“At the turn of the 20th century, the sociologist, historian and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois imagined a world that defied the realities of Jim Crow America,” states musician Lara Downes on Thursday’s (6/16) National Public Radio. “Sixty years later, the composer Margaret Bonds took inspiration from his words to write a piece of music full of pure passion and soaring beauty, even as violence raged and fires burned across America, as the civil rights movement fought on for the promise of those same freedoms, still unattained. This Juneteenth … I offer you a collection of music that insists on the promise of freedom, however long in coming. Music that counters the shrieking dissonance of conflict with the radiant warmth of its harmonies, that offers us comfort in our sorrow and sustenance in our struggle…. Music that brings us hope and faith and even joy, urging us to stand and fight another day, reminding us that what we are celebrating on this holiday is our freedom to believe, even in the hardest of times.” In addition to Bonds’s score, Downes’s playlist includes works by Carlos Simon, Davonté Tines, Rhiannon Giddens, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, and others.
Author: Ginger Dolden
New York Philharmonic names Gary Ginstling to succeed Deborah Borda as president and CEO in 2023
“Gary Ginstling, the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, will next year replace Deborah Borda, a revered, dynamic figure at the Philharmonic, as its president and chief executive,” writes Javier C. Hernández in Friday’s (6/17) New York Times. “Ginstling, who will join the Philharmonic this fall as executive director before succeeding Borda next year, said he wanted to seize on the momentum of the Geffen Hall renovation…. Ginstling, 56, will take the reins from Borda, 72, who led the Philharmonic in the 1990s and returned in 2017 to shepherd the long-delayed renovation of Geffen Hall. The return of Borda, one of the nation’s most successful arts administrators, who in the interim helped transform the Los Angeles Philharmonic into one of the country’s premier ensembles … was considered a coup for the orchestra … Borda said that with the hall reopening and the orchestra on firmer financial footing after the long pandemic shutdown, she felt it was time to step aside. She will leave her post on June 30, 2023, but stay on as an adviser … Ginstling, a clarinetist who has degrees from Yale, Juilliard and the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, said he would continue the Philharmonic’s efforts to present a diverse roster of composers and conductors.” Ginstling is a member of the League of American Orchestras’ board of directors.
Fort Collins Symphony to perform free summer community concerts
On June 18, Colorado’s Fort Collins Symphony will perform the first of three free pop-up concerts in outdoor venues in Loveland and Fort Collins. The June 18 concert will take place at Chapungu Sculpture Park in Loveland, a 26-acre natural and landscaped garden setting displaying stone sculptures by Zimbabwean artisans. The Fort Collins Symphony and Nat Wickam Jazz Quartet will perform jazz classics and standards from the American Songbook, including “I Mean You” by Thelonious Monk, “It’s You Or No One” recorded by Dexter Gordon, “Beatrice” by Sam Rivers, and “In Your Own Sweet Way” by Dave Brubeck. Details of additional concerts this summer will be announced later.
Israel Integrative Orchestra to perform works by special-needs composers
“It’s always a special evening when the Israel Integrative Orchestra, a group which includes musicians with and without special needs, performs,” writes Hannah Brown in Monday’s (6/13) Jerusalem Post. “The group will hold its third annual concert on June 14 … The concert is free … Launched three years ago, the Israel Integrative Orchestra was created with the goal of making space for people with disabilities to express themselves musically as an inclusive part of Jerusalem’s vibrant music scene, while providing an opportunity for them to train with professional musicians. This year’s concert will feature two pieces by musicians with special needs, who were inspired to compose through their work with the orchestra … The orchestra was created through a partnership between SHEKEL, an organization for inclusion of people with disabilities in the community, and the Yitzhak Navon Community Unit of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, with the support of the Perach scholarship project and the American Center of the United States Embassy. It comprises 40 musicians and vocalists … For many of those with special needs, the orchestra has provided a stimulating environment in which to develop their abilities. Several students have begun composing music, as well as performing it.”
Simon Rattle on his final season at the helm of the London Symphony Orchestra
“Conductor Simon Rattle… has been at the top of his game for decades, having been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 16 years and music director of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) since 2017,” writes Ivan Hewett in Wednesday’s (6/15) Daily Telegraph (London). “UK audiences have only one more season to enjoy Rattle’s dynamic presence on the [LSO] podium. What have been his priorities in putting together this final season? ‘The pleasure principle,’ he says simply. ‘There are so many things we’ve wanted to do these past two years, but the pandemic made it impossible. Big, ambitious things like the Brahms Requiem and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, two of the strangest and most wonderful religious works ever composed. We’re doing a complete performance of Janácek’s opera ‘Katya Kabanova,’ and eventually we aim to perform and record all of Janácek’s operas.’ The most spectacular of these big-scale concerts takes place next week when the LSO will be joined by musicians from the Guildhall School of Music and the Music Academy of the West, in Santa Barbara [CA], for a concert in St. Paul’s Cathedral…. As for the… issue of diversifying classical music, Rattle welcomes it … ‘It’s all a sign of a swing of the cultural pendulum, which had to happen. And we should embrace it.’ ”
Dallas radio station won’t broadcast Cliburn competition finals due to disagreement with Fort Worth musicians; free livestreams to continue
“WRR-FM (101.1), Dallas’ classical radio station, will not broadcast the finals of the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition … in Fort Worth this week, barring some last-minute resolution,” writes Tim Diovanni in Tuesday’s (6/14) Dallas Morning News. “The station has broadcast the final two Cliburn concerts and the awards ceremony since 2009. It’s due to a conflict over pay between the Cliburn and the local chapter of the American Federation of Musicians. The union represents the musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, which is performing concertos with Cliburn competitors in the semifinal and final rounds…. The Cliburn and the union negotiated an agreement last week that covered national and local radio broadcasts as well as livestreams. Jacques Marquis, president and CEO of the Cliburn, said the union rates for the livestreams were higher than anticipated. The Cliburn then asked the union for a new clause specifically for the WRR broadcasts at a lower rate. The union denied the request because it had already agreed on a contract…. Stewart Williams, president of the local American Federation of Musicians chapter, said the broadcast rate is about the same as it was at the 2017 Cliburn. But this year’s Cliburn has added a third concerto … to the traditional two in the finals.” The Cliburn performances will be livestreamed for free.
