Chamber Music Omaha

Long-Lost Art Revisited

2008-05-22T09:39:00.002-05:00

The art of improvisation has largely been lost in the world classical music. Is it making a comeback?

Classical Musicians Learn to Improvise - WSJ.com

Lynn Harrell on Playing Bach in the 21st Century

2008-05-21T11:39:00.001-05:00

ArtsJournal: Daily Arts News - music

Review: Impassioned quartet gives grand performance

2008-04-29T10:37:00.000-05:00

Legend has it that while on his deathbed, Franz Schubert asked to hear Beethoven's great C-sharp-minor string quartet.

Though that story may be apocryphal, there's no doubting the transporting quality of Beethoven's music, especially when an ensemble like the Chiara Quartet plays it.

Chiara closed its terrific Organ Vesper Series concert on Sunday with Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131. For more go to: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2620&u_sid=10321594

BY JOHN PITCHER
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Chiara Quartet Likes to Really Mix It Up

2008-04-24T07:56:00.003-05:00

Chiara String Quartet concerts often seem set to an iPod's shuffle mode.
BY JOHN PITCHER
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2620&u_sid=10317872

Guarneri String Quartet

2008-04-22T15:07:00.002-05:00

21.4.08

Guarneri Quartet and the Grosse Fuge

by Michael Lodico | Monday, April 21, 2008

Arnold Steinhardt, Indivisible by Four: A String Quartet in Pursuit of Harmony (1998)

Friday evening, the Guarneri String Quartet, in their 26th year in residence at the University of Maryland, performed an all-Beethoven concert as part of the school’s Scholarship Benefit Series (postponed from Leap Day, due to a player injury). The program included the “Harp” String Quartet No. 10 (op. 74, E-flat major) and String Quartet No. 13 (op. 130, B-flat major), which featured its original finale, the Grosse Fuge. Hearing the venerable ensemble, now in their 44th year and penultimate season, should be a high priority on one’s cultural to-do list. Their final season, 2008-2009, is anticipated to be heavy. For more: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2008/04/guarneri-quartet-and-grosse-fuge.html

Chiara String Quartet on Organ Vesper Series

2008-04-22T14:57:00.002-05:00

Sunday, April 27

3:00 p.m.

Chiara String Quartet

Admission Free

Presented in Collaboration with The Lied Center for the Performing Arts

Concert at Presbyterian Church of the Cross

1517 South 114 Street Omaha Nebraska

"Each young artist marries a nimble technique to eager-to-please intensity and unhackneyed joy."

--The Washington Post

www.organvesper.com

Régine Crespin, French Soprano, Dies at 80

2007-07-06T07:56:00.003-05:00

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Published: July 6, 2007

Régine Crespin, the operatic French
soprano and later mezzo-soprano, one of the most important vocal
artists to emerge from France in the decades after World War II, died
Wednesday in Paris, where she lived. She was 80.

Régine Crespin, French Soprano, Dies at 80 - New York Times

Daedalus String Quartet in Omaha

2007-07-02T15:16:00.001-05:00

The Daedalus String Quartet will appear on the Organ Vesper Series on Friday, July 20 at 7:30 in a free concert.  For more...

ovsnewsletter1

Classical Music at Risk?

2007-07-02T14:55:00.001-05:00

The sounds of a dying tradition are painful, particularly if the
tradition’s value is still so apparent, at least to the mourners, and
still so vibrant to a wide number of sympathizers. For more....

Edward Rothstein - Connections - Music - New York Times

Classical Internet Radio

2007-07-02T14:52:00.001-05:00

On An Overgrown Path: Classical internet radio - a user's guide

Online Manuscript Treasures

2007-06-29T07:51:00.000-05:00

Last year I reported on the Juilliard School's grand unveiling of the much-talked-about manuscript of the four-hand arrangement of Beethoven's Grosse Fuge, alongside dozens of other musicological treasures. Juilliard has now set up a handsome, high-tech website for its manuscript collection. You can roam through masterpieces of ancient and modern music, using zoom features to examine pages closely (for example, to see Leonard Bernstein's cartoons in the margins of his arrangement of Copland's El Salón México). It's hard to think of a comparable site where the working methods of so many great composers are made instantly accessible. This is a magnificent and generous use of digital technology.

