The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Here are the classical music nominees for the 2020 Grammy Awards. They make a useful holiday gift guide and highlight the trend toward more diversity
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is Black Friday followed by Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday — all with special deals and sales.
With that in mind, here is a list of the recently announced nominees in classical music for the 2020 Grammy Awards.
Although it is a self-serving list for a competition sponsored by The Industry, it can also be good way to find holiday gifts to give to others or to receive for yourself.
The list can be useful for spotting trends and finding new releases you may not have heard of.
For example, this year seems especially good for new music or recent works and contemporary composers. You won’t find any Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky or Mahler although you will find Berlioz, Schumann, Wagner, Bruckner, Berg, Rachmaninoff and Copland.
Another favorite seems to be the rediscovery of older composers such as Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996, below) whose centennial has become an occasion for bringing his neglected works to the forefront.
You can also see that like the Oscars, the Grammys seem to be paying more attention to women composers and conductors, artists of color and crossovers or mixed and hybrid genres.
For complete lists of all 84 categories, go to this site and click on the categories that interest you: https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2020-grammy-awards-complete-nominees-list
The 62nd annual Grammy Awards will be presented on Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on CBS television.
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
- AEQUA – ANNA THORVALDSDÓTTIR
Daniel Shores, engineer; Daniel Shores, mastering engineer (International Contemporary Ensemble) - BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY NO. 9
Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) - RACHMANINOFF – HERMITAGE PIANO TRIO
Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Hermitage Piano Trio) - RILEY: SUN RINGS
Leslie Ann Jones, engineer; Robert C. Ludwig, mastering engineer (Kronos Quartet) - WOLFE: FIRE IN MY MOUTH
Bob Hanlon & Lawrence Rock, engineers; Ian Good & Lawrence Rock, mastering engineers (Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People’s Chorus Of NY City & New York Philharmonic)
- Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
- BLANTON ALSPAUGH
- Artifacts – The Music Of Michael McGlynn (Charles Bruffy & Kansas City Chorale)
• Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique; Fantaisie Sur La Tempête De Shakespeare (Andrew Davis & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
• Copland: Billy The Kid; Grohg (Leonard Slatkin & Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
• Duruflé: Complete Choral Works (Robert Simpson & Houston Chamber Choir)
• Glass: Symphony No. 5 (Julian Wachner, The Choir Of Trinity Wall Street, Trinity Youth Chorus, Downtown Voices & Novus NY)
• Sander: The Divine Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom (Peter Jermihov & PaTRAM Institute Singers)
• Smith, K.: Canticle (Craig Hella Johnson & Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble)
• Visions Take Flight (Mei-Ann Chen & ROCO) - JAMES GINSBURG (below)
- Project W – Works By Diverse Women Composers (Mei-Ann Chen and Chicago Sinfonietta)
• Silenced Voices (Black Oak Ensemble)
• 20th Century Harpsichord Concertos (Jory Vinikour, Scott Speck and Chicago Philharmonic)
• Twentieth Century Oboe Sonatas (Alex Klein and Phillip Bush)
• Winged Creatures & Other Works For Flute, Clarinet, And Orchestra (Anthony McGill, Demarre McGill, Allen Tinkham and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra) - MARINA A. LEDIN, VICTOR LEDIN
- Bates: Children Of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem (Steven Smith, Erin R. Freeman, Richmond Symphony & Chorus)
• The Orchestral Organ (Jan Kraybill)
• The Poetry Of Places (Nadia Shpachenko)
• Rachmaninoff – Hermitage Piano Trio (Hermitage Piano Trio) - MORTEN LINDBERG
- Himmelborgen (Elisabeth Holte, Kare Nordstoga & Uranienborg Vokalensemble)
• Kleiberg: Do You Believe In Heather? (Various Artists)
• Ljos (Fauna Vokalkvintett)
• LUX (Anita Brevik, Trondheimsolistene & Nidarosdomens Jentekor)
• Trachea (Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl & Schola Cantorum)
• Veneliti (Hakon Daniel Nystedt & Oslo Kammerkor) - DIRK SOBOTKA
- Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
75. Best Orchestral Performance Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.
- BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY NO. 9
Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) - COPLAND: BILLY THE KID; GROHG
Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra) - NORMAN: SUSTAIN
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic) - TRANSATLANTIC
Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) - WEINBERG: SYMPHONIES NOS. 2 and 21
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, conductor (City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Kremerata Baltica)
- Best Opera Recording
Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.
