The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Why couldn’t the New York Philharmonic find an American conductor? Meet Dutchman Jaap van Sweden, its next music director. Plus, Sunday Afternoon Live From the Chazen, is NEXT SUNDAY — NOT TODAY — and tonight’s concert of new music by UW-Madison professor Les Thimmig has been CANCELLED
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ALERT 1: The Sunday Afternoon Live performance by the Wisconsin Brass Quintet at the Chazen Museum of Art is NEXT SUNDAY, NOT TODAY. The Ear apologizes for the mistake.
ALERT 2: Tonight’s concert of new music for woodwinds and piano by UW-Madison professor Les Thimmig and pianist Jessica Johnson has been CANCELLED.
By Jacob Stockinger
This week the New York Philharmonic announced its next music director and conductor who will succeed Alan Gilbert, starting in 2018.
He is Jaap van Sweden (below, in a photo by Todd Heiser for The New York Times , a 55-year-old Dutchman, acclaimed for his technical prowess, who now is the music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
There are a lot of stories The Ear could link to.
Here is a short summary from NPR (National Public Radio) with audio clips of his conducting:
But he found the coverage by the New York Times quite comprehensive and, on balance, fair.
It featured a main news story with some important feature elements, including the critical acclaim van Sweden received for conducting music by Gustav Mahler and Ludwig van Beethoven. (Below, you can see van Sweden conducting the New York Philharmonic in 2014 in a photo by Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times).
And it also featured a column or commentary by senior classical music critic Anthony Tommasini, who spoke in Madison on the occasion of the centennial of the Pro Arte Quartet that was held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.
Overall, Tommasini’s notebook entry is a fine and insightful piece, even if it gets tiring to hear Tommasini climb up on his high horse and whine yet again about the neglect of new music and contemporary composers – which does not seem fully justified based on the record of this particular conductor.
Tommasini – who himself was trained as a composer — clearly would have preferred former Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen (below) as the new music director and conductor. Hmmm – could they be friends?
For his part, it may sound provincial but The Ear is more concerned that the very same symphony orchestra that made history in American culture for hiring the first American-born and American-trained maestro – Leonard Bernstein (below), who also just happened to put Jaap van Sweden on the path to a conducting career – is once again turning to Europe rather to the many fine conducting talents in this country.
Why was no American conductor chosen. One who comes to mind is Marin Alsop of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (below top) and the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra in Brazil who is also a Bernstein protege. And then there is David Robertson of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Australia(below bottom).
Seems odd that Marin Alsop is good enough for Brazil and David Robertson is good enough for Australia — but not for New York?
The Ear wants to ask the Philharmonic’s board of directors: Do you really find all American conductors to be that inferior to Jaap van Sweden?
Maybe there were practical considerations — salary, contracts, availability, refusals — that made hiring an American conductor impossible. But the stories suggest that the choice of van Sweden was made early on and the fix seemed in. Too bad. It still seems like a great opportunity that was lost.
You can decide for yourself.
Here is the news story by Michael Cooper:
And here is Tommasini’s column:
Do you know the work of Jaap van Sweden?
Have you heard him in live or recorded performances?
What do you think?
Here is a sample of Jaap van Sweden conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in a YouTube video at the bottom.
Leave your opinion in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Alan Gilbert (conductor), Arts, Australia, Baltimore, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven, Brazil, China, Classical music, Dallas, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, David Robertson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustav Mahler, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Jaap van Sweden, Jacob Stockinger, Leonard Bernstein, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Marin Alsop, Music, National Public Radio, New Music, New York City, New York Times, NPR, Orchestra, Pro Arte Quartet, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchetsra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Sydney, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven), Symphony No. 7, Texas, The New York Times, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: What qualities are needed to be a world-class conductor? New York Times critics weigh in. What do you think?
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By Jacob Stockinger
You may recall that Alan Gilbert (below), the conductor of the New York Philharmonic, surprised the music world when he recently announced he would step down at the end of the 2017 season after only eight seasons on the job.
Speculation about a successor — with Marin Alsop (below top) of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Finnish native Esa-Pekka Salonen (below bottom) former director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, topping the lists — began immediately.
