Ludwig and I are not the best of friends.  In fact, I have a lot of problems with the guy.  Don’t get me wrong, he’s super talented but (and this is a BIG but) he annoys me. 

Speaking negatively about Beethoven is all but verboten  in Classical music circles.  He’s like Wotan, the Norse god of freakin everything- and that’s just one of my problems with him. He is the scowling face of three genres of music written before 1950 an he’s not a friendly looking poster boy- or an accurate representation of the breadth of music written in the late Classical, Romantic or early Modern periods.

Yes, yes, I know…he spans those genres, pushes the envelope forward, expanding, enhancing, and ever inspiring other composers to test and push the limits.  For that I am grateful to Beethoven but please….don’t force me to like the man.

(Liking Beethoven?  I imagine there are fans that would be offended to know there are people in the world who just “like” Beethoven.  Real Beethoven fans…LOVE, WORSHIP, ADORE….lay prostrate at his feet, writhing on the cold stone floor in ecstacy.)

Well, I’m sorry if I have offended anyone but Beethoven just isn’t at the top of my composer list.  Why?  Here’s the short list…

• He enjoys sadistically yanking his audience around 
• Romantic orchestras are big and heavy and hot and sweaty and not my cup of tea
• Just when he injects an opium-like theme, he totters off, wandering about aimlessly
• He repeats his stories, over and over and over again
• He’s a pompous old blow-hard. He’s long winded and much of what he “says” is just stuffing

Well, there it is in a nutshell.  But hope is not lost.  I’m starting to feel kind of bad about bashing Herr Beethoven.  Like…maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe I just don’t “get” him, yet.  Maybe if I take a really good listen to his entire oeuvre, I’ll be sold. 

PROCLAMATION:
So, as the year of our Lord, 2010 unfolds, I will be dedicating my recreational listening to Ludwig.  From alpha to omega, I will listen to everything he ever composed in the hopes of better understanding Beethoven.  If anyone can give me insight into his music, childhood, love life, Freudian fantasies or whatnot, please comment.  I’m going to need all the help I can get.

Top 1o reasons why having a blog is like having a baby…
10. Good blogs take 9 months to incubate
9. They stick around
8. Its every need must be met
7. Looks count
6. If society rejects it, therapy will ensue.
5. There are only a limited number of templates
4. Regular feeding with nutritious content is required
3. Guilt
2. Annoyance
1. You want the blogy to represent but it has a mind of it’s own.

Eager to raise children who hate classical music? Try these simple steps: Assume they’ll never like it. Never take them to a classical music concert. Talk about how classical music is boring. Assure they never hear you enjoying a classical piece of music. This rule pretty much follows for all of parenting. If you tell a kid to hate something, work extra hard to hate it yourself and never give your kid the opportunity to love it, your kid will probably hate it.

If you want to raise a child who appreciates, and maybe even loves (or plays) classical music, take him or her early and often to see and hear it performed. My fingers just did all the walking for you, so cut the excuses, read this list, and get out there and give your kids some credit. I think they’ll surprise you. And they might just find something to love for a lifetime.

First, a collection of musical adventures from a venue that never fails to impress with the diversity of its offerings—the Mesa Arts Center. They’ll host a Holiday Arts & Music Festival with free admission and free parking on Dec. 12^th and 13^th. The event includes art by nearly 100 artists in 13 mediums, live entertainment, kids’ activities and more.

Other holiday happenings with a musical bent coming to the MAC include: Leahy Family Christmas (Celtic Canadian sibling singers) on Dec. 5^th. Welk Stars (as in Lawrence Welk) Christmas Reunion on Dec. 6^th. American Stars in Concert For the Holidays (surprise mix of American Idol top ten finalists) on Dec. 12^th. Salt River Brass Concert (holiday pops) on Dec. 13^th. You’re All I Want for Christmas (Christmas variety show with sing-a-longs) on Dec. 16^th and 18^th. Dave Koz and Friends (A Smooth Jazz Christmas) on Dec. 22^nd. There’s more, but the brevity of blogging prevents me from listing everything here, so check their website for the full scoop.

I grew up listening with my mother to the music of the Boston Pops, and enjoyed a full circle moment when Lizabeth and I went to a Boston Pops concert together many years ago (she’s still wearing the souvenir t-shirt). Consider starting a new holiday tradition with one (or more) of these classical music concerts…

The Tempe Symphony Orchestra presents their annual Holiday Concert at McClintock High School at 7:30pm on Monday, Nov. 30^th.  (It’s free!) The ASU Symphony Orchestra and Choral Unions present their Holiday Concert (including works from Vivaldi’s Gloria and Handel’s Messiah) at ASU Gammage in Tempe on Dec. 6^th from 2:30-4pm.

The Phoenix Symphony offers a rich musical menu during the holiday season—with many performances held on multiple dates—so their website is well worth a visit. Your choices this season include Holiday Express! (Dec. 2^nd-4^th), Holiday Pops (Dec. 4^th-6^th), Family Holiday Pops (Dec. 5^th), Candlelight Messiah (starting Dec. 9^th), Handel’s Messiah Sing-a-Long (Dec. 6^th at 7:30pm) and a New Year’s Eve concert complete with complimentary champagne (Dec. 31^st at 7pm).

I recall many a concert with a very young Lizabeth napping on my shoulder during the second half. It beats having your child fall asleep to the television or an iPod. The early exposure to classical music left Lizabeth eager to try violin lessons, leading to a decade of violin study and all the discipline and musicality that comes with it. I’ll never regret making that investment in concert tickets rather than video games or DVDs.

If musical theatre is your thing, join fellow Broadway buffs at Phoenix Theatre Dec. 18^th or 19^th for Holiday Harmony featuring Broadway Baritones singing holiday and Broadway tunes. Among them will be Douglas Webster, who brought the house down during Phoenix Theatre’s passionate yet pristine production of Les Miserables last season. I suspect that tickets for this baby will be going fast.

