Conductors
Some very exciting news from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra! In a note to the CSO family, also posted on our Web site, CSO Association President Deborah Rutter Card shared the news:
Dear Friends,
It is my extreme pleasure to share with you some very exciting news!
We have just announced the appointment of Riccardo Muti—one of the most extraordinary and respected conductors of all time—to the position of music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His unparalleled musicianship, steadfast commitment to the highest level of music making, and dedication to preserving the rich history of the CSO while continuing to propel the organization into the future perfectly complement the world-class stature of our Orchestra and its musicians. He will begin his tenure in September 2010.
Our goal was to bring the best musical leader to Chicago, an extraordinary musician that would match the international profile of our Orchestra, and we have found this in Maestro Muti. I would like to thank all of you for your support, advice, guidance and input throughout the search. Your enthusiasm and passion for our great Orchestra inspired us all. I know that Maestro Muti looks forward to getting to know our wonderful city and community. If you would like to read more about Maestro. Muti’s appointment, please click here.
Most sincerely,
Deborah Rutter Card
President, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association
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Submitted by Jim Hirsch on Tue, 04/29/2008 - 7:19am.
A couple of strange things have crossed my computer screen this week and I would really love to get your opinion about them.
Earlier this week a friend emailed me an article about a robot conducting an orchestra. Okay, hold the jokes about conductors for a second. Honda’s ASIMO humanoid robot will take command of the baton in Detroit on May 13 and will conduct the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as it performs Impossible Dream to open a concert performance featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
I think we can all agree that robots are unlikely to replace humans on the podium anytime soon. What’s interesting about this is that Honda is a major donor to DSO, and one gets the feeling that putting ASIMO on the podium might somehow be tied to the sponsorship. I’m all for acknowledging the wonderful corporate partners who support our work, but does this go too far?
Another item that caught my eye was from the League of American Orchestra’s newsletter. Apparently classical composers and folk musicians are collaborating on creating new music for orchestras. Not exactly a new idea given the use of folk music themes throughout classical music history, but up until recently, using folk influences was considered déclassé. How do you feel about this renewed interest in vernacular music?
Finally, speaking of traditional music, the Chicago Sinfonietta will be presenting the world premiere of Three Songs for Blues Singer and Orchestra created by composer/arranger Larry Hoffman on May 11th and 12th featuring Muddy Water’s long-time guitarist, John Primer. We are pleased to offer registered users of this site a “hot deal” to attend this concert that will also feature pianist Leon Bates performing Rhapsody in Blue and Pictures at an Exhibition performed with a never-before-seen video created by astronomer and video artist José Francisco Salgado.
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Okay, the annual ritual of program selection is done. Another year is set for Chicago a cappella. Woo hoo!
What are we going to sing? I want to tell you about the research part, and I'll give you a sneak peek in the process.
In the fall of 2008, we're doing a new program called The British are Coming! -- a celebration of the finest English a cappella choral music, reaching all the way back to the 15th century and going to the present day. Actually, we'll start with recent music, work our way backwards in time, and then return to the present.
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Regarding Jim's blog on Dudamel's appearance on 60 Minutes (which agreed is a good piece), I'd like to link to Andrew Patner's
Critical Thinking interview with Dudamel which took place just days before he flew to California (mid-stint with the CSO!) to make his announcement with the LA Philharmonic. Contrary to the last line of the 60 Minutes piece, we in fact heard all about Dudamel on WFMT first.
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Submitted by Jim Hirsch on Tue, 02/26/2008 - 9:00am.
I don’t know how many of you saw Gustavo Dudamel’s recent appearance on 60 Minutes. If you didn’t see it, use the link enclosed in this post. It takes about 13 minutes and is well worth the time.
It seems to me that Dudamel is the type of charismatic artist who will attract people to the concert hall, get people to purchase recordings/downloads, and make the concert experience attractive and exciting for diverse audiences. I predict that the Los Angeles Philharmonic will be seeing some new faces in the seats when he begins his tenure as their music director. He may be the Bernstein of our time.
Kudos to the very smart people at the Los Angeles Philharmonic for hiring this budding superstar. I’m guessing that a fair number of orchestras who are looking for music directors will end up wishing they had gotten Gustavo.
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Tonight at 7:30pm, a new recording project by Chicago a cappella will take its first steps in the studio. We don't have a title for the new release, but the album will be a "Holidays a cappella" compilation of the best from our popular December concerts. Jim Ginsburg of Cedille Records will be in the booth as executive producer, and our music director Patrick Sinozich will be leading the sessions. We don't have a conductor, so the ensemble will be self-led as we are on stage.
The recording will take place at a secret location, because we don't want people knocking on the doors; we need our concentration. Recording is hard work! There are sessions this month and next, and we anticipate a fall 2008 release. Watch this page for more on the recording and editing process, and thanks to Cedille Records for taking us on for a second CD release on that fabulous label.