Right now, The Ear leans toward Marin Alsop. It would be great to see a woman in such a high-profile post. It would also be fitting for a protege of Leonard Bernstein to ascend to the podium where American-born and American-trained conductors first made their name. Buy American!
The sensational Venezuelan-born and Venezuelan-trained superstar Gustavo Dudamel (below) seems to have taken himself out of the competition by agreeing to stay longer in LA. But every performer has his or her price, so his story may not yet be over in terms of going to New York.
But Gilbert’s move also raises the issue: What qualities should one look for in a world-class music director and conductor?
These days, it involves a whole lot more than holding the baton and leading the players.
Anyway recently music critics for The New York Times weighed in with their preferences and points of view.
Here is a link to the story:
Read and see what you agree and disagree with.
And also let us know who you think would be a good choice to be the next music director and conductor of the New York Philharmonic.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Alan Gilbert (conductor), Arts, Avery Fisher Hall, Classical music, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Finland, Finn, Finnish, Gustavo Dudamel, Jacob Stockinger, Leonard Bernstein, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Marin Alsop, Music director, New York City, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, Orchestra, Simón Bolívar, South America, The New York Times, Venezuela
Classical music: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra music director and conductor Marin Alsop lends her late parents’ valuable violin and cello as living memorials to them and as a way to help musicians in her orchestra.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Perhaps you have read about the rapidly escalating cost of great musical instruments.
That puts a lot of younger or less well-known, cash-strapped players in a difficult spot.
For quite a while, banks and other financial institutions as well as museums and historical institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution have been putting the investment-quality instruments on loan to younger players whose playing deserves the instrument.
But individuals can do so too.
Take the case of the pioneering conductor Marin Alsop (below), a protégée of Leonard Bernstein who now heads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Sao Paulo State Symphony in Brazil, and who is being mentioned as a prominent candidate to follow Alan Gilbert when he steps downs from the podium of the New York Philharmonic in 2017.
When both her parents, who were distinguished professional musicians, died last year, they left behind valuable string instruments — a violin and a cello.
Alsop didn’t want to sell the instruments.
But she also didn’t want them to lie unused and defeat their original purpose.
So Alsop (below, in a photo by Gabriella Dumczek of The New York Times) decided to turn the violin and cello into living memorials by placing them on loan with players in her Baltimore orchestra -– a move that has benefitted everyone and the instruments as well.
Here is a story from The New York Times:
It gives you ideas about what might be done on the local level, where some very fine instruments – including pianos — could benefit some very young but very fine local players who otherwise couldn’t afford to have them.
Tags: Alan Gilbert, Alan Gilbert (conductor), Arts, Baltimore, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Brazil, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, conductor, Jacob Stockinger, Leonard Bernstein, Marin Alsop, Maryland, Music, Music director, New York City, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, Orchestra, Piano, principal, Sao Paulo, Smithsonian Institution, The New York Times, United States, Violin
Classical music: World-class conductors are making news with two retirements, a death and a contract renewal. Who will emerge as the new and younger star maestros? Plus, today is the last performance by the Madison Symphony Orchestra and pianist Ingrid Fliter of music by Benjamin Britten, Frederic Chopin and Robert Schumann. Read two reviews of the concert.
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ALERT: Today at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall is the last performance by the Madison Symphony Orchestra under John DeMain and pianist Ingrid Fliter (below) of the “Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge” by Benjamin Brittten, the Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor by Frederic Chopin and the Symphony No. 4 in D Minor by Robert Schumann. Here are two reviews to tempt you.
Here is a review that John W. Barker wrote for Isthmus:
http://www.isthmus.com/daily/article.php?article=44522&sid=841e6fa0653921af622026d5ee793a0f
And here is a review that Jess Courtier wrote for The Capital Times and the Wisconsin State Journal:
By Jacob Stockinger
Sometimes things just seem to happen in waves and clusters.
This past week has been a rough one for the media, for example.
There were the deaths of reporter Bob Simon (he was 73) of CBS News and “60 Minutes” and columnist David Carr (he was 58) of The New York Times.
Then there are the ongoing truth-telling problems of NBC’s top-rated anchor Brian Williams. And comedian-host Jon Stewart is leaving The Daily Show.
