Today's Birthdays

Gioachino Antonio Rossini (1792-1868)
Jimmy Dorsey (1904-1957)
Reri Grist (1932)

and

Howard Nemerov (1920-1991)

Philadelphia Orchestra's hall to become the Marian Anderson Hall

A huge gift to the tune of $25 million from Richard Worley and wife Leslie Miller to the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center will enable a name change. Ergo, Verizon Hall will now be Marian Anderson Hall. Marian Anderson, the famous opera contralto, was the aunt of former Oregon Symphony Music Director James DePriest. You can read all about this wonderful gift and tribute to Anderson here. This piece has a great quote from Ginette DePreist, who still resides in the Rose City: "Knowing Marian, she would be humble," said her niece, Ginette DePriest, the wife of late conductor James DePreist. "She always used to say: 'Don't make any fuss about this,' but I think that the fact that it's her hometown that she adores — I think she would be obviously honored but mostly humbled by this gesture."

Review: Vancouver Symphony has a blast with Mahler's 5th and Alwyn's too

The Vancouver Symphony delivered a knockout punch with Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, taking the audience at Skyview Concert Hall (February 24) on an emotional, rollercoaster journey. The dramatic quality of the 70-minute piece was fully elicited by the orchestra under its Music Director, Salvador Brotons. It was set up nicely by another passionate work, Willaim Alwyn’s Fifth Symphony (aka “Hydriotaphia”), which is much shorter than the Mahler, clocking in at around 15 minutes. Taken together, the two Fifth Symphonies fit together like a glove, with the Alwyn ending with a quiet rumination and the Mahler almost exploding at the finale.

Urged onward by the emotive conducting of Brotons, the orchestra wasted no time launching into the turbulence of the first movement, a funeral march that began with the insistent trumpet calls of Principal Trumpeter Bruce Dunn. The solemn melodic line was interrupted by emphatic blasts as if to pull listeners in a different direction. The orchestra conveyed the storminess at the beginning of the next section before settling into a sorrowful theme from the cellos. Sweeping lines from the violins, tutti crescendos, little accented outbursts, big, triumphant chorales, and quiet passages created a colorful yet serious sonic mixture.

At the beginning of the next section, Principal Hornist Dan Partridge moved to a position off to the side next to the brass and boldly played his solo passages with a glowing verve. The waltz-like laendler had a country-dance feel, and the orchestra concluded the section with a wild finish. The strings treated the Adagietto tenderly, and the harp lingering above it all was heavenly. The orchestra showed off some fleet fingerwork in the final movement, delving into the tricky fugue and wrapping it all up with a robust, triumphant end that almost got Brotons spinning completely around on the very last beat.

There were some intonation problems here and there, but they didn’t dampen the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from the large audience, which included a lot of youth. With six horns and a brass section that launched some terrifically loud volleys, the performance would have benefited from some additional strings, but it seemed that the real estate on the stage was maxed out. That’s another good reason for Vancouver to have a dedicated performing arts venue.

William Alwyn’s Symphony No. 5 has the unusual name of “Hydriotaphia” (Greek for “urn burial”), because it was inspired by a 17th-century essay by Sir Thomas Browne on funeral practices and the subject of death. That might seem like a non-starter for most of us, but Alwyn created a marvelously concise four-movement work that offered a lot of engaging colors and dynamic contrasts.

Using the 12-tone technique of Arnold Schoenberg (who knew Mahler), you would think that Alwyn’s Fifth would be an atonal hodgepodge, but it had a loosely narrative style (at least to me) and was an absolute delight to hear. Out of the gate, it opened vigorously, transitioned seamlessly from one movement to another without pausing. I made note of pulsating passages with low, rumbling cellos, basses, and bassoons. At times, the sound reached an excellent pianissimo so that you could hear the bells. Concertmaster Eva Richey evoked a silky solo, and the brass choir got a moment in the sun. It all finished up with a meditative mood that was mysterious and angelic.

It was mentioned at the beginning of the concert that Brotons worked with several school orchestras during the week. That may have accounted for the youth in the audience, including some very young families. You would think that some very young people might have left midway through the Mahler, but they didn’t. That bodes well for the future of classical music. Just like adults, kids can feel the genuine enthusiasm that Brotons has for music. He has that electrifying presence. Hopefully he will be able to connect with young students again in the near future. Fingers crossed.