Alex Ross:The Rest is Noise

Omaha Symphony Players Contract Talks, Part 2

2007-06-25T16:43:00.000-05:00

Omaha Musicians Claim Executive Greed The dispute between musicians and management of the Omaha Symphony is ratcheting up, with the musicians claiming that the salary of the orchestra's CEO rose an average of 20% over the past three years, as the musicians were held to a 2-3% bump over the same period. The orchestra management acknowledges that its CEO's pay is nearly twice that of some comparable ensembles, but says that much of the raise came through incentive pay.
Omaha World-Herald 06/23/07

‘AN AMERICAN AWAKENING’ Cornhusker Style

2007-06-25T14:25:00.000-05:00

In honor of Lukas Foss’s 85th birthday, the Choral Society of the Hamptons, the Greenwich Village Singers and the Brooklyn Philharmonic (where Mr. Foss was music director for 20 years) join forces for his rarely performed piece “The Prairie.” The German-born Mr. Foss wrote this cantata in 1944 — several years after emigrating to the United States from Paris — based on a poem from Carl Sandburg’s “Cornhuskers,” and it reflects his enthusiasm for his new homeland. The soloists are Elizabeth Farnum, a soprano; Julia Spanja, a mezzo; Gerard Powers, a tenor; and Robert Osborne, a bass-baritone. At 8 p.m., Thursday, June 28 Rose Theater, Broadway at 60th Street.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/22/arts/music/22classical.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Big Pay Raise for KC Symphony players

2007-06-08T07:22:00.001-05:00

The Kansas City Symphony and its musicians have ratified a contract
that will provide a 19 percent salary increase over the next four years. For more....

www.kansascity.com | 06/06/2007 | Pay scale to jump for Kansas City Symphony musicians

Symphony musicians' contract talks hit sour note

2007-06-02T16:02:00.001-05:00

Omaha Symphony musicians said Friday that contract negotiations between
the orchestra's management and musicians broke down earlier this week
because management didn't come to the table prepared to bargain.

More in Omaha.com Entertainment Section

Benjamin Britten on the 45th anniversary of the premier of War Requiem

2007-05-30T09:22:00.001-05:00

"Since I believe that there is in every man the spirit of God,...."(Benjamin Britten)

On An Overgrown Path

OMAHA CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY SUMMER 2007

2007-05-14T15:28:00.001-05:00

The Omaha Chamber Music Society has announced its 2007 summer series.

Omaha Chamber Music Society - Summer Series

Berlin Philharmonic Looks into Its WW II Role

2007-05-01T21:51:00.001-05:00

One of the world’s most renowned orchestras, the Berlin Philharmonic, said Tuesday it plans an investigation into its role during the Nazi era. "We’ve never really come to terms with the history of the Philharmonic Orchestra under National Socialism," general manager Pamela Rosenberg said.

On An Overgrown Path: Berlin Philharmonic investigates its Nazi past

Gone are the Days

2007-04-24T12:05:00.001-05:00

Lament for the Death of Classical Music Stores: Norman Lebrecht

By Norman Lebrecht April 24 (Bloomberg) --

Something goes out of a town when its classical outlets close down: First Sam Goody's, then Tower Records, then one by one the backstreet stores. Where does a guy
have to go these days to get his Hammerklavier fix?

Bloomberg.com: Muse

Trio Nuovo on Organ Vesper Series May 6

2007-04-23T15:55:00.001-05:00

TRIO NUOVO

Mark Clinton, piano

Karen Becker, cello

Anton Miller, violin

Music by Piazzolla, Shostakovich, Chausson

FREE ADMISSION

How Long Should a Concert Be?

2007-04-19T09:51:00.001-05:00

Three wonderful concerts in just over a week left me wondering how long is long enough? At Norwich Cathedral last Friday Stephen Layton with Polyphony, Trinity College Choir and the Britten Sinfonia offered a concert of glorious Poulenc and Messiaen lasting 64 minutes excluding the interval. The second half comprised just the Poulenc Gloria,
which lasted 27 minutes. The duration of 64 minutes is, of course, the
length of a CD, which is no coincidence as the programme will be
recorded by Hyperion in the next few days for future CD release.

The Overgrown Path

"The Train" comes to Organ Vesper Series, April 22, 3:00 p.m.