The same seems to go for orchestral conductors.
ITEM: Edo DeWaart will step down at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra after the 2016-17 season. It is a major loss for the orchestra that many critics say has never sounded better.
ITEM: Alan Gilbert will step down from The New York Philharmonic after only eight seasons, after the 2016-17 season. He has his reasons for leaving such a prestigious post, especially after all the praise he has earned for programming and performing during his tenure.
Here is a terrific story from NPR (National Public Radio):
And another story for the revered British magazine Gramophone:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/alan-gilbert-to-leave-the-new-york-philharmonic
ITEM: The conductor Israel Yinon – known for exploring neglected repertoire — has died at the age of 58, during a performance in Lucerne, Switzerland of Richard Strauss’ “An Alpine Symphony.”
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/conductor-israel-yinon-has-died
But there is some good news:
On the other hand, the acclaimed Yannick Nézet-Séguin -– the openly gay French-Canadian maestro — has just extended his contract with the Philadelphia Orchestra through 2022.
Here is a story:
Tags: 60 Minutes, Alan Gilbert (conductor), Arts, Asian American, Avery Fisher Hall, Benjamin Britten, Board of Directors, Bob Simon, Brian Williams, CBS, Chopin, Classical music, Compact Disc, concerto, conductor, David Carr, French-Canadian, Fundraising, gay, Gramophone, Great Britain, Ingrid Fliter, Israel Yinon, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, John W. Barker, Jon Stewart, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Lucerne, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Music director, National Public Radio, NBC, NBC-TV, New York City, New York Philharmonic, NPR, opera, Orchestra, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Robert Schumann, Switzerland, symphony, The Capital Times, The New York Times, The Wisconsin State Journal, UK, United Kingdom, Wisconsin, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Classical music: Gramophone magazine names its Best of 2014 Classical Recordings. Here it is, along with several other major compilations.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This post wraps up the holiday gift-giving season for this year.
Over the past month or so, I have offered several major roundups of the Best of 2014 classical music recordings.
The posts have included a Top 10 list from NPR or National Public Radio:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/12/11/370067981/best-classical-albums-of-2014
A list from the critics at The New York Times:
A list — really, two lists — from the prize-winning critic Alex Ross (below), who writes for The New Yorker Magazine:
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/ten-notable-performances-recordings-2014
A link from critic Jeremy Eichler at the Boston Globe:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2014/12/13/the-best-albums/6q7Tin4lPvj5RmqfCCSTFP/story.html
And a list of the classical nominations for the 57th annual Grammy Awards:
Now, as the year ends, here comes the annual compilation by the venerable Gramophone magazine out of Great Britain. Top honors go to Riccardo Chailly and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra for their cycle of orchestral works, symphonies and overtures and more, by Johannes Brahms on the Decca label.
But there is a lot more to look at and listen to, and, predictably, a lot of choices with ties to United Kingdom.
Anyway, if you still need to give a gift or maybe to redeem a gift card or spend cash you received, here is the story along with the direct link to the FREE digital magazine issue (below):
http://www.exacteditions.com/read/gramophone/recordings-of-the-year-2014-41178
Tags: Alan Gilbert (conductor), Alex Ross, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Boston Globe, cash, Chamber music, Christmas, Classical music, Compact Disc, Decca, Early music, Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Puccini, gift card, gifts, Grammy Award, Gramophone, Great Britain, Holiday, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison Opera, magazine, Mozart, Music, New York City, New York Times, NPR, opera, Orchestra, Overture, Piano, Riccardo Chailly, The New York Times, The New Yorker, United Kingdom, Violin, vocal music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Classical music: Here are the best classical recordings of 2014 from The New York Times, The New Yorker magazine and The Boston Globe as well as NPR.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This is the last weekend for holiday shipping before Christmas, and retailers expect today to be even bigger and busier than Black Friday.
But whether you go to a local brick-and-mortar store such as Barnes & Noble or use the Internet, there is still time to order and receive such items as gifts.
Plus, whether you are looking for a gift for someone else or for what to buy with that gift card or cash you receive, perhaps you will find the following lists convenient and helpful.