Today's Birthdays

John Alden Carpenter (1876-1951)
Sergueï Bortkiewicz (1877-1952
Guiomar Novaes (1895-1979)
Geraldine Farrar (1882-1967)
Roman Maciejewski (1910-1998)
George Malcolm (1917-1997)
Joseph Rouleau (1929-2019)
Osmo Vänskä (1953)
Markus Stenz (1965)

and

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)
Linus Pauling (1901-1994)
Stephen Spender (1909-1995)
Zero Mostel (1915-1977)
Frank Gehry (1929)
John Fahey (1939-2001)
Stephen Chatman (1950)
Colum McCann (1965)
Daniel Handler (1970)

and from the Composers Datebook

On this date in 1882, the Royal College of Music is founded in London.

Today's Birthdays

Sir Hubert Parry (1848-1918)
Lotte Lehmann (1888-1976)
Marian Anderson (1897-1993)
Elizabeth Welch (1904-2003)
Viktor Kalabis (1923-2006)
Mirella Freni (1935-2020)
Morten Lauridsen (1943)
Gidon Kremer (1947)
Frank-Peter Zimmermann (1956)

and

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
John Steinbeck (1902-1968)
Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990)
Ralph Nadar (1934)
N. Scott Momaday (1934)

Today's Birthdays

Anton (Antoine) Reicha (1770-1836)
Alfred Bachelet (1864-1944)
Emmy Destinn (1878-1930)
Frank Bridge (1879-1941)
Witold Rowicki (1914-1989)
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino (1928-2017)
Lazar Berman (1930-2005)
Johnny Cash (1932-2005)
David Thomas (1943)
Guy Klucevsek (1947)
Emma Kirkby (1949)
Richard Wargo (1957)
Carlos Kalmar (1958)

and

Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
John George Nicolay (1832-1901)
Elisabeth George (1949)

Today's Birthdays

Armand-Louis Couperin (1727-1789)
Antoine Reicha (1770-1836)
Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)
Dame Myra Hess (1890-1965)
Victor Silvester (1900-1978)
Davide Wilde (1935)
Jesús López-Cobos (1940)
George Harrison (1943-2001)
Lucy Shelton (1944)
Denis O'Neill (1948)
Melinda Wagner (1957)

and

Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919)
Karl Friedrich May (1842–1874)
Anthony Burgess (1917-1993)
John C. Farrar (1896-1974)

And from the New Music Box:

On February 25, 1924, the first issue of the League of Composers Review was published. Under the editorial leadership of Minna Lederman, this publication—which soon thereafter changed its name to Modern Music (in April 1925)—was the leading journalistic voice for contemporary music in America for over 20 years and featured frequent contributions from important composers of the day including Aaron Copland, Elliott Carter, John Cage, Marc Blitzstein, Henry Cowell, Lehman Engel, and Marion Bauer. Its final issue appeared in the Fall of 1946.

And from the Composers Datebook:

On this day in 1682, Italian composer Alessandro Stradella, age 37, is murdered in Genoa, apparently in retaliation for running off with a Venetian nobleman's mistress.

Today's Birthdays

Antoine Boësset (1587-1643)
Samuel Wesley (1766-1837)
Johann Baptist Cramer (1771-1858)
Arrigo Boito (1842-1918)
Luigi Denza (1846-1922)
Arnold Dolmetsch (1858-1940)
Michel Legrand (1932)
Renato Scotto (1934)
Jiří Bělohlávek (1946

and

Wilhelm (Carl) Grimm (1786-1859)
Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
George Augustus Moore (1852-1933)
Mary Ellen Chase (1887-1973)
Weldon Kees (1914-1955)
Jane Hirshfield (1953)
Judith Butler (1956)

and from the Composers Datebook:

On this day in 1955, Carlisle Floyd's opera "Susannah" received its premiere at Florida State University in Tallahassee. According to Opera America, this is one of the most frequently-produced American operas during the past decade.

Preview of Vancouver Symphony's Maher concert in The Columbian

 

My preview of upcoming concerts by the Vancouver Symphony (Mahler Fifth) and the Vancouver Master Chorale has been published in The Columbian newspaper here.