In the mood for a bit of dinner theater? Check out the Singing Cowboy Christmas (with Pioneer Pepper and the Sunset Pioneers) at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Mesa. The show, which features songs, carols, stories and poetry, runs Nov. 27^th and 28^th as well as several dates in December. I remember seeing Man of La Mancha with my dad at a Denver dinner theater when I was young, and it felt like quite the adventure!

I can’t recall how Jennifer and I heard about the first Phoenix Girls Chorus concert we saw together at the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix, but it clearly left an impression since Jennifer went on to happily sing and tour with them for many years. Had we never seen that concert together, she might never have discovered her musical talents. Hence my motto about children and the performing arts: Expose them early and often.

The Phoenix Girls Chorus will perform two holiday concerts this season—a Holiday Family Concert called “Memories and Music” at 7pm on Dec. 5^th at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, and a Holiday Classics Concert called “Holiday Grandeur” at 8pm on Dec. 21^st at First United Methodist Church in Phoenix.

The Phoenix Boys Choir presents Holiday Traditions (traditional hymns and lively carols from around the world) at several locations throughout the Valley beginning Dec. 12^th. The program features a special reenactment of “The Night Before Christmas.”

The Phoenix Children’s Chorus will perform 25 Years of Holiday Celebrations (with special guest artist Desert Echoes Flute Project) during a matinee and an evening performance on Dec. 5^th. The event, which includes a silent auction, takes place at St. Agnes Church in Phoenix. (I love getting teacher gifts at auctions—it’s like doing double the good works!)

Phoenix Chorale (formerly the Phoenix Bach Choir) presents a free open rehearsal Dec. 4^th from 6:30-9:30pm at Trinity Episcopal Church in Phoenix. They’ll also perform several Home for the Holidays concerts at various locations (in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Sun City) Dec. 18th-22nd. The Orpheus Male Chorus of Phoenix is holding holiday concerts on several dates in December at various locations (in Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix and Scottsdale).

Finally, let me share a little something wonderful you’ll find a wee bit out of town. It’s the Wickenburg Friends of Music event, being held Dec. 4^th at 7:30pm at the Wickenburg Community Center. Musica Dolce, a Baroque ensemble, will be playing music from medieval times through the Renaissance while spotlighting the history behind several Christmas traditions. It’s the type of performance you don’t get to enjoy very often, so check it out if you’re a lover of the unique or unexpected.

If you discover something especially wonderful this holiday season, please share it with fellow readers using the comment section below. And come back tomorrow for a sampling of family-friendly theater performances perfect for holiday together time.

–Lynn

Note: Always call/click ahead for event/ticket details. To enjoy comprehensive listings of family-friendly events, subscribe to Raising Arizona Kids magazine and/or visit the RAK calendar online at www.raisingarizonakids.com.

By Jacob Stockinger

American pianist Simone Dinnerstein will make her Madison debut at the Wisconsin Union Theater on Friday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m.

Her solo recital program includes Bach’s French Suite, No. 5, Anton Webern’s Variations for Piano, Philip Lasser’s “Twelve Variations on a Bach Chorale,” Aaron Copland’s Piano Variations and Franz Schubert’s first set of Four Impromptus, Op. 90 or D. 899.

Tickets are $18, $25 and $30 with $12 for young people 6-18; and $10 for UW students. Call 608 262-2201 or visit www.uniontheater.edu

Here is the second part of the e-mail interview she gave to The Well-Tempered Ear:

Could you comment on your Madison program of Schubert’s Four Impromptus, the Bach French Suite No. 5, Philip Lasser’s variations on Bach, Webern’s Variations and Copland’s Piano Variations? Is there a link or a point of view that unifies it?

I think of this program as being about small forms, which together create a larger form.  All of the pieces in the program do that.  I like the echoes between the works too – the connections between Bach and Lasser, for example, and the starkness that begins both the Copland and the Schubert.

How many concerts per year are you performing these days? Where have recent tours taken you? Will you be doing more concerto and chamber music performances?

I’ve been fairly busy recently, and I’m actually in the extraordinary position of having to refuse work I’m offered. I’ve recently played debut performances with the New York Philharmonic and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which was a lot of fun, and I gave my debut in Vienna’s Konzerthaus. This season I’m also playing with the Minnesota, Atlanta and Frankfurt Radio Orchestras, among others.

Chamber music is more challenging. I’ve played a lot of chamber music in my life, but for now my time is really limited. I’m hoping I can add it back in over the next few years.

What are the biggest challenges facing classical music today at a time of economic hardship and declining ticket sales?

I think one of the biggest problems for classical music is that its presentation seems to be stuck in the 19th century. There’s so much emphasis on tradition and a certain type of formality that I think it scares a lot of people off. The emphasis should be on the power of the music itself and in finding a way to make its presentation accessible to a wider range of people.

Are there older, famous pianists you particularly admire and listen to?

There are many and, unfortunately, most of them are no longer with us.  I’m a huge fan of Glenn Gould, Artur Schnabel and Alfred Cortot. Among the living pianists I admire are Daniel Barenboim and the great jazz pianist Hank Jones.

Among others who come to mind right now, Myra Hess stands out. She was a pianist of great integrity, and combined great thoughtfulness and spontaneity. Her sound world was just magical.

You just released the Beethoven cello sonatas after two solo CDs. What will be your next solo piano CD and when will it appear? Other concerto or chamber music CDs?

I can’t talk about my next project right now, but I’m very excited about it!