- BENJAMIN: LESSONS IN LOVE & VIOLENCE
George Benjamin, conductor; Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Peter Hoare & Gyula Orendt; James Whitbourn, producer (Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House) - BERG: WOZZECK
Marc Albrecht, conductor; Christopher Maltman & Eva-Maria Westbroek; François Roussillon, producer (Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; Chorus Of Dutch National Opera) - CHARPENTIER: LES ARTS FLORISSANTS; LES PLAISIRS DE VERSAILLES
Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Jesse Blumberg, Teresa Wakim & Virginia Warnken; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble; Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble) - PICKER: FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Gil Rose, conductor; John Brancy, Andrew Craig Brown, Gabriel Preisser, Krista River & Edwin Vega; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Boston Children’s Chorus) - WAGNER: LOHENGRIN
Christian Thielemann, conductor; Piotr Beczała, Anja Harteros, Tomasz Konieczny, Waltraud Meier & Georg Zeppenfeld; Eckhard Glauche, producer (Festspielorchester Bayreuth; Festspielchor Bayreuth)
- Best Choral Performance
Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
- BOYLE: VOYAGES
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing) - DURUFLÉ: COMPLETE CHORAL WORKS
Robert Simpson, conductor (Ken Cowan; Houston Chamber Choir) - THE HOPE OF LOVING
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Conspirare) - SANDER: THE DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Peter Jermihov, conductor (Evan Bravos, Vadim Gan, Kevin Keys, Glenn Miller & Daniel Shirley; PaTRAM Institute Singers) - SMITH, K.: THE ARC IN THE SKY
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (twenty-four or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
- CERRONE: THE PIECES THAT FALL TO EARTH
Christopher Rountree and Wild Up - FREEDOM & FAITH
PUBLIQuartet - PERPETULUM
Third Coast Percussion - RACHMANINOFF – HERMITAGE PIANO TRIO
Hermitage Piano Trio - SHAW: ORANGE
Attacca Quartet
79. Best Classical Instrumental Solo Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
- THE BERLIN RECITAL
Yuja Wang - HIGDON: HARP CONCERTO
Yolanda Kondonassis; Ward Stare, conductor (The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) - MARSALIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO; FIDDLE DANCE SUITE
Nicola Benedetti; Cristian Măcelaru, conductor (Philadelphia Orchestra) - THE ORCHESTRAL ORGAN
Jan Kraybill - TORKE: SKY, CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN
Tessa Lark; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)
80. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with 51% or more playing time of new material.
- THE EDGE OF SILENCE – WORKS FOR VOICE BY GYÖRGY KURTÁG
Susan Narucki (Donald Berman, Curtis Macomber, Kathryn Schulmeister & Nicholas Tolle) - HIMMELSMUSIK
Philippe Jaroussky & Céline Scheen; Christina Pluhar, conductor; L’Arpeggiata, ensemble (Jesús Rodil & Dingle Yandell) - SCHUMANN: LIEDERKREIS OP. 24, KERNER-LIEDER OP. 35
Matthias Goerne; Leif Ove Andsnes, accompanist - SONGPLAY
Joyce DiDonato; Chuck Israels, Jimmy Madison, Charlie Porter and Craig Terry, accompanists (Steve Barnett and Lautaro Greco) - A TE, O CARA
Stephen Costello; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra)
- Best Classical Compendium
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 51% playing time of the album, if other than the artist.
