If you can’t find beauty, try to make some

Times are tough.  We all need to find a way to get through, and the right music definitely helps.  Here are some recent finds.  Humor, flexibility, and great ingenuity are hallmarks here.

Have you seen the No Corona version of Nessun dorma by Daniel Emmet?

How about the Covid-19 Bach fugue by Nicholas Papdimitriou?  This is incredible.

And now, a great concert for you!  Pianist Alexander Krichel gave a live drive-in classical piano concert that you can now see online. Car horns and flashing headlights replace applause (it works better than you’d think).  The upside?  No coughing, cell phones ringing, or candy wrappers crackling (other than perhaps from your family members, whom you can probably shush).  Krichel introduces the pieces in German, there are no subtitles available, but there is captioning of the title at the beginning of each piece.  You can see it at:    https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/video/radio/wdr3/video-autokino-meets-klassik–alexander-krichel-spielt-beethoven-und-liszt-100.html

When life gives you lemons, don’t just make lemonade, make lemon sorbet.

Here’s another tip, not necessarily a musical one, but one you might consider.  A friend who lives far away and I have started exchanging photos.  Typically, it’s flower pictures (they have a tremendous rose garden), but not always.  It doesn’t have to be flowers, it could be a meme, or an animal picture, a photo you take on a walk (if permitted) (added benefit: your picture-taking gets better), a happy memory photo, or a link to some great music, whatever works for you.  It doesn’t need to be every day–no pressure (we have enough)!  And you know what happens?  You end up looking for beauty, or levity, and actually start seeing it amidst gloom and chaos.  If you know someone who might be interested in this, why not suggest an informal exchange?  Wouldn’t it be nice to see something happy in your inbox or on your phone?

And as Daniel Emmet says in his aria, vinceremo [we will win]!

Thanks to reader Paul B for alerting me to the fugue!

 

More Free Music!

The ranks of musical institutions and performers helping us all get through the current health crisis together are growing.  Here’s are my latest finds.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has now made its Replay archive of past concerts available for free.  Enjoy high-definition recordings with fantastic sound in the comfort of your own home.  Visit https://livefromorchestrahall.vhx.tv/browse to access the performances.  There, you can set up a free account, but it is not mandatory.  You can search the offerings by composer or time period.

Piano fans!  Igor Levit is giving nightly live “House Concerts” on Twitter (twitter.com/igorpianist).  See his Twitter feed for times and for other performances.  Boris Giltburg (https://twitter.com/BorisGiltburg) will also be offering Twitter performances. [Added note:  you don’t need a twitter account to see the concerts].

You also might want to check out the YouTube channel of Wigmore Hall, especially their Beethoven 250 Festival recordings.

Opera fans! The Teatro Regio in Turin is offering #operaonthesofa.  Check out their website for details, or go to their YouTube channel to check out the playlist.  The Vienna State Opera is also opening their archive of performances. To see the archive, you will need to set up a free account.  They are also livestreaming a different performance each night.  Livestreams begin at 17:00 or 19:00 CET (GMT +1), and those are available for 24 hours.

Also, check out WKAR’s schedule of livestream performances.  You can find it at https://www.wkar.org/post/list-live-streaming-concerts#stream/0.

 

Off topic, but if you need some calm, and something a little different, I’d like to suggest the live cams at the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the National Aquarium.  You can watch fish, penguins, birds, jellyfish (oddly mesmerizing—nature’s lava lamp), or just the beautiful bay.  You can find a wide variety of animals and natural scenery on livecam at explore.org (I particularly recommend the Zen Cams).  Add your own classical soundtrack if you’d like!  Nature endures; spring is coming.

Berlin Philharmonic Archive Free for 30 Days; Livestream Database

The Berlin Philharmonic has an incredible collection of performances on its Digital Concert Hall website.  The video resolution is phenomenal and the audio is superb.

You can now access the entire archive of Berlin Philharmonic performances for free for 30 days.  Sign up by March, 31, 2020.

Go to this webpage to learn how.  You’ll need to set up a free account.  It is very easy, and there is no further obligation.

In addition to the concerts (searchable by composer, conductor, epoch, and more), there is a fine collection of films, and insightful interviews with performers, conductors, and producers.

 

Classical Music Communications has made available a database of live-streamed concerts, complete with dates, times, and links.  See the database here.

 

Wishing you good health and good music!

Concert Cancelled? See One in Your Own Home!

Due to the current health crisis, many concerts and other public events are being cancelled.  But you can still attend a concert in the comfort of your own home.  Casual dress code ok!

Check out the concert library offered by The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.  You’re sure to find a few favorites there: Jeremy Denk playing Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor, Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony , or Haydn’s Symphony No. 6, Morning, just to name a few.  There is also a large selection of audio-only performances for your listening pleasure.

Opera fans will love Operavision’s library of great performances, including Carmen, Tosca, and The Barber of Seville, among others.  At the current time, there are plans to broadcast live performances of several of Mozart’s operas this month, though the schedule may change as the current situation evolves.  Here’s the current schedule.

