I'm going to try to clarify the musical complexity issue. What we have now, left over from the previous post, is what I'll call the Byrne argument: that a lot of incomprehensible, audience-alienating music has been written out of a kind of reverse elitism - and what I'll call the Nonken argument (after superb pianist Marilyn Nonken, who wrote in): that there's a lot of difficult, complex music that will never appeal to a wide audience, but it has its admirers, and they should be allowed to have it. On the face of it, these assertions both seem obviously true, and you'll notice they don't even contradict each other.  read more »

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews: Cellist Oh Ah-mi's Courageous Crossover Korea Times - South Korea The world's first self-described "crossover cellist," breaks conventions by adding dance moves to the still-standing cello performance. I am inspired by Vanessa Maes passionate playing and Beyonces strong stage presence" she says... `It's really demanding, so I just have to practice that much more,'' she said. Though not a trained dancer, Oh enjoys dancing and worked with a choreographer to create moves. In her first showcase performance at Seongnam Art Center tonight, her cello will be her dance partner as she waltzes to ``Chopin's Party of Dupin,'' which was inspired by the Waltze (Op. 64 No. 2). `\ Two were inspired by well-known Chopin and Dvorak music. ``(The composer and I) discussed our work a lot. I wanted to reinterpret the music and make them ... See all stories on this topic Review: Traces - Les 7 Doigts de la Main The Dominion Post - Wellington,New Zealand Chopin cheek-by-jowl with Chinese acrobats and skateboarders.... There's endearing Chopin played live on a wonky piano, and a girl made of rubber who reads on (and through, over, under, and off) an even wonkier armchair. ...  read more »

This is just a very brief heads-up for those taking John’s Dvorak class, or anyone who’s a Czech opera fan.

Wanda (Vanda) by Antonin Dvorak
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
WFMT Radio, 98.7 FM or via the web at WFMT.com

Chicago-area classical radio listeners probably already know of WFMT’s Tuesday Night Opera (hosted by Peter Van de Graaf, sponsored by LaSalle Bank). Each Tuesday, Peter plays an opera recording, often from neglected repertoire, or a legendary historic recording.  read more »

============================================================== NEW YORK CHAPTER AMERICAN COMPOSERS FORUM www.composersforum.org/newyork ============================================================== As always, Im happy to forward your announcements. Ample time is appreciated.  read more »

Those taking John’s upcoming Dvorak Class may expect to learn about the composer’s place in the “nationalism in music” movement that swepth through Europe in the 19th century. But one of the more interesting parts of Dvorak’s biography is his time in the United States in the 1890s. Joseph Horrowitz writes in the Chronicle of Higher Education about Dvorak’s role in the story of American musical nationalism.

“For three years, beginning in the fall of 1892, [Dvorak] found himself embroiled in a sustained and often bitter debate over issues of race and national identity that pitted against each other the two cities in which American classical music was born.”

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Grange Park Opera Triumphs Grange Park Opera in Hampshire near Basingstoke has come of age in the current season with its production of Puccinis Fanciulla del West and Dvoraks Rusalka . In the past good work has been done but the house style could sometimes be a bit flighty (neon lights in Thais ) but not consistent in standard, but this year these performances of two operas on the verge of being in the big league are worthy of the highest praise. True, the singing in the Puccini is not of the best but the Dvorak is strongly cast. The staging is blessedly free from concept and is played in a straight way so that, rare these days, I think the composer and librettist would still recognize their work. Fanciulla had a propitious send-off in New York in 1910 with the two most famous singers of the day in the leading roles: Emmy Destinn as Minnie, pub-keeper in gold rush California, and Caruso, bandit in disguise, with Toscanini conducting. Yet although the opera brought in the crowds it has remained a little sister to Bohme, Tosca, Butterfly and Turandot. Why?  read more »

I do not anticipate having time in class to discuss Smetana’s Trio in g minor or Dvorak’s late folk/fairy tale opera “The Devil and Kate” but I’d like to recommend these fine pieces to my class, and of course my general readership as well. The Smetana trio is one of a distinguished number of works that is an instrumental requiem; the Berg violin concerto being perhaps the best known exemplar of this category of works. In the case of the Smetana trio, the requiem is for his daughter Bedriska. The work also appears to be intended as therapy for Smetana himself. G minor is a special key for Smetana; consider his early sonata for piano and the later “From Bohemia’s Woods and Valleys”.  Effective but not particularly uncommon is the yoking of scherzo and slow movement in the middle movement. Striking is the similarity of some of the music in the second subject area of the first movement to the beginning of Schumann’s “ Frauenliebe und Leben “… but please let me point out the relevant words in the finale of that great cycle: “Now for the first time you have given me pain… [by dying]”…and in the Schumann the theme comes back as an epilogue. Am I saying this is not merely co-incidental?  read more »

Friday night SETTrade Musical Moment presented "An Evening with Solo Guitar and Chamber Music" at the Professor Sangvian Indaravijaya Auditorium in the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The concert brought to my attention many accomplished and talented young Thai players, most of them students in the Pre-College or College of Music at Mahidol University. Ekachai Jearakul was the 21 year old classical guitarist at the center of the night's musical showcase.  read more »

Pianist Alessandro Amoretti and members of the Bremer Philharmoniker play a splendid version of Anton Dvorak’s “Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, op. 81, B. 155″. It was recorded October 14th,2007 in Bremen, Germany and is now available from The Piano Society. Dvorak’s synthesis of Classical and Romantic styles is an easy listen for even the novice classical music fan. The second piano quintet is one of his most popular works perhaps second only to his “New World” Symphony.  read more »

Last night was the Kenneth Montgomery and the Ulster Orchestra's Prom. We went mainly to see hear Finghin Collins playing Stanford's 2nd Piano Concerto, but the Prom proved to have a great deal in it to enjoy.

They opened with Howard Fergusson's Overture for an Occasion, the occasion being the Coronation. The work was commissioned for the Ulster Orchestra's predecessor. Fergusson was famously circumspect with his music, there are only 20 opus numbers. This piece was rhythmically lithe and finely scored, beautifully played and certainly worth hearing again. Though the programme booklet talked of comparisons with Walton, there seemed to be much that was distinctive about Fergusson's voice.

Stanford's 2nd Piano Concerto is often compared to Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto, which had in fact inspired the composer to write his. But though you can find many parallels I have always found that the Stanford sounds very much like Stanford rather than ersatz Rachmaninov. The work has Stanford's familiar sweep to the music and the melodies have his rather Irish cast. Collins played the piano part beautifully poetically. He provided the requisite heft at the really big moments but as with Rachmaninov's 1st Piano Concerto at the Proms the other week, there were moments when the orchestra overshadowed the piano, when you simply wanted more heft from the pianist.  read more »