Editor’s Note: Here are some other video sites and interviews to visit if you want to know more about Simone Dinnerstein:

Video:
About Simone’s CD, “The Berlin Concert”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfdlzofPeGc
Simone Dinnerstein talks about her Goldberg Variations CD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftlQ7OYgN28
Michael Lawrence’s Bach Documentary segment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLK19BgR50U

Interviews:
Morning Edition: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15886093
PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Art Beat blog: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2009/03/conversation-pianist-simone-dinnerstein.html
Studio 360:
http://www.studio360.org/episodes/2008/04/04
The Howard Stern Show News, with Robin Quivers:
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer

[Book] Via the indomitable Tyler Cowen’s short but sweet Books of the Year post:

“A very good gift book is Eric Siblin’s new The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece.  It signals the sophistication of both the giver and receiver and yet it is short and entertaining enough to actually read. Package it with the recent Queyras recording of the Suites, if need be.”

Now that is how you write a book recommendation. I would like to know more about classical music. And of course, one is not averse to signalling one’s own sophistication.

By Jacob Stockinger

American pianist Simone Dinnerstein is one of the first classical pianists to successfully ride the wave of new media.

While record companies were cutting back on artists and recordings because of the competition from digital downloads, Dinnerstein topped Billboard’s classical chart with her self-financed debut recording of J.S. Bach’s mammoth and famed “Goldberg” Variations.

(The popular and critically acclaimed recording – named one of the Year’s Best by The New York Times, ITunes and the Los Angeles Times — was released by Telarc, for whom she has now recorded “The Berlin Concert” and the complete Sonatas for Cello and Piano by Beethoven.)

Dinnerstein will make her Madison debut at the Wisconsin Union Theater on next Friday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m.

Her solo recital program includes Bach’s French Suite, No. 5, Anton Webern’s Variations for Piano, Philip Lasser’s “Twelve Variations on a Bach Chorale,” Aaron Copland’s Piano Variations and Franz Schubert’s first set of Four Impromptus, Op. 90 or D. 899.

Tickets are $18, $25 and $30 with $12 for young people 6-18; and $10 for UW students. Call 608 262-2201 or visit www.uniontheater.edu

For the blog The Well-Tempered Ear, Dinnerstein, just back to her New York City home from concerts in Vienna and elsewhere in Europe, recently answered some questions via e-mail. Her interview will be divided into two parts to run today and tomorrow.

You established your career in a non-traditional way, without winning a major competition. Could you recount how and why you did that? How difficult was it? What does it mean for other young musicians? What advice would you give young performers today hoping for a professional career in such a competitive environment?

After I graduated from Juilliard, I entered the life of a typical freelance musician. I played a lot of chamber music concerts and worked collaboratively with other instrumentalists. I did a certain number of solo recitals that I set up through my own efforts at networking. I became affiliated with the Piatigorsky Foundation, which has a small roster of musicians that it sends around the country on short concert tours playing in communities that might not otherwise be exposed to a live Classical concert. I taught privately in my own home.

For a time I entered competitions, but I was not successful mostly because I would become so stressed by the competitive environment. Eventually I won an audition for Astral, an organization based in Philadelphia that helps to develop the careers of young musicians.

They were extremely helpful in many ways, not least of which was in boosting my self-connfidence. They encouraged me to think imaginatively about my career and to develop my strengths.

I decided to learn and perform Bach’s “Goldberg” Variations for my Philadelphia debut, which they presented.  That led to me recording the variations, which started a very surprising path to the career that I am now enjoying.

It is tremendously difficult to be a young musician and I would say that the most important advice I can give is to try to discover where your interests and strengths lie and to develop them. You can’t control the way the world reacts to you, but you can be sure to nurture your own voice so that you have something worth saying.

You perform for prisoners. Why do you perform such outreach concerts? What you they get out of it and what do you get out of it?

I’ve performed twice in prisons, once in a high-security prison in Louisiana for the Piatigorsky Foundation and most recently in a prison in Baltimore on a visit set up by the Baltimore Symphony.

If ever there was an experience of hearing music freshly, it’s when it’s played in a prison.  There’s nothing musical about that atmosphere. And yet when you start playing, everything becomes musical. It’s a really extraordinary experience.

I should add that one of the most perceptive and thoughtful reviews of my playing I’ve ever read was published in the Avoyelles Correctional Center prison newspaper.

Tomorrow: In Part 2, pianist Simone Dinnerstein talks about her Madison program on her Dec. 4 recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater, and you will find more links to video and interview sites with information about Dinnerstein.

So, this blog’s first post appears in light of a discussion I was having with a friend this week about our approaches to composition.  We both trained as classical/western notated composers, but it is a training that I have significantly moved away from, toward beatmaking and a more abstracted pop practice.  I have as many issues with the world of classical contemporary composition as I have with the world of contemporary improvisation and other allegedly radical practices that position themselves as counter to what they perceive as more traditionalist/conservative music-making.  Classic FM is a particularly turgid bastion of self-satisfied conservative bullshit, but then so is Radio 3, which relegates the most left-field of its output (which is generally the more accessible pickings of “experimental” (yuk) practice ) to extremely late slots at night – novelty freak shows – but at least they have those shows.  In fact, Radio 3 could probably convince you that Nitin Sawhney was the vanguard of “experimental music”, but the problem is, he probably is, and I have a feeling that the people who own Sawhney records are the people who own the Nu-Jazz wankfunk of 4hero and Quantic Soul Orchestra, or the soul-sucking-deadness of the Gotan Project.  Of course what I’m really doing here is exposing my qualms with a certain brand of Guardian-reading London-centric middle-classness, where a need to appear to embrace or try and identify with the multiculturalism of the city is met by Sawhney and his cohorts who provide the appropriate stonewashed cultural signifiers in the form of this particular monstrosity, where we follow (yet another) pretty girl in a big red dress as she smugly fannies around affluent London neighbourhoods, singing a song so bland that my face melts off every time I hear it.  It is so fucking safe that it makes me consider slipping some hideous airborne poison into the air conditioning system at Waitrose.  But no, I wouldn’t do that, I like Waitrose.