- AMERICAN ORIGINALS 1918
John Morris Russell, conductor; Elaine Martone, producer - LESHNOFF: SYMPHONY NO. 4 ‘HEICHALOS’; GUITAR CONCERTO; STARBURST
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer - MELTZER: SONGS AND STRUCTURES
Paul Appleby & Natalia Katyukova; Silas Brown & Harold Meltzer, producers - THE POETRY OF PLACES
Nadia Shpachenko; Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin, producers - SAARIAHO: TRUE FIRE; TRANS; CIEL D’HIVER
Hannu Lintu, conductor; Laura Heikinheimo, producer
- Best Contemporary Classical Composition
A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
- BERMEL: MIGRATION SERIES FOR JAZZ ENSEMBLE & ORCHESTRA
Derek Bermel, composer (Derek Bermel, Ted Nash, David Alan Miller, Juilliard Jazz Orchestra & Albany Symphony Orchestra) - HIGDON: HARP CONCERTO
Jennifer Higdon, composer (Yolanda Kondonassis, Ward Stare & The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) - MARSALIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR
Wynton Marsalis, composer (Nicola Benedetti, Cristian Măcelaru & Philadelphia Orchestra) - NORMAN: SUSTAIN
Andrew Norman, composer (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic) - SHAW: ORANGE
Caroline Shaw, composer (Attacca Quartet) - WOLFE: FIRE IN MY MOUTH
Julia Wolfe, composer (Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People’s Chorus Of NY City & New York Philharmonic)
Tags: #20thCentury, #AaronCopland, #AlbanBerg, #AlbanySymphony, #AmericanJazz, #AndrewDavis, #AnnaThorvaldsdottir, #AntonBruckner, #AntoninDvorak, #ArtistsofColor, #AttaccaQuartet, #BaroqueMusic, #BerlinGermany, #BillytheKid, #BlackFriday, #BlackOakEnsemble, #BlantonAlspaugh, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonEarlyMusicFestival, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoPhilharmonic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianThielemann, #CincinnatiPops, #CincinnatiSymphonyOrchetsra, #CityofBirminghamOrchestra, #ClarinetConcerto, #ClassicalGuitar, #ContemporaryComposers, #CyberMonday, #DerekBermel, #DetroitSymphony, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FluteConcerto, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #GidonKremer, #GrammyAwards, #GuitarConcerto, #GustavMahler, #GustavoDudamel, #HectorBerlioz, #HolidayGiftGuide, #HybridGenre, #InstrumentalMusic, #JamesGinsburg, #JappVanSweden, #JenniferHigdon, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JoyceDiDonato, #JulianWachner, #JuliaWolfe, #KaijaSaariaho, #KremerataBaltica, #KronosQuartet, #LeifOveAndsnes, #LeonardSlatkin, #LesArtsFlorissants, #LivingComposers, #LosAngeles, #LouisLangree, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #ManfredHoneck, #Marc-AntoineCharpentier, #MatthiasGoerner, #MauriceDuruflé, #MichaelTorke, #MieczyslawWeinberg, #MirgaGražinytė-Tyla, #MixedGenre, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NicolaBenedetti, #OboeConcerto, #OboeSonata, #OrchestralMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PhilipGlass, #PianoTrio, #PittsburghSymphony, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RichardWagner, #RobertSchumann, #RochesterPhilharmonic, #RoyalOperaHouse, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SmallBusinessSaturday, #SoundEngineer, #StaplesCenter, #StephenCostello, #StringQuartet, #SymphonicMusic, #TerryRiley, #TobiasPicker, #TorontoSymphonyOrchestra, #ViolinConcerto, #VocalMusic, #WilliamShakespeare, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WyntonMarsalis, #YolandaKondonassis, #YujaWang, 20th-century, Aaron Copland, Alban Berg, Albany Symphony, American, Andrew Davis, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, annual, Anton Bruckner, Antonín Dvořák, artists of color, Attacca Quartet, award, Bach, Baroque music, Beethoven, Berg, Berlin, Berlioz, best, Billy the Kid, black, Black Friday, Black Oak Ensemble, Blanton Alspaugh, blog, Boston Early Music Festival, Brahms, Broadcast, Bruckner, Business, buying, California, canticle, Caroline Shaw, category, CBS, CBS-TV, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, choral music, chorus, Christian Thielemann, Cincinnati Pops, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, clarinet, Classical music, classicalmusic, Competition, composer, concerto, contemporary composers, Copland, crossover, cyber, Cyber-Monday, dance, deal, Derek Bermel, Detroit, Detroit Symphony, divine, Dvorak, Early music, Earth, edge, engineer, ensemble, Facebook, faith, fiddle, fire, flute, forefront, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, freedom, genre, Germany, Gidon Kremer, give, good, Grammy Awards, Grammys, guide, guitar, Gustav