2007-04-19T09:47:00.001-05:00

The Train by Carl Slotboom, translated by Dr. Louis I. Leviticus is a haunting and thought-provoking play about the holocaust.  The Train
is set in the 1990’s and shows that despite people’s hopes and dreams
of 50 years ago, the world is still waiting for peace between nations
and religions. More...

thetrain

Sins of My Old Age

2007-04-09T18:26:00.001-05:00

Rossini coined the expression "sins of my old age" when describing the
13 volumes of varied works he wrote in the last decade of his life.

Season Productions

How Do You Test Drive a Strad?

2007-04-03T21:05:00.001-05:00

When Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, Italy, started making violins in
the 1660s, Newton had not yet discovered the principles of modern
physics and the first piano had not yet been manufactured.

By the time of Stradivari’s death in 1737, his violins were already
some of the most prized in the world, the product of a fine hand and an
almost occult science. About 600 of perhaps 700 survive. And now, a
select few people will have the special treat of playing one of these
rare and expensive musical instruments.

Rare Chance to Try Out a Masterpiece - New York Times

Joshua Bells Wins Fisher Prize

2007-03-22T10:32:00.000-05:00

Bell Wins Fisher Prize Joshua Bell (who recently performed in Omaha) has been named the winner of this year's Avery Fisher Prize, an honor which comes with $75,000 cash. "Previous winners include cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianists Emanuel Ax and Andre Watts, and violinists Sarah Chang and Midori." Washington Post (AP)

Brahms Choral Masterpieces March 25

2007-03-08T18:35:00.000-06:00

Choral Masterworks of Johannes Brahms

March 25 3:00 p.m.

The Omaha Symphonic Chorus

Gregory Zielke, conductor

Lucinda Sloan, mezzo-soprano

Orchestra

$20 and $10 seniors/students

333-7466 or 398-1766

Organ Vesper Series

1517 South 114 Street

Omaha, NE 68144

Concert Location Map

Three at 3

2006-10-04T08:43:00.000-05:00

The Organ Vesper Series will present Three at 3 on Sunday, October 15 at 3:00 p.m. The program is a presentation of the Organ Vesper Series and the Omaha Chamber Music Society. Both of these organizations seek to present chamber music TO the Omaha community performed BY Omaha artists.

The program is music for string trio by Bach/Mozart, Robert Fuchs, Richard Strauss and Ludwig van Beethoven performed by violinist Anne Nagosky, violist Thomas Kluge and cellist, Gregory Clinton.

The 3:00 p.m. program is open without admission charge.

Clarion Chamber Chorale announces 25th Anniversary Season!

2006-09-22T12:10:00.000-05:00

The Clarion Chamber Chorale will open its 25th Anniversary season on Sunday, October 22 at 3:00 p.m. at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 13271 Millard Avenue in Omaha. The featured works are Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and John Rutter's Te Deum.

http://www.clarionchamberchorale.org

Classical Music 101

2006-09-18T18:57:00.000-05:00

Classical Music, The Alt Intro

New To classical music and looking for a good introduction? Sure there are the classics, the greats to recommend. But Andrew Adler has an alternative list to try to tempt you.

"......It's a CD featuring (LINCOLN'S) George Ritchie, one of the very finest organists I've ever had the pleasure of hearing, performing a collection of works under the heading of "German Virtuosity & Italian Elegance."

Louisville Courier-Journal 09/17/06

iTunes Classical Top 10

2006-09-14T22:15:00.000-05:00

iTunes' Classical Top Ten

Classical music sells on iTunes in greater numbers than in CD stores. But what are the most popular downloads? The list is revealing, writes Marc Geelhoed.

Slate 09/12/06

Was Mahler Overpaid?

2006-09-14T08:35:00.000-05:00

by Alex Ross

Eyebrows have been raised over recent reports that James Levine receives a salary of $1.6 from the Boston Symphony and $1.9 million from the Met, and that Lorin Maazel gets $2.6 million from the New York Philharmonic. Excessive or no, salaries on this scale are nothing new. Not long ago Cornell University Press published Gustav Mahler: Letters to His Wife, in Antony Beaumont's meticulous translation, and I found there a detail that I hadn't noticed in previous Mahler tomes: in March 1911, even as his health went in fatal decline, GM signed a new contract at the New York Philharmonic for ninety concerts at a fee of $90,000. I ran that through the inflation calculator and came up with the figure of $1.8 million in today's money. Not bad for a man who thought his time had not yet come.
Update: Kenneth Woods runs more figures and finds that Mahler was paid $20,000 per concert, as opposed to $58,000 for Maazel. "Mr. Maazel deserves everything he makes and more," he proposes, adding that Peyton Manning gets $1 million for every football game he plays. Indeed, classical music is very small potatoes compared to the remainder of the American military-industrial-cultural complex. By the way, the person in charge of the Philharmonic in 1911 was Mary R. Sheldon, the wife of the treasurer of the Republican National Committee.
http://www.therestisnoise.com/2006/09/is_mahler_overp.html