Anyhow, aside from this, something that has been frustrating me recently (but which might be remedied by my friend Helen’s decision to make me a certain mixtape) is why young composers (of my generation, aged 20s-30s) continue write pieces of music that seem to serve as nostalgic artifacts, or as homages to, a high modernist aesthetic.  The most radical compositions I tend to encounter (particularly in universities and festivals) are pieces that loudly declare an open-endedness in certain passages; the incorporation of improvisatory elements, which of course, is something as old as notated composition itself, but tends to feel a little bit like a token gesture.  But that’s not really what bothers me, what bothers me is a strange, and continuing aspiration to a musical aesthetic (in notated music) that was dominant thirty years before most of us were born.  In a highly mediated western society, whereby quickening technological developments have heavily influenced aesthetic ones, I am always surprised that young people produce works such as these, and perhaps this is particularly because I feel I have been unable to ignore the huge influence of club and dance culture upon my listening histories, the pervasiveness of a groove, if even an unstable groove, of rhythm and repetition, of loops, of beats.  (Sorry, this is impressively scrappy…)  I always feel that there is a tendency toward a rather heavy-handed abstraction that betrays a very specific academic repression of the body, and even of joy.

Shopping. Baking. Working. Stressing. The holidays can be a busy time. So reclaim some of the seasonal spirit with an arts break. The calendar is filled with options, from pop and classical music to dance and theater. Read on for our critic’s picks of some of the best.

DANCE

BodyRoyal Winnipeg Ballet’s “The Nutcracker”

Allen Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, Cleveland.

7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10 and Friday, Dec. 11; 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12; 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13.

$10-$75. 216-241-6000.

The most beloved story ballet of them all, “The Nutcracker” had its premiere in 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The work eventually became a holiday tradition around the world, especially in North America, where dance companies count on the luminous Christmas tree, frisky mice and pirouetting snowflakes to bolster their bottom lines. Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet promises to bring the work’s favorite characters, ethnic dances and special effects to life when the troupe makes its debut at Cleveland’s PlayhouseSquare with a colorful production that has choreography by Galina Yordanova and Nina Menon. The story of young Clara and the nutcracker-turned-prince who takes her to enchanted lands is set to the immortal score by Tchaikovsky, whose music is a frequent guest both in theaters and concert halls. The “Waltz of the Flowers,” “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and Arabian dance are but a few of the ballet’s treasurable episodes. “Nutcracker” is best experienced when all of Tchaikovsky’s captivating instrumental colors are played live. Cleveland audiences will have the pleasure of hearing the music floating from the orchestra pit as performed by an ensemble of local musicians under the baton of Tadeusz Biernacki, the Royal Winnipeg’s associate music director.

Ballet Theatre of Ohio, Akron Civic Theatre, 330-253-2488, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6. The company gives its 17th annual performances of “The Nutcracker.” $18-$40.

Moscow Ballet, Sandusky State Theatre, 107 Columbus Ave., 877-626-1950, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9. The company performs “Great Russian Nutcracker” as part of its 16th annual tour. $24.50-$78.50.

Canton Ballet, Palace Theatre, 605 Market Ave. North, Canton, 330-455-7220, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13. The company performs “The Nutcracker.” $8-$22.

Moscow Ballet, Powers Auditorium, 260 Federal Plaza West, Youngstown, 800-745-3000, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11. The company performs “Great Russian Nutcracker” as part of its 16th annual tour. $27.50-$67.50.

Ohio Dance Theatre, Lorain County Community College’s Stocker Arts Center, 800-995-5222, ext. 4040, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 and Saturday, Dec. 19, 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. The troupe performs “The Nutcracker.” $16-$30. — Donald Rosenberg, Plain Dealer Dance Critic

POP MUSIC

Jim BrickmanPlayhouseSquare’s Palace Theatre in Cleveland

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19

$10-$60 at the box office, or charge by phone, 1-866-546-1353 or 216-241-6000.

The holidays around here wouldn’t be complete without a concert by Jim Brickman. The piano-playing Shaker Heights native returns for a show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at PlayhouseSquare’s Palace Theatre in Cleveland, where he’ll perform seasonal favorites and selections from his new “Beautiful World” album. Also on the bill are singers Anne Cochran and Mark Masri.

Cleveland Pops Orchestra, PlayhouseSquare’s Palace Theatre, Cleveland.3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29, $10-$35 at the box office, or charge by phone, 1-866-546-1353 or 216-241-6000. Conductor Carl Topilow’s ensemble is joined by the Baldwin-Wallace College Men’s Chorus for a “Holiday in Toyland” concert featuring music from classic holiday films, as well as clips from the movies.

A Smooth Jazz Christmas, PlayhouseSquare’s Palace Theatre, Cleveland, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, $10-$65 at the box office, or charge by phone, 1-866-546-1353 or 216-241-6000. Sax man Dave Koz presides over the festivities with singer Brenda Russell, pianist David Benoit, trumpeter Rick Braun and guitarist Peter White along for the (sleigh) ride.

One Silent Night, PlayhouseSquare’s Palace Theatre, Cleveland, 8:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, $30-$75 at the box office, or charge by phone, 1-866-546-1353 or 216-241-6000. Local guitar hero Neil Zaza and his band rock the sounds of the season.

David Archuleta, PlayhouseSquare’s Palace Theatre, Cleveland, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, $10-$40 at the box office, or charge by phone, 1-866-546-1353 or 216-241-6000. “American Idol” Season 7 runner-up is making the round to promote his new “Christmas from the Heart” album.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The Q, East Sixth Street and Huron Road, Cleveland, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, and 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, $25-$57 at the box office and theqarena.com, or charge by phone, 1-888-894-9424. Lasers! Smoke machines! Action! Everyone’s favorite holiday prog-rock juggernaut is headed back our way for a two-day, four-show stand.

Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31 (followed by dancing at 11 p.m.), $30-$104 at the box office and clevelandpops.com, or charge by phone, 216-231-1111. Carl Topilow & Co. preside over “Broadway Rocks!,” their 14th annual New Year’s Eve gala. The program features selections from “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Hairspray,” “Dreamgirls” and the Broadway shows, sung by J. Mark McVey and Capathia Jenkins. — John Soeder, Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic

CLASSICAL MUSIC

The Cleveland Orchestra performs Handel’s “Messiah”

Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.

8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, and Saturday, Dec. 12.

$31-$92, 216-231-1111 or clevelandorchestra.com.

Christmas music lands a prominent place on the orchestra’s regular subscription season this year, in the form of Handel’s holiday masterpiece, the “Messiah.” In honor of the composer’s death 250 years ago, choral director Roberto Porco presides over two performances featuring the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, soprano Mary Wilson, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, tenor Alek Shrader, and bass-baritone John Relyea. In contrast to performances of excerpts or presentations striving to be historically “authentic” with period instruments and vocal styles, the orchestra’s will span the full oratorio and include a large-scale ensemble. Attend and you’ll learn that “Messiah” entails much more than the material included in the abridged version often performed at Christmas-time, including the famous “Hallelujah” Chorus, but in fact overflows with highlights such as “And He Shall Purify,” “His Yoke is Easy,” “All We Like Sheep,” “He Trusted in God,” and “If God Be For Us.” Those looking for even greater enrichment should plan to arrive an hour early for a special pre-concert talk by Hugh Floyd, director of choral activities at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.

CityMusic Cleveland performs Mozart. Performances in Cleveland Heights, Willoughby, Cleveland, and Elyria. Check Web site for details. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9-12, 3 p.m. Dec. 13. Free. 216-321-8273, citymusiccleveland.org. Cleveland Institute of Music director Joel Smirnoff makes his local conducting debut leading the professional chamber orchestra in a festive all-Mozart program featuring the Divertimento K. 136, the solo motet “Exsultate Jubilate,” with soprano Chabrelle Williams, and the Sinfonia Concertante K. 364 with violinist Nathan Olson and violist Jessica Oudin.

Burning River Brass. Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21, $26-$60, 216-231-1111 or clevelandorchestra.com. Once again, the 12-piece Burning River Brass ensemble and organist Todd Wilson round out the season with their highly popular “Holiday Brass” program.

Cleveland Orchestra’s ‘Christmas Celebration’ concerts. Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, and Friday and Saturday, Dec. 18 and 19; 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Dec. 12, 13, 19, and 20; and 7 p.m. Dec. 20, $33-$80, 216-231-1111 or clevelandorchestra.com. No one does traditional holiday music like the Cleveland Orchestra. Its annual “Christmas Celebration” concerts with conductor Robert Porco and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus are a staple of the season, featuring the Cleveland State University Chorale and an appearance by Santa Claus.

Apollo’s Fire performs “Christmas Vespers. “ Performances in Akron, Cleveland, Shaker Heights and Rocky River; check Web site for details. Thursday, Dec. 9, through Sunday, Dec. 13. Tickets, $20-$65, 1-800-314-2535 or apollosfire.org. Music director Jeannette Sorrell and her Cleveland Baroque Orchestra bring back one of their biggest holiday hits. The crackerjack period-instrument orchestra presents Michael Praetorius’ glorious “Christmas Vespers” with vocal soloists and antiphonal choirs. – Donald Rosenberg

The Cleveland Philharmonic presents “Night at the Opera.” Zion United Church of Christ, 2716 W.14th Street, Cleveland., 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, $15, 216-861-2371

Who says you have to listen to nothing but Christmas music during the holidays? Conductor Victor Liva offers a little variety with Wagner’s Overture to “Rienzi,” Puccini’s Intermezzo from “Manon Lescaut,” and Bizet’s “Carmen” Suite No. 1. Those looking for a little seasonal music won’t be disappointed, either.

“An Nollaig.” Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 16 and 17. Tickets, $33-$80, 216-231-1111 or clevelandorchestra.com. Those looking for something a little different this season have another option with the Cleveland Orchestra. Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers and her band, Immigrant Soul, partner with the orchestra and new assistant conductor James Feddeck to present “An Irish Christmas,” featuring holiday music and dance from the 12th century to today. – All items by Zacary Lewis, Plain Dealer Classical Music Critic, except where noted.

THEATER

“God’s Trombones”

Karamu Theatre, 2355 E 89th Street ClevelandWednesday, Dec. 2 – Sunday, Dec. 27. For a detailed performance schedule, go to karamuhouse.org.

$15-$30. 216-795-7077.

Breaking with a tradition that’s nearly three decades old, Karamu Theatre artistic director Terrence Spivey called off his theater’s annual production of Langston Hughes’ “Black Nativity” this year.

Instead, Spivey is directing what promises to be a new tradition at the country’s oldest operating racially-integrated theater: a gospel music adaptation of “God’s Trombones,” poet James Weldon Johnson’s 1927 collection of seven “folk sermons” in verse.

The topics covered by the sermons include the creation, Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt and into Israel, the parable of the prodigal son and judgment day.

But don’t worry too much, “Black Nativity” fans. Spivey plans to bring the show back next season, and to perform the two soul-stirring shows in rotation, one each in alternating years.

“A Christmas Story,” the Cleveland Play House, 8500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, 216-795-7000, Friday, Nov. 27- Saturday, Dec. 20 (schedule at clevelandplayhouse.com). Play House associate artistic director Seth Gordon directs the fifth and final annual production of Philip Grecian’s adaptation of the shot-in-Cleveland movie about a boy and his BB gun. $23-$55.

“The Santaland Diaries,” Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, 216-631-2727, Friday, Nov. 27-Friday, Dec. 19 (schedule at cptonline.org).Doug Kusak stars and BD Bethune directs the return yet again of David Sedaris’ comic holiday classic. $10-$30.

