Chamber Music Omaha: 2007

Friday, July 06, 2007

Régine Crespin, French Soprano, Dies at 80

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

Monday, July 02, 2007

Daedalus String Quartet in Omaha

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?

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

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

Friday, June 29, 2007

Online Manuscript Treasures

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

Monday, June 25, 2007

Omaha Symphony Players Contract Talks, Part 2

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

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

Friday, June 08, 2007

Big Pay Raise for KC Symphony players

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

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Symphony musicians' contract talks hit sour note

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

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

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

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

On An Overgrown Path

Monday, May 14, 2007

OMAHA CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY SUMMER 2007

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

Omaha Chamber Music Society - Summer Series

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Berlin Philharmonic Looks into Its WW II Role

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

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Gone are the Days

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

Monday, April 23, 2007

Trio Nuovo on Organ Vesper Series May 6

TRIO NUOVO

Mark Clinton, piano

Karen Becker, cello

Anton Miller, violin

Music by Piazzolla, Shostakovich, Chausson

FREE ADMISSION

Thursday, April 19, 2007

How Long Should a Concert Be?

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.

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

Monday, April 09, 2007

Sins of My Old Age

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

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

How Do You Test Drive a Strad?

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

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Joshua Bells Wins Fisher Prize

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)