Mozart in the Morning

2006-09-12T20:08:00.000-05:00

By Register editor
The Philharmonic Society of Orange County has added a concert to the opening celebrations at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, and all tickets are going for $30. "Mozart in the Morning" will be presented on Monday, Sept. 18, at 11 a.m. in the new venue; the program features the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, conducted by Ivor Bolton, and soprano Mojca Erdmann in arias from "Zaide" and the Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter." Call 949-553-2422 for more info, or visit www.philharmonic society.org.

Adventure in the Twin Cities

2006-09-11T21:50:00.000-05:00

Minneapolis/St. Paul is the only metropolitan area in the US to support two major orchestras - the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra - and over the years, the Twin Cities have earned a reputation for adventurous audiences and daring programming. But Michael Anthony says that reputation is increasingly at odds with reality, as both orchestras stack their seasons with Beethoven, Brahms, and little else, "a reflection of economics, of orchestra boards and marketing departments running scared, hoping to avoid deficits and sustain their graying audience by programming the same old works they think the audience wants to hear." The Star Tribune (Minneapolis) 09/10/06

http://www.startribune.com/457/story/662806.html

Clara, Robert and Johannes

2006-09-10T18:23:00.000-05:00

Clara Schumann was a deeply strange woman, but she was also a deeply attractive one. Certainly to the young Johannes Brahms... more»

"Thursdays with the Lied" at Midland College, Fremont

2006-09-09T16:14:00.000-05:00

Thursday Oct. 19, 2006 7:00 p.m. Kimmel Theatre
Midland Lutheran College, Fremont NE

Jose Franch-Ballester, Clarinet

Described as having “a beautiful sound, amazing breath control and an extraordinary technique,” Jose Franch-Ballester is already making his mark on classical music. Just 25 years old, his incredible career is forecast to rival those of musicians Richard Stoltzman and David Shifrin.

For more information and reservations, 402-941-6399

Organ Vesper Series Opens 19th Season on September 24

2006-09-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

The Organ Vesper Series will open its 19th season with a concert of music featuring the clarinet with various combinations of instruments including piano, cello, violin, alto flute, and double bass.

This September 24 program is at 3:00 p.m. The Organ Vesper Series specializes in presenting local musicians in performances of the highest artistic merit and has over the years seen over 250 performers.

The concert is held at 1517 South 114 Street in Omaha, and is open without admission charge.

http://organvesper.com/claricentricprogram.htm

Back To School

2006-09-08T22:43:00.000-05:00

Charles T. Downey

Let Us Rejoice While We Are Young a delightful look at returning to school at a Washington, DC prep school.

Source Blog

UNO Chamber Orchestra September 16

2006-09-08T19:52:00.000-05:00

The UNO Chamber Orchestra performs on Saturday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m., the first concert in a busy orchestra season for the Omaha school.

For more information,

http://music.unomaha.edu/Orchestra%20Docs/HPO06-07.pdf

Tuesday Musical Series Announces 2006-07 Concert Schedule

2006-09-08T19:48:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, October 17, 2006 Orli Shaham, piano
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 Laurent Korcia,violin
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Lawrence Brownlee, tenor
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Garrick Ohlsson, piano

http://www.tuesdaymusicalomaha.org/season.htm

Omaha Chamber Singers First Concert is October 20

2006-09-08T19:44:00.000-05:00

Earth and Sky

8:00 PM Friday October 20, 2006 St. Patrick Catholic Church, Fremont, Nebraska
7:30 PM Saturday October 21, 2006 First Central Congregational Church, Omaha, Nebraska

Join the Omaha Chamber Singers for the opening program of the season as they present a wonderful array of choral works based on texts and sounds of the earth and sky. Percussion and piano add to the vocal colors, assisting in the creation of vivid sound images. You won't want to miss this program!