Today's Birthdays

John Blow (1649-1708)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Sir Hugh Roberton (1874-1952)
Albert Sammons (1886-1957)
Dave Apollon (1897-1972)
Elinor Remick Warren (1905-1991)
Martindale Sidwell (1916-1998)
Hall Overton (1920-1972)
Régine Crespin (1927-2007)

and

Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) - blogger of the 17th Century
W. E B. Du Bois (1868-1963)
Karl Jaspers (1883-1969)
William L. Shirer (1904-1993)
John Camp (1944

Tidbit from the New York Times obit: In the early 1930s, William Shirer and his wife shared a house with the guitarist Andres Segovia.

From The Writer's Almanac:

It was on this day in 1940 that Woody Guthrie wrote the lyrics to “This Land Is Your Land."

The melody is to an old Baptist hymn. Guthrie wrote the song in response to the grandiose “God Bless America,” written by Irving Berlin and sung by Kate Smith. Guthrie didn’t think that the anthem represented his own or many other Americans’ experience with America. So he wrote a folk song as a response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” a song that was often accompanied by an orchestra. At first, Guthrie titled his own song “God Blessed America” — past tense. Later, he changed the title to “This Land Is Your Land,” which is the first line of the song.

Review: Thrilling Tchaikovsky with Gil Shaham and Oregon Symphony then bold Bruckner Fourth

 

OSO violins celebrating with Shaham after Brucker Fourth

Two powerful warhorses and one of the world’s greatest violinists combined for a terrifically robust experience with the Oregon Symphony (February 17), drawing one of the largest audiences that I have seen at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for a regular classical music concert. No wonder; with Gil Shaham in town to play Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, you can count on getting one of the most thrilling performances of that beloved piece you’ll ever hear, and for those of us who love big and bold symphonic works, Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony will do the trick.

Of top-tier violinists in the world, Shaham is one of the most animated, moving about while playing impeccably, combining mind-boggling precision with a mesmerizingly beautiful tone that sounds absolutely refreshing. Nowadays, it never fails that audiences, swept into virtuosity and melodic uplift of the first movement of the Tchaikovsky, burst into applause. Only this time, the applause was accompanied by cheering and some concertgoers rising from their seats for a standing ovation. The enthusiastic reaction to Shaham’s performance was wonderful to witness, but it reduced a bit the audience’s response at the end of the concerto despite the fact that Shaham and the orchestra delivered all of the Tchaikovsky with elan. As a side note, Shaham didn’t play an encore on Saturday, but I heard that he added Scott Wheeler's delightful "Isolation Rag" on Monday evening.

And from the photo above (posted on Facebook), it looks like he joined the violin section for the Bruckner Fourth on Monday as well. What a treat! At Saturday’s show, the violins sans Shaham more than held their own in an inspired performance that featured, multiple times, the brass and the horns. Talk about a glorious sound! I felt a little sorry for the woodwinds because they were positioned right in front of the brass choir and had to endure several sonic volleys that were at sustained double-plus fortes. The musicians wisely used ear plugs as needed, thank goodness.

In his introductory remarks, Danzmayr described the Fourth Symphony in this way: the first movement offers a sunrise over the countryside, the second is a Minnesang (lyric-and-song from the Germanic medieval period) featuring the viola section, the third presents a group of knights going hunting, and the fourth is an apocalyptic climax. I liked that explanation, although sometimes I just imagine majestic mountain ranges and a big cathedral with a magnificent, honking organ.

Like a magician, Danzmayr guided his forces through a number of hills and valleys in which big crescendos were often followed by astonishingly quiet diminuendos. Sometimes the sound decayed down to just a few strings and one woodwind – like Principal Flutist Martha Long – who would fashion a brief, lovely melodic line. In other quiet moments the double basses (eight of them) would create a low yawn or moan before the music would shift to another gear. Principal Timpanist Jonathan Greeney had lots of forte pummeling, but he also delivered soft murmurs during some of the quiet sections. Principal Hornist Jeff Garza and Principal Trumpeter Jeffrey Work excelled with their numerous solos. The violas created a strong cantabile sound in the second movement, and the strings, conquering line after line of unrelenting tremolos, pizzicatos, and runs were outstanding.

I love it when a world-famous soloist becomes part of the orchestra. Cellist Alban Gerhardt often did that whenever he came to town. Portland is very fortunate to have such outstanding musicians who can attract such high caliber talent into their midst. And it is a tribute to Danzmayr as well, because his conducting must also have inspired Shaham to join in the music-making.

