The Original New Music Community
For your dining and dancing pleasure–through the miracle of YouTube–Club Sequenza21 is delighted to present the talented violinist/composer Piotr Szewczyk performing short solo violin pieces by regulars Lawrence Dillon and Jeff Harrington, live and in color, as part of his Violin Futura program at Spoleto. Roll ’em, Pete.
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Beverly Sills, the All-American diva from Brooklyn, has died of cancer. Bubbles, as she was known to all, was a big lady with a big heart whose down-to-earth personality, talent and lifelong dedication to Lincoln Center made her a treasure for the city’s arts establishment. I never heard her sing live in her prime but there are those who swear her Lucia and Rosina were among the best. She was a hometown heroine who will be missed.
UPDATE
Steve Smith, Tim Page, Anthony Tommasini
One of my dearest friends and a neighbor of many years died this afternoon. He was a lifelong bachelor who had lost most of the hearing in both ears when an anti-tank gun fired while he was crawling under it in France during World War II when he was 19. He went on to become a respected man of science, a cancer researcher, and a well-known skeptic of alternative medicine. He had no tolerance for miracle cures and especially hated those who sold hope to the hopeless with their promises of blood transfers and shark skin enemas and other exotic cures. He was not warm and cuddly and he didn’t have a lot of friends and I was one of them. I saw him today about a half hour before he died but the last time we connected was on Thursday, just before he went into that final morpheus cloud. I was talking to him when he suddenly opened his eyes–for the first time in several days–and squeezed my hand. His eyes said: “Don’t be afraid. It’s not that big a deal. It’s just science.”
So, the wonderful Serbian film director Emir Kusterica’s new opera Time of the Gypsies (based on his zany film of the same name) opened last night in Paris. Woody Allen is directing Puccini and David Cronenberg is prepping The Fly for L.A. Anthony Minghella, Michael Haneke, Zhang Yimou. What is happening here? Have we run out of opera directors? Have film directors done operas in the past? Are opera companies just hoping that a high profile director can pack the seats?
Joshua Bell tells the Korea Times that he’s working toward writing his own stuff in a few years. Could work, I suppose. His pal Edgar Myers is a decent composer and fine musician. But, you pretty much have to go back to Rachmaninoff to find someone who was “great” as both a performer and composer. (Or, I’m sure someone will remind me that you don’t have to go back that far.)
Same thing for conductors. Okay, Lenny was great at both but most are not. The most excruciating half hour I ever spent in a concert hall (and this includes Chinese opera) was listening to some endless percussion drivel by Michael Tilson Thomas that he had forced upon the poor kids in the New World Symphony. I really admire Esa Pekka but I just can’t warm to his music.
So, gang, what’s the verdict?
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Performed by the Rubio String Quartet. Photography by James Archambeault
The indispensible Alex Ross is back from a fact finding mission to gauge the state of serious music making in the provinces and his report, in this week’s New Yorker (yes, the New Yorker) finds cause for optimism.
What’s the state of serious music making in your city?
Judd Greenstein and Kimball Gallagher are looking for a few good proposals for the 2007-2008 season of VIM: TRIBECA. Proposals may be submitted by performers (instrumental and vocal), composers, ensembles, or mixed-art groups that include music. VIM: TRIBECA is centered around music in the Western classical tradition, Greenstein says, but proposals may be made by any musicians whose work pushes the boundaries of genre, or whose work is affiliated with other traditions. Download a pdf file with details here.
And get out there and push a genre today. Just don’t be too noisy.
Our buddy Marvin Rosen will be joined by American composer Eric Ewazen this Wednesday morning, June 20 from 8:30 until 11:00 (eastern time) on the program Classical Discoveries which is celebrating 10 years on the air this summer. The show can be heard every Wednesday morning from 6:00 until 11:00 on WPRB from Princeton, NJ. The program is broadcast on line and can be listened at WPRB.
Classical Discoveries now has a brand new web address but Marvin hasn’t quite gotten all the furniture and lamps moved so older stuff is still at the old address.
So, the S21 brain trust (yuk, yuk) has been kicking around some thoughts about doing another live concert this year and one of the ideas we had was maybe striking an alliance with a good new music ensemble. Simple deal. You play our concert–your schedule or as a one-off–and we put the considerable promotional and publicity resources of S21 behind your group year-round. Kind of a play nice with us kids and we’ll make you the Emersons. Any thoughts?