The three lists are compilations of the Best Classical Music Recordings of 2014, even if they appear a bit late. (I seem to recall that these lists appeared closer to Thanksgiving or Black Friday in past years, but I could be wrong.)
The first list, a long one, comes from the various critics at The New York Times:
It covers solo instruments, vocal music, operas, orchestral music, chamber music – you name it.
The second list from a critic for The Boston Globe:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2014/12/13/the-best-albums/6q7Tin4lPvj5RmqfCCSTFP/story.html
The third list comes from ace music critic and prize-winner Alex Ross (below) of The New Yorker Magazine. He names 20 different recordings along with 10 memorable live events from the concert scene in New York City.
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/ten-notable-performances-recordings-2014
The Ear finds it interesting how many agreements there are about certain composers, works and performers – such as the haunting, 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning work “Become Ocean” by the contemporary American composer John Luther Adams (below top and at the bottom in a YouTube video) and the Schubert recording by British pianist Paul Lewis (below middle) in late music by Franz Schubert or Alan Gilbert conducting the New York Philharmonic in two symphonies by Danish composer Carl Nielsen.
Here is a link to a previous Top 10 Best of 2014 list from NPR (National Public Radio), complete with CD covers and sound samples, that I posted:
Happy shopping!
And even happier listening!!
It will be interesting to see what 2015 brings.
Tags: Alan Gilbert, Alan Gilbert (conductor), Alex Ross, Arts, Bach, Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, Barnes & Noble, Baroque, Beethoven, Carl Nielsen, Cello, Chamber music, Christmas, Christmas and holiday season, Classical music, Compact Disc, Early music, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, holiday gifts, Holidays, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Luther Adams, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, MANHATTAN, Metropolitan Opera, Mozart, Music, New York, New York City, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, NPR, Orchestra, Paul Lewis, Piano, Pulitzer Prize, symphony, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The New Yorker, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Need gift suggestions? NPR names its Top 10 classical music albums of 2014. Plus, though Dec. 24 the Madison Symphony Orchestra is offering cut-rate holiday tickets for four spring concerts.
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ALERT: The Madison Symphony Orchestra has started its annual holiday cut-rate ticket sale. And you can get some great deals. Between now and Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), you can buy seats for $20 (with a value up to $44) and $45 (valued up to $88). The spring has four concerts, two of which feature piano concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach, Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt plus a concert of music by exiles from Nazi Germany in Hollywood during World War II and the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven and a violin concerto by Leonard Bernstein. For more information, visit: http://www.overturecenter.org/events/madison-symphony-orchestra/
By Jacob Stockinger
Well, today is another Shopping Day left before Christmas and other holidays.
With that in mind, The Ear usually offers lists that other media suggest about the best classical music recordings of 2014.
If you recall, I have already posed a link to the 57th annual Grammy Award nominations, which can be useful when it comes to holiday gift-giving.
Here is a link to that post:
And below is a link to the Top 10 classical albums that appeared on the appeared on the NPR (National Public Radio) blog Deceptive Cadence over the weekend. It is an eclectic list that features early music, well-known classics and new music.
You will find music by composers John Dowland, John Adams (below and at bottom in a YouTube video), John Luther Adams and Thomas Adès as well as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Jean Sibelius and Carl Nielsen.
Performers include violinist Augustin Hadelich (below), who has played twice with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and Leon Fleisher, who performed at the Wisconsin Union Theater; mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato; the New York Philharmonic under music director and conductor Alan Gilbert; and the Danish String Quartet playing works by Danish composers.
The list also shows CD covers and feature sound snippets and samples.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/12/11/370067981/best-classical-albums-of-2014
Tags: Alan Gilbert (conductor), Arts, Augustin Hadelich, Carl Nielsen, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Cello, Chamber music, Chopin, Classical music, concerto, Early music, exile, Franz Liszt, Germany, Hollywood, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Sibelius, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Dowland, John Luther Adams, Joyce DiDonato, Leon Fleisher, Leonard Bernstein, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music, Nazi, New York City, New York Philharmonic, NPR, Piano, Piano concerto, Saxophone, Thomas Ades, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Violin Concerto (Sibelius), vocal music, Wisconsin Union Theater, World War II, YouTube
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