P.S. I will be in Amsterdam for a few days in June and will hear the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra under Christian Thielemann playing Bruckner’s Eighth. I will write a review of it, for sure, maybe after a couple martinis.

Today's Birthdays

Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817-1890)
York Bowen (1884-1961)
Benno Moiseiwitsch (1890-1963)
Joseph Kerman (1924-2014)
George Zukerman (1927-2023)
Steven Lubin (1942)
Lowell Liebermann (1961)
Rolando Villazón (1972)

and

George Washington (1732-1799)
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)
Edward Gorey (1925-2000)
Gerald Stern (1925-2022)
Ishmael Reed (1938)
Terry Eagleton (1943)

Today's Birthdays

Carl Czerny (1791-1857)
Leo Delibes (1836-1891)
Charles Marie Widor (1844-1945)
Kenneth Alford (1881-1945)
Andres Segovia (1893-1987)
Nina Simone (1933-2003)
Elena Duran (1949)
Simon Holt (1948)

and

Anaïs Nin (1903-1977)
W. H. Auden (1907-1973)
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)
Ha Jin (1956)
Chuck Palahniuk (1962)
David Foster Wallace (1962-2008)

Today's Birthdays

Johann Peter Salomon (1749-1815)
Charles‑Auguste de Bériot (1802-187)
Mary Garden (1874-1967)
Vasyl Oleksandrovych Barvinsky (1888-1963
Robert McBride (1911-2007)
Ruth Gipps (1921-1999)
Toshiro Mayuzumi (1929-1997)
Christoph Eschenbach (1940)
Barry Wordsworth (1948)
Cindy McTee (1953)
Riccardo Chailly (1953)
Chris Thile (1981)

and

Russel Crouse (1893-1966)
Louis Kahn (1901-1974)
Ansel Adams (1902-1984)
Robert Altman (1925-2006)
Richard Matheson (1926-2013)

Today's Birthdays

Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Louis Aubert (1877-1968)
Arthur Shepherd (1880-1958)
Grace Williams (1906-1977)
Stan Kenton (1912-1979
Timothy Moore (1922-2003)
George Guest (1924-2002)
György Kurtág (1926)
Michael Kennedy (1926-2014)
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (1932-1988)
Smokey Robinson (1940)
Penelope Walmsley-Clark (1949)
Darryl Kubian (1966)

and

André Breton (1896-1966)
Carson McCullers (1917-1967)
Amy Tan (1952)
Siri Hustvedt (1955)
Jonathan Lethem (1964)

Review: Oregon Symphony and Danzmayr deliver intense Beethoven and Andres

 

Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony” is such a well-known, iconic work – one of the few classical works that pervades even popular culture – that it seems impossible to make it fresh and appealing – especially to a jaded music critic. But the Oregon Symphony under David Danzmayr did just that at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (February 12). Those famous first four notes were played with stirring intensity and focus – as if almost to grab listeners by the throat or at least the ears and say “listen to this!” The music that followed in the first movement had an insistent, incessant drive, bordering almost on the neurotic.

Then came the second movement with its grand majestic phrases. They decayed and decayed into delicate pianissimos that allowed listeners to hear the bassoons. It was truly magical. The third movement offered glowing horns and murky, mysterious lower strings, the blitzing fugal passage – it all surged and then dwindled down to almost nothing before gathering steam and tension and finally bursting into the gloriously triumphant fourth movement – with fireworks coming from all corners of the orchestra.

The taut orchestral sound resonated throughout entire piece. Every musician seemed to be on fire. Danzmayr, referring occasionally to a tiny score that was placed on his music stand at such a low position you would think that he would need binoculars to see the notes, urged the orchestra with spot-on gestures, and he got all sorts of stunning results – some lines, for example, had enticing crescendos and decrescendos built into them. The overall effect of the Fifth was awesome, and the audience rewarded the performance with thunderous acclamation and cheers – during which Danzmayr recognized the outstanding contributions from each section.

The main work on the first half of the concert was “The Blind Banister,” by Brooklyn-based composer Timo Andres. This piano concerto, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2016, featured Andres as the soloist, and it will be released as a CD with Andres and the Metropolis Ensemble on Nonesuch Records later this year. The piece was inspired by a poem, ‘Schubertiana,” by Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2011.