“A Chistmas Carol,” Great Lakes Theater Festival at PlayhouseSquare’s Hanna Theatre, 216-241-6000, Friday, Dec. 4- Wednesday, Dec. 23 (schedule at greatlakestheater.org). Cleveland favorite Andrew May will direct and star in Great Lakes’ 21st annual rendition of former artistic director Gerald Freedman’ s adaptation of Dickens. $28-$69; students, $26. – Tony Brown, Plain Dealer Theatre Critic

Herve Duteil trained as a classical organist, along the way winning and later judging international competitions. His dayjob appears to be finance, along with a position at NGO relief organization Fidesco USA. Good thing he hasn’t given up his other job as a concert performer: his recital at St. Thomas on the fifteenth was blissfully intense.

Many of us have groused about how performers not only in classical but also in jazz will follow a rousing piece with a composition which is 180 degrees the opposite. And which makes a horrible segue. Why? To give themselves a breather? To offer a study in contrasts? Too frequently, this device seems to be a cop-out – and vive Duteil for not doing it. He kicked off the evening on the rear organ, designed and tuned especially for the baroque and composers of the North German School. Pulling out all the stops, he turned this usually understated instrument into a force of menace with Nicholas Bruhns’ Praeludium in E Minor (this link offers a decent version but one that can’t compare with the vigor and good cheer that Duteil served up).

Moving to the redoubtable Skinner organ at the front of the church, he then lit into German Romantic composer Josef Rheinberger’s Sonata No. 8 in E Minor. Opening with a full-bore plein jeu attack, the piece  builds to an extremely clever tradeoff between its initial waltz theme and the dramatic, straightforward stomp that follows. It ended as ferociously as it had began. Duteil then pulled back, but just a little, for the Moderato and then the Andante Sostenuto of Charles Widor’s Symphonie Gothique (which is actually pretty far from what we think of as gothic.) Sturm und drang from a distance built to a little real sturm und drang, followed by marvelously nuanced, nebulously muted cantabile disquiet. The program closed with Charles Tournemire’s famous Improvisation sur le Te Deum, all high-pressure fluid dynamics and dramatic counterpoint. It’s a showstopper, and in Duteil’s hands brought what was already a powerful performance to a wall-shaking crescendo. Duteil is no stranger to this venue; hopefully he’ll be back, before the old Skinner (ostensibly in disrepair but sounding no worse for the wear and tear of almost a century) gets pulled off the wall and replaced.

By Jacob Stockinger

It’s Thanksgiving.

I know that even loyal readers have better things to do today than read my blog — eat turkey, visit with family and friends, watch football, nap

But I was looking for a theme that is appropriate to the day.

Many radio stations play American classical music as a way to honor the day.

But I was looking at it in a bigger, more inclusive and less parochial way.

So, I ask, what classical music composers do you most give thanks for?

It’s probably pretty predictable, but for me there are three: J.S. Bach, Chopin and Schubert, in that order.

I guess Bach tops them all because without him the others might not exist — if I understand music history well.

Besides, Bach (painting at right) is not only the Big Bang beginning of Western classical music. In Bach you can find everything: Baroque moments, Classical moments, Romantic moments, even Modernist moments.

For his part, Chopin (photo below left) had an uncanny sense of how to fuse the Classical and the Romantic, how to meld form with feeling. Plus, he is so consistent. He doesn’t fail very often. His magic almost always works.

Did anyone ever have more innate musical talent than Schubert (below right), who was so prolific before he died at 31. His harmonies and melodies break your heart and then put it back together. Take your pick–songs or piano works (big sonatas or smaller miniatures), string quartets or piano trios, symphonies or masses. You can’t do better.

I know, I know.

I should be more thankful for Haydn and his astonishing inventions.

For Handel and his ear-easy humanism.

For Beethoven and his willfulness and astonishing technical command of music.

For Mozart and his otherworldly combination of pathos and grace.

What can I say?

Maybe next year.

Maybe next Thanksgiving.

In the meantime, tell me: When it comes to classical music, which composers do you give most thanks for when and why?

The Ear wants to hear.

And also to thank you for all your support. I had dared to hope for 7,500 hits by Jan. 1., 2010.

Now — as of yesterday — we’re already there.

So thanks, and keeping spreading the word.

Every hit counts.

And every reader matters.

I’ll be giving thanks to all of you, and for all of you, tomorrow.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx try to get away with some loot from the Disney Theater.

(DreamWorks) Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Nelsan Ellis, Rachael Harris, Stephen Root. Directed by Joe Wright

Friendships can sometimes be formed in the most unlikely of places between the most unlikely of people. These are the sorts of friendships that can be life-altering for both of the parties involved.

Steve Lopez (Downey) is a successful columnist for the Los Angeles Times. While his marriage is on the rocks (to his editor Mary (Keener) no less) and he has been injured in a bicycle accident, his career is at least doing well.

One afternoon he hears music coming from Pershing Square near the Times building and discovers a homeless man sawing away on a two-stringed cello and making astonishing music. This is Nathaniel Ayers Jr. (Foxx) and as Lopez later discovers, he was once a prodigy who studied at Julliard before his schizophrenia forced him to drop out of school and essentially from life.

Intrigued, Lopez writes a column about Ayers. A reader, touched by the story, sends a new cello for Ayers which Lopez delivers. This touches off a friendship between the two as Lopez acts as something of a guardian angel for the highly erratic and sometimes explosive Ayers. Lopez follows Ayers to a shelter in downtown L.A. (filming took place on Skid Row where the shelter is located and actual homeless people were used as extras) and inspired, writes a series of articles on the homeless situation in the City of Angels.

This leads to awards and acclaim for Lopez but he feels conflicted about this – like he’s profiting on the plight of his friend. He tries to help him, sets up recitals and an apartment for the former prodigy but Ayers’ mental illness is once again getting in the way. Will the demons in Ayers nature prevent him from leaving the mean streets of L.A.?

Like real life, the movie doesn’t answer this question because this true story is continuing. The real Nathaniel Ayers still lives in Skid Row and while his fame has allowed him to leave the streets, he still grapples with his mental illness.