San Diego Symphony’s Rady Shell sails into its second summer
“Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Stewart Copeland happily began singing the praises of the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park even before he first performed there last summer with the San Diego Symphony,” writes George Varga in Sunday’s (6/12) San Diego Union-Tribune. “Similar sentiments were voiced from the stage of The Shell … by … other artists who performed there during last year’s opening season…. The Shell is now gearing up for its second summer season. The lineup features Rock & Roll Hall of Famers (Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, the Beach Boys) and Broadway stars (Bernadette Peters, Megan Hilty, San Diego’s Christian Hoff). It also includes R&B and hip-hop greats (Common, Jennifer Hudson, Kool & The Gang) and younger artists (experimental future bass maverick Flume, the jazz-funk jam band Lettuce, Swedish electro-pop group Little Dragon), along with … jazz luminaries … Lea Slusher, the symphony’s vice president for artistic administration and audience development … said, ‘‘One of our main goals last summer is that we wanted every artist we could get to play The Shell—with or without the orchestra—so that the artists would think, ‘I want to come back here.’ We want our audiences to react the same way.’ ”
New Jersey Symphony wraps up season with two world premieres and more
“The New Jersey Symphony’s 99th season came to a close Sunday afternoon with a rousing and eclectic concert,” writes James C. Taylor in Monday’s (6/13) Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ). “The program at New Jersey Performing Arts Center featured two world premieres commissioned by the orchestra, plus two American-themed works … The concert opened with the premiere of ‘We Shall Not Be Moved: Symphonic Scenes and Samples’ by Daniel Bernard Roumain, the symphony’s Resident Artistic Catalyst…. [Music Director Xian] Zhang and the orchestra gave the score both a sweeping sense of drama and a healthy dose of soul…. [For] the next premiere, … ‘Various: Surreal Sketches for Horn, Jazz Trio and Orchestra’… principal horn player Chris Komer was the soloist and he also came up with the idea[of] four different composers all riffing on [artist Salvador] Dalí and surrealism.” The composers were Vivian Li, Christian McBride, Paquito D’Rivera, and Gary Morgan. “After intermission, it was time for ‘The American Rhapsody,’ a multi-media work featuring a spoken word tribute of sorts to George Washington, with music by Samuel Coleridge Taylor. This 2019 mash-up is the creation of Aaron Dworkin, who performed the spoken part on Sunday, while Zhang led the orchestra through … [Coleridge Taylor’s] ‘Symphonic Variations on an African Air.’ ” Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” concluded the concert.
Detroit Symphony performs in Chandler Park and Southwest Detroit as part of Neighborhood Initiative
As part of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Neighborhood Initiative, the DSO is presenting four concerts in June and July, in collaboration with organizations and community members in the Detroit neighborhoods of Chandler Park and Southwest Detroit. The series launched on June 11 at Chandler Park with a family-friendly concert of jazz, Motown, and Gospel music, in partnership with the Chandler Park Conservancy; musicians from the DSO, the Gregory Walker Jazz Quartet, and the Testimony Sings! vocal ensemble were among the performers. Additional events are planned on July 9 at Clark Park Stage, July 16 during the second annual Freedom! Community Arts and Music Festival in Chandler Park, and July 30 at Northwest Goldberg Cares Spotlight Park.
Composer Max Richter on his love-hate relationship with Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”
“I fell in love with Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons when I was very young,” writes composer Max Richter in Friday’s (6/10) Guardian (U.K.). “As an adult, I heard the music relentlessly on TV adverts, jingles and on-hold music. I grew to hate it. In a way, I stopped being able to hear it as music at all. I needed to resolve the love/hate relationship I had with the work … I saw there was a natural meeting point between his baroque language and my own….. The result, 2012’s Recomposed, succeeded in letting me encounter The Four Seasons afresh … However, it wasn’t quite the record I had originally envisaged…. There is something special about the textures and sonorities that period instruments bring to Vivaldi’s score, and I continued to think about what Recomposed would sound like played on the instruments of Vivaldi’s time. I felt there was another journey I wanted to make through this material, and so I decided to rerecord Recomposed…. Seeing as we were going back to period instruments, I decided to use a vintage synthesiser, too, a Moog from the early 1970s … With the brilliant soloist Elena Urioste and musicians from Chineke! Orchestra, it truly felt like a new journey, like seeing a sculpture from a different angle.”