Consisting of three movements that flow as one, “The Blind Banister” started out with a tremolo-like passage for the right-hand at the keyboard. Then with his left-hand, Andres created a series of notes that cascaded down the scale. A forceful entry by the orchestra seemed to offer emotional support to the pianist who continued to explore the downward trend in various guises. After a while, both pianist and orchestra created the feeling of someone who is trying to find his/her/their way through a lot of murkiness. Slashing sounds from the orchestra, gnawing sounds, in particular, from the violins – the piece seemed to slow down and break down into a cacophony, then the piano emerges from it all, and in a refreshing upswing, dashes off with the orchestra accompanying with a fanfare of hope.

Like a lot of new works, the piece appeared to be very tricky, but the orchestra made it look easy peasy and Andres made a strong statement with his solo. Danzmayr singled out Concertmaster Sarah Kwak, Principal Trumpeter Jeffrey Work, Assistant Principal Timpanist Sergio Carreno, and the percussion section for their stellar contributions.

The concert program began with Beethoven’s “Egmont” Overture. Led decisively by Danzmayr, it received a totally committed performance by the orchestra – very dynamic with penetrating blasts that contrasted wonderfully with the plaintive passages. The horns also excelled with brilliant staccatos, driving the piece to its heroic end.

Another overture or sorts, “Fate Now Conquers” by Carlos Simon, began the second half of the concert. This brief piece packed a punch with a two-note opening statement. Busy strings and a pulsating rhythm topped off by trumpet calls gave the music a lot of energy. A short melodic line from Principal Cellist Nancy Ives dissolved into the busy maelstrom of the strings, plus interjections from the trumpets. The piece concluded with a fanfare-ish ending. Given the title, I wonder if it could follow Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, because it has been associated with the idea of fate knocking at the door. So “Fate Now Conquers” would be the follow-up. Right?

In any case, readers should know that Simon has been appointed to the inaugural composer chair with the Boston Symphony. According to the press release, it is the first time that such a position has been created for the orchestra in its 143-year history.

Today's Birthdays

Giovanni Battista Vitali (1632-1692)
Pietro Giovanni Guarneri (1655-1720)
Gustave Schirmer, Jr. (1864-1907)
Marchel Landowski (1915-1999)
Rolande Falcinelli (1920-2006)
Rita Gorr (1926-2012)
Yoko Ono (1933)
Marek Janowski (1939)
Marlos Nobre (1939)
Donald Crockett (1951)

and

Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916)
Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957)
Wallace Stegner (1909-1993)
Jack Gilbert (1925-2012)
Len Deighton (1929)
Toni Morrison (1931-2019)
George Pelecanos (1957)

Review of PBO's Dinner with Handel in Oregon ArtsWatch

 

My review of Portland Baroque production of the witty and uplifting pasticcio opera has been published in Oregon ArtsWatch here.

Today's Birthdays

Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881)
Sr. Edward German (1862-1936)
Leevi Madetoja (1887-1947)
Paul Fetler (1920-2018)
Ron Goodwin (1925-2003)
Fredrich Cerha (1926-2023)
Lee Hoiby (1926-2011)
Anner Bylsma (1944)
Karl Jenkins (1944)

and

Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904)
Ronald Knox (1888-1957)
Jack Gilbert (1925-2012)
Chaim Potok (1929-2002)
Ruth Rendell (1930-2015)
Mo Yan (1955)

From the New Music Box:

On February 17, 1927, a sold-out audience attends the world premiere of The King's Henchman. an opera with music by composer, music critic and future radio commentator Deems Taylor and libretto by poet Edna St. Villay Millay, at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. The New York Times review by Olin Downes on the front page the next morning hailed it as the "best American opera." The opera closed with a profit of $45,000 and ran for three consecutive seasons. It has not been revived since and has yet to be recorded commercially.

Today's Birthdays

Charles Avison (1709-1770)
Willem Kes (1856-1934)
Selim Palmgren (1878-1951)
Maria Korchinska (1895-1979)
Alec Wilder (1907-1980)
Sir Geraint Evans (1922-1992)
Eliahu Inbal (1936)
John Corigliano (1938)
Sigiswald Kuiljken (1944)

and

Nikolai Leskov (1831-1895)
Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918)
Van Wyck Brooks (1886-1963)
Richard Ford (1944)