Director Wright (who previously directed Atonement) has a good eye for detail and uses his L.A. locations to make a gritty, grimy portrayal of the streets which exist in a truly tragic juxtaposition within blocks of the glamour of the Walt Disney Theater in downtown L.A. Oscar-nominated (for Erin Brockovich) screenwriter Susannah Grant has the thankless job of trying to capture Ayers’ madness without compromising the story’s realism and for the most part, she succeeds although she does wander into maudlin territory from time to time though not enough to torpedo the movie.

At the center of the film is the relationship between Ayers and Lopez; if the actors can’t capture that then the film is a disaster. Fortunately, Wright cast two of the better actors working today in Downey and Foxx to tackle the roles and they both do stellar jobs. Downey has the more nuanced role in Lopez; he’s flippant and cynical but with a soft heart. He’s not the stereotypical driven and ambitious journalist; he’s more of an observer than a reporter.

Jamie Foxx resists the urge to over-dramatize the mental illness of Nathaniel Ayers but still manages to effectively portray the demons that torment him. This performance required a master’s hand to pull off and fortunately it got one. I don’t know if this is Foxx’s second Oscar-winning performance (it’s unlikely – the movie was postponed from its original November 2008 release date and relegated to the relatively barren April, when few films get any Oscar consideration) but it certainly merits a look.

Wright and Grant set out to make the movie as real and believable as possible and except for a few hiccups were successful. I like that the movie ended without tying things up in a neat package. I also admire the performances of the lead actors which are so compelling that some fine character actors also cast here are almost shuffled off to the wayside not through any fault of their own.

This movie, possibly because its release date was mishandled, didn’t get the kind of box office love it should have gotten (and might have gotten if the studio had stuck to a fall release date). Still, if you didn’t see it in theaters (and you probably didn’t), this is worth seeking out on home video.

WHY RENT THIS: Both Downey and Foxx turn in outstanding performances. The relationship at the heart of the movie is believable. The resolution of the movie is not really a resolution but ties the events together nicely while ringing true to the realism of the story.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: The story occasionally meanders into the maudlin.

FAMILY VALUES: There’s a good deal of crude language, some drug use and the overall theme of mental illness and homelessness might be a bit much for children.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: During the final concert scene in the movie, the real Nathaniel Ayers Jr. can be seen in the front row of the concert hall.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: There is an interview with the real Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers Jr. in which the interplay that the actors modeled the relationship on is clearly visible. There is also a feature and an animated short on the situation with homelessness in Los Angeles which has one of the largest homeless populations in the world.

FINAL RATING: 7/10

TOMORROW: The Astronaut Farmer

One of the most beloved of 20th-century classical compositions, The Lark Ascending, by one of its most beloved composers, England’s Ralph Vaughan Williams. We may have first heard the work just over ten years ago by chance early one quiet morning on Maine Public Radio, and were in short order full-blown Vaughan Williams converts, scraping our scant pennies from bookselling at Borders into as many of his works as the need to eat, rent and operate a motor vehicle legally would allow.

[Part 1]

Tears came to my eyes.Perfectly beautiful! Thank You!

Utterly breathtaking. This piece of music reminds me of Yorkshire and those I am blessed to share this life with.

[Part 2]

Love this piece of music. My favorite classical piece.

The melody at 1:14 is perhaps the most beautiful melody ever written; when it explodes into life at 2:16 I fail to see how there can be a dry eye in the house. God bless you Vaughan Williams.

i love how the first part has 226,712 views and this one is only 54,730…
she plays sooo beautifully they should be listening to both parts!

Wow, Janine played this piece with so much passion I got teary a few times. It was wonderful listening to this, but I can’t imagine how wonderful it would feel to play that violin solo. Both parts are favorited and given five stars!

This has to be the most stunning and graceful performance of this Lark Ascending . So real and so perfect.

Vaugn Williams rocks!
His music and the variation and range of his compositions has never been equalled. A true English spirit.

]]> http://welltempered.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/classical-music-sounds-of-the-holiday-season-start-this-weekend-with-oakwood-chamber-players-wisconsin-chamber-orchestra/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:01:10 +0000 welltemperedear http://welltempered.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/classical-music-sounds-of-the-holiday-season-start-this-weekend-with-oakwood-chamber-players-wisconsin-chamber-orchestra/

By Jacob Stockinger

It’s generally a quiet week because it is Thanksgiving Week and the UW is on break and there isn’t a lot happening — at least by the usual standards in the music-busy city.

But as we approach the holidays, one of Madison musical holiday traditions is about to happen – twice — this Friday:

The Oakwood Chamber Players (below) will perform their annual Holiday Lights Concert “Lighting the Way” on FRIDAY, NOV. 27.  The two performances will be held in the Oakwood Village Auditorium, 6201 Mineral Point Road, at 3 P.M. and 7 P.M.

This year’s Christmas Lights Concert will include:  “Il Presepio” (The Crib) by Nino Rota, “Ave Maris Stella” by Bernhard Krol, “Alleluia” from “Exsultate Jubilate” by Mozart, “Carol of the Birds” by John Jacob Niles, “Geistliches Wiegenlied” (Sacred Cradle Song) by Johannes Brahms, “Estrellita” by Manuel Ponce and other Christmas favorites.

Tickets can be purchased at the door.  Admission is $20 for general admission, $15 for senior citizens and $5 for students.  They accept cash and personal checks—but not  credit cards.

The Oakwood Chamber Players (above) consist of: Anne Aley, horn; Vincent Fuh, piano; Michael Allen, cello; Nancy Mackenzie, clarinet; Marilyn Chohaney, flute; Leyla Sanyer, violin;  Christopher Dozoryst, viola;  and Amanda King Szczys, bassoon.  All perform actively in the Madison area with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and an eclectic mix of other professional ensembles.

