“In 1570, Yanga, an enslaved African and rumored royal descendant, led a slave revolt and formed a colony with followers in the mountains near Veracruz, Mexico,” writes Tim Diovanni in Wednesday’s (6/8) Dallas Morning News. “This little-known story is the subject of an exhibit … now on display at the African American Museum of Dallas. Complementing the exhibit, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra presented a concert Tuesday night … that explored connections between African and Latin American music. Featured guest artists were the Mexican-based Tambuco Percussion Ensemble…. Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz’s Yanga, for choir, percussion quartet and orchestra, … pays tribute to the eponym’s revolutionary spirit. It also weaves in a chant from the Congo. In a spoken introduction, Ortiz called the work ‘a periphrasis’ of a future opera…. The [17-minute work] features energetic Latin rhythms, with prominent brass and percussion…. The chorus often interlocks rhythmically with the percussion and orchestra, but also shares reflective passages…. Led by assistant conductor Maurice Cohn, … the DSO provided crisp rhythms and vibrant orchestral colors.” Also on the program were Tambuco member Alfredo Bringas’s percussion arrangement of Barranco, featuring traditional Afro-Peruvian music, Ginastera’s Estancia, Duke Ellington’s Solitude, and Silvestre Revueltas’s Sensemayá.
Author: Jennifer Melick
Jennifer Melick, Symphony magazine’s former longtime managing editor, is a freelance journalist based in Detroit.
Robert Spano on closing out tenure as Atlanta Symphony’s music director with Mahler 3
Wednesday’s (6/8) WABE radio (Atlanta) includes excerpts from Robert Spano’s recent interview with program host Lois Reitzes; Spano will conduct his final Atlanta Symphony performances as music director this weekend. Spano: “It’s four years ago now that I announced my departure…. I immediately knew … I wanted to say ‘auf Wiedersehen’ with Mahler’s Third Symphony, and it was just an intuitive leap on my part…. I realize what a perfect vehicle the symphony is for me to express my gratitude and my joy and my flood of memories of all the beauty we’ve been able to create here. The symphony is a real celebration of life…. I think that it’s so interesting that we talk about ‘masterpieces.’ … We have a core repertoire. And that is, on one hand, true, but on the other hand, none of that music is alive unless we re-engage it…. It is a fresh experience every time we perform a Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony or a Brahms’ First Symphony. That music is vital and alive, and so our tradition is really one that depends on our continual creative engagement…. Working with living composers fuels and feeds and informs our relationship to the music of the past in wonderful ways.”
Venice Symphony looks to expand musical styles and programs in coming season
“Music Director Troy Quinn and the musicians of the Venice Symphony learned some lessons this past season as they returned to live performances after offering prerecorded programs during the height of the coronavirus pandemic,” writes Jay Handelman in last Wednesday’s (6/1) Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL). “ ‘This is our life energy, to have audience response, not just us making music in the hall,’ Quinn said. ‘It put everything in perspective for us not take this incredible connection between audience and musicians for granted.’… The 2021-22 season that recently ended … featured a series of programs that had been postponed a year because of the pandemic. Now Quinn has put together a lineup for 2022-23 that highlights the growth of the orchestra since he took over in 2018. In 2020, he signed a contract extension that keeps him on board through the 2027-28 season. ‘We have expanded our concert season and our offerings and our services for the musicians,’ Quinn said…. ‘The community is rallying around this orchestra…. Part of that is the artistic growth, but the other part … is the pride of what we’re giving to the audience…. I want to create these transformative experiences.’ ”
Ann Arbor Symphony selects next music director: Earl Lee
“After a three-year search, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra announced that Earl Lee has been appointed its 14th music director,” writes Meredith Bruckner in Thursday’s (6/9) All About Ann Arbor (MI). “Lee hails from Yeosu, South Korea, and has been serving as the assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A cellist, he studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music. He has led the San Francisco Symphony and the Seoul Philharmonic and has performed at New York’s Lincoln Center. Lee was one of six finalists for the position and spent time with A2SO musicians and staff in April as part of his audition. ‘I’m so excited and grateful to be a part of this great organization,’ Lee said in a statement. ‘Even during the short period of a week spending time with the orchestra, staff and the board members, it was so clear to me that I want to do something here with this group and to become a part of this community.’ A2SO’s 2022-2023 season kicks off on Sept. 9.” Arie Lipsky, the orchestra’s longtime music director, stepped down in July 2019.
The 2022 Cliburn competition and politics during the war in Ukraine
The hands of Dmytro Choni, the sole Ukrainian competitor in this month’s Cliburn piano competition in Fort Worth, Texas, as Choni rehearses for the competition. Photo: Jake Dockins / New York Times
“The war in Ukraine looms over the prestigious contest named for the pianist Van Cliburn, who was a symbol for art transcending global politics,” writes Javier C. Hernández in Wednesday’s (6/8) New York Times. “The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition … defying pressure to ban Russian competitors after the invasion of Ukraine, had invited six Russians to take part, as well as two pianists from Belarus, which has supported the Russian invasion. A Ukrainian also made the cut…. Several competitors … said that they found it difficult to think beyond the war. ‘It’s a tragedy, what’s happening now,’ said Dmytro Choni, a 28-year-old pianist from Kyiv. ‘I’m trying to stay focused on the music.’… The Cliburn has [warned] competitors that any statements in support of Putin or the invasion of Ukraine could result in disqualification or the revocation of awards…. Many of the Russian competitors now live outside Russia and have said that they are fiercely opposed to the invasion…. Anna Geniushene, a 31-year-old pianist from Moscow … who lives in Lithuania, [said], ‘Being an artist doesn’t mean that … you’re living in a completely different world…. You must speak up.’ ”
Knox-Galesburg Symphony launches new summer community concert series with free recital
Musicians from the Knox-Galesburg Symphony will present a free recital on June 11 at the Central Congregational Church in Galesburg, Illinois to launch the orchestra’s new community concert series this summer. Musicians Jena Gardner (French horn), Jill Marasa (clarinet), and Nancy Ohlbach (piano) will perform works by Beethoven, Saint-Saëns, Martinu, and Rochberg. In 2021, the Knox-Galesburg Symphony purchased two buildings on North Seminary Street in downtown Galesburg to provide space for administrative offices, community events, educational activities, and more; donations received at the June 11 event will support the orchestra’s move to the new spaces. Additional concerts in the community concert series will be announced in mid-July, when the orchestra announces its 2022-23 season.
