Georg Solti conducts the Chicago Symphony.
To hear other works in my Neglected Symphonies series, click here.
Interview: Gloria Cheng
Pianist Gloria Cheng to visit ‘Sonic Kitchen.’ Pacific Symphony Blog, June 23, 2017.
Shostakovich 10, 2nd movement, heavy metal version
Most amusing and effective.
The Making of a YouTube video: Alex Boyé and OC Music and Dance
The making of a YouTube video is an amusing thing to watch, at least if Alex Boyé is involved.* The British-American singer with millions of views on the video-sharing website was in Newport Beach recently to shoot his latest, which he not only performed in, but directed as well. From an outsider’s point of view, there was a thinking-it-up-as-he-went-along quality to the shoot, though Boyé said later that spontaneity was only part of the plan.
The video was being produced by OC Music & Dance, a newly-launched community arts school in Irvine, as a way to promote its brand and to give its students and faculty, who performed in the video, experience and exposure. Musicians from Villa Park High School, various Irvine schools and the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra would also participate. Boyé would be revisiting a technique he had used before, “Africanizing” a hit song — his version of “Let It Go” from “Frozen” has more than 87 million views on YouTube — with the use of distinctive percussion, beats and vocals. This time the song was “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles.
On a gray morning last month, dozens of young musicians and parents gathered on a dock in Newport Harbor behind a large charter yacht called “Endless Dreams,” where the shoot would take place. The smell of diesel fuel hung in the air. School officials and Boyé could be seen already on board, preparing for the mass arrival. Once the students, all dressed in black, boarded, breakfast was served on the two lower decks. On the upper deck, chairs and stands for a full orchestra were already in place.
How to bring down an orchestra redux
The woman seems to have issues with what the man is saying. I can’t think why.
Oddity (Music criticism books: 6)
So, a few weeks ago, while doing research on an article about “Don Quixote” by Richard Strauss, I came across a useful book called “Richard Strauss: The Man and His Works” by Henry T. Finck, a noted American music critic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I was quite impressed with what I read of the book online and I decided that I wanted a print copy.
The book was originally published in 1917. Normally, I’d try to find an original copy, but this time I decided just to get a reprint. As with online books in the public domain, the printed version turned out to be a scan of a library copy of the book, complete with the scribbles of librarians and others. I was surprised and delighted to see that copy of the Finck book scanned and printed in this case was apparently once owned by the composer Ross Lee Finney. Click on the thumbnails for larger views.
Audio: Schubert: Symphony No. 9, Karajan and Berlin
Please enjoy responsibly.
Pacific Chorale’s John Alexander calls it a day with Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’
A swan song and a ‘Resurrection’: John Alexander takes the next step in a long career. Pacific Symphony Blog, June 5, 2017.
photo: Drew Kelley
Audio: Debussy: ‘Iberia’
Great piece, nice recording.
Appearance
I’ll be making an appearance tomorrow at 3 p.m at UCI’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts with the Trio Céleste in a program called “The Evolution of Ludwig van Beethoven.” I’ll discuss the stylistic development that can be traced in the piano trios; the exceptional Célestials will play movements from the oeuvre.
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