Mahler, Gustavo Dudamel, harp, harpsichord, Haydn, Hector Berlioz, Higdon, Holiday, holiday gift guide, hope, hybrid genre, industry, instrumental, James Ginsburg, Japp Van Sweden, Jazz, Jennifer Higdon, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Joyce DiDonato, Julia Wolfe, Julian Wachner, Kaija Saariaho, Kremerata Baltica, Kronos Quartet, Kurtag, Leif Ove Andsnes, Leonard Slatkin, Les Arts Florissants, lessons, like, link, living, living composers, Lohengrin, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Louis Langrée, Love, loving, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mahler, Manfred Honeck, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Matthias Goerner, Maurice Durufle, Michael Torke, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, mixed, mixed genre, mouth, Mozart, neglected, new, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, Nicola Benedetti, nomination, nominee, Oboe, oboe sonata, occasion, opera, orange, Orchestra, orchestral, organ, original, Oscars, percussion, performance, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, places, Poetry, pops, post, posting, producer, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Ralph Vaughan Williams, receive, recital, rediscovery, release, Retail, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera House, sale, Schubert, Schumann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, Shakespeare, share, Shopping, silence, singer, site, sky, small, solo, Sonata, song, special, Staples Center, Stephen Costello, String quartet, Suite, sun, symphonic music, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, Tchakovsky, Television, Terry Riley, Tobias Picker, Torke, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, trend, Trinity, TV, Versailles, violence, Violin concerto, violinist, vision, vocal music, voices, voyage, Wagner, Wang, Weinberg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, Wozzeck, Wynton Marsalis, year, Yolanda Kondonassis, young people, Yuja Wang
Classical music: Renowned Czech “pianist’s pianist” Ivan Moravec is dead at 84.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The renowned Czech pianist Ivan Moravec (below) — known as “a pianist’s pianist” — died Monday at the age of 84. He died in Prague of complications from pneumonia.
Moravec was known especially for his interpretations of Chopin, Debussy, Brahms and especially Mozart – his playing of a Mozart piano concerto was heard on the soundtrack of the popular and Academy Award-winning film “Amadeus,” which you can hear in a YouTube video at the bottom. He also played composers from his native land including Antonin Dvorak, Bedrich Smetana and Leos Janacek.
Here are some obituaries:
From Gramophone magazine:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/pianist-ivan-moravec-has-died
From Classical Music magazine:
http://www.classicalmusicmagazine.org/2015/07/ivan-moravec-9-november-1930-8210-27-july-2015/
From Voy Forums with mentions of awards:
http://www.voy.com/221392/165442.html
From critic Norman Lebrecht‘s blog Slipped Disc:
http://slippedisc.com/2015/07/a-great-pianist-has-died/
Tags: "Amadeus", Academy Award, Arts, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Bedřich Smetana, Brahms, Chamber music, Classical music, Claude Debussy, Cleveland Orchestra, Compact Disc, concerto, Connoisseur Society, Czech Republic, Dvorak, film, Frédéric Chopin, Gramophone (magazine), Ivan Moravec, Jacob Stockinger, Janacek, Johannes Brahms, Madison, Mozart, Music, Nonesuch, Orchestra, Oscars, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, pneumonia, Prague, Préludes (Debussy), Smetana, Supraphone, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Violinist Daniel Hope explores the music created by composers who emigrated from Nazi Europe to Hollywood and wrote film scores. He performs that music with the Madison Symphony Orchestra this weekend.
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By Jacob Stockinger
British violinist Daniel Hope (below) is a man on a mission.
Hope wants to foster the public’s appreciation of the composers who had to flee from Nazi Europe during World War II and who ended up exiled in Hollywood, where they composed film scores. They ended up creating the “Hollywood sound” and often won Oscars or Academy Awards, but recognition as serious concert composers usually eluded them.
Until recently.
Lately, a rediscovery of their merits has been taking place, and Hope will explore that legacy with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and its longtime music director and conductor John DeMain.