Review: Albany Symphony all-American program: Corigliano, Smith, Stucky, Williams
“The Albany Symphony Orchestra delivered their final season concert Saturday night … with a generous selection of contemporary American music,” writes George Grella in Sunday’s (6/5) New York Classical Review. “The ‘Trailblaze!’ program featured the American premiere of John Williams’ Prelude and Scherzo and John Corigliano’s recent Triathlon for Saxophonist and Orchestra, alongside colorful orchestral works by Gabriella Smith and the late Steven Stucky. There was a real sense of enthusiasm and concentration about the orchestra’s playing, with clear rhythms and details under David Alan Miller’s conducting…. The opening work was Smith’s Field Guide, the composer’s representation of, in Miller’s words, a ‘dawn chorus’ of birds … a rousing passage from pre-dawn darkness to a scene fully lit by the brightness of the sun…. Williams’ Prelude and Scherzo, orchestral music with a concertante piano part played by Gloria Cheng [featured] rich orchestral harmonies with the shine and simple eloquence of mid-20th century American tonal modernism.… Stucky’s Radical Light [was] full of gorgeous colors … a sort of miniature concerto for orchestra…. [In] Corigliano’s … saxophone concerto … the overall energy was exciting, not just from [soloist Timothy] McAllister but channeled through the orchestra, and in the end it bought the house down in cheers.”
Dallas radio station WRR-FM to remain classical, but with new management
“The Dallas City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to transfer management of WRR-FM (101.1), the city-owned classical station, to public television and radio operator KERA, ending a tumultuous yearlong process that saw the station face a possible sale,” writes Tim Diovanni in Wednesday’s (6/8) Dallas Morning News. “WRR will be run by KERA, but owned by the city. WRR will remain a classical music station and will operate from its Fair Park studios for at least the next seven years. ‘We’re so honored to be selected to take over management, and continue a great, free, accessible classical service for the people of Dallas and all our artists,’ said Nico Leone, president and CEO of KERA, after the vote….. In public comments, a total of 10 WRR supporters and representatives from KERA, WRR and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, speaking both in person and virtually, urged the City Council to vote yes. Speakers repeatedly emphasized the importance of WRR in making classical music accessible to Dallas listeners…. After eight years of WRR running a deficit, Dallas started looking for new management last June. The Office of Arts and Culture received proposals from the Dallas Symphony Association and KERA, ultimately picking the latter.”
Minnesota Public Radio receives $56 million gift to support classical programming, increase audience reach
“An anonymous donor has given a $56 million cash gift to Minnesota Public Radio to be used exclusively to serve the station’s YourClassical audiences and to provide tech support for new media transmission,” writes Mary Divine in Wednesday’s (6/8) Pioneer Press (MN). “It is the largest gift ever received by MPR in its 55-year history. Jean Taylor, president and CEO of American Public Media Group, MPR’s parent company, … said [the gift] would have a ‘transformative impact.’ … The gift will allow YourClassical—the largest classical public media organization in the country—‘to increase national appreciation of classical music and expand audience reach with new programming and technologies,’ officials said…. Its nationally syndicated programs include ‘Pipedreams,’ ‘Performance Today,’ ‘SymphonyCast’ and ‘Composers Datebook.’ More than 25 percent of the music played at YourClassical features a musician, ensemble or composer who is a woman and/or a Black person, Indigenous person, or person of color, according to Duchesne Drew, president of MPR and senior vice president of APMG. This donor’s gift, he said, ‘will allow us to expand representation, grow YourClassical’s presence and accelerate digital innovation to broaden and better serve our classical music community.’ ”
Connecticut’s Greenwich Symphony names Stuart Malina as music director
“The Greenwich Symphony Orchestra has announced a new music director after a search that began in late spring 2020 and included each finalist taking the podium to conduct a concert,” writes Annelise Hanshaw in Monday’s (6/6) Greenwich Time (CT). “A panel of musicians and board members selected Stuart Malina, [music director] of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania…. ‘We’re going to be in excellent shape to have a really exciting 2022-2023 season,’ [Greenwich Board Chair Peter] Tesei said…. ‘I think he’s looking to draw in a wider range of audiences by expanding not just on the classical music repertoire but other types of programs in the broader community.’ … The board hopes to expand the symphony’s outreach with Malina’s help and bring in younger crowds with some pops concerts…. Malina is in his 21st season [at] the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra…. The Lake Placid Sinfonietta … appointed Malina its music director in September 2019…. Malina has crafted dozens of arrangements and compositions, ranging from pops shows to symphonic masterpieces. In 2003, his work orchestrating the musical ‘Movin’ Out’ alongside Billy Joel won a Tony Award. He studied at Harvard University, the Yale School of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music.”