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In a few short weeks, Chicago a cappella will take to the stage with the program we call "Romanticism and Rock'n'Roll."
Okay, now you're wondering: what the heck is that?
I was asked that same question a few years ago, when I had created a program called "Baroque and Beatles." That program was only a concept when I went to a board meeting a few months before the concert. Tom Huyck from the board asked me, "Jonathan, what in the world is that concert going to be like?" I described it as best I could, which was still mostly conceptual, since the program hadn't yet been created, and he responded with something like "Huh."
Of course, "B&B" has gone on to become one of our most popular programs, a favorite on our tours and one that the singers love. In fact, it's because of "B&B" that "R&R&R" exists. Here's what happened:
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Submitted by Jim Hirsch on Wed, 11/28/2007 - 9:51am.
I love this time of year. No, it’s not eating all of the turkey – though I make a killer stuffing recipe (see below).
It’s not all of the holiday hoopla – though I can quote almost every line from the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. It’s not even about all of the great gifts I receive on Christmas day – though one can never have too many Titleist ProV1 golf balls.
What I love about this time of the year is working with our Founder and Music Director, Paul Freeman, and members of our board and orchestra to start pulling together our 2008-2009 season. It’s so fun and rewarding to start with a blank sheet of paper and begin to fill in the repertoire, partnerships, and guest artists that will define what happens on stage for the next year. I just like the process and the sense of what the future may hold.
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Submitted by Jim Hirsch on Wed, 10/31/2007 - 10:39am.
Last week Daniel J. Levitin wrote
an Op-Ed piece for the New York Times about how odd it is that classical music audiences are discouraged from expressing their enjoyment of music through movement. Levitin asserts that moving to music is innate and that we would probably have more fun if we moved freely.
I couldn’t agree more. For me, it follows the “don’t clap in between movements” rule at classical music concerts that I sometimes find so counter-intuitive. Would it be distracting if half of the people at a concert got up to dance or sway to the music? In some instances, yes. But there are times when the enjoyment of a piece is enhanced by moving to the beat, and if the entire audience joins in doing so, then it can ascend to a higher level altogether.
A great example of this takes place every January at the Chicago Sinfonietta’s Annual Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Maestro Freeman closes this concert every year by inviting the audience to stand up, hold hands, sing, and sway to the pulse of “We Shall Overcome”. The act of moving as a group, and singing together makes this one of the most emotional moments of the season, year after year.
Maybe there are other opportunities like this that would make our concerts more fun and fulfilling. Can any of you share similar moments that you may have experienced in the concert hall?
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Okay, I know the choral world is incestuous. Chicago a cappella, for example, started with a bunch of singers from Holy Name Cathedral and Congregation B'nai Jacob, and people they knew. I called everyone I knew, mostly Holy Name people, to start finding the singers who would make up that original team of nine. CAC has morphed over time and now is largely composed of Chicago Symphony Chorus and Grant Park Chorus people.
But this week I found out (see if you can follow this one) that Jayson Rodovsky, who is the editor at the Jewish press -- this is the man who both sold me a bunch of pieces for the recent CAC concert AND is the distributor for the Max Janowski scores I represent -- also happened to be the roommate of my dear friend Rick Childress, who founded His Majestie's Clerkes, which is now Bella Voce.
How did I learn of this world-shrinking connection? Total quirkiness.
Two nights ago I found myself in Manhattan with about four hours to kill. I was between a meeting in Westchester County and another in New Jersey. I had turned in my rental car at 49th and 8th, and had to get myself to Penn Station to take a train. I wanted something unusual and stimulating to relax and recharge me after a tough few weeks. So I asked the guy at the rental place what would be a fun way to spend an hour, and where would be fun to walk, between where I was and where I was going (the train station is at 33rd and 8th, a little less than a mile away). The dreadlocked attendant said, "Well, just walk down Eighth Avenue, slowly. It's total New York. You'll go through Times Square and all that."
Well, it seemed like a waste of a lovely Tuesday night in New York to just go to the train, but I decided to saunter after all. Pretty soon, my eye caught the cover of Time Out New York, so I paid $2.99 for a copy and turned to the classical music listings. Wouldn'tcha know it, but the Winchester Cathedral Choir, which I hadn't heard in 14 years, was singing at St. Thomas Church on 5th Avenue at 7:30. I called up and asked if my dear old friend Rick Childress was on the roster, and was assured that he was. So that made up my mind: I would go hear the Cathedral Choir.
The concert was lovely. The church itself is magnificent, home to the only church-based choir school in the USA. The singers (12 men and 15 boys) sang music from Byrd and Bach to Poulenc to James MacMillan. They even did Bach's "Komm, Jesu, Komm," the double-choir motet that I put on "Baroque and Beatles," and acquitted themselves admirably with impeccable German diction. I must say that I do favor women's voices over boys, though I can certainly understand the appeal and the tradition that the male-only choir carries forward.
And I couldn't help chuckling through it all at what a small world it really is.
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