Performances are in Overture Hall on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
The program for “Composers in Exile: Creating the Hollywood Sound” includes the Violin Concerto and Suite from “Captain Blood” by Erich Wolfgang Korngold; the Sinfonietta for Strings and Tympani, and the score to “Taras Bulba” by Franz Waxman, who also founded the Los Angeles Music Festival in 1947; and the “Theme, Variations and Finale” as well as “The Parade of the Charioteers” and the “Love Theme” from “Ben-Hur” and the “Love Theme” from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” by Miklos Rozsa.
Tickets are $16-$84 plus fees for the Overture Center.
For program, information about tickets and links to audio samples, visit: http://madisonsymphony.org/hope
For more about the music, here are the program notes by MSO trombonist Michael Allsen who also teaches at the UW-Whitewater:
http://facstaff.uww.edu/allsenj/MSO/NOTES/1415/6.Mar15.html
The award-winning Daniel Hope, who is busy touring and recording, graciously took time to answer a Q&A for The Ear:
How would you compare in seriousness and quality these “exiled in Hollywood” composers and their music to other well-known 20th-century composers and mainstream modern classical music?
I don’t make comparisons in music. The composers who escaped the Nazis found themselves for the most part in a very different set of circumstances than those for which they were trained. They were incredibly talented and had to adapt quickly.
I think the more interesting question is what would have happened to 20th-century music if countless musicians and composers had not been forced to leave Europe. (Below is a photo of Igor Stravinsky, on the left, and Franz Waxman in Los Angeles, where Waxman founded a music festival in 1947.) The world of music would be a very different place indeed.
Why do you think these composers and this music were kept out of the concert hall for so long? What traits most mark each composer’s style?
In those days, even writing one number for a movie would almost certainly have ruined your reputation as a “serious composer.” It was seen as selling out. The fact that many of these composers were trying to survive, to support their families and to get their relatives out of Europe, was often forgotten — especially after World War II.
But they were also phenomenally talented at what they did. As the son of Miklos Rozsa (below) wrote to me recently, one day these composers may actually be forgiven for writing film music.
In the case of Korngold (below), he was one of the first to really introduce a leitmotif, a recurring theme that followed the character throughout the film. Essentially an operatic composer, Korngold described each film for which he scored as “an opera without singing,” his music no longer passively accompanying the images but actively engaging in dialogue, emotion and presentation. I believe both Korngold and Max Steiner totally changed American film music, also by adding a fin-de-siècle European symphonic grandeur.
How much of their current appeal is cultural interest, human interest or personal stories, or the quality of the music itself?
I think it’s all of the above. But if you look at the symphonic works of some of the composers, Korngold’s and Rosza’s Violin Concertos or Waxman’s oratorio “The Song of Terezin,” you will find music of the highest quality. And let’s not forget, it was Mahler and Richard Strauss who forecast a great future for the young Korngold. (You can hear the lovely second movement of Korngold’s Violin Concerto performed by Hilary Hahn in a popular YouTube video at the bottom.)
What factors explain their revival as concert music? How did you rediscover them and become interested in them? Has a loosening of formal definitions of classical genres helped their revival?
I think both the role and the appeal of film music have changed in today’s society. I had long been aware of this group of émigré musicians.
Next to music, I’ve always had a passion for film, most of all for the movies of “vintage Hollywood,” for me the period beginning with the epic cinematic storytelling of the 1930s. As a young violinist, I was struck as much by the sound of the violin in these movies of the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. I especially took note of the violinists playing this glorious mood music. To a young boy in London, names like Toscha Seidel, Felix Slatkin, Eudice Shapiro and Louis Kaufman sounded as exotic as the films they embellished.
But then writing for the studio musicians of prewar and postwar Hollywood was a group of astonishing composers, many of whom had escaped the Nazis, and who helped shape what was to become the Hollywood Sound. (Below, y0u can hear excerpts from a sampler from the Deutsche Grammophon CD on which Daniel Hope explores the Hollywood Sound.)
You have recorded this music and performed it many times elsewhere. How do audiences typically respond to it?
Audiences are generally extremely enthusiastic about the music. And many of them are moved or intrigued by the stories of these composers.