The concerts will feature soprano Mary Elizabeth Mackenzie (below right) as this year’s guest soloist. Mackenzie is a native of Madison, and now resides in New York City. Described by the New York Times as “a soprano of extraordinary agility and concentration,” Mackenzie has captured the attention of audiences in New York, Chicago, Wisconsin, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Boston.

A passionate performer of contemporary music, Mackenzie has appeared with The Juilliard School’s AXIOM Ensemble, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, the Continuum Ensemble, the Oakwood Chamber Players, Red Light New Music, the Talea Ensemble, and at John Harbison’s Token Creek Music Festival. She recently made her Alice Tully Hall debut with the Juilliard Percussion Ensemble, performing Jean Barraque’s “Chant Apres Chant.”

Since she’s local with lots of friends and fans, The Ear will include more than the usual amount of information about her and her blossoming career:

Mackenzie made her professional opera debut as Despina in Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” with the Madison Opera under the direction of Kelly Kuo, and recently appeared in New York City Opera’s production of Hugo Weisgall’s “Esther.”  Solo concert appearances include Mozart’s “Exsultate Jubilate” with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, Handel’s “Messiah” with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, The Youth in Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Faure’s Requiem in New York City.

Christmas Lights was first presented in 1994 as a memorial concert for the mother of one of the group’s supporters.  It was a huge success that year, and the Oakwood Chamber Players have presented Christmas Lights every year since then on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

This concert has led the Oakwood Chamber Players to produce 3 CDs of Christmas music with works commissioned by and written exclusively for the Oakwood Chamber Players.

The Oakwood Chamber Players have been together since 1984.

Here is a link for more information:

http://www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com/

Then another holiday musical tradition takes place twice: on SATURDAY, NOV. 28, at 8 p.m. and SUNDAY, NOV. 29, at 1 p.m., the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra will present its 11th annual holiday concerts –the Middleton Holiday Pops – at the Madison Marriott West, 1313 John Q. Hammons Drive.

Complementing the decor of snowflakes and Christmas trees will be the WCO performing with a 80-voice Middleton High School Concert Choir, all under the direction of WCO music director and conductor Andrew Sewell and choir director Tom Mielke.

UW tenor James Doing (below left) will perform “Oh Holy Night:” and “Comfort Ye” from Handel’s “Messiah.” Also included in music by Chadwick, Tchaikovsky. Szymanowski and other holiday fare to celebrate both Christmas and Hanukah.

Three types of seating are available: Theater style, which ranges, depending on the day, from $5 for youths 6-17 to $25 for adults with discounts for seniors and students; Cabaret tables, which seat four and include desserts and coffee for $150 (Sat.) and $120 (Sun.); and Premier Tables for eight with dinner (Saturday for $750) or Sunday brunch (for $250).

For theater-style seating, call 608 258-4141.

For Cabaret and Premier tables, call 608 257-0638.

Here a link to more information about the event, the program and the reservations:

http://www.wcoconcerts.org/index.php

When the brief Thanksgiving Break is over, the concerts at the UW School of Music start right up again.

On TUESDAY, DEC. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the Western Percussion Ensemble will perform under the direction of UW percussionist Anthony Di Sanza. (No program is available.)

The concert is free and open to the public.

So far, I’m a bit disappointed not to see anything from J.S. Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio,” which is my favorite classical holiday work.

Do you have a favorite classical holiday work?

What is it?

The Ear wants to hear.

Just released new Royalty free downloadable compilations… Classical Chillout – Music For Relaxation & Meditation – Volume 2, Sit back and chillout to this soothing collection of the most relaxing Classical music on the planet. This downloadable CD includes many well known Classical favourites like the famous ‘Flower Duet’ by Delibes and the beautiful ‘Requiem In Paradisum’ by Fauré, the perfect Classical music for setting a relaxed atmosphere….and Classical Favourites – Volume 2, the best collection of unmistakable and recognisable melodies that everyone knows and loves.

The Cleveland Symphony Orchestra was rehearsing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. There is an extensive section where the bass players don’t play for twenty minutes of so. One of them decided that, rather than stand around on stage looking bored and stupid, they’d all just file offstage during their tacit-time and hang out backstage, then return when they were about to play. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

On the night of the performance, the bass players filed off as planned. The last one had barely left the stage when the leader suggested, “Hey we’ve got twenty minutes, let’s fun across the street to the bar for a few!”

This idea was met with great approval, so off they went, tuxedos and all, to loosen up. Fifteen minutes and a few rounds later, one of the bass players said, “Shouldn’t we be heading back? It’s almost time.”

But the leader announced, “Oh don’t worry, we’ll have some extra time – I played a little joke on the conductor. Before the performance started, I tied string around each page of his score so that he’d have to untie each page to turn it. The piece will drag on a bit. We’ve got time for another round!”

So another round they did, and finally—sloshed and staggering—they made their way back across the street to finish Ludwig’s 9th.

Upon entering the stage, they immediately noticed the conductor’s haggard, drawn and livid expression.

—”Gee,” one player queried, “Why do you suppose he looks so tense?”

—“You’d be tense, too,” laughed the leader. “It’s the bottom of the ninth, the score is tied and the basses are loaded.”

Been playing around with ideas again, and I think I’ve come up with a fairly good idea. Its just making it into three different designs and what everyone likes really. And plus, I really need my cover sorted now, the inside needs doing!

As you can read on my About page, an epogdous in numbers (the ratio 9/8) is a while tone in music. 9/8 is also one of Debussy’s favourite time signature (Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, Claire de lune, etc.). Even if the notational convention is not properly a geometrical ratio, 9/8 is a very strange meter to me. Nine-eighths time divides the measure into three parts of three quavers each, making it into a triple meter. But the same time signature can divide the measure into different parts, making it even into fractional beats (e.g. 4/4+1/8) resulting in music with an extremely irregular rhythmic feel. Take notes composers! ;]

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