Chamber Singers Website

Symphonic Opens With Carmina Burana

2006-09-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

The Omaha Symphonic Chorus Opens its 2006-07 Season With
Carmina Burana by Carl Orff
appearing with the

Omaha Symphony
Masterworks Series
Conductor: Christoph Campestrini
Friday, November 10, 2006, 8:00 PM
Saturday, November 11, 2006, 8:00 PM
Holland Performing Arts Center

http://www.omahasymphonicchorus.org/

Crescendo! Announces 2006-07 Season

2006-09-08T19:37:00.000-05:00

The Crescendo Concert Series is Dundee Church's gift to the community. Performances are FREE of charge in the Dundee sanctuary. Contributions are fully tax-deductible and vital to continue the series.

Crescendo! upcoming concert schedule:
October 8, 2006 - Omaha Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Ernest Richardson, Conductor
November 12, 2006 - Anton Miller, Violin
February 11, 2007 - Richard Steinbach - Piano & Michal Bellavance - Flute
March 4, 2007 - The Queen City Jazz Band
April 29, 2007 - U.S. Navy Sea Chanters

All concerts are on Sundays and begin at 7 p.m. Tickets for the first concert will be available September 5, 2006.
http://www.dundeepresbyterian.org/10A-concerts.html

Kansas City Conductor to Miss Opening Concerts

2006-09-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

KC Music Director Pulls Out Of Season Opener

"Conductor Michael Stern will miss the opening concerts of his second season as the Kansas City Symphony's music director. The orchestra announced yesterday afternoon that Stern has withdrawn from this weekend's performances due to the expected birth of his first child... Filling in for Stern will be David Robertson, the widely-admired American conductor who begins his own second season at the helm of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra September 23-24." PlaybillArts 09/07/06

Opera in the Multiplex?

2006-09-06T22:20:00.000-05:00

Met Opera To Broadcast To Movie Theatres

"The Metropolitan Opera announced today that it would begin broadcasting live performances into movie theaters across the United States, Canada and Britain, rubbing shoulders with professional wrestling and rock concerts."

The New York Times 09/06/06

In Memoriam-Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

2006-09-06T15:47:00.000-05:00

Unforgotten

Matthew Westphal at PlaybillArts has a photojournal of the late, great Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. I've been working on a complete LHL discography. Below is what I have so far: corrections and additions would be welcome. (From Alex Ross:The Rest Is Noise)

Continue reading "Unforgotten" »

Two Southern Cities Get Concert Halls

2006-09-05T22:54:00.000-05:00

Two Southern American Cities Get Concert Halls

"At first glance, the classical-music ambitions of Nashville and Atlanta look much the same: abandon a drab old hall and find fame and fortune with a sparkling new music temple. But on matters overt and subtle - from the balance of funding sources (public vs. private) to artistic vision - the two cities' approaches to building a concert hall have little in common." Atlanta Journal-Constitution 09/03/06

The Omaha World Herald on ARTSaha!

2006-09-05T16:52:00.000-05:00

Friday, September 01, 2006

ARTSaha! Takes Entertaining Risks With Its Programs
By Ashley Hassebroek, Omaha World-Herald, Neb. Aug. 31--Organizers of the ArtsAHA! Festival could just rest on their laurels. Since the Omaha-based chamber music festival, known for its envelope-pushing programs, was established two years ago, it has generated talk in contemporary music circles nationwide.
Read the rest at RedOrbit...

Two Bach Manuscripts Discovered

2006-09-05T16:40:00.000-05:00

Two Bach Manuscripts Discovered
By mmchiesa
URL: Two Bach Manuscripts Discovered
Source Blog

In Cities Across the United States, It's Raining Concert Halls

2006-09-04T22:56:00.000-05:00

Even though Omaha's new Holland Center receives only passing mention in this article of recent American halls, residents of this Eastern Nebraska city have every right to be proud.

URL: In Cities Across the United States, It’s Raining Concert Halls

UNO Dept of Music Announce 2006-07 Ecoutez Season

2006-09-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

Saturday, September 9 7:30 p.m. The Chiara String Quartet
Sunday, October 8 7:30 p.m. Heinavanker
Thursday, February 8 7:30 p.m. Trombones de Costa Rica
Saturday, February 24 7:30 p.m. Hubert Laws, flute
For more information call, 402-554-3427

http://music.unomaha.edu/RecitalConcertDocs/Ecoutez06-07.pdf