Tags: Academy Award, Academy Awards, Alfred Hitchcock, Arts, Ben-Hur, British, choral music, Classical music, concerto, Daniel Hope, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Europe, Film score, Franz Waxman, Hollywood, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, leitmotif, London, Los Angeles, Mahler, Max Steiner, Miklos Rozsa, movie music, Music, Nazi, oratorio, Orchestra, Oscar, Oscars, Overture Center, Richard Strauss, Sinfonietta, Stravinsky, strings, Terezin, tympani, Violin, World War II, YouTube
Classical music: Play the expert insider. Listen to excerpts and then vote in the BBC Music Magazine Awards for 2015.
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By Jacob Stockinger
It is the season of entertainment awards, what with the Golden Globes, the Oscars or Academy Awards, and the Grammys among others.
Those awards are given out by privileged insiders, who work inside the various industries.
But when it comes to classical music, you — and the ordinary listeners or the “common listener,” as writer Virginia Woolf might term it — can also vote in the BBC Music Magazine Awards for 2015.
So here is your chance to play the expert insider.
True, only United Kingdom residents can win prizes. But anyone can listen to the 1,200 entries and vote for the 200 ultimate winners.
Here is a link to the introductory story:
http://www.classical-music.com/news/vote-bbc-music-magazine-awards-2015
And here is a link to the various excerpts:
http://www.classical-music.com/awards
Tags: Academy Award, Academy Awards, Arts, Baroque, BBC, BBC Music Magazine, Chamber music, Classical music, Common Reader, Compact Disc, Early music, George Frideric Handel, Golden Globe Award, Golden Globes, Grammy Award, Grammys, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart, Music, opera, Orchestra, Oscars, Piano, Violin, Virginia Woolf, vocal music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Classical music: Oscar got it wrong for the Best Picture in 2006, but that Academy Awards mistake has been corrected and now, for a couple of months, you can hear the new opera version of “Brokeback Mountain” for FREE.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Tomorrow, on Sunday night, March 2, the annual Oscars, the 86th annual Academy Awards, will be given out starting at 6 p.m. CST on ABC-TV, which will also stream the awards broadcast live.
The Ear hopes that this time Oscar gets it right.
I recall one memorable year when they got it wrong.
That was in 2006 at the 78th annual Academy Awards.
Even the late, great and popular film critic Roger Ebert (below, in a photo by Vince Bucci), whose choices I usually admired and concurred with, got it wrong.
In 2006, two of the top contenders for Best Film were “Crash” and the heavily favored ‘Brokeback Mountain.”
“Crash” dealt with race and racial tensions in Los Angeles, and focused in interrelated stories that were well told and well acted by some fine names, including Thandie Newton (below left), Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon (below right) and Don Cheadle.
“Brokeback Mountain,” based on the short story by Annie Proulx that was first published in The New Yorker magazine, dealt with two young modern-day cowboys in Montana struggling to deal with and acknowledge their gay identity and their love for each other.
Late in the game, Roger Ebert came out in favor of “Crash” as the most deserving film to receive the Best Picture award. His influence may well have set the upset in motion.
But Ebert was wrong.
“Brokeback” deserved the honor. It was a moving film with great music and great cinematography. Most of all, its story and character study were very poignant and bittersweet, even heartbreaking. And it was masterfully acted by Jake Gyllenhaal (below left) and by the late Heath Ledger (below right).
Not that Crash wasn’t a fine film. It was. But race had been dealt with very well in a many other films over the years.
On the other hand, “Brokeback Mountain,” directed by the incomparable and eclectic Ang Lee, was a break-though work of art, a pioneering achievement that proved nothing less than revolutionary in the way it introduced gay subject matter and characters into mainstream Hollywood cinema in a sympathetic way.
And the current move of public opinion towards approving of marriage equality – or gay marriage or same-sex marriage – just goes to prove the point.
“Brokeback” did win three Oscars – but NOT the one for Best Picture, which went instead to “Crash,” a good movie but not a better movie than “Brokeback.”
But American composer Charles Wuorinen also found something inspiring in the story of two lonesome gay cowboys up on an isolated Montana mountain. So he asked the author to rework the story into an opera libretto while he went to work composing the music. (Below, in the title roles, are Tom Randle, left, and Daniel Okulitch, right):
The results are an opera based on the revised short story.
How good are the results?
