, All Classical Radio officially welcomed the public into its new broadcasting and office headquarters, home to five state-of-the-art production studios, the Irving Levin Performance Hall, and the James DePreist Recording Studio. In July, Congress’s budget rescission package eliminated $500,000 in critical annual support previously approved for All Classical Radio. The network has been heartened by the community support in closing the resulting revenue gap and continues to evaluate how it can best position itself in this new funding landscape. 

All Classical Radio partnered with URL Media to conduct this search. Child succeeds Suzanne Nance, who announced her departure earlier this year after 10 years with All Classical Radio. Since July, Greg Arntson has served as the media network’s Interim Chief Executive Officer. 

Today's Birthdays

Emile Waldteufel (1837-1915)
Joaquin Turina (1882-1949)
Conchita Supervia (1895-1936)
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (1915-2006)
Dennis Eberhard (1943-2005)
Donny Osmond (1957)
Joshua Bell (1967)

and

John Milton (1608-1674)
Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908)
Léonie Adams (1899-1988)
Ödön von Horváth (1901-1938)

From the Writer's Almanac:

Milton coined more than 600 words, including the adjectives dreary, flowery, jubilant, satanic, saintly, terrific, ethereal, sublime, impassive, unprincipled, dismissive, and feverish; as well as the nouns fragrance, adventurer, anarchy, and many more.

Today's Birthdays

Claude Balbastre (1724-1799)
Frantisek Xaver Dussek (1731-1799)
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Manuel Ponce (1882-1948)
Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)
Gérard Souzay (1918-2004)
Moisei Vainberg (1919-1996)
James Galway (1939)

and

Horace (65-8 B.C.)
Diego Rivera (1886-1957)
James Thurber (1894-1961)
James Tate (1948-2015)
Mary Gordon (1949
Bill Bryson (1951)

Today's Birthdays

Bernardo Pasquini (1637-1710)
Hermann Goetz (1840-1876)
Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945)
Ernst Toch (1887-1964)
Rudolf Friml (1879-1972)
Richard Franko Goldman (1910-1980)
Daniel Jones (1912-1993)
Helen Watts (1927-2009)
Harry Chapin (1942-1981)
Daniel Chorzempa (1944-2023)
Tom Waits (1949)
Kathleen Kuhlmann (1950)
Krystian Zimerman (1956)

and

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680)
Willa Cather (1873-1947)
Joyce Cary (1888-1957)
Noam Chomsky (1928)
Susan Isaacs (1943)