March 19, 19:00 CET (GMT +1, 2:00 EDT) Così fan tutte
March 21, 19:30 CET Le nozze di Figaro
March 24, 19:30 CET Don Giovanni
April 3, 19:00 CET La clemenza di Tito
April 10, 19:00 CET Die Entführung aus dem Serail
April 17, 19:00 CET Il sogno di Scipione

In addition to the old standby YouTube, you can also watch performances on Arte, the Gothenburg Symphony, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and BachTrack.com websites.

These are difficult times.  I hope the on-demand performances available at the above sites will add a soothing element to your day.

Be safe out there, folks! Wishing you all health and serenity.

Live Concert Webcast Tonight: Ravel, Mozart, Schumann and More!

Tonight, 1 February 2020 at 8PM EST (GMT -5) the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will present a live concert broadcast.  The concert will feature mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard. James Gaffigan will conduct.  You can see the program at dso.org/live.

Here’s the program:

Mozart: Overture from Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio)
Ravel: Shéhérazade
Alex Temple: Liebeslied
Schumann: Symphony No. 4

Enjoy!

Paganini, Berlioz Live Concert Webcast and a Virtual Museum Tour

Get ready for a whirlwind of a concert!

On Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST (GMT -5), the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will present a live concert webcast.  The concert will feature Augustin Hadelich playing Paganini’s First Violin Concerto.

Here’s just a taste of the violinist’s Paganini flare:  Augustin Hadelich playing Paganini Caprice No. 5.

The second half of the concert will feature the wild ride of Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.  Jader Bignamini, the DSO’s new music director, will conduct.  You can see the concert here.

Paganini and Berlioz met in Paris, and became regular correspondents.  Both enjoyed guitar music, and Paganini gave Berlioz a guitar.  Both signed the guitar, which still exists and is at the Musée de la Musique in Paris. [1]   Berlioz donated the guitar to the museum when he was its curator.  And here it is:

You can take a fascinating virtual tour of the museum at this link.  You can even download a museum map to facilitate your tour. Click the pictures; any picture with a compass on it will allow you to wander through the museum and view the exhibits.  Other pictures will provide slideshows with musical clips.  Enjoy!

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References

1. Niccolò Paganini, Wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Paganini.

Image attributions:  Globe with eighth note, C. Gallant, 2019.  Paganini, Berlioz guitar, Musée de la musique, Paris / A Giordan – http://mediatheque.cite-musique.fr/musee [Public domain] via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean-Nicolas_Grobert_-_Early_Romantic_Guitar,_Paris_around_1830.jpg.

Handel’s Messiah: Two Webcasts

Here are two webcasts of Handel’s Messiah for your viewing pleasure!

Today, December 14, 2019, at 8PM EST (GMT -5) the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will present a live webcast performance of Handel’s Messiah.  You can see the webcast at this link.  Ruth Reinhardt will conduct.

You may also see Handel’s Messiah on demand in a performance by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) at this link.  Jeannette Sorrell conducts.  The SPCO library also has an audio performance of the piece conducted by Paul McCreesh.  The audio performance can be found here.

Free Live Webcast: Mendelssohn and More!

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra will present a live concert webcast on December 6, 2019 at 10:45 AM EST (GMT -5).  The concert will feature Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, performed by violinist James Ehnes.  Juanjo Mena will conduct.  You can see the concert at dso.org/live. Here’s the program:

Haydn  Symphony No. 44 in E minor, “Trauersinfonie”

Mendelssohn  Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 64

Schubert  Symphony No 9 in C major, D. 944, “The Great”

 

Free Concert Webcast: Mussorgsky and More

On Sunday, November 17, 2019 at 3 PM EST (GMT -5), the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will present a free live webcast.  The program will feature Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (Ravel prepared the orchestral version from the original solo piano version). The program will also feature the world premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’s new work, Another Time, A Symphony of Songs on Four Poems by W. H. Auden.  Tenor Miles Mykkanen will perform in this work.  The conductor for the program will be Leonard Slatkin.

You can see the concert at https://livefromorchestrahall.vhx.tv/videos/pictures-at-an-exhibition.

Free Concert Webcast Tonight: Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and More

“I shall not alter a single note,” I answered, “I shall publish the work exactly as it is!”

So said Tchaikovsky after receiving blistering criticism from pianist Nikolai Rubinstein after hearing Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto a few days after the composition was completed. [1]  Rubinstein, who is known for debuting Balakirev’s insanely difficult Islamey, [2] deemed the concerto “unplayable” and “vulgar.”

It would appear Tchaikovsky was vindicated.  The first piano concerto met with great audience acclaim at its debut in Boston, and has become one of Tchaikovsky’s most popular works.  Rubinstein later came around, both playing and conducting the work he once vilified.

Tonight at 8PM EST (GMT -5) the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will present a free live concert webcast, which will include Tchaikovsky’s concerto.  The concert will feature conductor Dalia Stasevska and pianist Simon Trpčeski.  You can see the webcast at dso.org/live or on Facebook Live.  Here’s the program:

Julia Wolfe  Fountain of Youth (described by the composer as “a sassy, rhythmic, high energy swim”) [3]

Tchaikovsky  Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23

Sibelius  Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39.

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1. Warrack, John, Tchaikovsky.  New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1973 pp 78-79.
2. Nikolai Rubinstein, wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Rubinstein.
3. https://juliawolfemusic.com/music.