Here is a balanced and insightful review of the opera’s world premiere at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain, from senior music critic Anthony Tommasini for The New York Times, who rightly thinks a love story calls for a little more singing and melody. He seems to be saying: Right story, wrong composer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/arts/music/lyrical-cowboys-in-love-on-stage.html?_r=0
And here is an overview, with a link to a streaming site for the opera, from the famed radio station in New York City, WQXR-FM:
http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/brokeback-mountain-opera-critics-weigh/
But more to the point, you can judge for yourself. You can now hear the opera FREE via streaming for another 60 days or so thanks to Medici TV. (You can get a taste in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Here is link to the story on NPR’s “Morning Edition” that features an interview with Proulx (below) and also give some background as well as a link to the opera broadcast on Medici.
Here is a link to the NPR story:
So let’s hope The Academy gets the right movies for the right awards Sunday night.
Here is a link to much more information about the Oscars.
And you can return here tomorrow where you will find more Oscar-related stories about music top serve as background before you tune into the always endless live broadcast with this years; host, Ellen DeGeneres –- an out lesbian whose appearance attests to the prescience of “Brokeback Mountain.”
Tags: ABC-TV, Academy Award, Annie Proulx, Arts, Brokeback Mountain, Charles Wuorinen, Classical music, Daniel Okulitch, Heath Ledger, Hollywood, Jacob Stockinger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Madison, Madrid, Medeci.tv, Music, New York City, New York Times, New Yorker, NPR, opera, Oscars, Roger Ebert, Spain, Teatro Real, YouTube
Classical music: Chamber music group Con Vivo! celebrates the anniversaries of maestro John DeMain (20 years) and composer Richard Wagner (200 years) in the opening concert of its 12th season this Friday night. Plus, violinist sisters Alice and Eleanor Bartsch discuss their upcoming concert Thursday morning on WORT FM.
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ALERT: Classical radio host and blog friend Rich Samuels writes: This Thursday morning, beginning at 7:08 a.m., I’ll be airing on my WORT 89.9 FM show an interview I recently recorded with sister UW violinists Alice and Eleanor Bartsch (below in a photo by Katrin Talbot) regarding their Friday night concert in Overture Hall with Madison Symphony Orchestra organist Samuel Hutchison. They will talk about the Friday evening program and give us brief samples of the Vivaldi and Bach they’ll be playing. They also tell us about how they are planning for careers in a music business that is evolving in challenging ways seemingly by the day. MSO concertgoers will recognize the Bartsch sisters as members of the MSO’s first violin section. Alice is a UW Madison senior; Eleanor is studying for a master’s degree in performance at the UW School of Music as well as for an MBA at the School of Business.
By Jacob Stockinger
con vivo! … music with life (the core musicians are pictured below) begins its 12th season of chamber music with a concert entitled “Baker’s Dozen” on this Friday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., across from Camp Randall.
The performance will feature the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director John DeMain (below, in a photo by Prasad) conducting chamber music by Richard Wagner and Mozart.
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of opera composer Richard Wagner (below), the chamber music gem “Siegfried Idyll” in its original version will be performed.
That will be followed by the piece that had a starring role in the movie “Amadeus,” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s masterpiece the “Gran Partita Serenade for Winds.” (Hear the third movement, the heartbreaking Adagio, in a YouTube video with still photos from the Oscar-winning movie “Amadeus” at the bottom.)
“We are very excited to be a part of Maestro DeMain’s 20th year in Madison as he returns to con vivo! to conduct our biggest production ever!
“Tickets can be purchased at the door for $18 for adults and $15 for seniors and students. Audience members are invited to join con vivo! musicians after the concert for a free reception to discuss this chamber music literature and to hear about their Carnegie Hall debut this past December.
Artistic Director Robert Taylor, in remarking about the concert, said:
“With 20 musicians performing, this concert promises to be a spectacular event in the history of con vivo! We are delighted to have Maestro DeMain return after his rendition of Igor Stravinsky’s “A Soldier’s Tale” with us two seasons ago. We continue the tradition of bringing to our audience works that are familiar and some that are new in perhaps a not so familiar format. So come join us for our post-Carnegie Hall debut season.”
con vivo! is a professional chamber music ensemble comprised of Madison area musicians assembled from the ranks of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and various other performing groups familiar to Madison audiences.
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