A critic speaks

NPR producer Tom Huizenga interviewed Anne Midgette of the Washington Post on the future of classical music. The interview is posted in both text and audio versions:

www.npr.org/blogs/monitormix/2009/11/ten_questions_for_a_critic_the.html

Digital Composer winner

BTW, the winner of Dilettante Music's Digital composer-in-residence competition is David T. Little. David is working on his doctorate at Princeton.

You can hear the winning piece at www.dilettantemusic.com

Slatkin still ill, cancels events

The Detroit Free Press (at freep.com) is reporting that conductor Leonard Slatkin has cancelled scheduled appearances with the DSO for the next two weeks in the wake of his recent heart attack.

His next scheduled appearances on the podium are December 10-13.

Honolulu Symphony Orchestra closes shop

The Honolulu Symphony Orchestra announced Friday that it is filing for bankruptcy, and cancelling the remainder of its scheduled concerts for the season. The orchestra has $1 million in debt, and has been in difficulty financially for a couple of years.

Officially, they say that they hope they'll be able to come back in some form. It remains unclear as to when or whether they will be able to do so.

Conductor Leonard Slatkin suffers heart attack

Anne Midgette writes in the Washington Post:

"Leonard Slatkin, the music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and former music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, suffered a heart attack on Sunday while conducting a concert with the Rotterdam Philharmonic. He is recovering in a hospital in the Netherlands after an operation to insert two stents.

"Slatkin, 65, was aware of chest pains during the afternoon performance, but was able to finish the concert -- Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, with Lars Vogt, and Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 -- before going to the hospital."


Slatkin, whose regular gig is conducting the Detroit Symphony, is hoping to be back on the podium there in mid-November. The Detroit News reports that the orchestra is making preparations should they need to find a substitute conductor.

Digital Composer contest finals

Today is the last day to vote for your choice of
composer and composition in the Digital Composer-in-Residence
Competition.

The Finalists and their music:

Aaron Gervais (JUR-vay) - "Sensational Revolution in Medicine," for
soprano and speaking pianist is set to subject lines taken from spam
email messages that Aaron collected over the years.

Chaiyu (CHEE ah You) - "Zhi" (CHU) for violin and piano includes
Chinese folk rhythms from Chinese festive music. Zhi means "to weave"
or "to interlace", especially to form a design, as in the view through
a kaleidoscope.

David T. Little - "1986" for string quartet is based on the tune "My
Grandfather's Clock." David says he has his own connections to this
song which he played thousands of times as a boy in a New Jersey fife
and drum band.

You can hear the music and cast your vote by visiting the
link below. (Deadline to vote is today, Wednesday, Nov 4 at 11:59 pm)

http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ListenerDirectedProd/b0c85e5521/a2c50e7625/516ee1d651

New Director for Tchaikovsky Competition

The tie here is certainly interesting.

I met Richard Rodzinski last summer as I was planning the most recent AMPPR (Association of Music Personnel in Public Radio) conference, which took place in Ft. Worth this past March. More recently, I received a note from Richard that indicated his retirement from the Cliburn Foundation. Little did I know he had more in mind.

Richard had been contacted by Valery Gergiev, new head of the Tchaikovsky International Music Competition--the competition where Van Cliburn made a name for himself--and is going to help try to rebuild the Tchaikovsky competition, which has been in trouble in recent years.

An article appears in the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, at www.star-telegram.com/entertainment/story/1722187.html

Oh, Canada...

If you've read this blog over time, you know how I've excoriated the Canadian government for its lack of support for the arts. Now they're doing a little something.

From the Globe and Mail:

A new, national initiative is under way to heighten Canadians' awareness of the arts, their accessibility to art and artists, and their “participation in and engagement with” the activities of the cultural sector.

“The idea here is to put a spotlight on activities and events already taking place and to build on that,” including the creation of new events, says David Moss, former general director of the Opéra de Montréal. He's been working as the paid project director of Culture Days since this past December, thanks to the provision of some seed money from the Canada Council for the Arts. The council, in fact, is one of the four primary institutional “instigators” of the initiative...


A small step, but I'll take it, I suppose.

In the meantime, Michelle Obama opens the White House to classical music. From the Los Angeles Times:

Next Wednesday, the first lady will host a Classical Music Student Workshop Concert, which will feature an appearance by superstar violinist Joshua Bell, guitarist Sharon Isbin, cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Awadagin Pratt. The afternoon concert, which will be held in the East Room, is part of the White House's ongoing Music Series, which was created by the first lady to celebrate the arts and demonstrate the importance of arts education.

The White House said that the concert will include two young performers: cellist Sujari Britt and marimba player Jason Yoder, who will perform with Weilerstein. On the same day, the White House will hold music workshops for 120 middle and high school students from around the country.

Chopsticks--who knew?

An interesting new piece is "The Chopsticks Variations" by Margo Guryan. Who knew that you could do so much with that little tune? Margo puts it through its paces--ragtime, boogie woogie, and various classical styles as well.

I was unfamiliar with Margo, but as it turns out, she's a noted songwriter. After moving to California in 1974, returned to the study of classical music. She lives in L.A. today, where she teaches and continues to compose.

More about Margo can be found at www.myspace.com/margoguryan

The Chopstick Variations is on the Oglio label, www.oglio.com

I'm airing the variations today during Something Old, Something New.